Bartimaeus, John, and Kitty

[dudemom_2000]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at y...> 
wrote:
>
> Just curious if there are any fans of "The Bartimaeus Trilogy" by
> Jonathan Stroud who have read or are reading or are planning to 
read the latest book "Ptolemy's Gate"?

> I highy recommend it. It is much more character driven, rather than
> 'action' driven, than the previous books, although it does have 
it's far share of action.

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DMom :
I am a little more than halfway through this book, and I must say 
that I am enjoying it immensely. For some reason I did not have it 
on my watch list and it's publication slipped by me. Hubby happened 
to see it at Target and asked if I had read it yet so I told him to 
grab it immediately!

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Steve:
> I mention this because I think there are some literary lesson in 
this book that spill over into the HP fandom. I don't want to mention
> specifics because I don't want to spoil the book for readers, but
> there are two key issues in this latest book that we have all 
pondered with regard to the Harry Potter Series. 
> 
> Being as vague as possible, they issues involve the ultimate fate 
of key characters, and where in the earthly and unearthly realm
> characters are allowed to successfully go.

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DMom:
I agree here also. While I am still sort of wondering where this is 
going to go and if Bartimaeus can survive his current travails, I 
have sort of an inkling in the back of my mind as to where this 
might lead. The one thing I might add to your last sentence in the 
above paragraph is - at what cost? One can see in this whole series 
that there are various prices to pay for what people do (or don't 
do). Kitty pays in one way and John Mandrake pays in another, 
Bartimaeus has been paying in other ways....

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>Steve: 
> While I enjoy all of the Bartimaeus books, "Ptolemy's Gate" I
> especially enjoyed. Again, it is more character drive, and the
> previous books laid the stage nicely for the key characters to come
> together in this books. I found the book enthralling and thoroughly
> captivating. More than any of the previous books, this was 
definitely a "can't put it down" book. (as many sleepless late night 
readings will atest.)
> 
> We also get to see more of the internal emotional lives of the key
> characters and indeed learn the details of Bartimaeus's past which 
is a very sad and emotional story.
> 
> I highly recommend the latest book and the complete series to 
anyone who might be interested in the type of reading. For me the 
true test of the quality of a book is whether the main characters 
FIGURATIVELY die on the last page, or whether they live on in my 
mind. In this book, the key characters do live on. I had no trouble 
after reading the last page and closing the cover, imagining the 
future lives of each of the characters. 
> 
> When a book and it's characters are so realized that their lives
> spring from the pages and live on in my mind, that is truly magical
> literature. 
> 
> Just passing it along.
> 
> Steve/bboyminn

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DMom:
Steve, I am getting excited at finishing this book! It has been such 
a good read. It really pulls you into John Mandrake & Kitty's world. 
In some ways I was reminded of the Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell 
book but with a slightly different twist. 

Another good book for those looking for something else to read is 
Inkheart and the sequel Inkspell - excellent books and very 
original. I can't wait until the next one in the series comes out.

Dudemom_2000

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