Golem's Eye

Bartimaeus is back! After delighting many fantasy fans with his ancient wit and wily wisdom in the first instalment of Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy, The Amulet of Samarkand, the wise-cracking centuries-old djinn returns for the sequel and is on sparkling form once more. And despite the strong human stars in this superior magical adventure, it is difficult to think of any other character as its star. As follow-ups go, it's almost as good and equally as enjoyable.

Nathanial, a talented magician and now fourteen, is a rising star in the Internal Affairs office of a magician-controlled government in a quasi-historic city of London. Confident of his abilities, there seems like nothing he cannot handle in his glittering career. But the growing resistance movement is disrupting the capital with its thefts and raids and Nathanial is asked to deal with it. When he makes little progress to track down the movement's leader, Kitty Jones, Nathanial recalls the services of his familiar--Bartimaeus.

However, the young magician's task is made more difficult when a series of terrifying attacks occur. They are perpetrated on London by a monster Golem who is manipulated by an unknown wizard, yet blamed on Kitty's marauders. Bartimaeus and Nathaniel venture to Prague and beyond in their efforts to track their real enemies down.

Along the way, Stroud's plots and counter-plots, class wars and magical phenomena, provide a ceaselessly readable narrative that is always entertaining. Chapters are alternately viewed from Bartimaeus, Nathanial and Kitty's points of view and the added perspectives really help the reader to fully appreciate the author's intricate plotting. Here is an invented fantasy world that rivals Garth Nix at his best and is rich and complex enough to be appreciated by some readers many years older than its intended younger audience. (Age 10 and over) --John McLay

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Golems Eye - Rated
A terrific read. Much darker than the first book in the trilogy. If you enjoyed the first book you will definately enjoy this one as well. It has a mixture of magic and demons along with realationships between people making this book a really good read. I couldn't put it down.

In a golem's eye - Rated
The sharp-tongued djinn of "Amulet of Samarkand" returns in the second book of Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy. It's a solid fantasy romp with some sharp social commentary and chilling wizardry, but it suffers from somewhat less of the delightfully observant Bartimaeus.

It's been two years since budding magician Nathaniel summoned the djinn Bartimaeus, and the two ended up enmeshed in a bizarre conspiracy. Now Nathaniel is working his way up in the world of politics and magic, with the sardonic Bartimaeus as his servant. But then the two end up in another hair-raising adventure -- a golem is attacking people in London, and Nathaniel is trying to find out who sent it, and why.

Meanwhile, the resistance against the magicians is growing, and the golem is supposedly an instrument against the magicians. But that isn't quite the case. Instead, a fiery young resistance member, Kitty, is doing some plotting of a very different sort -- and her plans will bring her neck-to-neck with Nathaniel and Bartimaeus.

Stroud takes readers to a parallel world where England is ruled not by bluebloods, but by wizards. It's not a new idea, but he gives it a new spin by wrapping it in political power as well as magic. If the backstabbing mage's world of the first book wasn't chilling enough, Stroud presents the eerie Night Police in this one.

Stroud's writing is solid and detailed, with plenty of gloomy atmosphere and the occasional hair-raising episode. Perhaps the biggest flaw of this book is that the action more often than not focuses on Nathaniel rather than the cynically lovable Bartimaeus. However, it's to Stroud's credit that he can make the intricate political plotting so interesting, while mixing in some grimly funny magic as well.

Nathaniel is still a flawed anti-hero, like Harry Potter's more ambitious cousin. While he's a passable lead character, the one who really steals all the scenes is Bartimaeus. He doesn't appear nearly enough, but his acerbic observations tend to be right on the money. And Kitty is a more likable person than Nathaniel, with a bit more fire in her personality.

The sequel to "Amulet of Samarkand" suffers from a lack of djinn, but Jonathan Stroud manages to keep it going at a steady pace. "The Golem's Eye" is a creepy fantasy read, for anyone seeking something a bit darker and deeper than Harry Potter.

AN AMAZING BOOK - Rated
The second book in the trilogy. Nathaniel calls upon Bartimaeus for a second time to help him through hard times. The Resistence is causing problems, and something is causing destruction where ever it goes. We find out more about Kitty, and as Nathaniel tries to find out about who is behind all the havoc, he meets the stranger from the first book.
Bartimaeus is his old self, and Kitty is just as we left her, except this time she's on a mission. Nathaniel is more mature than before, and seems to be more likable.
I thought that the first book was better, but It still exceeds expectations. If you enjoyed The amulet of Sarmakand, you'll love this.

WOW - Rated
Although i am only 13 years of age i read The Amulet of Samarkand and The Golems Eye in under a week, i just coud not put it down!!!
This is the most amazing book i have EVER read! I love Jonathan Strouds books so far i have read: The Amulet of Samarkand, the Leap, The Golems eye and i have got the third book in the bartimaus triology but i am not aloud to read it untill after chrismas.

A Real Tonic but Not Enough Djinn - Rated
After thoroughly enjoying 'The Amulet of Samarkand' I was eager to read the next instalment of Nathaniel's adventures - so much so, I managed to get hold of an advance proof copy. Unfortunately, I have to admit that, to begin with, I was a little disappointed - and for the first 100-150 pages I came close to putting it aside. However, I stuck with it and finally started to enjoy it almost as much as I had part one.

I've tried to analyse why I found it something of a chore initially, and concluded there were two possible problems. Firstly, Bartimaeus, whose witty voice added so much humour to the first book seemed to be somewhat underused. I always felt that in book one, it was his chapters that really sparkled - so hearing less of him was certainly a disappointment. I suspected that the prologue was added to inject a bit of excitement and start the book from Bartimaeus's point of view, instead of waiting a hundred or so pages for him to appear - but otherwise, it added little to the overall story. Instead we have new narrator, Kitty - and although, at first, I found her a dull substitute for the djinn, it was eventually her part of the story that held my interest and kept me reading. I warmed to her in a way I never managed with Nathaniel.

The second problem was that Nathaniel seemed even less likeable than in book one. Whereas, in 'The Amulet of Samarkand' he had some redeeming features and won the reader's sympathy by being the underdog - in this book he seemed cold, hard and very unsympathetic. I realise that he has to have some kind of emotional growth curve over the series and will, no doubt, learn from his mistakes - but I would've preferred him to be a little easier to relate to; after all, he is the main character.

In retrospect, I decided that I enjoyed the book, despite my early doubts - and look forward to the next instalment.