Ptolemy's Gate

Title: Ptolemy's Gate

Author: Jonathan Stroud

Genre: Children's novels, fantasy, magic

Blurb: Two thousand years have passed since Bartimaeus was at the height of his powers - invincible in battle and befriended by the great magician Ptolemy.

Now, trapped on Earth and treated with disdain by his master, Nathaniel, Bartimaeus finds his energies are fading fast. With Nathaniel preoccupied by the problem of a failing empire, and more rigid and insensitive than ever, the long-suffering djinni's patience is finally at an end.

Meanwhile, undercover in London, the fugitive Kitty Jones has been stealthily completing her research on magic and demons. She has a plan that she hopes will break the endless cycle of conflict between djinn and humans - but first she must uncover the secrets of Bartimaeus's past.

This extraordinary conclusion to the Bartimaeus Trilogy moves across the centuries and into unknown worlds. With disaster threatening everyone in London, the destinies of Bartimaeus, Nathaniel and Kitty are entwined for a final time. Together, they must defeat treacherous magicians, uncover a chilling conspiracy and face the most dangerous threat in the history of magic.

Worst of all, they must contend with each other...

Opinion: Ptolemy's Gate is the third and final book in the series Bartimaeus Trilogy. Although quite some time had passed since I'd read the second book and the third book, I still managed to enjoy the story completely. The Bartimaeus Trilogy is unique in the way that the author puts little notes at the bottom of the pages if he feels the need to note something. For some, this might prove to be intensely annoying, because although you don't want to be distracted by random little notes slightly irrelevant to the story, but being a true reader, your eyes can't help but to skim them.

Usually, I would have hated these notes. But oddly enough, I found them quite interesting and mildly humourous. Stroud writes with deft cleverness and light wit, and although the book is in first POV (I dislike first POVs) I enjoyed it tremendously.

The ending saddened me a little, though, with character death....

XDD No more spoilers! Go and read, and make sure you grab the first two copies too - The Amulet of Samarkand (book one) and The Golem's Eye (book two).

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.