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Jonathan Stroud

Författare till Amuletten från Samarkand

31+ verk 29,025 medlemmar 843 recensioner 73 favoritmärkta

Om författaren

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 visa mer 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) visa färre
Foto taget av: St. Louis County Library Headquarters 2/2/09

Serier

Verk av Jonathan Stroud

Amuletten från Samarkand (2003) 8,978 exemplar
Golems öga (2004) 5,931 exemplar
Magikerns port (2005) 5,192 exemplar
Den skrikande trappan (2013) 2,053 exemplar
The Ring of Solomon (2010) 1,522 exemplar
The Whispering Skull (2014) — Författare — 926 exemplar
Heroes of the Valley (2009) 883 exemplar
Den ihåliga vålnaden (2015) — Författare — 689 exemplar
Den flammande skuggan (2016) — Författare — 542 exemplar
The Empty Grave (2017) 465 exemplar
The Bartimaeus Trilogy (2003) 463 exemplar
Buried Fire (1999) 398 exemplar
The Last Siege (2003) 185 exemplar
The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne (2021) 176 exemplar

Associerade verk

Midnight Feast (2007) — Bidragsgivare — 10 exemplar

Taggad

alternativhistoria (164) barn (125) barn (75) barnlitteratur (103) barnlitteratur (303) Bartimaeus (341) Bartimaeustrilogin (283) bokserie (432) deckargåta (172) demoner (296) Djinn (377) e-bok (106) England (266) fantasy (3,826) Goodreads (107) humor (143) ljudbok (140) London (311) läst (247) låg- och mellanstadiet (108) magi (816) magiker (184) oläst (117) paranormal (112) roman (137) sf och fantasy (102) ska läsas (1,252) skräck (181) skönlitteratur (1,366) spöken (280) trilogi (107) trollkarlar (184) unga vuxna (617) unga vuxna (964) ungdom (105) ungdomsfantasy (77) ungdomslitteratur (102) äger (126) äventyr (244) övernaturligt (133)

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Medlemmar

Diskussioner

Bartimaeus series advice qvestion i The Green Dragon (februari 2012)

Recensioner

{first of 5+1 in Lockwood & Co.; fantasy, adventure, mystery, paranormal, children's, young adult, television adaptation}(2013)

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:
And above all don’t impersonate the client. Please. It never goes down well.’

‘That’s an awful lot of don’ts, Lucy,’ Lockwood said.

‘Too right it is.’

‘You know I’ve got an excellent ear for accents. I copy people without thinking.’

‘Fine, copy them quietly after the event. Not loudly, not in front of them, and particularly not when they’re a six-foot-six Irish dockworker with a speech impediment, and we’re a good half-mile from the public road.’
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.
He switched on his fullest, most radiant smile.

Barnes winced. ‘Put those teeth away. It's too early in the morning and I haven't had my breakfast'
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.
But tea bags, brown and fresh and plenty of them, and made (for preference) by Pitkin Brothers of Bond Street, are perhaps the simplest and best of all.

OK, they may not save your life like a sword-tip or an iron circle can, and they haven‘t the protective power of a sudden wall of fire. But they do provide something just as vital. They help to keep you sane.

February 2024
4.5-5 stars
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
humouress | 99 andra recensioner | Feb 23, 2024 |

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Associerade författare

Gerald Jung Translator, Übersetzer
Simon Jones Narrator
Melvyn Grant Cover artist
Katharina OrgaÃ? Translator, Übersetzer
Katharina Orgaß Übersetzer
Riccardo Cravero Translator
Kate Adams Illustrator
Carina Jansson Translator
David Thorn Narrator
Sammy Yuen Cover designer
Alan Ayers Cover artist
Alessandro Taini Cover artist
Katie Lyons Narrator
Douglas Smith Cover artist
Greg Call Cover artist
Dan Musselman Executive producer
Lisa Baney Producer & director
Kirsty McLaren Cover photo
Gina Stroud Original cover art
Rolf Marriott Author photo

Statistik

Verk
31
Även av
2
Medlemmar
29,025
Popularitet
#687
Betyg
4.1
Recensioner
843
ISBN
562
Språk
22
Favoritmärkt
73

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