Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy is exceptional children's literature. While part of the djinni vogue that appears to have been the craze at the start of this century, Stroud's writing is gripping, moving quickly and keeping you engaged. The trilogy's three main characters - a magician, a "commoner", and a djinn - are constantly in rotation as you follow the story from each point of view.

Discrimination and Machiavellian politics are mixed with magic and fantasy, but always within the framework of the story. Like J.K. Rowling, Stroud is an excellent story teller but, unlike the Potter series, his books are tightly written, with no extraneous plot lines. The language is challenging but not overwhelming; the footnotes for Bartimaeus' asides are hysterical. Anyone who is looking for something a bit more challenging than Harry Potter, or Angela Sage's Septimus Heap (Magyk) books, will find a lot to love in this trilogy. ( )

Reviewed by K. Osborn Sullivan for TeensReadToo.com

He's rude. He's surly. He won't hesitate to tell you when your haircut looks stupid. And in over 5000 years, he's seen some bad haircuts. I'm talking about my favorite djinni, Bartimaeus, back in book two of his young adult fantasy trilogy.

THE GOLEM'S EYE is an excellent sequel to the first book in the series, THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND. In the first book, we meet Bartimaeus, an ancient creature of enormous power that can best be described as a type of demon. Unfortunately, he and all of his kind hate the word demon. He classifies himself as a djinni, so we'll just go with that for the purposes of this review. Why annoy anyone who can shoot magical firebolts at you, right? Anyway, Bartimaeus, and other creatures like him, are summoned by human magicians to do their bidding. Needless to say, this forced servitude, or slavery, is not popular with the servants, so they do their best to turn the tables on their human masters whenever possible.

Enter Nathaniel, a boy who is in training to become a powerful magician. In book one of the series, he summons Bartimaeus from the netherworld and an involuntary partnership begins. In THE GOLEM'S EYE, young Nathaniel again finds himself in need of the djinni's aid, so he again turns to reluctant Bartimaeus. This time, a revolutionary group is blowing things up in London, which may or may not be related to a series of unusual occurrences that have the police stumped. Nathaniel feels that his career would take off if he can solve these crimes. But the stakes are high because he knows that his career, and possibly his life, are in jeopardy if he fails.

A key part of THE GOLEM'S EYE storyline centers on the activities of a London resistance group that is fighting to overthrow the magicians' government. Nathaniel's inability to track down these criminals is part of the reason he needs Bartimaeus's help. Of course, the djinni has little interest in helping magicians maintain their dominance. After all, they're the ones who continually force him and his kind into servitude. This conflict of interest makes for some entertaining scenes and conversations.

If you have not read THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, I strongly recommend you pick that one up before diving into THE GOLEM'S EYE. Technically, you don't have to read the first one, but there is an awful lot of background you will miss if you don't. Plus, it's really fun.

Normally I find myself disappointed in sequels. Somehow they never seem to live up the expectations established by the original. But in this case, I was pleasantly surprised. This book is full of excitement, political intrigue, and humor. Bartimaeus is back with all of his cheeky comments, and there are plenty of thrills to go around. Overall, a great book. ( )

The second installment of The Bartimaeus Trilogy continues to take our current world and mythos and use it to create a story that feels so real and yet is so apparently not. The best part about this series is not the story itself but the characters. Nathaniel has quickly shot to the top of the magical world at a very young age and it's going to his head. The novel shows how much he's changed with just brief glimpses of the man he used to be, sadly the only person who can bring out that out is the only 'demon' to know him from before. Bartimaeus continues to shine with both his snark and the author's ability to give him a good mixture of disdain for humanity and the mundane, but also showing the character does actually wish to see good. But the true stand out character and stand out feature of this novel is Kitty. Her story is heartbreaking and in many ways she is becoming the true hero of the series. ( )

Another awesome book by Stroud. Bartimaeus is as sassy and lovable as ever, and John Mandrake (Nathaniel) becomes increasingly more shallow and arrogant. But who is controlling the golem that is demolishing London? I am assured you will love every moment of this book as I did. ( )

Only read the first 100 pages, and had to put it down. Just too slow to start. Will try again later. ( )