The Bartimaeus Series (no spoilers) | Trilogy Review + Recommendations

[@michaelminevich1198]

I'm so excited that you did a review for the trilogy and that you loved it the way I did. For so many years, I've been trying to get people to read it and I'm rarely successful because people make assumptions about it ahead of time. Now I can send them a link to this review! Everything you said about each book is literally exactly what I tell people; I couldn't agree more! The end of the third book was just perfect. I have been finding myself getting stuck in the House on the Cerulean Sea and the end of this review is giving me the encouragement to keep going. Thanks Niki

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

I can see why - it was an absolute gem hidden in my shelves and I had a lot of fun with it. I’m sure I’ll be recommending it often! Oh bummer. I’d say if you don’t start to feel the magic of the story around the 50% point then it may just be a bust. I’m not sure exactly what changed, but whatever it was, it helped a lot.

[@poornimamanjunath3672]

Same here, so few people know about this. Bartimeaus is my all time favourite 😊😊😊

[@JuLiane]

I read the first book in 2003 and I needed two tries to get into it but they're my all time favourite book series of all time since then (together with the Zamonia series by Walter Moers, at least the first 4 books). And I love the Bartimaeus sequence just as much now that I read them once more, maybe even more because I really get the alternate history aspects better than in 3rd grade. The world building is just so well done. I always try to get people to read this series, I cannot recommend it enough and I am always happy to know I am not alone

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

I'm glad I'm not alone too! I can see myself pitching this one for many years to come - I really loved it. There were so much fun and I like that they also made me laugh. I'm glad I was old enough to get some of the adult humor haha.

[@lazysamurai4348]

I saw these books in the library in my hometown and got a card just to read them. The 3rd books cover art was my main draw. Just like you I have never been more happily surprised by a series. This was also my first encounter with footnotes and they are fantastic couldn’t imagine the book without them! 10/10

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

That’s so cool that it prompted you getting a library card! The Outcast of Redwall did that for me when I was younger and I’ll always remember it fondly because of that. This one caught me so off guard with how much I loved it (as an adult!!) and kind of reinvigorated my love for those special middle grade books. Glad you loved them too. :)

[@ian8418]

I just started Stroud’s series Lockewood and Co, so I am glad to hear this series was a hit for you!

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

That’s series wasn’t even on my radar until I read this one and wondered what else he had published. I’ll definitely be checking those out too. I’m glad their good!

[@Emigrantess]

I like Nathaniel most of them. I have just reread the series after 12 years when I first read it. It’s truly magnificent. I cried for two days.

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

I love that it’s the type of series that will hold up over time. I’m sure I’ll read it again someday. The finale was truly memorable!

[@bretgrandrath2935]

When you mentioned Bartimaeus in an earlier video I was hoping you would do a series review so I could have my 12 year old granddaughter watch. It's tough for me to find books to recommend to her so I let you do it. You had her when you compared it to Harry Potter, it's on her TBR now. When you said muggle she knew she could trust you.

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Oh sweet - I hope she likes them! I love helping kids find their next read - I can't wait until my kids are old enough to enjoy some of these.

[@justjuanreader]

This series is so underrated, it blew my mind, one of my all time favorites!

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

It became one of my favorites as well. And to think I let it sit on my shelves for over a decade!

[@williamhornabrook8081]

These were my favourite series when I was a kid. I think it's better than Harry Potter. The writing is wittier and the way the world is set up makes for much more effective social commentary in my eyes.

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

I read it for the first time as an adult and I wish I’d prioritized it when I was a kid. Such a great series and now one of my favs, even against adult fantasy.

[@nazhopkins5825]

I absolutely loved The Lockwood and Co series but just never got around this one, need to read it. I feel like tis the season.

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Nice! I didn't even realize that one existed until finishing this and wondering what else he had out. I'll be checking those out for sure - they sound fun. :)

[@safinan8008]

Happy reading to you!! 🦋

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Thank you!

[@nickclark18]

Hey hun. Read "the lost years of Merlin" by ta baron, but read the second book first, then read the first, then read the rest normally. I accidentally did that and it was an unexplainable feeling. In a good way... As for the bartiemus trilogy.. my friend tricked me into reading them, but I'm GLAD he did, he told me some fake elaborate story about a guy stepping out of the circle and losing his nipple, he *lied* to me just to get me interested in it and to trick me into reading it, because he knew I wouldn't read them on my own. My favorite part of the whole series was when Nate gave bart money to go get him some food in the first book, but bartiemus comes back with the food, AND the money!!! LMAO 🤣 Nate was like, are you CRAZY? The whole city is out looking for me and now you bring more heat down on me?! And bartiemus was like oh relax, they won't be looking for me, they will be looking for a tall white woman with sunglasses and a fur coat 💀 🤣 😭 at least that's how I remember it in my mind, I also really liked when bartiemus got his ass BEAT and clapped by a bunch of human commoners, who saw right through his disguise, I also really liked... Im sorry I'm rambling! Can you also read "the last apprentice" by Joseph Delaney? The attack of the fiend was REALLY good but honestly the first 6 books are amazing. He wrote way too many just to stretch it out for the money but read the first 6. Don't read all 13. Trust me it goes downhill after book 9. Can you also, please, read "the castle in the attic" PLEASE, I won't spoil it for you, but that book will always have a special place in my heart.

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Haha I can just picture you reading the series waiting for that scene to happen - too funny! I'm with you on the Castle in the Attic. That one, or more specifically, the second book, was what launched me into reading when I was a kid. I'm not a huge fan of Arthurian retellings, but the Delaney ones have caught my eye from time to time!

[@nickclark18]

@@TheObsessiveBookseller @Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller aha! I totally did too I read fast and furiously, sometimes skimming whole pages trying to find the scene with the nipple!!!! I think towards the end of the first book, when Simon Lovelace was defeated, I realized he *might* have lied about it, but by that point I didn't even care... I was hooked! I still held out hope though, because I confronted my friend about it, and he said *keep reading it's coming* and I think in the golums eye, 👁️ when someone tampered with a magic book, and altered l the summon spell, and the magician tallow? The one with the yellow tint, I think it was? Or someone whoever it was, they summoned a demon in front of everyone at the town hall or wherever they all were, the demon, oh sorry, the "djinn" (remember bartiemus said he hates being called demon, it's basically like calling him the n word with the hard r) 😂 But anyway the djinn that was summoned put on a show and immediately started checking for weaknesses in the circle, *and to everyone's surprise, he found one* 💀 And he gobbled up that mf so hard and fast, swallowed his essence whole and disappeared in a puff of smoke back to the other realm, everyone stood there in shock scratching their heads LMAO I thought THAT scene was the scene my friend was talking about with the circle and the nipple... But nope!! When he told me to keep on reading... I finally deep down realized that the whole thing was a ploy just to get me to read the trilogy because I never would have read it on my own. I actually came to enjoy the footnotes and bartiemus always trolling people, sarcastically getting in and out of situations, his cute little honor code that he loosely tries to abide by, he honestly almost reminds me of a mixture of Captain jack Sparrow, mixed with too much red bull and some sleeping pills lol he has been tortured by the inverted skin, and all manner of other terrible things, it probably has made him literally insane... but he probably knows he's insane, but this makes him one of the most sane djinn out there lol he's like a paranoid schizophrenic who has everything under control he probably has PTSD from all his times in war honestly, I wish we could have learned more about how he spends his time in other world even though time moves different there, I almost want to write some true to the author fan fiction about some adventures he goes through in other world maybe have him get into fights with artists and myriads and other stronger beings but have him cleverly weasle his way out of them some more, I love bartiemus so much I know puts on this hardened front, like he's some badass who doesn't give a fuck, but when he saved that girl, and he saved Nate multiple times and when he saved people from Simon Lovelace, and he tried to save others, that tells you all you need to know about him, he is a good wicked guy, in a bad wicked world Thank you so much for replying, I actually forgot there was a book two for castle in the attic, but once u mentioned it, and I looked it up on Google, scenes flooded back into my head from memories of me reading it, I remember that book! I loved those books I haven't read them since I was a wee lad 😂 In the last apprentice there was a scene in attack of the fiend where some witches all banded together and summoned the *fiend* and so he went to the spooks house looking for him, and apparently the spook left his bogart there, and his bogart is extremely powerful, but no match for the fiend obviously, BUT!!! The moment the fiend stepped inside the property, he didn't know there was a bogart there, was completely caught off guard, and the bogart SUCKER PUNCHED him hard as *FUCK* in the face, and really got some good damage in on him, but the fiend ripped him apart. Basically left his angry dog at home with no leash lol

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

@@nickclark18 I'd go for some Bartimaeus fan fiction lol!

[@nickclark18]

@@TheObsessiveBookseller lol hell yeah! Hell yeah, me and my friend (who is a girl) have been playing with the idea for a long time on discord but neither one of us have taken the plunge, do you think you could write some? Even if they aren't super long stories? One I had in the works but my friend shelved because it wasn't up to par, was basically Way before bartimaeus met Nathaniel, He was just driving in the demon world, or spirit world, whatever 🤪 lol and basically he got summoned by this old man, who accidentally said bartimaeus instead of (Barth I meus) And it took several times of bartimaeus interpreting the orders, messing up on purpose for the old man to get the hint that bartimaeusdoes not want to be summoned like some slave, he would much rather have a partnership than a forced agreement, so the old man agrees to summon him one last time, and then he will never summon him again against his will, to help the old man look for his long lost son, so the old man summons him without the protection of the circle "because he trusts bartimaeus" and bartimaeus was fully willing, and ready to kill the old man the first chance he got, but because the old man actually trusted him, it was unusual for bartimaeus, usually mortals run in fear of him, and certainly don't trust him, so he decided not to kill the old man, but to help him find his long lost son, bartimaeus spends years looking, investigating, and finally finds proof that the old man's son has been dead for years, but he doesn't have the heart to tell the old man. So he decides to tell the old man he couldn't find him, instead of telling him he is dead, and the old man smoking his tobacco pipe falls asleep in his chair, bartimaeus puts a blanket over him, goes back to the other world, the old man dies peacefully in his sleep. Sprinkled in with a bunch of brawls, fights, witty numerous humerous remarks and some clever editing

[@nickclark18]

I think the old man knew, if bartimaeus "couldn't find his son" Then that means he was definitely dead, (and I think the old man knew that bartimaeus knew his son was dead, but he knew bartimaeus didn't want to tell him, to spare him pain 💔 and he loved Bartimaeus for not having the heart to tell him, he finally made one last friend in his old age, something he never thought he would do) and that's why he died in his sleep peacefully, he had finally accepted the truth and was able to move on 😢 💔 could I maybe share a different story with you? It's about a time bartimaeus was VERY young, maybe 500 years old or so, and still developing his powers, half the time his powers wouldn't work, or weren't as strong as he thought they were, and he had to use his cunning to weave in and out of situations!

[@BookishChas]

Ok you definitely sold me on this series. Thank you Niki!

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Woot!!! I hope it lives up to expectation now haha.

you should read "the lies of locke lamora"! i'd love to see a review on that series

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Oooh that’s one of the best series I’ve read! The second book made my list of all time favorites. I wish the next one would be out soon.

[@chadia25]

I have the first book. I might try it after I finish my current read. 😊 thanks for the review

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Oh yay! I hope it's as fun for you as it was for me. It sure sat on my shelves for quite some time.

[@johnnyp2002qq]

Hi Niki, great review. Not much more to say beyond what we've already discussed. It's nice that this can be read basically as a standalone, so I am satisfied with stopping after this book, at least for now. Too many other priorities at the moment. Your additional recommendations reminded me of one of those, Cerulean, which I am hoping to get to sooner rather than later.

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

I feel ya - the list is ever growing. I'm still thrilled we read these and maybe they'll function for you like Redwall does for me - one every couple of years seems to satisfy the middle grade craving lol.

[@johnnyp2002qq]

@@TheObsessiveBookseller I haven't even started Redwall yet, thanks for the reminder lol.

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

@@johnnyp2002qq haha happy to oblige. XD

[@hikaru99]

I may have to read this series. I tried once before but didn't give it a fair chance. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow gave me those same "Harry Potter" sense of wonder nostalgic feels. You should definitely check it out when you have the time

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Thank you! I have a few like that where I know I just wasn't in the right mindset. Hopefully it works better on the second go. Nevermoor sounds right up my alley - thank you for the recommend!

[@RichardLeslieWhereat]

Footnotes like in Discworld?

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

Yes, exactly! Pratchett would be proud of how funny some of them are. :)

[@kingz3815]

I was forced to read all 4 books they ware good

[@Dark_Militant]

Hey Niki 😀 It's really cool that the prequel can stand on its own, because it's literally years since I read the trilogy. So with my current reading strategy it might fill the standalone slot soon ^^ I saw your copy of Harry Potter 1 being titled 'the sorcerer's stone'. That's kind of strange, because I only know it as 'The Philosopher's Stone' :O. Is that a newer copy? Cool thing that Scholomance is in that same vein. It climbs up my priority list more and more =D

[@TheObsessiveBookseller]

It would make a great standalone from my perspective! Yes for some reason they changed the name when publishing in the US - the copy I have is my first edition and they’ve kept it Sorcerer’s through every version here. :)