Dear Mr. Stroud

I do hope you can answer these questions as soon as possible...

Okay,
1. Shouldn't steel also hurt spirits in some way? I mean, steel is made from iron, so does iron's aura stay there, or does it get extinguished when made into steel?


2. Honorius the afrit said that his kind, afrits, were protected against djinn magic. Is that true? Many afrits have been killed by djinn using magic.

3. Who do you have in mind for the voice (I assume that someone won't actually act Bartimaeus' voice) of Bartimaeus? No one has asked you this, I think from this forum.

4. Bartimaeus does exaggerate, but how much does he exaggerate? Did he really face Tchue head to head without fleeing after a short match? Would Hoepo really have swallowed itself rather then face Bartimaeus? Are there anything else that he might have fabled about?

5. To me, Bartimaeus easily gets exhausted. He said that two foliots found him in a catacomb while barbarians came in. Those foliots told a bunch of imps, all which were killed by Bart. He said he was exhausted afterward. Does he really get that tired? Or were those imps hard to kill?

6. Do the classes of djinn like fourth class have anything that shows a difference? Do each level have a certain part of their essence that shows that they are of this class? Or is it more powerful the higher the class? I know you've said you haven't truly explained about this, but then how can Bart know that a certain djinni is of this class?

I wish you a good day, and please answer my questions with as much zeal as possible.

Sincerely, Nero.

P.S. Sorry if this nags you constantly but are you happening to come to Canada in 2008 anytime? Specifically Toronto?

Hi Nero,

Thanks for your message - sorry it's taken a zillion years to get to your questions.

1. Steel: hmm. I'm no metalurgist (not sure I can even spell it) but I think iron needs to be pure to have such an effect. Steel may be uncomfortable for spirits, but not so deadly.

2. Honorius is probably just boasting (as all manner of spirits are wont to do). He probably means that if it came to a head-to-head scrap, he'd thrash a djinni; but you're right that historically might isn't everything.

3. In the movie? This is very difficult. I hear Bart's voice in my head all the time, but it's fundamentally my own voice, so it's hard to imagine (say) J Depp or R Fiennes or someone taking it over. In my original chats with the movie producers, it was going to be live action, so we'd see the actor, not just hear him. I'm fudging this question, you can see.

4. Bart gives us an awful lot of hints about his past deeds, and we (currently) have to guess how much of it is fiction, how much fact. If we one day get to see some of his earlier adventures, we'll get a better idea.

5. Just as Bart is good at exaggerating his prowess when it suits him, he's also a good whinger. I think sometimes his 'exhaustion' is a bit of 'reverse bravado'.

6. There's quite a wide spectrum of powers contained amongst djinn, and different classes and levels are sometimes defined by sheer strength, other times by predeliction. Some djinn fall into a category because of their favoured guises or methods of attack, or even the kinds of roles they're historically given. Others, like Bart, are jacks of all trades, reluctant to be restricted in any way.

Hope this is zestful enough, Nero. Sadly, as far as I know there are no current plans to come to Toronto, (although I did make it to Vancouver for PG last tour, so we'll see). I'll be in N America in January 09 for the Halli tour and will let you know when I hear details. It would be great to visit Toronto - with you and Luciene it's a definite Bart hotspot!

I'll keep you posted on the website,

Best wishes,

J

Jonathan Stroud wrote:Hope this is zestful enough, Nero. Sadly, as far as I know there are no current plans to come to Toronto, (although I did make it to Vancouver for PG last tour, so we'll see). I'll be in N America in January 09 for the Halli tour and will let you know when I hear details. It would be great to visit Toronto - with you and Luciene it's a definite Bart hotspot!

I know this will be deleted, but....

I LOVE HIM!

dude, he actually remembered me!

*squee*

If JS were to look now....

Eventually he shall refer to me as L

The way you're going he'll refer to you as the defendant in a stalking case..

Pfft...Clearly, someone's jealous 'cos he doesn't have hot spot status in J's heart :P

Odd....which J are we talking about? :P

i know this is irrevelant, but i think its amusing that that the status of the author(Jonathan Stroud) on his site about his book is listed as Foliot.

Agh, he's been to Vancouver?! I missed that. Well, if ever comes again, I'll be sure not to miss it again.

"Honorius is probably just boasting (as all manner of spirits are wont to do). He probably means that if it came to a head-to-head scrap, he'd thrash a djinni; but you're right that historically might isn't everything."

Honorius is not boasting. Honorius is awesome! Honorius wrestled with 37 marids once and defeated them!

--Boasting again, are we?
--Shut up, Patterknife.