Product Description

Two years have passed since the events of The Amulet of Samarkand and the young magician Nathaniel is rising fast through the government ranks. But his career is suddenly threatened by a series of terrifying crises. A dangerous golem makes random attacks on London and other raids, even more threatening, are perpetrated by the Resistance. Nathaniel and Bartimaeus travel to Prague, enemy city of ancient magic, but while they are there uproar breaks out at home and Nathaniel returns to find his reputation in tatters. Can he rescue it from his Machiavellian adversaries in the government bent on his destruction? A thrilling sequel in which the relationship between the young magician and the djinni remains as teasing and complex as ever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #119188 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 259 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Bartimaeus is back! After delighting many fantasy fans with his ancient wit and wily wisdom in the first instalment of Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy, The Amulet of Samarkand, the wise-cracking centuries-old djinn returns for the sequel and is on sparkling form once more. And despite the strong human stars in this superior magical adventure, it is difficult to think of any other character as its star. As follow-ups go, it’s almost as good and equally as enjoyable.

Nathanial, a talented magician and now fourteen, is a rising star in the Internal Affairs office of a magician-controlled government in a quasi-historic city of London. Confident of his abilities, there seems like nothing he cannot handle in his glittering career. But the growing resistance movement is disrupting the capital with its thefts and raids and Nathanial is asked to deal with it. When he makes little progress to track down the movement’s leader, Kitty Jones, Nathanial recalls the services of his familiar--Bartimaeus.

However, the young magician’s task is made more difficult when a series of terrifying attacks occur. They are perpetrated on London by a monster Golem who is manipulated by an unknown wizard, yet blamed on Kitty’s marauders. Bartimaeus and Nathaniel venture to Prague and beyond in their efforts to track their real enemies down.

Along the way, Stroud’s plots and counter-plots, class wars and magical phenomena, provide a ceaselessly readable narrative that is always entertaining. Chapters are alternately viewed from Bartimaeus, Nathanial and Kitty’s points of view and the added perspectives really help the reader to fully appreciate the author’s intricate plotting. Here is an invented fantasy world that rivals Garth Nix at his best and is rich and complex enough to be appreciated by some readers many years older than its intended younger audience. (Age 10 and over) --John McLay

From the Inside Flap
'You're a natural.' Ms Whitwell told Nathaniel. 'Work hard and you'll go far.'

Two years have passed since the events of The Amulet of Samarkand, and the young magician Nathaniel is fast rising through the government ranks. It is up to him to put an end to the thefts and raids inflicted on London by the mysterious Resistance.

But it is not an easy task: the ringleader Kitty and her friends remain elusive, and Nathaniel's job - and perhaps his life - are soon at risk. As the pressure mounts, he is distracted by a new series of terrifying attacks on the capital. Is is the Resistance again, or something more dangerous still? Nathaniel must uncover the perpertrators fast, and this means desperate measures: a journey to the enemy city of Prague and - worse - summoning once again the troublesome, enigmatic and quick-witted djinni, Bartimaeus.

Meanwhile Kitty and her fellow rebels are planning their most daring exploit of all - one that will make their fortune and change the history of London for ever.

A thrilling sequel to the best-selling The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye is a roller-coaster ride of magic, adventure and political skulduggery, in which the fates of Nathaniel, Bartimaeus and Kitty explosively collide.

About the Author
Jonathan Stroud was born in Bedford and grew up in St Albans. He studied at York university. He has a strong background in children's books -working at Walker, in their Game Book and Non-Fiction departments and Kingfisher Publications, editing children's non-fiction. He has written and edited a number of game books and non-fiction titles for Walker Books and had three novels published by The Bodley Head before writing the Bartimaeus trilogy. Jonathan now lives in St. Albans with his wife and small daughter.

Customer Reviews

Golem's Eye Will Catch the Reader's Eye
Set two years after the events of The Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel is a respected figure in the magical government under the name John Mandrake to prevent himself being controlled by demons or enemy magicians.

This book is spectacular...I can't describe it. It's from the view of three different characters, Nathaniel, Bartimaeus, and the young spunky member of the Resistance, Kitty Jones. It also contains one particular chapter which features Simpkin, a foliot from the first book who dies. Mr. Stroud, that was a nice touch to the story and a tribute to Simpkin who I will miss (too bad Bartimaeus didn't kill him off...).

The title, The Golem's Eye, refers to an enourmous clay man called a golem which is controlled by the golem's eye, a clay eye set in the middle of a golem's forehead in which a magician can control it with a regular crystal ball or orb.

I could go on hours and hours complimenting this book...but for now I must stop. I can't wait for The Other Place and of course, the Amulet of Samarkand movie!

Outstanding Sequel to Amulet of Samarkand
The middle volume of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, Jonathan Stroud's "The Golem's Eye," is every bit as exciting and entertaining as the first book in the series, "The Amulet of Samarkand." Stroud's approach of alternating between the perspectives of Nathaniel, Bartimaeus, and a new character, Kitty, works wonderfully, and closely-observed characterization is paired with sustained narrative tension to produce a suspensful and engaging book. Can't wait for "The Other Place"!

Not as good as the first one
The Amulet of Samarkand is, in my view, a pacey, un-put-downable read, while the sequel feels bloated and overwritten. I found myself skipping pages and pages of unneeded description, action that went nowhere, unneeded scenes, etc. Stroud's writing frequently feels self-indulgent here, which is all the more disappointing given his immense talent. Yes, Bartimaeus is as fun as ever, and the added voice of Kitty is an appealing one, but you don't need (for instance) to go on for two pages describing everyone in a room before you start a scene's action. And this happens over and over; it takes ages for anything to happen in this book.

It's a shame when this happens, but it happens all too often: an author scores a success with a book (deservedly in this case; I loved The Amulet of Samarkand), and then for the sequel, the editing goes out the window.