Charlene

I was fascinated by this book. It is so original and rich in detail. The main human character is sort of an anti-hero but I quite liked that. Bartimaeus is fascinating. I am looking forward to this trilogy.

What a wonderful book! I thought the story was very original, unpredictable and quite wonderful. I have always liked this narrator and thought he was perfect. All the characters seem quite real and varied. I have a hard time with the negative review posted here, obviously someone who does not like fantasy. Also I have never considered Simon Jones a "soothing" reader -- on the contrary I find him quite invigorating!

I am not usually a mystery reader but I enjoyed this one very much. The author creates memorable characters and beautiful description. I grew up in Michigan and spend a lot of time in the "UP." I also spent a summer volunteering in a national park and I think Ms. Barr has really captured these environments perfectly. Funny, but many of the characters seemed familiar to me. I found a bio on her and found that she grew up near Lassen Park where I volunteered! The book not only brought back happy memories but also entertained me thoroughly.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Henry and Claire are unforgettable as were many of the minor characters like Gomez. The story was extremely creative and I found the author tied all the ends together so creatively -- very complex, how did she keep track of it all! It is not a perfect book but quite incredible and new. The readers was incredible too. I loved the voices, warm and real. It was one of those books you wished would never end and indeed Henry and Claire will travel on forever in my mind. Well done!

I loved this book and I loved the reader...one of the best recordings I have ever heard. The luggage is one of the best characters ever in a book. Hooray for Sapient Pearwood!

This is a well-crafted story that moves along nicely, very original in many ways. However, the characters left me cold. They were all flat. In a really excellent book, even a fantasy, I like to imagine the characters as real but these are very one-dimensional and hard to like. I am not sure I would read a sequel to this book.

I was fascinated by the history in this book as little is written (in fiction) on this subject. But the reading was extremely weird. The characters were these warrior and viking types and they all sounded like sissies! I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if the reader was better.