#bartimaeus prequel

[pollydemy]

Bartimaeus (in his form from prequel) in my art style (colorful, soft-shaped, with fine lineart) and in evil art style (more darkish, angular, with thick line art)

Which version do you prefect?

#bartimaeus trilogy #bartimaeus #the bartimaeus sequence #bartseq #the bartimaeus trilogy #my art #art #illustration #artists on tumblr #evil art style challenge

[qqueenofhades]

Oh darling fandom grandma, do you have any current recs for some good fiction books? Something kind of like Tamora Pierce's tortall books? (sorry if you haven't read those books, was the only series that I could think of to reference)

Perhaps surprisingly, I have never actually read any Tamora Pierce books, but I am going to categorize this request, hopefully not inaccurately, as "imaginative, diverse, feminist/female-centered fantasy." In which case, you are in luck, because that is also My Jam, and I have the following enthusiastic recs, many of which are doorstopper-size and should keep you busy for a while:

The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty (City of Brass, Kingdom of Copper, Empire of Gold). Set in both 18th-century Egypt and the magical djinn kingdom of Daevabad; complex and morally grey female main characters; lots of garbage men; all characters are people of color; political intrigue, magic, sass, adventure out the wazoo, and Muntadhir al-Qahtani my most beloved, I NEED MORE PEOPLE TO READ THESE BOOKS

The Rook and Rose trilogy by M.A. Carrick (only the first two books are out: The Mask of Mirrors and The Liar's Knot). A lush Venetian-inspired fantasy setting, a con-artist female main character, family intrigue, political manipulation, complicated plots, exploration of colonization and cultural appropriation; MORE PEOPLE LIKEWISE NEED TO JOIN ME IN SHIPPING REN/VARGO/GREY;

The Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season, The Mime Order, The Song Rising, The Mask Falling): set in an alternate-history future England with sci-fi, telekinetics, fallen angels, a ruined Oxford, underground resistance groups in London, a badass female main character; generally one of the most imaginative spec-fic series I have ever read;

The Priory of the Orange Tree, also by Samantha Shannon; I recommended this book in a separate post recently because I love it. Tons of historically-inspired settings, lots of female, queer, POC characters; ASOIAF-style political intrigue and dragons without the Male Author grossness;

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud (The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, Ptolemy's Gate, plus prequel The Ring of Solomon). This series was formative for me as a teenager, all right. F O R M A T I V E. If you have not read it you need to do so right away, and I don't care how old you are. Stroud absolutely rips the British Empire to pieces, dismantles the Special White Boy fantasy trope, explores slavery and imperialism and cultural genocide, and is also both incredibly funny and incredibly heartbreaking in the course of three YA books.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri; lush female-led epic fantasy set in a fantasy world based on ancient India; supposed to be the first one of a series so there are more to come;

Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik; retellings of fairytales with a cast of diverse female characters, especially Spinning Silver which is a reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin in an Imperial Russian-inspired world with a Jewish main character;

The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless, Timeless); set in steampunk Victorian London with vampires and werewolves; badass female main character; Absolutely Everyone Is Queer; like Jane Austen crossed with P.G. Wodehouse;

Anyway, there are possibly more that I could think of, but these are what came to mind after an initial perusal of my own bookshelves, and should be enough to get you started. Happy reading. :)

#rhymeswithtessa #ask #book recs #bookblr

[brave-symphonia]

I also have to love how Bartimaeus keeps mentioning stuff about how all the stuff he's skipping over would probably be immensely captivating to normal people, but he just doesn't care enough about it after all he's seen.

Also, I like the mention that he takes on the shape of a boy he once loved, kind of giving a bit of insight into him.

Like, even a few chapters in, we are getting the sense that while he's been around for an incredibly long time and done countless amazing things, he does have his soft spots.

I have heard there's a prequel, I wonder if there's any mention of that boy in that or later on in the main series, or if it's just a mention that's meant to just be here. All on its own.

