Hi Mr. Stroud! First of all, I love the books, I think I've read each one at least 4 or 5 times.

I had just finished taking World History last year, and after rereading the trilogy again recently, many things became so much more interesting because I can now understand many of the references the footnotes make, such as those to Akhenaton. When I first read the books, I thought "oh, just another pharaoh." But now I know that he created all this kerfuffle in Egypt by making this new, monotheistic religion based off the sun's rays, which directly opposed the Egyptians ancient polytheistic religion.

So now, I was thinking of Bartimaeus' titles, including:"Bartimaeus of Uruk", "Rekhyt of Alexandria", "Necho of Jerusalem", "Sakhr Al-Jinni", "N'Gorso the Mighty", "Wakonda of the Algonquin", and the "Serpent of Silver Plumes." The serpent one sounded familiar, so I looked it up and saw that the form is based off of the Mayan creator god, Quetzalcoatl, who was said to be a feathered serpent. Now, some sources say that he opposed blood shedding practices, others say that he inspired these sacrificial rituals.

My first question is: Was the reference to Quetzalcoatl intentional? And if so, did Bartimaeus inspire or oppose blood sacrifices? :P

Next question: Is there an interesting history to any of his other titles? I've tried researching them, and the only thing I've come up with is that "Wakonda" means spirit.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer the forum's questions!

Hello Serpent,

Thanks for the questions - glad you liked the historical references. I get a kick out of them too.

Yes, 'Serpent of silver plumes' is a veiled reference to Quetzalcoatl. I'm not saying that Bart was Quetzalcoatl, but that he was in some way associated with that god - probably as a servant of the magician-priests of that temple. As far as I know the Maya were pretty bloodthirsty when it came to ritual sacrifices, and I imagine Bart would have come into contact with such things, though he'd undoubtedly have found it all a waste of time. He certainly wouldn't have been into it in the way that, eg. Jabor, was.

You're right about 'Wakonda' meaning 'spirit'. It's a generic title, really - nothing specific.
'Rekhyt' means 'lapwing' and has the hieroglyphic meaning of 'captive/slave'.
Sakhr al-Jinni is a djinni mentioned in the Arabian Nights who rebelled against King Solomon.
I made up 'N'gorso the Mighty' and pinched 'Bartimaeus' from the New Testament.

Hope you enjoy the new one...

Jonathan