Okay, your books are amazing! I picked up on some things the second time around I never noticed on the first read, and when I saw Ring of Solomon in the library, I literally let out this huge scream of excitement! :$ I ended up basically forcing my friend to check it out for me (I don't have a card for that library) before I got kicked out. :P

Anyway, on to my questions.

1. Is the method/ritual used to "create" a new spirit different or more complicated in some way than that used to summon an existing one, or is it more like a regular summoning, inserting a random name?

2. If a magician "creates" a spirit, is it possible that that magician is the only person who ever summons it, simply because they never shared its name?

3. Why do humans (both magicians and commoners) refer to demons with the personal pronoun "it," while the demons themselves use "he" or "she?"

4. In "The Ring of Solomon," would a non-magician who saw Bart in his phoenix guise have known it was a demon, or did phoenixes actually exist at that point in time, so it worked as a disguise?

5. Are there simpler methods of magic than the ones the magicians use, perhaps even methods a commoner could learn, that don't rely on demons?

6. Who's more powerful, Ramurtha or Nouda?

7. Are there other worlds besides the Other Place and Earth? If so, what forms of spirit would reside there, if any?

8. If you could summon any one demon from the books, EXCLUDING Bartimaeus, who would it be?

9. Did you do any research on ritual magick or ceremonial magick of any kind before or while writing these books?

10. If a demon is summoned, could that demon perform a summons to call another demon to Earth? If so, could the demon performing the summons charge the demon he/she summoned to kill the master of the first demon, thereby releasing him from his bonds?

Great questions: apologies for the slow reply. Forgive the brevity of the answers... I'm going to rattle through as best I can!
1. It's more difficult, and hence is rarely undertaken in the modern, decadent, magical era.
2. Yes. I expect this happened often in the days of Sumer, but gradually names began being passed from master to apprentice.
3. Lack of courtesy (on the part of the magicians).
4. They'd have assumed it was a spirit. In general, spirits are behind most magical activity.
5. Not in this world.
6. Hmm... Tough call. I'm guessing Ramuthra, but it would be close.
7. I don't know of any other such worlds.
8. For conversational purposes, Faquarl. I'm fond of him. I'd doublecheck my pentacle though.
9. I've got a book on the history of magic, and had a bit of a read. But I generally made things up.
10. You've got a devious mind! That had never occurred to me. I think not, but I'm not sure quite why - there must be something in the ritual of the summons that only works when spoken by a human - that requires a human body present, in other words.

Jonathan Stroud wrote:that requires a human body present, in other words.

The spirits could find a way to make that work... ;)

sooo, could could one of those ''hybrids'' (ya know,spirit inside a body) summon a being from OP if the knew how? :-/

Jonathan Stroud wrote: that requires a human body present, in other words.

Djinn could make that work, and definitely Afrits and Marids.