#zack reads books #zack reads bartimaeus

[feydrautha]

tag 9 people you want to get to know better

i was tagged by my darling @maddenedbythesstars - thanks!!!

3 ships you like: god, I can only talk about whatever is currently occupifying my brain as I'm writing, so: Silas/Colum from The Locked Tomb, Dedra/Syril from Andor and Velvette/Vox/Valentino from Hazbin Hotel

first ship ever: OH LORD, I wanna say it's Mara/Magnus from Das Haus Anubis? If not that, then Logan/Quinn from Zoey 101... which kinda very similarly flavoured. I had my tastes set on pretty tight back in ye olde days

last song you heard: High Enough by K. Flay

favorite childhood book: Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Sequence, which, because i'm stuck in arrested development, I still reread like every year or two to feel things again. It's really good, I highly recommend it. And don't skip the prequel, there's a fun surprise in the form of one of my all-time favourite OTPs

currently reading: Nona the Ninth, because I am burning through The Locked Tomb like my life depends on it. Afterwards, I finally wanna read Murakami's "Men Without Women" bc that's been catching dust next to my bed for far too long.

currently watching: does it count if I started watching this a month ago and haven't picked it up since? either way, it's Band of Brothers

currently consuming: i had some white tea with raspberry because I cannot handle tea that has no fun flavour as an aside

currently craving: technically sleep bc i have to get up early but YKNOW. insomnia!

tagging @ectochoir @cupcake--knife @hegodamask @spooksmckitcatagain @villainroadhouse @cosmonaughty @the-son-of-dathomir @painofanoldwound @velvetsunset <3

[sator-the-wanderer]

May I offer a book rec? I've been wondering for a while now if you'd get a kick out of The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud - based on all the other fandoms I've seen you post about over the years, it might be up your alley?

Enjoyed HP? YA modern fantasy book series that actually really holds up when you read it as an adult featuring an iconic trio containing a morally grey black haired protag who makes questionable life choices, a non-magician girl with beef with the local government, and an immortal djinni with great narration style. Stroud isn't ears deep in twitter discourse, so there's also that.

Enjoyed Discworld/Good Omens? Loads of amazing footnotes, jokes, wordplay, excellent humour that will be followed by a quote that will knock you into next Tuesday, and fun history stuff alongside commentary on slavery, how much the British empire sucks, the evils of capitalism, love, devotion, grief and humanity.

Enjoyed HP Lovecraft? Millennia old spirits from another dimension bound into servitude by magicians, capable of great power and devouring people and each other. One has tentacles and also really likes knives. The protag djinni has eaten people multiple times. There's at least one spooky eldritch horror in each book, even if in one case he's kinda trapped inside a skeleton.

Like wordplay? Puns? Unreliable narrators? Magic and murder mysteries? Awesome action scenes? Traumatic backstories? Suspiciously goth Egyptians? That one kid who died ages ago but who haunts the narrative like a ghost? Endings that will devastate you? Corruption arcs turning redemption arcs? Then boy howdy do I have three books and a prequel for you!

(start with the trilogy, though, is my recommendation.)

Don't know how to obtain the books? I have all 4 in pdf format and am more than happy to share.

If you don't feel up for it, no biggie. If it turns out not for you, perfectly fine! I just thought I'd throw it your way in case you end up enjoying it ::3

YOu know, I actually have it in my reading list since last year and one of my buddies has a 13cm-tall book with the whole tetralogy! I guess it's time to read it

Thank you for the rec and also for the donation! You're always the kindest 🥺🖤

#reading list #mutuals with a very good taste #I can't say no to eldritch horrors and morally grey characters #thank you again! #ask #bartimaeus

[gigawatt-smile]

Hey guys this is how you totally can't pirate Jonathan Strouds books (specifically his series in order)

(for those who cannot buy them or have access to them because I am well aware that in this economy that's not always accessible)

Best used with an add blocker :]

PLEASE tell me if one of these doesn't work so I can remove the link :]

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The Bartimaeus Trilogy

The Amulet of Samarkand

The Golem's Eye

Ptolemy's Gate

The Ring of Solomon - Prequel

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Lockwood & Co

The Screaming Staircase

The Whispering Skull

The Hollow Boy or here (x)

The Creeping Shadow

The Empty Grave

Novella: The Dagger in the Desk - this is also available online through the Lockwood & Co Wiki

And here's an article with some of the ghosts officially illustrated.

