May 3, 2011

Living Stone • The Golem's Eye

The Golem's Eye book cover
The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
Series: The Bartimaeus Trilogy #2
Previous Book: The Amulet of Samarkand
Publisher: Miramax Books
Publication Date: September 1, 2004
Source/Format: Borrowed from Macky || e-book

Young apprentice magician Nathaniel is working his way up in the government when disaster strikes: golem attacks in London! Nathaniel and the djinni Bartimaeus travel to Prague to discover the source of the golem's power, racing against time and other enemies in order to stop the golem from doing any more damage. 


The Golem's Eye is definitely a welcome and worthy sequel. We see how very nicely the subplot hinted at in the first book is developed into another part of the saga. And, when we reach the ending, we feel both satisfied with the wrap-up and left wanting more (which means being grateful for the presence of a third book).

Kitty and Bartimaeus are still the stars of the show in this book. I love Kitty's bravery, wits and intelligence; plus, I admire her dedication to her cause and her friends. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, still has that brilliant sarcastic wit and deadpan humor that cracks me up - and, as always, I enjoyed reading his thoughts in particular.

I still dislike Nathaniel greatly; his character is still not appealing to me. Sometimes, I think I might change my mind about him, which I guess is a point in his favor, but he's still undesirable for me, especially after some of the stunts he pulled in this book. There is one particular thing he does at the end though, that sort of makes me believe there's hope for him.

I do like that we enter into another area of magic - golems, if it's not obvious. The story and magic behind the golems is interesting, and we also get to take a trip out of London to Prague. We also learn more about the uprising, mortals developing special abilities and immunities to magic and the corruption in the magical governance in London.

The Golem's Eye is another fantastically written, witty and sarcastic offering from author Jonathan Stroud. I was drawn deeply into the story and am certain that readers who enjoyed the first book will quickly devour this one.

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