The Golem's Eye

The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 2

By: Jonathan Stroud

Narrated by: Simon Jones

Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Two years have passed since young apprentice magician Nathaniel became famous by foiling the ruthless Simon Lovelace. Now 14, Nathaniel is ambitiously climbing the ranks of the magicians' government. The Prime Minister himself has placed Nathaniel in charge of capturing the Resistance, a group of unruly commoners working to undermine the magicians' empire. But after several failed attempts, Nathaniel is forced to admit he can't do it alone. With his career on the line, he reluctantly summons his only hope for success, the 5,000-year-old wise-cracking djinni Bartimaeus.

The duo is reunited just in time: the Resistance is growing more audacious than ever. And to make matters worse, a seemingly invulnerable clay golem is wreaking destruction throughout London, sending the entire city into pandemonium. With time running out, the young magician and his uncontrollable djinni must find the source of the golem's power, a task they quickly learn will involve much more than they ever anticipated.

In the ensuing chaos, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus will be chased through the streets of Prague, hunt a dancing skeleton across London's skyline, encounter the horror of the dreaded Night Police, and meet a surprising new ally. Together, these three will have to go head-to-head with the fearsome golem before the mysterious identity of its master is finally revealed.

©2004 Jonathan Stroud (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

great fun

I have been reading SF and Fantasy for 45 years and thought the first book of this trilogy was a riot. The second book is even better. Can't wait for the next one. Oh, by the way if you are looking for the tradional hero in this story, like Harry Potter, one will not appear, at least so far. Great fun, very funny, very very scarey, goodbye Potter, I've been Demonized, and I like it!!!!!!!!!!!

Another Excellent Bartimaeus Book

This trilogy is one of the best, most entertaining series I have listened to in an extremely long time. Stroud does a great job keeping things moving with plenty of witty repartee. And I can't say enough about Simon Jones! He is now my favorite narrator- and I'm insanely picky! After I listened to the first book, I bought the rest of the series immediately! Well worth your credits. I listen to kids books when my young children are around so that they aren't hearing profanity and adult content...if I'm listening with headphones, I'm often listening to Preston/Child books and I save the children's books for when we are in the car. Not so with this series! I had to listen to them till I finished, whether it was in the car or with headphones.

Excellent Series

Everything I liked about the first one - interesting, clever, well written, great characters, very funny, and I really love getting the demons' points of view. As with the first one, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I'd have no problem with my kids listening to or reading it.

I find the audio version of this series more enjoyable than the print version. This is mostly due to the wonderful performance by Simon Jones. I...sometimes give 5 stars for performance when it...maybe...isn't deserved - but in this case, it REALLY is.

Another reason is that in the print version there are multiple footnotes on nearly every page...which is not soooo bad, but having the footnotes read inline by Simon Jones is MUCH better!

Fantastic!

We bought this series for our son (who is also named Nathaniel, he's 12) and my husband and I listened to this trilogy along with him. It was fantastic. I loved the subtle humor and the storyline had me guessing all the way through. A real treat! :)

Fluff.

There's a lot of uninteresting fluff in this story. It is a good trilogy, just maybe not the best to read one after the other. The story is interesting and the main narrative voice keeps you entertained.

Character development

The relationship between protagonists in the first book of the bartimeus trilogy seems cold, characters seem distant but things begin to change. This book both makes sense of themes in the first one and promises a great ending for the next and final book.

A worthy read

I adore the narrator for this novel series most of all. His voice is absolutely perfect and he really becomes the lovely djinni we all know and love. The story wasn’t as enthralling as the first but I still loved it. Great read!

A masterful sequel

Maintains the tension throughout the novel with a great finish. The voice actor does an incredible job with differentiating the characters with his tone and pitch. great story. five stars.

Must listen if only to keep the series going.

I have noticed that the second book of every trilogy seems to be the weak link and this one is no exception. The characters are still engaging but the author is holding his cards a bit too close in anticipation of the final book. Still, you have to keep the flow going so it can't be missed and it's worth the ride.

builds upon the first and is much better overall

I really enjoyed the first book of the series but didn't overly love it. This continuation of the trilogy is better in most ways than the first book. I feel the story is better, the character development is better if still not top in the genre, and the pacing is quicker. Each piece of the story is clearly thought out. I'm way more excited to start the last book than I was to start this one.

Stroud seems to have gotten more comfortable with the story, the writing, and the characters here and it shows. If he makes the same strides between this book and the next as he did between the first and second, watch out!