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Scarlett and Browne

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne

The Notorious Scarlett and Browne

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#lockwood & co #lockwood and co #l&co #the outlaws scarlett and browne #a pirate's life for me

[clonerightsagenda]

do you think if anything happened to Kitty or ptolemy Bartimaeus would kill everyone in the room and then himself? Kinda want to read a fic like that tbh.

My inbox icon is still gone but I was able to get here by typing tumblr.com/inbox manually. Functional website.

This is interesting to think about. It's been a while since I've read the books, I seem to remember Bartimaeus mowing through enemies with the most enthusiasm when he perceived it as a 'game' almost, a way to show off how clever he is. (Cheerfully launching the sexy dolphin statue at the mercenary for example.) The two times I remember him fighting with the most malicious intent were - ironically enough - against other spirits who he perceived as sympathizers - the shadow marid in the prequel and the shop assistant Simpkin.

Of course we don't get to see how he would've reacted to Ptolemy's death, because Ptolemy dismissed him. Even if he hadn't, the death of your summoner breaks your connection to the human world, which limits your revenge rampage opportunities. I think Ptolemy dismissed him for the same reason that colors my answer here, which is that Bartimaeus likely would've gotten killed first by putting himself in the way.

But let's say he was in a situation where one of the people he was fond of was killed and it didn't immediately dispel him, and he hadn't gotten killed first trying to keep them safe. Given his reaction to the shadow marid and Simpkin, it seems like his response when he's really furious is to wreck shop. (Literally in the latter case.) He destroys the store and all its artifacts, he wrecks Kaba's lair and frees all the spirits in cages... I'm not sure his reaction would be as directly "I will kill you" as it would be "you break my stuff, I break yours". After all, he knows what it's like to live with it.

#if he CAN kill them though. bonus #bartimaeus trilogy

[jewishpangolin]

Just saw a bartimaeus tag on a post of yours— I just finished the first book! Do you recommend continuing the series? :)

Yes! The prequel (The Ring of Solomon) is great too. I love those books, and there's a surprisingly vibrant fandom here for them!

#asks #bartimaeus

[limbobilbo]

Got any book or show recommendations?

*pulls out commercially big list*

Alright so

Shows:

M*A*S*H*

Jujutsu Kaisen (takes a few eps to get going but i highly recommend)

JoJo’s bizarre adventure (literally my favourite piece of tv of all time)

The mighty boosh

Monty python’s flying circus (the show)

Flight of the conchords

Blackadder

Yes minister and yes prime minister

The thick of it

Veep

What we do in the shadows

The goodies

For books:

The bartimaeus trilogy (idk about the fourth book)

The keys to the kingdom by garth nix

House of leaves

His dark materials

The book of dust (a prequel/sequel to HDM)

Baudolino (my favourite book)

Stephen Fry’s greek myth trilogy

#196 #196 campfire #answered ask #media reccomendations

[faquarlofmycenae]

Chapter Two of my current ongoing longfic, a prequel to the actual BartSeq prequel, set in Ancient Egypt and basically a way too elaborate backstory for Khaba and Ammet.

So far the first two chapters are about introducing the Priesthood of Ra and the Royal Theban Family, which are both going to play vital parts in the story.

