Customer Reviews
great book 
2008-03-31
This is the last in a wonderful trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I purchased it to listen to with my 9 year old son during long car trips. I have enjoyed it as much or more than he has! Get the other two books first as they build on one another.
Very good end to the trilogy 2008-03-15
After the 2nd book, I went straight into the 3rd but my hopes weren't high. The 2nd book was really good, but I didn't think it would be topped. However, the 3rd book truly is the best in the series. By the end of book 2, I had the strong impression that the 3 main characters lives would converge and they would end up working together. This happens and in a way I wouldn't have expected.
To sum up the finer points of the book, Kitty is alive and acting as an assistant to an old magician. Here, she learns the fundamentals of summoning, and a brief history of bartimeaus. It's obvious where this is going.
Nathaniel is still power-hungry but there is an internal battle of morality ensuing. He begins to see the flaws of the government he has admired so greatly, and to a much larger degree, the flaws within himself. He discovers Kitty is alive and that Bartimeaus knew of this. With this, their paths converge. It should be noted that in the previous 2 books, I hated Nathaniel...and for good reason. This book changes my entire opinion of him, as I think it will most everyone else who dislikes his character.
It isn't called 'Ptolemy's Gate' for no good reason. We learn in depth why Bartimeaus takes the appearance of the egyptian boy, which is quite an interesting story. We learn about the Other Place, even though the idea is very difficult to wrap your mind around.
There have been plenty of reviews describing the plot. I would rather not give away too much. The experience of reading the book without knowing what will happen is much better than getting the details. It's a great book with a solid ending. I, as well as many others, was a HUGE fan of the Harry Potter series. I was however, less than thrilled, at the 7th book. In my opinion, it killed the story. The ending to this series was quite the opposite. It lives up to it's expectations. It was a refreshing story all around. I've never read anything quite like it. I recommend this story to everyone...especially those suffering "potter withdraws"...but keep in mind, it's nothing like the potter story.
Best of the series 
2008-03-06
Best of the series. The storyline was great, and I enjoy the partnership/friendship between wizard and djinn. The ending was kind of sad but somewhat appropriate. I highly recommend this book although you may have to persevere the second book (book one wasn't too bad.)
WOW!!! What an ending to this series 2007-12-22
By the time I got this book I thought that I knew the characters well enough to predict the ending (how wrong I was). I read book two and book three after finishing Harry Potter 7, and thought that this series would be very similar. The characters evolve throughout the series and by the end you are surprised in many ways.
This book builds on the other two and makes it even more clear that class privilage is wrong. I missed this message in the first book, but saw some of it in the second, the third book it slaps you in the face. By the end of this book I was surprised where the evolution of the three main characters had taken them, but was pleased. The death at the end, one of of the three, surprised me; not because someone dies, but who dies and why. I was also surprised by the reaction of one of the characters to this death.
I recommend this series to someone who is willing to shake the cobwebs loose from the run-of-the-mill fantasy formula and go in a new direction, I promise you that you won't be disappointed
Oh well, had high hopes for this... 
2007-09-02
Book 1: Boy magician goes into training. Britain is ruled by an elite of wealth-&-power obssessed repugnant toads.
Book 2: Boy magician joins the ruling elite, turning into a wealth-&-power obssessed repugnant toad.
Book 3: Boy magician tries to recapture his humanity; kills off many chief repugnant toads. The junior toads step into their shoes, allowing some commoner input.
Yawn.
And: The jinni Bartimaeus is spunky and funny and has some cool stuff to say about the hidden underbelly of history.
A great book really well read 2007-08-23
Three years after the events of The Golem's Eye, the young magician Nathaniel is an established member of the British Government. But he faces unprecedented problems: foreign wars are going badly and Britain's enemies are mounting attacks close to London. Increasingly distracted, he is treating Bartimaeus worse than ever: the long-suffering djinni is growing weak from too much time in this world, and his patience is at an end. Meanwhile, undercover in London, Kitty has been stealthily completing her research into magic and Bartimaeus' past. She hopes to break the endless cycle of conflict between djinn and humans - but will she be able to get anyone to listen? Before any of these problems can be resolved, disaster strikes London from an unexpected source and the destinies of Bartimaeus, Nathaniel, and Kitty are thrown together once more. They have to face treacherous magicians, a long-fermented conspiracy, and an enemy from 'The Other Place' that threatens London and the world. Worst of all, they must somehow cope with each other.... Bartimaeus fans will be entranced by Stroud's brilliantly conceived finale to the series - sure to be a major best seller.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too 2007-07-17
He's back! But this time around, the smart-mouthed djinni, Bartimaeus, is exhausted from too much work and not enough time to recover in his netherworld home. It's like they always say, "All work and no play makes Bartimaeus a dull supernatural being." Although, in this case, he's anything but dull. He's tired, weak, sharp-tongued, homicidal, and insulting. But definitely not dull.
