The Other Place ✹ Alternate Universe London ✹ Magician controlled Government
These are just a few of the interesting things that are in this world. Of course, at the heart of it all is... the djinn, Bartimaeus.
Follow the jump for this post's Reading List!
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This is technically a list because the series is composed of three books. Think Game of Thrones and other epic series out there.
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This is the American version of the series.
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This is the British version.
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There are a lot of books about wizards existing alongside normal people i.e. Harry Potter. This is not one of those stories. The story happens in an Alternate Universe, where the world's government is composed entirely of magicians.
Magicians are people, man or woman, who have the ability to control spirits. They are mortal beings who get their powers from beings from the Other Place. The magicians summon different types of spirits to be able to make magic happen.
To be a magician, you have to be given as a child to the government. Then, you will be apprenticed (live with and learn from) a magician. You will not be sent to regular commoner school because your education would be different. The general populace does not have much information about magic and how to summon spirits. Obviously, if they do, then everyone can be a magician. And that's not good.
Magicians are people, man or woman, who have the ability to control spirits. They are mortal beings who get their powers from beings from the Other Place. The magicians summon different types of spirits to be able to make magic happen.
To be a magician, you have to be given as a child to the government. Then, you will be apprenticed (live with and learn from) a magician. You will not be sent to regular commoner school because your education would be different. The general populace does not have much information about magic and how to summon spirits. Obviously, if they do, then everyone can be a magician. And that's not good.
✹✹✹ spoiler alert ✹✹✹
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The Amulet of Samarkand
Recommended for ages 9 through 12
Recommended for ages 9 through 12
The story begins with Nathaniel. But his name must be kept secret as "names" are weapons that can be used by naughty spirits to get back at the magician who summoned it. Nathaniel would not be given a new name until he has come of a certain age. This in itself is wonderful because if the anthropological and philosophical side to this.
The magicians themselves cannot have their own children so that no dynasties would be formed. But Nathaniel's master's wife had been kind to him. And he had kind of loved her back. Another person who was close to him was his art teacher.
Nathaniel's resentment of his situation with his master, who was no nurturer, made him summon a djinn. There are five levels of spirits: imps (lowest), foliots, djinn, afrit and marid (highest). It takes great skill to summon the higher level spirits, so we immediately know that Nathaniel is a special boy.
Fortunately, Nathaniel picked a djinn who was the best character ever written: Bartimaeus. His sarcasm is entertaining and his antics are hilarious. The narrative shifts from Nathaniel's third person point of view to Bartimaeus' first person point of view. The mix is written skillfully in that Bartimaeus' humor is a good break from Nathaniel's "Oliver Twist" like story line.
The magicians themselves cannot have their own children so that no dynasties would be formed. But Nathaniel's master's wife had been kind to him. And he had kind of loved her back. Another person who was close to him was his art teacher.
Nathaniel's resentment of his situation with his master, who was no nurturer, made him summon a djinn. There are five levels of spirits: imps (lowest), foliots, djinn, afrit and marid (highest). It takes great skill to summon the higher level spirits, so we immediately know that Nathaniel is a special boy.
Fortunately, Nathaniel picked a djinn who was the best character ever written: Bartimaeus. His sarcasm is entertaining and his antics are hilarious. The narrative shifts from Nathaniel's third person point of view to Bartimaeus' first person point of view. The mix is written skillfully in that Bartimaeus' humor is a good break from Nathaniel's "Oliver Twist" like story line.
Stroud is a genius! The narrative is flawless. I kid you not. There are only a few things in this world that are as perfect as this, such as sunrise, dewdrops on roses, etc. Stroud has achieved that Game of Thrones narrative wanted to be. Veering dangerously off topic here, but GoT is just so dry. I get that it's written for a male audience but did it have to be so boring. The plot is awesome, yes. But there's no sense of wonder. Not like Stroud. He makes intricate plotlines and constructing make-believe worlds look easy.
The first book is a coming of age of book from boy to seemingly adult. It's talks about "you can get what you want if you work hard enough" or "you can be whoever you want to be". In the end, you get what you deserve. And sometimes, dreams do come true!
The first book is a coming of age of book from boy to seemingly adult. It's talks about "you can get what you want if you work hard enough" or "you can be whoever you want to be". In the end, you get what you deserve. And sometimes, dreams do come true!
