Jonathan Stroud
Autor(a) de The Amulet of Samarkand
About the Author
Jonathan Stroud, best selling fantasy fiction author, was born in Bedford, England on October 27, 1970. While growing up he experimented with different kinds of writing. He went on to read English Literature at York University. After graduation he worked in editing at Walker Books, in London and mostrar mais continued there for several years. His first novel, When Buried Fire, was published in 1999. In 2001 he began writing full-time. He is the author of the wildly popular Bartimaeus Sequence and Lockwood and Co, series. (Bowker Author Biography) mostrar menos
Image credit: St. Louis County Library Headquarters 2/2/09
Séries
Obras por Jonathan Stroud
Bartimaeus Series 4 Book Set including: The Amulet of Samarkand / The Golem's Eye / Ptolemy's Gate / Ring of… (2003) 33 exemplares
Lockwood and Co Series 5 Books Collection Set by Jonathan Stroud (The Screaming Staircase, The Whispering Skull, The… (2018) 18 exemplares
[Unknown Title] 8 exemplares
The Amulet of Samarkand / The Golem's Eye 3 exemplares
Goldilocks and the three bears 1 exemplar
Bob Choi's Last Job 1 exemplar
Associated Works
The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy (2009) — Contribuidor — 392 exemplares
Etiquetado
Conhecimento Comum
- Nome legal
- Stroud, Jonathan
- Data de nascimento
- 1970-10-27
- Sexo
- male
- Nacionalidade
- UK
- País (no mapa)
- UK
- Local de nascimento
- Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, UK
- Locais de residência
- St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, UK
- Educação
- University of York (English Literature)
- Ocupações
- editor
children's book author
young adult writer
Membros
Discussions
Bartimaeus series advice qvestion em The Green Dragon (Fevereiro 2012)
Críticas
Listas
Favourite Books (1)
Sonlight Books (1)
Epic Quests (1)
Best Young Adult (4)
Favorite Series (1)
Unread books (1)
Prémios
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 31
- Also by
- 2
- Membros
- 29,023
- Popularidade
- #687
- Avaliação
- 4.1
- Críticas
- 843
- ISBN
- 562
- Línguas
- 22
- Marcado como favorito
- 73
The story is told from Lucy Carlysle's point of view in the first person and opens as she and Lockwood (of Lockwood and Company) are about to enter a house on a case; Lockwood is a somewhat irrepressible character: In this parallel universe Britain has been afflicted by the Problem for the last fifty years or so, where all manner of paranormal activities and hauntings (classified as Types 1, 2 or 3) have sprung up all over the country with potentially fatal results and only children can sense the apparitions. As darkness falls, curfew is called when everyone goes indoors, safe behind iron and salt, and only children go out to work either as guards or - the more sensitive ones - to work for agencies, banishing the Visitors. Most agencies do some work for the government, specifically with the department known as DEPRAC (Department of Psychical Research and Control), and they all have adult supervisors who used to be agents but are no longer sensitive.
Lockwood and company, as we discover through Lucy's flashbacks, are the only agency with no adults - consisting solely, in fact, of (Anthony) Lockwood, George and Lucy, all around 14 to 16 years old - and not linked to DEPRAC (although Inspector Barnes drops by from time to time when things aren't looking good). Lockwood owns the house (the details of how are only hinted at vaguely) in which they all live and work and can convince them (Lucy, anyway; George likes to research cases thoroughly first - if he's given the chance) to take the most dangerous risks on the strength of his smile. I liked the banter; there was enough to keep it somewhat lighthearted without being overwhelming.
This seems to be set in a parallel London (although at one point Lucy 'fixed tea' which sounded odd) of about 40 years ago, where there are cars and telephones and Velcro but no mobile phones and ladies wear hats.
On the first case that we see (not Lucy's first, as she has been with Lockwood and Company - her second agency - for six months at this point) they have been called in by a widow whose husband fell down the stairs and now she feels a presence in the house. In solving the case, Lucy finds a necklace which involves them in another case. Meanwhile, desperate for business to keep the company afloat, Lockwood accepts a case at a manor house in Berkshire which has been haunted for centuries and where more deaths keep occurring - including a team from one of the oldest and best ghost agencies.
Wow, this was a nail biting page turner! And a BB from another LTer (thanks!) who also seems to be a fan of the Netflix series based on this books series - another thing I need to look into. The edition I borrowed from the library had a preface by the author complementing the Netflix actors and setting. The plotting was good, the pacing was good and I didn't want to put this book down (though I may have wanted to look away at times). And though it's about paranormal Visitors, it wasn't a scary book (I don't read horror) though there was plenty of tension.
The title reminded me of the Nancy Drew stories I used to read as a child - but this is nothing like! This was a good book and I'll be looking for the rest of the series. It's billed as a children's/ young adult's book but doesn't talk down to its audience. I've recommended it to my 15 year old son, too, since he's a Skulduggery Pleasant fan - let's see what he thinks.
ETA: I watched the first episode of the Netflix series last night and introduced my husband to it, too. I found it fascinating comparing it to the book though he found it a bit scary (though he used to be into horror - which I can't watch).
And, of course, a good cup of tea is absolutely essential.
February 2024
4.5-5 stars… (mais)