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The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 3
by Jonathan StroudFrom the book jacket: Three years have passed since the magician
Nathaniel helped prevent a cataclysmic attack on London. Now an established
member of the British Government, he faces unprecedented problems: foreign wars
are going badly, Britains enemies are mounting attacks close to London, and
rebellion is fermenting among the commoners. Increasingly imperious and
distracted, Nathaniel is treating Bartimaeus worse than ever. The long-suffering
djinni is growing weak and vulnerable from too much time in this world, and his
patience is nearing its end.
Meanwhile, undercover in London, Kitty has been stealthily completing her
research on magic, demons, and Bartimaeuss past. She has a plan that she hopes
will break the endless cycle of conflict between djinn and humans. But will
anyone listen to what she has to say?
In this thrilling conclusion to the Bartimaeus trilogy, the destinies of
Bartimaeus, Nathaniel, and Kitty are thrown together once more. For the first
time, we will learn the secrets of Bartimaeuss past, and get a glimpse into the
Other Place -- the world of demons -- as together, the threesome must face
treacherous magicians, unravel a masterfully complex conspiracy, and defeat a
formidable faction of demons. And worst of all, they must somehow cope with one
another....
Comment
This is the third volume in the Bartimaeus Trilogy following The Amulet of
Samarkand and The Golem's Eye. The story is set in an parallel
world similar to our own with many familiar places and historical figures,
except that in this world powerful magicians have ruled for centuries (think of
a world somewhat similar to
Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series or a children's version of
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and you'll be on the right track).
The action is centered on a version of London in which two core levels of
society exist - those who an can do magic and those who can't, with a third
level of commoners who are resistant to magic. Magicians
are the ruling elite who maintain control primarily by binding members of the
spirit kingdom to do their will. The spirit kingdom is a complex place
with multiple levels of spirit entities, boiling down to five levels (in order of
power from weakest to strongest): imps, foliots, djinnis, afrits and marids, with occasional walk-on parts from even more
powerful spirits. Non-magicians, who make up the majority, are known as
commoners and exist in a feudalistic underclass of of ignorance and fear.
The story is told from three primary perspectives: Bartimaeus, a sarcastically
witty but wise djinni whose asides are one of the many pleasures the books have to offer,
magician John Mandrake (AKA Nathaniel) and Kitty Jones, a member of the commoner
resistance movement seeking to end the magician oppression.
The first volume in the trilogy opens with an apparently familiar story:
12-year-old magician's apprentice Nathanial wants to prove himself after being
cruelly humiliated. He studies long and hard to learn advanced spells that
will enable him to bring forth and enslave a djinni but things get out of hand
and soon he and the djinni, Bartimaeus are enmeshed in the middle of various
magical plots, involving murder, blackmail, spies and a simmering revolt by the
commoners; but, here's the twist, instead of the young magician's apprentice
being the good guy battling evil - the magicians are the villains and Nathanial
is a cold-hearted manipulator.
In the second book the story shifts to focus more on Kitty. Nathaniel is now a
junior magician in the government, given the job of crushing the resistance
movement (of which Kitty is a member), and capturing its leaders with the
reluctant assistance of Bartimaeus.
The final book, Ptolemy's Gate, opens with Kitty in hiding, apprenticed
to a magician from whom she hopes to learn enough to be able to summon
Bartimaeus himself. Meanwhile the exhausted Bartimaeus is still bound to
17-year-old Nathaniel who is now a member of the elite ruling council in the
government. War is raging in the American colonies, causing dissent among
the commoners who provide the cannon-fodder. As Information Minister,
Nathaniel spends his days writing propaganda to persuade the commoners that
they're winning the war, while also tracking down traitors within the
government. Itt soon becomes apparent that the threat from within is
greater than any threat from without when a group of junior ministers, intent on
turning over the government, attempt to bind demons inside their bodies, but the
demons take control.
This is what Thomas, our 13-year-old in-house reviewer, who has read and re-read
the series multiple times, has to say:
"Ptolemy's Gate is a very interesting book with many unexpected twists and
turns in the plot. It is an excellent end to the series that still leaves
just enough questions unanswered for your mind to continue puzzling over them
for a long time to come. It stands out from other books because it gives more
details on the spirits themselves, such as their personalities and the conflicts
that exist between them caused by bitter feuds dating back thousands of
years.
Will Kitty's strength and intelligence combined with the good that still lies
somewhere in the heart of Nathaniel/John Mandrake, plus Bartimaeus's magic, wit
and wisdom be enough to save the day? Readers will have to find out
for themselves in the final, exciting volume of this entertaining saga. I
highly recommend this series!"
This review first ran in the February 7, 2007 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.
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