#bartimaeus sequence #bartimaeus #khaba #ammet #this is nomially bart related bc it's set in the same universe but yeah! it stars my evil blorbinos in their natural habitat :> #there is a very elaborate plan about this fic and I'm very excited to get into it

[wifegideonnav]

when you say the fourth bartimaeus book do you mean the prequel? or was there a different fourth one main timeline which i somehow MISSED (also if it is the prequel do you have any hot takes on it) (also this seems like a good place to discuss my personal quest re: the bartimaeus trilogy, which is that i have picked up books 2, 3, and prequel in secondhand stores and am now on a quest to find the first one secondhand and at that point i will FINALLY reread, it has been literal YEARS of searching)

the prequel!! unfortunately i don’t have any hot takes bc it’s been so long since i read it - though i remember being quite delighted by the protag, probably predictably haha. god those books are good. anyway good luck with your quest!! i really hope you find it… and if not, dm me, i have a pdf ;)

#asks that make you go to wikipedia and check for the umpteenth time that you didn’t actually miss a main timeline 4th book lol #asks

[juurensha]

Top Favorite Works

So, I got an ask about my favorite works from an account that I can't tell whether or not it's a spam bot, BUT it did get me thinking about my top favorite works, and since I did write them out, I thought I might as well post it here:

Top 10 (not in any particular order):

Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (specifically, if I had to pick a favorite, Night Watch or the City Watch storyline as a whole, but I still love the Death ones and the Witches ones as well)

Angel the Series (s2 as my personal favorite)

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun by Izumi Tsubaki (GIVE ME A SEASON 2 PLEASE)

Persuasion by Jane Austen (do not talk to me about Netflix's travesty, I refuse to acknowledge that it exists)

Lord of the Rings (books and movies)

Exorcist series by Feitian (...technically Tianbao is my favorite, but I helped co-translate Mingwang, so those clown modern exorcists hold a special place in my heart)

Mass Effect trilogy

Hannibal (TV series by Bryan Fuller)

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

Craft Sequence novels by Max Gladstone (with either Four Roads Cross or City of Angels as my favorite)

Honorable Mentions:

-Star Wars (which one? ....look, I love the prequel trilogy and the Old Republic era is my favorite, but in general, all I want is well-choreographed light saber battles)

-Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir (only in honorable mention because there's still one book left, and I need to see the finale before I decide)

-Eyeshield 21 by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata

-Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

-Steven Universe

-Surprise! The Supposed Talent Show was Actually--?! by Yan Baibai

-Oresama Teacher by Izumi Tsubaki (GIVE ME ANY ANIME FOR THIS PLEASE)

-Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro by Yusei Matsui (manga only, do not mention the anime to me)

-Undertale (I never played again after getting the golden ending because I like to think of everyone happy and well with no resets)

-Ready or Not (2019)

-Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett (specifically I am in love with City of Blades, but the trilogy as a whole is great too)

-American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett (idk how many times I've reread this book, but basically, think eldritch abomination in American surburbia)

-Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo (only in honorable mentions because it's not done yet, and I don't want to see a sudden tragic ending)

-Neverafter (Dimension 20) (only here because I have a bad habit of not watching the final episode of D20 campaigns, I DON'T KNOW WHY)

-Escape from the Bloodkeep (Dimension 20) (yes I know it's a LOTR spoof, that's why it's down here but I have never laughed so hard in my life)

[primonizuto]

ive been rereading the bartimaeus books recently and god they are so fucking good like it's insane how good they are and i am speaking mostly of nathaniel and kitty here despite the fact that bart is my fav character of all time like

nathaniel is the worst guy ever of all time and it rules. it is so difficult to write a character who you unequivocally feel sympathy with in the first book slowly turning into the absolute worst piece of shit imaginable by the third book but IT IS DONE HERE. and ofc the series itself as a whole was so carefully plotted and everything felt so tight and concisely written, and a lot of the impetus behind the events in the books were very clearly spelled out bc it's YA lit so things Have to be clear, but it kind of still amazes me that there's so much connecting the metaphor (identity closely linked with the name you have and the face you present to the world; 'nathaniel' linked with compassion and idealism and individuality and creativity but also trauma vs 'john mandrake' linked with power and control and the repression of that trauma) with the worldbuilding (true names are dangerous weaknesses and so magicians are supposed to be nameless until they are old enough to be given their magician name) - something as simple as nathaniel being nathaniel during Amulet and Golem's Eye and then suddenly by book 3, at his nadir, he is john mandrake and everybody including bartimaeus calls him that... oof !!! it makes it stick out even more in Golem's Eye when he's still being called nathaniel in the narrative but everyone around him is calling him mandrake as a point of transition

