Author: Jonathan Stroud
Rating: 
Reading Level: 5th and up
Pages: 562
Publisher: Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover, 2004
I couldn’t put this down half way through this intriguing story. The narrative definitely gains momentum midterm, when the Resistance’s efforts prove futile, when Nathaniel’s situation becomes more dire, and when Bartimaeus shows his concerns for Nathaniel’s waning integrity. Stroud definitely did a fabulous job joggling three points of views, flashbacks, and excitement and humor (sarcasm, mostly.) Although there are other books piling on my desk, waiting to be “evaluated” for my other commitments, I am going to be super indulgent and finish the Trilogy with Ptolemy’s Gate, eager to see how Nathaniel’s heart turns out and how Kitty’s fate intertwined with that of Bartimaeus’.
This is a book that every single person should read. Satrapi has the gift of injecting much humor into a story that is ultimately tremendously disturbing and sad. The images (being a Graphic non-fiction) are fittingly simplistic and yet so expressive: the war dead, the tortured, the rebellious teens, the loving parents, the everyday people. I cried at least 3 times in different places. If I hadn’t been reading it in the crowded school cafeteria, I probably would have cried more than that — but I also laughed out loud a few times at the wit and comical situations Marji experienced. What an amazing accomplishment.
This reads so differently from Blade Runner which it inspired. I am more or less indifferent to the book — I like the philosophical aspect of it but also am a bit bored reading too much musing and not enough action. Might be a bit unfair since my expectation was based on the action-packed movie..
This is truly a delightful illustrated light fantasy. (Graphic Novel?) Being a compilation of short stories that do not seem to have an overall structure of a longer “novel,” parts of it seem incomplete and others seem a bit too lengthy. It is a prime example, however, of how a graphic novel really works: the story of the bearded ladies really drives the notion that the graphics enhance the narrative. Each time the reader sees a panel with these bearded beauties (? haha,) the “shocking” impact is refreshed. In a plain text narrative, one can easily forget that Beatrice is a burly manly bearded woman but you simply cannot escape these images and ignore this fact here!
This is definitely not as well written or plotted as the previous ones in the Song of Ice and Fire sequence. However, it was fun to read about the other parts of the world Martin created — to know what Oldtown and Bravossi feel and smell like is fine.
3rd book in Song of Ice and Fire. Still amazing. Actually.. it is even more amazing than the second one. Certain scenes of bloodshed is engraved in my brain now…
Second book in the Song of Ice and Fire cycle. Oh, my, God! It is as exciting and surprising as the first one. I was trapped in the world of Westero and the outer regions, fascinated by the host of characters and the complex storyline.
This book, quite popular with many students of mine (mainly girls) is such a disappointment. The writing is so elementary that it reads as if an elementary student could have written it — on the sentence structure and formation level. The limited view on life after death (although, it is supposed to give an alternative idea on the land of the dead) assaults my sensitivity and insults my intelligence. It “pretends” to be profound but it is so shallow. I also could not care enough about the characters to be emotionally touched. Although, I have to say that I wanted to find out how everything turns out in the end. *shrug* It will be popular for a while and then it will join its characters and flow to the Elsewhere of books.. oblivion.
This book is very funny and oddly with a lot of “heart.” It’s wacky and very fast-paced. I read it aloud to Lily (my 7-year-old daughter) and she absolutely adored it. I am quite curious to see how this “series” will unfold.
A slim volume with a tremendous vision. Or, maybe I should say with tremendous Visions — since 9-year-old Thomas, the protagonist, seems to be seeing many of them, and most prominently, the Lord Jesus.
Thoroughly engrossing — full of gorey war and killing details… but the characters are so well drawn that it rings completely true. The twists and turns of the plotline, especially toward the end of this 800+-page book, kept me so emotionally involved and pumped that I am quite ready to go on to the next book — almost 1,000 pages long. It is soap-opera-esque, but with all the right forumulae for a successful one! I guess I truly crossed a threshold here with the reading of this book — officially I am now a genuine fantasy reader who is not daunted by the length of the book, only annoyed if the book is poorly presented!
I need a good book! What a streak of non-too-impressive reading experiences!!! This infamous book that is no. 8 on the most challenged books list deserves no more but mild distain from me, mostly because its lack of subtlety. It’s like reading a really dry “how to” book on teens’ first sexual encounters. At least the ending is NOT too pat. 
is a re-read. I loved this book upon first reading — more than 10 years ago. This second reading surprised me. I don’t remember ANY of the details, and I am usually really good at recalling details. Every scene and character was brand new to me — and not in a good way at all. I detest the didactic tone and the transparent “messages” of all the benefits of the imagination! (I don’t detest imagination, of course, just the way its worth is being handled in the book — and hey, whose idea is it that adults lose their imagination? I have a lot more imagination than some of the youngsters I know!)
This National Book Award Winner failed to intrigue me, either. It is nostalgic — faint echoes from old favorites such as Little Women and the E. Nesbit books. Some of the humor seems forced to me and the general complaint from other adult readers that the grown-ups in the story have almost no depth at all is a valid one. And to an extend, the children are stock characters themselves, each embodies a set of characteristics without surprises or changes. Their predicaments also don’t concern me much as a reader. Maybe I am too cynical and maybe this is a book for much younger children?
