This is the first in the Bartimaeus Trilogy, a series I had eyed at the library, but wasn't sure it was any good until I read a review at Bloggin' 'bout Books, and decided to give it a try. (I hope I am not breaking any blogging etiquette rules by linking to the review. If I am, sorry!)At the risk of committing another faux pas, I have copied Wikipedia's plot summary. (I have read four books that I haven't reviewed yet, so I need to cheat a bit in the interest of time and housework.) :
"A magician's young apprentice, Nathaniel, secretly summons the irascible 5,000-year-old djinni, Bartimaeus, to do his bidding. The task for Bartimaeus is an interesting mission: he must steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, a master magician of unrivalled ruthlessness and ambition. Before long, Bartimaeus and Nathaniel are caught up in a terrifying flood of magical intrigue, rebellion and murder. Nathaniel learns quickly that he may have gotten into a plot much more in depth than he and his djinni can cope with."
This was an awesome audiobook to listen to--the narrator was up there with the likes of Jim Dale of Harry Potter fame. He perfectly captured the fussy and sarcastic personality of Bartimaeus--his part was the strength of the novel. The narration is shared between first-person Bartimaeus, (who I could not help picturing played by Kelsey Grammar if a movie is ever made), and a third-person narrator (Hopefully I've gotten these terms right!). Another thing I loved about it was the comic use of footnotes. As a chronic digresser, I appreciated these. (And here I should digress and note that I started out reading the book and then switched to audio, where the footnotes are of course less obvious, but the humor not lost.)
I am looking forward to listening to the next in the series: The Golem's Eye, and hanging out with Bart a little more!
"A magician's young apprentice, Nathaniel, secretly summons the irascible 5,000-year-old djinni, Bartimaeus, to do his bidding. The task for Bartimaeus is an interesting mission: he must steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, a master magician of unrivalled ruthlessness and ambition. Before long, Bartimaeus and Nathaniel are caught up in a terrifying flood of magical intrigue, rebellion and murder. Nathaniel learns quickly that he may have gotten into a plot much more in depth than he and his djinni can cope with."
This was an awesome audiobook to listen to--the narrator was up there with the likes of Jim Dale of Harry Potter fame. He perfectly captured the fussy and sarcastic personality of Bartimaeus--his part was the strength of the novel. The narration is shared between first-person Bartimaeus, (who I could not help picturing played by Kelsey Grammar if a movie is ever made), and a third-person narrator (Hopefully I've gotten these terms right!). Another thing I loved about it was the comic use of footnotes. As a chronic digresser, I appreciated these. (And here I should digress and note that I started out reading the book and then switched to audio, where the footnotes are of course less obvious, but the humor not lost.)
I am looking forward to listening to the next in the series: The Golem's Eye, and hanging out with Bart a little more!
I think I'll put this on my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book! It will go on my list of books to read!
ReplyDeleteNo problem at all - I love that you linked to my review! I also really enjoy these books - glad you did, too.
ReplyDelete