KITTY JONES IS THE BEST YA HEROINE EVER WRITTEN BAR NONE!! i was talking abt this a while ago but it is so fucking cool that kitty's magical special power that she has (her resilience) is NOT what ultimately makes her special and important to the narrative. what makes her important is her capacity for compassion and her determination to follow through on her convictions, in this case with ptolemy's gate. her resilience is mainly there to give her a backstory and place her in opposition to the magicians, it's not there to make her the chosen one

i swear these books legitimately radicalised me as a kid. i remember reading the descriptions of the british empire in the books when i was maybe 11 or 12 and being like 'gee, i sure am glad it wasn't like that in real life', but when i was older and returned to the books i could see that it wasn't 'what if', it was allegory, extrapolating real history and applying it to the book's universe

also i'm not jewish and please correct me if i'm wrong but i think GE is one of the only fantasy stories written by a non-jewish (i think) author which uses golems as a plot point in a way that retains their jewish origins - bart explicitly mentions in his world that the golems, in line with our world's jewish folklore, were first made to protect the jewish people from pogroms!! it's not some case of like 'oh yeah golems are in this also. where did they come from, you ask? it's not important'

anyway didn't mean for this post to be so long but if you like reading fantasy alt history YA which is also a really impressive trilogy-long takedown of indoctrination, abuse and the british empire then i present to you the bartimaeus trilogy by jonathan stroud

also the prequel novel is good too and functions in every way that a prequel novel should by 1) fleshing out a few offhanded references from the main books into a contained story of its own and 2) making sure that story deepens our understanding of the main character and allows us to see him in a totally different light before a key element of his backstory had even happened which makes that element itself even more tragic and profound

#u can really tell ive been unable to post for 2 weeks lmao sorry

[feedergoldfish]

I scowled over at the girl. 'That didn't take long. We've got Khaba on our heels. We'd better hurry up and get killed by something else before he discovers where you are.'

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The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud, a prequel to the Bartimaeus trilogy.

#bartimaeus #jonathan stroud #fantasy #audiobooks #books #simon jones

[binaryeclipse]

What’s your favorite childhood book character? 💜

I was definitely reading above my age group (I started reading when I was 3 or 4 lol) so some of these are definitely not books for young kids lol.

Lyra Silvertongue from His Dark Materials series. She's stuck with me for a long time and was the first character to spring to mind when I looked back. I think my love of biblical allusions (and blasphemy) comes from that series. Which is funny because I read it fairly young and all the overthrow of the church stuff completely went over my head and I was just here to see her being clever and smart. But some things stick with you and her story definitely is one I love. I got really excited when Pullman began writing another trilogy in the same universe that comprises of prequels and sequels to that story. I haven't gotten to The Secret Commonwealth, where Lyra returns as an adult, but I'm so excited to find time to sit down and read it!

Honourable mentions include Death from the Discworld novels, Crowley from Good Omens and Nathaniel/John Mandrake from the Bartimaeus Trilogy (probably the origin of my love of corruption and redemption arcs, alongside Anakin).

send me “what’s your favorite..” asks 💫

[kalique]

hey! guess what? The Bartimaeus Sequence[1] is a series of young adult novels of alternate history, fantasy and magic. It was written by British writer Jonathan Stroud and consists of a trilogy published from 2003 to 2005 and a prequel novel published in 2010. The story follows the career of a teenage magician Nathaniel (aka John Mandrake) and a five-thousand-year-old djinni Bartimaeus, whom he has summoned and nominally controls, through the alternative history of the peak of London's domination as a magical oligarchy.

#just wanted to reiterate my stance on this. idk what to say about these books. they just fuck.