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バーティミアス ソロモンの指輪〈1〉フェニックス編
「バーティミアス」シリーズは、世界３０カ国以上で出版され、日本でも８０万部を売り上げた超人気シリーズです。本作品は、シリーズの外伝で、妖霊バーティミアスが若いころの物語。若いと言っても、２０００歳くらい。ソロモン王の時代に召還されたバーティミアスが、国王暗殺をもくろむ少女戦士とともに大奮闘です。原書は１冊本ですが、日本では手に取りやすい３分冊で発売します。
254 pages, Tankobon Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Stroud
63 books11k followersJonathan Anthony Stroud is an author of fantasy books, mainly for children and youths.
Stroud grew up in St Albans where he enjoyed reading books, drawing pictures, and writing stories. Between the ages seven and nine he was often ill, so he spent most of his days in the hospital or in his bed at home. To escape boredom he would occupy himself with books and stories. After he completed his studies of English literature at the University of York, he worked in London as an editor for the Walker Books store. He worked with different types of books there and this soon led to the writing of his own books. During the 1990s, he started publishing his own works and quickly gained success.
In May 1999, Stroud published his first children's novel, Buried Fire, which was the first of a line of fantasy/mythology children's books.
Among his most prominent works are the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy. A special feature of these novels compared to others of their genre is that Stroud examines the stereotypes and ethics of the magician class and the enslaved demons. This is done by examining the perspective of the sarcastic and slightly egomaniacal djinni Bartimaeus. The books in this series are The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate, his first books to be published in the United States.
Stroud lives in St Albans, Hertfordshire, with his two children, Isabelle and Arthur, and his wife Gina, an illustrator of children's books.
Stroud grew up in St Albans where he enjoyed reading books, drawing pictures, and writing stories. Between the ages seven and nine he was often ill, so he spent most of his days in the hospital or in his bed at home. To escape boredom he would occupy himself with books and stories. After he completed his studies of English literature at the University of York, he worked in London as an editor for the Walker Books store. He worked with different types of books there and this soon led to the writing of his own books. During the 1990s, he started publishing his own works and quickly gained success.
In May 1999, Stroud published his first children's novel, Buried Fire, which was the first of a line of fantasy/mythology children's books.
Among his most prominent works are the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy. A special feature of these novels compared to others of their genre is that Stroud examines the stereotypes and ethics of the magician class and the enslaved demons. This is done by examining the perspective of the sarcastic and slightly egomaniacal djinni Bartimaeus. The books in this series are The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate, his first books to be published in the United States.
Stroud lives in St Albans, Hertfordshire, with his two children, Isabelle and Arthur, and his wife Gina, an illustrator of children's books.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 27, 2014
Even though it is a new year, I have already spent a lot of time reading and I have already read several new books that I enjoyed immensely. Some of my most recent reads include: The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa, Alliance by Mark Frost, and The Fall by Robert Muchamore. I enjoyed all of these books, but out of everything I have read in the New Year, The Ring of Solomon, Jonathon Stroud’s newest installment in the Bartimaeus Trilogy, takes the gold medal. I didn’t know that there was a new book in the Bartimaeus Trilogy until quite recently, but I was immediately excited because the series is one of my old favorites. Jonathon Stroud tells the story of a lonely djinni who finds himself enslaved in the world of humans time and time again, but can never understand the human way of life. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I recommend this series to anyone who likes to read fantasy.
The djinni Bartimaeus is like all other djinni in The Ring of Solomon and all the other books in this series authored by Jonathon Stroud, he comes from another dimension, very different from ours, and he is constantly summoned and enslaved by humans. Being an alien of sorts, he doesn’t understand human feelings, emotions, or actions. Almost like Data from Star Trek but in a less benign way. He is also a little bit like Jorg from The Prince of Thorns but not as cold or as calculating. Bartimaeus just doesn’t understand human motives. Bartimaeus and other djinni live forever (unless they are killed) so they don’t understand why humans waste their short lives worrying about petty material things and other baseless human wants, like power. This citation from the book illustrates the cruelty and disregard that humans treat djinni with, and Bartimaeus’ clever plot to kill his master with a powerful magical artifact that he was sent to recover, so as to set himself free to his home dimension called “The Other Place”:
“Do you take me for an idiot Bartimaeus?” my master cried, stamping a wrinkled foot upon the marble floor. “You egged me on to pry into this device, hoping it would seal my doom! Well I’m not going to press any of these studs, but you will.”
