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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “If readers seek an action packed thrill ride full of unsuspecting twists and turns Ptolemy's Gate is only way to go. The novel, written by Jonathan Stroud, takes place in London, where an alternative history has occurred. The story is told through the perspective of various characters and...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“4.5 stars”
Kumar Saurav wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Can't wait!”
Janae Weaver wrote this review Wednesday, April 17, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“The Bartimaeus sequence was a real gem of a series that I found by accident. One day i was just looking through the library and decided to pick up the first book in the series for some fun, and ever since then it has become one of my all time favourites. The book does so many things right it is really easy to overlook the few flaws it does have. The book is based in a fictionalised version of older England that is run by a government of magicians, and the one that the novel follows is a boy named Nathaniel who later changes his name to John Mandrake as it is part of the ritual to become a magician. The Magicians main ability is to summon spirits who come to do their bidding, but strict rules must be followed or the spirit will be set free. The protagonist of the novel Bartimaeus is one of these spirits specifically a djinni a spirit that is not very weak, but no where near the power of the higher ranked spirits. The serios follows the escapades of Bartimaeus under Mandrake and there are even some spin-offs that follow him in ancient times such as during the Egyptian era. The great part of this book is that somehow has the ability to be seen as serious attack on how some governments work, but at the same be one of the funniest novels i have read. The amount of jokes and references that Bartimaeus makes in his journal like sections of the novel mostly in the form of footnotes were the highlight of the novel for me in fact I don't think i would have enjoyed nearly as much without them. The book also work very well as a political drama that serves to look at how governments can become corrupt and become so powerful that they cannot be stopped. I think my favorite part of the books were Bartimaeus's references to Ptolemy(the ancient scientist) as his favorite master and that really drove a good sub-plot for me as i kept wanting to understand more about their relationship, and it was always a nice anecdote. This is also where the biggest flaw of the novel is; it feels like one part of the story is resolved, but about fifty others are left unchecked. One example is Bartimaeus storys about Ptolemy they are left as little anecdotes and we don't learn anything more, but i am still hoping out for a spin-off exploring that aspect. There are others but mentioning them would spoil the novel so i will leave them out. In conclusion The Bartimaues Trilogy is a terrific series and Ptolemy's gate is my favorite of them I highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes novels that are based around both magic and politics. ”
AbhirupM wrote this review Sunday, March 10, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Good Book”
Ben wrote this review Friday, March 1, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Great story line.”
2019emiller wrote this review Wednesday, March 13, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“oh, the ending is heart breaking...”
faye wrote this review Wednesday, December 26, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“It was another great fantasy novel by Jonathan Stroud, but slightly lacked in the humor compared to the first book. Why are second books in a series always such a disappointment? ”
Saanya J wrote this review Monday, November 19, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“listened on ipod... love this series!!”
Beth FW wrote this review Tuesday, October 30, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“the first book that ever made me cry. i read this trilogy once a year. not even kidding.”
Emily wrote this review Sunday, September 23, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
