Okay, I've just finished reading the Bartimaeus trilogy(well 9:30 last night actually...) and I must say,it's an awesome book! The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's eye and Ptolemy's gate being the three parts of the book.
This fantasy series written by Jonathan Stroud revolves around Nathaniel, a young magician, as he foils the plans to overthrow the British government. The British government also consists of magicians, corrupt, power-hungry, and conceited(in short 'evil') magicians. The magicians usually summon demons like marids, afrits, djinns, imps and foliots to do their bidding. Commoners are the people with no magical powers, although there are some people who cant withstand magical attacks as well as see magical objects and demons. A group of such commoners called as the 'Resistance' also attempt to overthrow the government but are largely unsuccessful. Each of the three books contains a plot to overthrow the Prime Minister, and in every book, the plan is stopped by Nathaniel(or John Mandrake, being his official name) with the help of his djinni Bartimaeus. So lets get on with the characters...
Nathaniel aka John Mandrake - The main character of the trilogy, Nathaniel is intelligent, sharp, stubborn, determined, and not to mention extremely powerful at magic!Given up by his true family to become the apprentice of a magician Mr.Underwood, he appears to be a shy, quiet boy with a thirst for knowledge and for revenge. It is this want for revenge that gets him into trouble. But his steely determination gets him out of it too, as he thwarts Simon Lovelace(a narcissistic man, planning to kill the Prime Minister and coming into power himself). And thus Nathaniel rises in the government, and in the process forgets the boy called Nathaniel and becomes just as power-hungry and err...cold as the other ministers. Ah well, by the end of the third book, he gets back to his senses, remembers who he was, and saves everyone yet again! Hurray!
Bartimaeus - "I am Bartimaeus! I am Sakhr al-Jinni, N'gorso the Mighty and the Serpent of Silver Plumes! I have rebuilt the walls of Uruk, Karnak and Prague. I have spoken with Solomon. I have run with the buffalo fathers of the plains. I have watched over Old Zimbabwe till the stones fell and the jackals fed on its people. I am Bartimaeus!" - Bartimaeus
One of the best characters I've read, Bart is a 5000 year old djinni, in service of dear old Nathaniel. Bart is a witty, sarcastic character and hence is extremely likeable. You just can't stop grinning when you read his parts. He's quite unlike the other djinnis, actually caring for his master(well, he doesn't let it show anyway) and for the commoner Kitty Jones(a member of the Resistance) This is because he was treated as an equal by Ptolemy(one of his earlier masters who actually followed Bart to his world- The Other World). And well, he is supposed to be really strong, although there is a strong possibility of him lying about it...
Kitty Jones- A commoner, and a member of the Resistance, she can withstand magical attacks. Although she despised magic, she learnt it so that she could summon Bartimaeus and talk to him about Ptolemy(whom she suspected Bartimaeus had a strong bond with for he usually took the appeareance of Ptolemy). She hoped that perhaps demons and humans could join forces againts magicians, but was turned down by Bartimaeus because he felt that demons and humans could never trust each other, at which Kitty dissmisses him. She's a strong and independent girl, standing up for herself...
Ok now begin the spoilers! Read if you've already read the book...
At first, I thought that the story was quite childish, but as it progressed, I realize how wrong I was. The trilogy is worth reading just for third book. It'll send you on a roller coaster ride of emotions, of feeling strongly for the characters. At the first book, I felt sad for Nathaniel, underestimated, ignored, humiliated but into the second book I started despising him...cause he had become someone else. Nathaniel was lost somewhere, his place taken up by John Mandrake. He treats Bartimaeus in a contemptuous way, not even bothering to dismiss the djinn although he's on the verge of dying. Made me wanna slap him hard. But by end of the third book, Nathaniel reappears, realizing that he had become what he despised when he was young, leading the book to an unexpected end. Yup, its an end no writer in his right mind would go for...but Jonathan Stroud did. Nathaniel dies in the end, telling Bartimaeus that he had been a good servant and then dismissing him so that he would not die with him(a sort of deja vu for Bartimaeus, Ptolemy had done the same). That actually got me to cry...
And Bartimaeus, we feel he's just a downright rude djinni, with no feelings and stuff. Wrong again, although he know's John Mandrake's birth name(Nathaniel) he refrains from telling it to someone else. Plus, he asked the demon Nouda to spare Kitty and Nathaniel's lives. And his relation with Ptolemy, a touchy subject as seen when it was broached by Kitty gives us an insight as to why he might've done that. It seems that he also hoped for humans and demons to work together and works together with Nathaniel(using Nathaniel's body) to destroy Nouda.
Kitty Jones, member of the Resistance, tried to understand the slave-master thing between demons and humans. She takes an interest in this topic after a conversation with Bart, and thereafter learns magic just so she could summon him and talk to him. She's so smart, deducing about Ptolemy in that way...although I wish she had stepped out of the circle when asked by Bart to prove that she trusted him. Anyway, she also goes to the Other World in search of Bartimaeus just so to prove that she trusted him and it is on her insistence that Bart agrees to take up Nathaniel's body as his vessel and work together with him...
Spoilers end here.
Well, this is a really haphhazard way to describe a book, wiki might be able to help you out if you're interested in
Bartimaeus trilogy, or well you can go to the
official site as well.
Thats it for now folks!
Cheers!
