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Questions tagged [bartimaeus]

For questions about the Bartimaeus Sequence, a trilogy (and companion novel) by Jonathan Stroud.

The Bartimaeus Sequence is a fantasy series by Jonathan Stroud. The main trilogy consists of:

  • The Amulet of Samarkand
  • The Golem's Eye
  • Ptolemy's Gate

This trilogy is set in a magical alternate London with a highly stratified society. At the top of the hierarchy are magicians, who control virtually all government positions and command considerable magical power, which has brought England great wealth and influence. Their power, however, is built upon the enslavement of spirits (imps, foliots, djinn, afrit, marids, and even more powerful varieties), and upon the exploitation of commoners. And it may not be as secure as the magicians believe....

The main characters are Bartimaeus, a djinn of considerable power; Kitty, a commoner revolutionary with a resistance to magic; and Nathaniel, a young, ambitious magician.

There is also a prequel, The Ring of Solomon. Set during the reign of the ancient Hebrew magician King Solomon, it details an attempt to steal the legendary Ring of Solomon, and the efforts of Bartimaeus to stop it.

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How many of Bartimaeus' anecdotes and name drops are accurate?

Bartimaeus often boasts about his previous epic feats. Ran with buffalo fathers, rebuilt walls of Karnak, Prague et cetera. How many of these boasts do we have evidence for?
Bellerophon
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In the Bartimaeus books, what makes spirits/demons "male" or "female"?

In the Bartimaeus series, spirits (or demons) are otherworldly entities who are made of "essence", don't have real bodies as such, and are able to take on many different forms. Bartimaeus, for example, takes on both male and female human forms over…
Rand al'Thor
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What is the ranking order of resilience?

Many 'commoners' throughout the Bartimaeus Sequence have some level of resilience. I think the Mercenary is the strongest as he shrugs of multiple attacks by Bartimaeus and lesser spirits. But after that is there an order of resilience, specifically…
Bellerophon
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Within the Bartimaeus Trilogy, are the magicians capable of doing supernatural feats without the help of the spirits they summon?

In a preface I guess you could call it. It was in Ring of Solomon and it was stated that magicians had no powers of their own except to call and restrain spirits. But numerous examples are given throughout the books that says otherwise. In book…
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What is the level of technology in the Bartimaeus series?

The Bartimaeus series features an alternate London run by magicians who summon demons to do their bidding. As such, it's not quite the real world. However, although there's a reference to American colonies, there's obviously a bit of alternate…
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Why are more ancient magicians stronger?

In the Bartimaeus series, it seems that the quality of magic has declined. For instance, Khaba, in ancient Israel, could control a marid and several other spirits, the former of which alone modern-day Bartimaeus estimated would take two magicians. …
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Why do djinn bother looking at planes other than the seventh?

Bartimaeus and other djinn often check through the planes for approaching danger and magic. All magic and illusions seem to be visible on the seventh plane as well as a slight ability to sense danger by using seventh plane. Given that the seventh…
Bellerophon
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How old are the human protagonists of the Bartimaeus series?

Bartimaeus himself, of course, has a several-thousand-year-long history of service to magicians on Earth, and an indefinite period spent in the Other Place before that. But what about the other two viewpoint characters in the Bartimaeus series,…
Rand al'Thor
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Can only higher level spiritis turn invisible?

In the Amulet of Samarkand, Underwood says that more powerful spirits can turn invisible then summons an invisible spirit. Underwood is weak though and likely can only summon up to a mid-level djinn based on his fight against Lovelace and his…
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Why does Bartimaeus return Solomon's ring?

At the end of Ring of Solomon Bartimaeus purposefully disobeys (or misobeys) Asmira and returns the Ring to Solomon. Why? He claims it is because he doesn't think that they should: Lose the Ring to the sea and doom its Spirit to an even longer…
Bellerophon
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Why did Bartimaeus try to fool Uraziel?

In The Ring of Solomon, Bartimaeus puts on the titular artifact and summons the Spirit of the Ring, Uraziel. Fearing how the Spirit might react to seeing someone other than Solomon wearing the Ring, Bartimaeus takes Solomon's form. It hadn’t…
Adamant
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