Jonathan Stroud

El ojo del golem
Jonathan Stroud
Publicado: 2004 | 496 páginas
Novela Fantástico
Serie: Bartimeo #2

En cuanto vi que Nathaniel volvía a invocarme, supe que algo no iba bien. La primera vez que osó molestarme tuve que ayudarle a robar el amuleto de Samarkanda. ¿Qué querrá esta vez? Parece ser que el niño tiene algún que otro problema: en Londres medio barrio de Picadilly ha sido destruido y le han dado seis semanas para descubrir al culpable. ¡Qué pereza! Con lo bien que estaba yo tomando el sol. ¿Por qué me hará trabajar? ¿Por qué no invocará a un espíritu inferior? En fin, no puedo negarme, pero eso sí, hemos llegado a un pacto: seis semanas, solo estaré seis semanas a su servicio, yo después me piro…… (mais)

The three agents of Lockwood & Co., Anthony, George and Lucy, are finally working in sync while dealing with London's ghost problem. However, as the team has gained traction, they have had a much bigger workload and Anthony decides to bring on a fourth team member. Holly Munro has been brought on mostly to take care of administrative tasks, but is not without talent herself. Lucy is immediately put off by Holly's apparent perfection as well as Anthony and George's admiration for her. While working a prominent case, Lucy's listening talent got her in trouble and Holly saved her. This case finally gives Lockwood & Co. an invite to help fight the very large Chelsea outbreak. George quickly figures out the actual center of the outbreak and Lockwood and Co. along with some help from Quill Kipps' team take on the dangerous case of the Chelsea outbreak.

The Hollow Boy is the third book in the Lockwood & Co. series and I highly recommend reading these in order. With Lockwood and & Co. finally running efficiently, a new member is thrown into the works. Holly's presence seems to be a positive force for both Anthony and George, but Holly and Lucy are uneasy with one another. While I wish there was a better feeling of women supporting women, I understood Lucy's feelings of being replaced and how Holly's strengths seemed to enhance Lucy's weaknesses. Lockwood seems to understand that Holly and Lucy are complementary to one another, but doesn't bother telling either of them this information. Even with Holly's presence, Lucy's talent for listening to ghosts is gaining strength. Lucy is realizing that fighting all ghosts off with weapons and harmful materials might not be the best way, lending a listening ear and trying to help with their need might be a way to keep everyone safe. With the introduction of a different and powerful type of ghost, a Fetch, Lucy learns yet another facet of the ghost's abilities. I was glad to see the talking skull as a larger presence as well as a sarcastic yet insightful source. With Lucy making a life changing decision at the end, I can't wait to jump into the next book.… (mais)

I read this after watching the Netflix series -- which I really liked, even though it is far spookier than I prefer. (It reminded me of episodes of Doctor Who but with definite Sherlock Holmes vibes. And fewer adults. I liked the aesthetic of “teenagers wander London, armed with rapiers, and solve mysteries”. I liked the characters and the teamwork and the banter.)

Much to my surprise, the book is very similar to the adaptation! There are some visual changes, and things like a few details in Lucy’s backstory are a bit different. And the book is narrated by Lucy and doesn’t include eerie music playing at critical moments.

But otherwise, there are whole conversations which are almost word-for-word as they are in the adaptation, and the story unfolds the same, just with longer scenes and more details.

It made for a strange reading experience, because I mostly just replayed my memories of the TV series in my head (and there might have been details I glossed over along the way because of this). It felt more like rereading something than reading it for the first time. I’m not sure what I would have thought of it if I hadn’t seen the adaptation… Would it have been tense? Scary? Would I have liked the characters as much or do I just like my Netflix-influenced interpretations of them?

(I do know I don’t like the negative way Lucy describes George. That’s not necessary.)

I might read more?

“I’m not here to be made fun of,” I said. “I’ll find my own way out ”
“Ooh,” George said. “Feisty.”
I looked at him [...] everything about him made me livid. “That’s right,” I said. “Step over here and I’ll show you exactly how feisty I am.”
The boy blinked at me. “I might just do that.”
“I don’t see you moving.”
“Well, it’s a deep sofa. It’s taking me a while to get out of it.”

… (mais)