In this third installment of THE BARTIMAEUS TRILOGY, the hero is again a djinni who has little respect for humans and even less interest in their petty wars and government squabbles. The magicians who rule England in this series of books insist on summoning Bartimaeus and scores of other demons to fight their wars, provide magical assistance of all sorts, and generally do their bidding. The demons see this treatment as slavery, and for good reason. What would you call forced servitude for no pay under threat of intense pain?
PTOLEMY'S GATE opens to find poor Bartimaeus stretched to the breaking point by his magician master, Nathaniel. A war in America is going poorly, the commoners of London are growing tired of the ruling class of magicians, and young Nathaniel is looked upon with jealousy and mistrust by his co-workers. As a result of all of these threats, Nathaniel rationalizes the need to keep Bartimaeus around to help him deal with the many problems that he faces. After a long association with the djinni, it is almost as if Nathaniel trusts his reluctant servant. And it is almost as if Bartimaeus has a shred of concern for human dealings. Almost.
PTOLEMY'S GATE is an excellent capstone to the extraordinary Bartimaeus series. I enjoyed all of these books immensely and recommend them to anyone who enjoys young adult fantasy. Like the first two books, The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1) and The Golem's Eye (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 2), this one is filled with humor and excitement. These books also offer some social commentary for those who want to pay attention to such things. For example, the ruling class of magicians in these books take extreme measures to maintain their own positions, while claiming that they are really just interested in keeping the masses safe. There are resistance groups that oppose the government, and they engage in acts of terrorism to free themselves from the magicians' oppressive yoke.
The entiretrilogy is a fun-filled pleasure to read. Doubtless it would be possible to read PTOLEMY'S GATE without having read the previous two books, but I would not recommend it. There is quite a bit of background that would be missed, and the story would definitely suffer. While the first book in the series, The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1), could probably stand alone, the second two (The Golem's Eye (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 2) and PTOLEMY'S GATE) should be read together. And once the last page of PTOLEMY'S GATE is turned, readers will undoubtedly wish they could summon Bartimaeus back for more.
Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan
A Wonderful End to a Wonderful Series... 2007-05-10
Jonathan Stroud has finished the Bartimaeus Trilogy splendidly with "Ptolemy's Gate." There is a mixture of action, description, characters, and a storyline that made it enjoyable and even a touch sad. I can even see many more books stemming form this series. Who knows?
Nathaniel, or John Mandrake, continued with his pompous, arrogant, and self-righteous attitude and it really turned me off in the beginning. It took a while but Stroud does please the reader by bringing him down to earth, although not completely. Even in the last few pages I still didn't fully enjoy Nathaniel's character.
Nathaniel is now the Minister of Information in England. There is a war raging in the United States and Nathaniel needs to keep England cognizant of the positive and dull down the negative. Every one of his rivals has tried to find a weakness, but outwardly he shows none. The only problem is that h is finding his position very lonely and thinks of one person often.
Kitty has been pronounced dead to the magical world but continues to live and work in London under aliases. She has a newfound determination to discover the importance of Bartimaeus's favorite human form and is an assistant to a magician who gives her access to the information she needs.
Bartimaeus has been in the world for nearly two full years and his essence is suffering because of it. Even minute tasks tax him and his powers. He is still as funny, as likeable, and as clever of a character and the reason why I would love this series to continue on, but I know it has to come to an end sometime.
Stroud has woven his characters, storylines, and settings together beautifully, and the ending is very satisfying. I always worry about fantasy trilogy's conclusions, especially with the bad ones I have read, but I couldn't have enjoyed the more than 100 pages of it. I congratulate Jonathan Stroud and I heartily encourage readers to read this book and the others (Amulet of Samarkand, Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate). Everyone enjoy!
LOVED IT! 2007-05-06
I bought this book for my son -- the third in a series. He LOVED it and read it in several days. He is in Jr. High. My third grader is now starting the series with equal enthusiasm.
this book was phenominal 2007-04-26
This book was very well written, it was an amazing peice of literature. It was full of twists and turns, revenge, magic, and freindship. if you like those in a book ptolemys gate is perfect for you.
