This is one of my favorite books

books:

	• Ptolemy's Gate (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 3) Jonathan Stroud Disney-Hyperion, 2005 - 512 pages average customer review:based on 146 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Ptolemy's Gate?

This was certainly different from the first two books, without a doubt. We finally meet the much-esteemed Ptolemy, who in my opinion lived up to that esteem. I have to admit, as someone who usually sides with the Good Guys, I was beginning to hate Nathaniel, now John Mandrake, for becoming a snot-nosed prat sitting on a comfy chair critiquing the world and all that inhabit it. His character is becoming quite cold and rather sinister, though he still has a streak of morality in him that shows briefly when he thinks of his fellow government's sometimes(did I say "sometimes"? I meant "always") cruel actions, but still thinks the world would go to shambles if not for him. And then Kitty Jones, who did not live up to my expectations in this book. Despite the fact that she *MAJOR SPOILER COMING UP*
crossed the Gate into the Other World, she was not one of my favorites this time. And Bartimaeus-who, sadly, is aging, as we all do, and after five thousand years is world-weary and rather crotchety, though in his old age his scalding dialogue does not abandon him. But on the aging thing again, it really kind saddened me-it's like seeing your favorite superhero walk with a cane(ok, maybe that was a bad analogy, Bartimaeus seems to have a more self-benefiting survival thing going and wouldn't care to rescue dozens of citizens, but)This is a good book, but certainly not the best of the series.

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When Barty lost his bite

The third and final installment of the Bartimaeus Trilogy (*1) picks up three years after the "The Golem's Eye" with Nathaniel a.k.a. John Mandrake now the Information Minister, and spending his time making up propaganda pamphlets about the supposed successes of the war in America (*2) He has been increasingly mistreating Bartimaeus, not allowing him to return to the "other place" until his essence is so severely weakened that the puns stop flowing. (*3) Mandrake is now cold and unfeeling, totally absorbed in his work and his own self importance, and has few friends. In order to hang on to whatever little favor he has left with the Prime Minister, he maintains cordial relations with Quentin Makepeace, who has composed a must-see (*4) musical about the life of the Prime Minister.

Things aren't going so well for the government either, and the commoners are revolting. (*5) Some have learned to spot magical beings, and some have developed magical resistance, and this book sees the return of Kitty Jones, who is sneakily learning about the other world, and especially Bartimaeus' past. (*6) Through Kitty's research we learn the secret behind the whole Ptolemy thing, and get a look into Bartimaeus' domain.

When a sinister plot (*7) unleashes the most powerful beings who ever existed to wreak havoc and cause mass destruction, Mandrake, Kitty and Bartimaeus team up in ways none of the three would have before this thought possible, and using the magical artifacts from the first two books, they represent the last line of defense of the human race. After a heart-stopping and pulse-racing (*8) last quarter, the grand finale may not be to everyone's liking, but the redemption of Nathaniel more than makes up for it.

A bit lengthy and somewhat plodding at the start, but never-the-less a totally gratifying conclusion to a great series.

(*1) - Yes, yes - trilogies often mean three stories - get on with it!

(*2) - Mostly rubbish, I might add

(*3) - Egads!

(*4) - If you wanted to keep your job, that is

(*5) - Most of the magicians would agree whole heartedly

(*6) - Trust a woman to have an enquiring mind

(*7) - What other kind is there?

(*8) - Desirable yet unhealthy conditions I would think

Amanda Richards, June 19, 2006

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This is a great book!

An avid fan of the Batimaeus Trilogy, I can honestly say that this, the final chapter of the trilogy, was the best. It was suspensful, terrifying and exciting. In this book, Kitty, Nathanial and Bartimaeus have to join together once more to stop catastrophe from being unleashed on the world. Even though they all used to be enemies, the have to learn to help one another. This book is full of fantastical sequences that dazzle the imagination. It is a great read; I could hardly put it down. The only flaw was the tragic ending. It was horribly sad, but necessary for the series to end. If you are a fan of the trilogy, be prepared for a sad ending but a wonderful book. If you haven't yet read the trilogy, what are you waiting for? Read them! I loved this book and if you appreciate great fantasy, you will too.

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This is one of my favorite books

I just finished this book last night and I deffinitely thought that it was one of the best books I have read. The plot has so many twists and turns that you will never quite figure out how it ends. The final one hundred or so pages build up to one of the best (and more tragic) endings of any book I have ever read. Jonathan Stroud really pulls this series to a spectacutular close in this book.

One part of this book that I really enjoy are the footnotes at the bottom of the pages in the chapteres narrated by the wisecracking djinni Bartimaeus. These footnotes really gave a great touch of humor to this fantasy book.

The story covers the adventures of Nathaniel, Kitty and Bartimaeus, which we have been introduced to in earlier books. As Nathaniel gets steadilly greedier, and more like a common magician, Kitty delves deeper into the forbiddin realm of magic, and Bartimaeus is being severely overworked by his master. Meanwhile, a group of commoners (non-magical people, like Harry Potter's Muggles) are planning a revolt, a revolt that will go terribly wrong...

I highly recomend this book and the series to anyone looking for a book to read while waiting for Harry Potter 7, or anyone else for that matter. I believe that this series might be better than the Potter books.

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The Best of the Series

While the first two books were great, this book blows both of them away. The way this book alternates point of views leaves you in indefinite suspense while you read. The first couple of parts fills in the way characters have developed in the few years where the last book left you. It also gives you background information, 5,000 years' worth of Bartimaeus, one of the main characters. It all builds up to his most sacred memory and thought. Meanwhile, Stroud may have broken new ground with the main character being developed into an annoying arrogant, pompous, and corrupt youth and a shocking twist of the story of Kitty Jones. It all builds up to the final pages, where three books' worth of pages unfolds into one unexpected climax. This book has its emotional highs and lows with wisecracking Bartimaeus' comments being humourous, Kitty Jones' interactions as a commoner with the society of magicians being insightful, and the unexpected sadness of how the role of magicians in society seems to be collapsing. A good read for all ages.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, page 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

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