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The Golem's Eye
The Golem's Eye
Recommended for ages 13 through 15
Let me get the spoilers out of the way: Nathaniel does not die, Bartimaeus does not die, and the world is just as we started in the last book.
Nathaniel has a job and a name. He has everything he had ever wanted. Yeah, right.
Enter a female character glimpsed from the first book and has now taken a leading lady role. Stroud seems to be developing the series with his readers. Now, his readers are older and have become aware of "relationships" with the other or the same sex. This is where Kitty comes in really.
Kitty also serves as a role model for the girl readers. When younger, it appears that children can be more generic with the characters that they relate to. But as they grow older, there comes an awareness of "not like me". So, it's a good thing that Kitty is written for the growing girls out there who are in great need of strong female characters. Hermione doesn't cut it really. Luna Lovegood was awesome but it wasn't her story. In fact, her story would have been much more fun. And her cognitive narrative would have been more insightful.
Anyhow, Nathaniel has a problem. There's a strange, strong and destructive being on the loose. This took him to another country even. But wait! There are evil people about. It's just that we don't know who it is.
The story has a bit more adventure and a bit more morals than the last one. There's also that slap on the face where "follow your dreams" should have been "know if your dreams are the right ones". This story is more adult in that it seeks to answer fundamental questions about right or wrong. It shows Nathaniel making the wrong decisions, not for the situation, but for himself. Stroud teaches his young readers that going for the gold is very easy but can be morally destructive. It's better to be a good person than a successful person.
But wait! There are MORE evil people about, because it's being set up for the final installment.
Kitty also serves as a role model for the girl readers. When younger, it appears that children can be more generic with the characters that they relate to. But as they grow older, there comes an awareness of "not like me". So, it's a good thing that Kitty is written for the growing girls out there who are in great need of strong female characters. Hermione doesn't cut it really. Luna Lovegood was awesome but it wasn't her story. In fact, her story would have been much more fun. And her cognitive narrative would have been more insightful.
Anyhow, Nathaniel has a problem. There's a strange, strong and destructive being on the loose. This took him to another country even. But wait! There are evil people about. It's just that we don't know who it is.
The story has a bit more adventure and a bit more morals than the last one. There's also that slap on the face where "follow your dreams" should have been "know if your dreams are the right ones". This story is more adult in that it seeks to answer fundamental questions about right or wrong. It shows Nathaniel making the wrong decisions, not for the situation, but for himself. Stroud teaches his young readers that going for the gold is very easy but can be morally destructive. It's better to be a good person than a successful person.
But wait! There are MORE evil people about, because it's being set up for the final installment.
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Ptolemy's Gate
Recommended for ages 16 and above
Warning: Graphic Scenes in the novel
Just when you think you've seen all the tricks and there's nothing up Stroud's cuffs, he throws a big one. And, I really mean THE BIG ONE.
First off, we learn more about Bartimaeus and the Other Place. It seems that Bartimaeus wasn't always the sarcastic djinn that we know and love. He had been a good djinn once, who followed all the rules i.e. do what the magician who summoned you tells you to do. But something happened in his life which broke his world view and left him with Thoughts. This event can be summarized under: Ptolemy. This boy was even more brilliant than Nathaniel. In fact, this boy is a revolutionary thinker. Unfortunately, he was born at the time where he was next in line to a powerful dynasty. There are some angry relatives who would stop at nothing. This is still true today. The Other Place is explained in a lot more philosophical detail. For the more discerning readers, this is where Stroud answers important questions about the world he has created.
Next, we learn more about Kitty's ordeals. She was a product of the world that was created by a corrupt magician government. This book deals with a lot of revolutionary ideas. This makes it so exciting now. Of course, we also see that not all revolutionaries are good. Their ideas may be good but they can be as corrupt as the government. That's something that a lot of people forget. When I hear about how the government kills a lot of revolutionaries, I think about how revolutionaries do the exact same thing. Yes, two sides of the same exact coin (I love you, Slash Dragon).
Third, Nathaniel comes into a realization. Amidst all the power he was bequeathed, he had forgotten himself. Of course, this is normal. When thrown into a new situation, a person changes. And Nathaniel had chosen to be in that situation from the very first book without realizing the consequences.