With the greatest reluctance, I raised the golden serpent and considered the studs set upon the claws. There were three of them, each set with an emerald. I gingerly selected and pressed the first of the studs. There was a whirring sound and at once, the serpent let off a brief electric shock that rattled my essence.
The old magician hooted with laughter. “You planned that for me didn’t you? Let this be a lesson to you. Well, and the next!”
I pressed the second stud, swiveling on a set of hidden cogs and fulcra, several of the serpent’s golden scales egested puffs of tarry smoke. As with the first trap, the long centuries had dulled the mechanism, and my face was only lightly blackened.
My master rocked back and forth with mirth. “Better and better, look at the state of you! And now the third.”
The third emerald had obviously been designed to let off a jet of poisonous gas, but all that remained after so many years was a green cloud and a bad smell.
“You’ve had your fun.” I sighed holding up the serpent. “Now dismiss me or send me off again, whatever you want to do. But leave me be, I’m fed up with this.”
But the magician’s good eye glinted. “Now hold on a moment Bartimaeus, you forgot the tail.”
I hesitated. “Please, I’ve had enough.”
“No Bartimaeus, perhaps this is the secret catch you mentioned. Perhaps you will now get to meet this ‘mighty spirit’ of ancient legend.” The old man grinned in cruel delight and folded his spindly arms. “Or more probably you will find out yet again what it is like for those who attempt to defy me! Go on – no dallying, press the tail!
“But-”
“I order you to press it!”
“Righty ho.” That was what I’d been waiting for the whole time. The terms of any summoning always include strict clauses preventing you from directly harming the magician who brings you here. Lulling your master into disaster through raw cunning and soft words is different, of course, as is striking if they break their protective circle or mess up when saying their incantations. But direct assaults are out. You can’t directly touch your master unless he expressly commands you to by his own spoken word. As, rather pleasantly, was the case here.
I hefted the golden serpent and tweaked the tail. A bright pulsing jet of water shot forth from the serpent’s open mouth, glistening in the happy light of dawn. Since, by the mere chance that I was holding the serpent facing the magician, it crossed the intervening space and struck the old codger in the chest, lifting him off his feet, out of his circle and full across to the other side of the chamber…
…The old man looked up at me. “Bartimaeus-”
“That’s my name.” I said. “Now are you going to get up or shall I come to you?”
Stroud, pages: 23-27
The magicians of Stroud’s alternate Earth don’t respect their djinni at all, so in return, the djinni hate all humans because they believe that all humans are the same, having only met the greedy, and not understanding the human way of life. I love the way that Stroud created a hidden cold war between magician’s and their slaves. In a way it reflects some of our own history, the djinni will do whatever it takes to be free, even kill their masters.
I also like how Stroud gave Bartimaeus a little bit of human feeling and personality, even though he supposedly hates and doesn’t understand humans. Even under the threat of the magical punishments his masters can give him, Bartimaeus is still rude, uncooperative, witty, disrespectful, and does his best to make his masters mad. His actions get him into trouble, but he can’t stop himself, his personality is riddled with mischief, which is one of the only human attributes that djinni will try to have and use. Causing mischief for humans is one of the only weapons that Stroud’s djinni have in their underground, hidden fight against their cruel masters and it fills the Bartimaeus Trilogy with humor.
This book (and series) would be a good read for anyone who enjoys fiction/action novels. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed books written by Rick Riordan, Scott Westerfeld, Jenny Nimmo, Curtis Jobling, and Suzanne Collins. If you enjoy adventure or fiction books, this story will be a ‘can’t put down’.
The djinni Bartimaeus is like all other djinni in The Ring of Solomon and all the other books in this series authored by Jonathon Stroud, he comes from another dimension, very different from ours, and he is constantly summoned and enslaved by humans. Being an alien of sorts, he doesn’t understand human feelings, emotions, or actions. Almost like Data from Star Trek but in a less benign way. He is also a little bit like Jorg from The Prince of Thorns but not as cold or as calculating. Bartimaeus just doesn’t understand human motives. Bartimaeus and other djinni live forever (unless they are killed) so they don’t understand why humans waste their short lives worrying about petty material things and other baseless human wants, like power. This citation from the book illustrates the cruelty and disregard that humans treat djinni with, and Bartimaeus’ clever plot to kill his master with a powerful magical artifact that he was sent to recover, so as to set himself free to his home dimension called “The Other Place”:
“Do you take me for an idiot Bartimaeus?” my master cried, stamping a wrinkled foot upon the marble floor. “You egged me on to pry into this device, hoping it would seal my doom! Well I’m not going to press any of these studs, but you will.”
