I should have included this trilogy in my Good Reads 2011 post, but I was still finishing off Ptolemy’s Gate, the final book in the series.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy is an inventive alternate history that reimagines the UK as a bloating empire colonizing unlucky countries all over the world. Magicians control the government and most of the country’s wealth. They have created a police state wherein commoners suffer constant surveillance and harsh reprisals for any sort of rebellious activity.

The books present a unique take on magic. Magicians possess no magical power. Instead, they learn to harness spirits from another dimension (aka “The Other Place”) using pentagrams and detailed incantations. Magicians enslave the spirits, binding them to follow their commands and do their will. This creates tension between magicians and the source of their magic. There is an array of different spirits, from low-level imps used to spy or perform mechanical tasks to gigantic afrits who could level a city if insufficiently bound.

bartimaeusThe best part of the trilogy is Bartimaeus, the djinn summoned by the protagonist. He is a pompous windbag who uses extensive footnotes to deliver hilarious commentary and anecdotes. Bartimaeus presents himself as a ruthless, powerful being, but reality slowly emerges. He is actually a third-rate spirit with a soft spot for human beings. He constantly refers to his involvement in major projects, such as building the pyramids and winning famous wars. Because he is thousands of years old, he offers a glib historical perspective about the rise and fall of empires.

The other characters are well done, too. There’s Nathan, the emerging young magician who summons Bartimaeus. They share a love/hate relationship and constantly harass each other, which is very entertaining. Nathan is not an incredibly likeable person, but he is certainly the most upstanding magician we meet. There’s also Kitty, a revolutionary commoner who becomes a very enjoyable character in the second and third books. She is by far the bravest character.

The trilogy stands out for its excellent follow through. The second and third books maintain the same high quality as the first. The more the story goes on, the higher the stakes are for a satisfying ending. Ptolemy’s Gate delivers.

I recently picked up The Ring of Solomon, which is a prelude to this series. It follows Bartimaeus when he serves King Solomon in 950 B.C. I expect that he will offer same style of entertaining, footnote-laden witticisms about this set of royalty as he did in the other books.