The third book made me like Nathaniel the best, even more than Bartimaeus. It shows that old dogs can relearn tricks that they've forgotten when they became Lassie, The Wonder Dog. Nathaniel's choices were not perfect. But the more important thing here is that he made it knowing that he was making it from his sense of right and wrong. Any decision can be the right one because there's no such thing as "having no choice". Some decisions are crap because a part of your life becomes hellish. But some part of you knows that it's right one because you know that you couldn't live with choosing the other.
In the end, I was exhausted. I found myself staring blankly at my wall for a bit, still absorbing and digesting what happened. At first, I couldn't believe that Stroud went that far into my psyche, wringing it out like soaking wet laundry. Then, later on, I realized that this story couldn't have happened in any other way.
Stroud had a choice. It's either he would cop out and let financial security follow. But he was a brave writer. Between the lines, he explained why this had to happen. This story is all about choices. He was brave enough to make one, and so should you.
First off, we learn more about Bartimaeus and the Other Place. It seems that Bartimaeus wasn't always the sarcastic djinn that we know and love. He had been a good djinn once, who followed all the rules i.e. do what the magician who summoned you tells you to do. But something happened in his life which broke his world view and left him with Thoughts. This event can be summarized under: Ptolemy. This boy was even more brilliant than Nathaniel. In fact, this boy is a revolutionary thinker. Unfortunately, he was born at the time where he was next in line to a powerful dynasty. There are some angry relatives who would stop at nothing. This is still true today. The Other Place is explained in a lot more philosophical detail. For the more discerning readers, this is where Stroud answers important questions about the world he has created.
Next, we learn more about Kitty's ordeals. She was a product of the world that was created by a corrupt magician government. This book deals with a lot of revolutionary ideas. This makes it so exciting now. Of course, we also see that not all revolutionaries are good. Their ideas may be good but they can be as corrupt as the government. That's something that a lot of people forget. When I hear about how the government kills a lot of revolutionaries, I think about how revolutionaries do the exact same thing. Yes, two sides of the same exact coin (I love you, Slash Dragon).
Third, Nathaniel comes into a realization. Amidst all the power he was bequeathed, he had forgotten himself. Of course, this is normal. When thrown into a new situation, a person changes. And Nathaniel had chosen to be in that situation from the very first book without realizing the consequences.
The third book made me like Nathaniel the best, even more than Bartimaeus. It shows that old dogs can relearn tricks that they've forgotten when they became Lassie, The Wonder Dog. Nathaniel's choices were not perfect. But the more important thing here is that he made it knowing that he was making it from his sense of right and wrong. Any decision can be the right one because there's no such thing as "having no choice". Some decisions are crap because a part of your life becomes hellish. But some part of you knows that it's right one because you know that you couldn't live with choosing the other.
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I read this book like the journey that it was. My friend, Jaja, had lent me her copies (American version) because, as she put it, "it is awesome." She has similar tastes in book as me, so I went at it. I read it very slowly, absorbing the words on every page, looking for the words written between the lines. I read these books for maybe two months.
The story was a coming-of-age. Figuratively. There are things that you cannot bring with you to the next stage of your life. Those things are called baggage.
The story was a coming-of-age. Figuratively. There are things that you cannot bring with you to the next stage of your life. Those things are called baggage.
In the end, I was exhausted. I found myself staring blankly at my wall for a bit, still absorbing and digesting what happened. At first, I couldn't believe that Stroud went that far into my psyche, wringing it out like soaking wet laundry. Then, later on, I realized that this story couldn't have happened in any other way.
Stroud had a choice. It's either he would cop out and let financial security follow. But he was a brave writer. Between the lines, he explained why this had to happen. This story is all about choices. He was brave enough to make one, and so should you.
x, Pau
Check out Jonathan Stroud's Website here: http://www.jonathanstroud.com
Go like Jonathan Stroud on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JonathanStroudAuthor
Summon Jonathan Stroud here: just kidding
Go like Jonathan Stroud on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JonathanStroudAuthor
Summon Jonathan Stroud here: just kidding
Photo credits:
Opening - http://fan.thisissparta.org/bartimaeus/
Three books - http://eran.geek.co.il/wp/archives/3618
British version - http://www.telperionbooks.com/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=97&CLSN_3891=13222485513891e9e5339d02b0fde2a6
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