With the greatest reluctance, I raised the golden serpent and considered the studs set upon the claws. There were three of them, each set with an emerald. I gingerly selected and pressed the first of the studs. There was a whirring sound and at once, the serpent let off a brief electric shock that rattled my essence.
The old magician hooted with laughter. “You planned that for me didn’t you? Let this be a lesson to you. Well, and the next!”
I pressed the second stud, swiveling on a set of hidden cogs and fulcra, several of the serpent’s golden scales egested puffs of tarry smoke. As with the first trap, the long centuries had dulled the mechanism, and my face was only lightly blackened.
My master rocked back and forth with mirth. “Better and better, look at the state of you! And now the third.”
The third emerald had obviously been designed to let off a jet of poisonous gas, but all that remained after so many years was a green cloud and a bad smell.
“You’ve had your fun.” I sighed holding up the serpent. “Now dismiss me or send me off again, whatever you want to do. But leave me be, I’m fed up with this.”
But the magician’s good eye glinted. “Now hold on a moment Bartimaeus, you forgot the tail.”
I hesitated. “Please, I’ve had enough.”
“No Bartimaeus, perhaps this is the secret catch you mentioned. Perhaps you will now get to meet this ‘mighty spirit’ of ancient legend.” The old man grinned in cruel delight and folded his spindly arms. “Or more probably you will find out yet again what it is like for those who attempt to defy me! Go on – no dallying, press the tail!
“But-”
“I order you to press it!”
“Righty ho.” That was what I’d been waiting for the whole time. The terms of any summoning always include strict clauses preventing you from directly harming the magician who brings you here. Lulling your master into disaster through raw cunning and soft words is different, of course, as is striking if they break their protective circle or mess up when saying their incantations. But direct assaults are out. You can’t directly touch your master unless he expressly commands you to by his own spoken word. As, rather pleasantly, was the case here.
I hefted the golden serpent and tweaked the tail. A bright pulsing jet of water shot forth from the serpent’s open mouth, glistening in the happy light of dawn. Since, by the mere chance that I was holding the serpent facing the magician, it crossed the intervening space and struck the old codger in the chest, lifting him off his feet, out of his circle and full across to the other side of the chamber…
…The old man looked up at me. “Bartimaeus-”
“That’s my name.” I said. “Now are you going to get up or shall I come to you?”
Stroud, pages: 23-27
The magicians of Stroud’s alternate Earth don’t respect their djinni at all, so in return, the djinni hate all humans because they believe that all humans are the same, having only met the greedy, and not understanding the human way of life. I love the way that Stroud created a hidden cold war between magician’s and their slaves. In a way it reflects some of our own history, the djinni will do whatever it takes to be free, even kill their masters.
I also like how Stroud gave Bartimaeus a little bit of human feeling and personality, even though he supposedly hates and doesn’t understand humans. Even under the threat of the magical punishments his masters can give him, Bartimaeus is still rude, uncooperative, witty, disrespectful, and does his best to make his masters mad. His actions get him into trouble, but he can’t stop himself, his personality is riddled with mischief, which is one of the only human attributes that djinni will try to have and use. Causing mischief for humans is one of the only weapons that Stroud’s djinni have in their underground, hidden fight against their cruel masters and it fills the Bartimaeus Trilogy with humor.
This book (and series) would be a good read for anyone who enjoys fiction/action novels. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed books written by Rick Riordan, Scott Westerfeld, Jenny Nimmo, Curtis Jobling, and Suzanne Collins. If you enjoy adventure or fiction books, this story will be a ‘can’t put down’.
January 23, 2015
I LOVED this book! I finished the other 3 before it and absolutely love the characters. I listened to them on audio book and thoroughly enjoyed the inflections the reader gave to the voices. I want to hang out with Bartimaeus!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews