The November/December 2010 issue of The Horn Book carried a starred review of The Ring of Solomon: A Bartimaeus Novel by Jonathan Stroud. I was both delighted and surprised.
I was delighted because I am a fan of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, particularly the third book, Ptolemy's Gate. I'm surprised because Ptolemy's Gate was a very popular book, and I would have thought a new Bartimaeus book (The Ring of Solomon is a prequel.) would have received some pre-publication buzz. I didn't hear any.
However, the book was just published in November, and a quick check of blogs suggests it's being talked about now.
Good luck, Bart.
Oh, and here is a neat little Bartimaeus adventure to hold you over while you're waiting to get hold of his new book. It certainly made me happy.
It's such a great surprise when the last book in a trilogy is the best. Ptolemy's Gate was so good, even though the other two were also.
ReplyDeleteI've read and really liked Ring of Solomon, although it doesn't pack as much emotional punch as the trilogy. Some of it has to do with reacquainting oneself with Bartimaeus. Reading it reminded me of that comfortable feeling one got reading the later Harry Potter books: ah, here are all those old friends of mine, doing new things..
I felt Ptolemy's Gate was the best of that trilogy, too. However, I read it first, which might have influenced my reading experience--I already knew what happened to everyone.
ReplyDeleteAs luck would have it, I'm reading The Ring of Solomon now. I stumbled upon it at my library and am the first person in town to read it. (Our library still stamps books, so I always know.)