What do You think about The Golem's Eye (2006)?
I had mixed feelings about this one. As usual it took awhile to get going, but would have been worth it if the story had flowed a bit more. The plotlines, although neatly wrapped up in the end, felt awkward mixed together. It made sense until the entrance of Honorius the afrit. Emotionally, even though I have MAD respect for believable characters who act like real humans (i.e flawed), it was hard to watch Pennyfeather and his selfishly stupid and inept Resistance movement. And even though Kitty turns out to be undeniably awesome, getting through each of her chapters was a chore, and not very enjoyable, except where they concerned Bartimeaus. As usual, he was the most wonderful thing about the story (I'm sure he'd agree). On the other hand, the introduction of the golem was extremely cool, and the Czech sidelines ... it just got tainted with the whole bit about the Staff and all the political squabbling. Bleh. :-P Still, I am somewhat looking forward to the third, though I imagine it too will be hard to read, since already at the outset, Bartimeaus is suffering. :-( *sigh. 2.5 stars for this one Stroud. Please don't disappoint me again.
—Kathleen
Reviewed by K. Osborn Sullivan for TeensReadToo.comHe's rude. He's surly. He won't hesitate to tell you when your haircut looks stupid. And in over 5000 years, he's seen some bad haircuts. I'm talking about my favorite djinni, Bartimaeus, back in book two of his young adult fantasy trilogy. THE GOLEM'S EYE is an excellent sequel to the first book in the series, THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND. In the first book, we meet Bartimaeus, an ancient creature of enormous power that can best be described as a type of demon. Unfortunately, he and all of his kind hate the word demon. He classifies himself as a djinni, so we'll just go with that for the purposes of this review. Why annoy anyone who can shoot magical firebolts at you, right? Anyway, Bartimaeus, and other creatures like him, are summoned by human magicians to do their bidding. Needless to say, this forced servitude, or slavery, is not popular with the servants, so they do their best to turn the tables on their human masters whenever possible. Enter Nathaniel, a boy who is in training to become a powerful magician. In book one of the series, he summons Bartimaeus from the netherworld and an involuntary partnership begins. In THE GOLEM'S EYE, young Nathaniel again finds himself in need of the djinni's aid, so he again turns to reluctant Bartimaeus. This time, a revolutionary group is blowing things up in London, which may or may not be related to a series of unusual occurrences that have the police stumped. Nathaniel feels that his career would take off if he can solve these crimes. But the stakes are high because he knows that his career, and possibly his life, are in jeopardy if he fails. A key part of THE GOLEM'S EYE storyline centers on the activities of a London resistance group that is fighting to overthrow the magicians' government. Nathaniel's inability to track down these criminals is part of the reason he needs Bartimaeus's help. Of course, the djinni has little interest in helping magicians maintain their dominance. After all, they're the ones who continually force him and his kind into servitude. This conflict of interest makes for some entertaining scenes and conversations. If you have not read THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, I strongly recommend you pick that one up before diving into THE GOLEM'S EYE. Technically, you don't have to read the first one, but there is an awful lot of background you will miss if you don't. Plus, it's really fun. Normally I find myself disappointed in sequels. Somehow they never seem to live up the expectations established by the original. But in this case, I was pleasantly surprised. This book is full of excitement, political intrigue, and humor. Bartimaeus is back with all of his cheeky comments, and there are plenty of thrills to go around. Overall, a great book.
—Jennifer Wardrip
*******SPOILER***** It was an action packed book just like its prequel. It was so amazing I read it a couple times over just so I could grasp the marvelous description this author put into this amazing book. Golems keep terrorizing London and no one knows who keeps summoning them. The main reason is due to the fact that the magic to due so is so old no one was thought to know. What happens is a relative of the first person to even conceive and create a golem is being forced to make the golems to try and get his daughter saved from the person who is holding her hostage. The person behind it all is the prime minister.
—Andrew Farman
