Hello, my name is Joseph and I read your trilogy last summer (and a couple more times since then.) They were beyond excellent, there are too many to name but a few of my favorite things were; the way you started in medias res in the first book (not a boring start), first person narratives from bartimaeus, your magical system and higherarchy (the concept of planes, spirits and elements, detonations-convulsions-infernos ect), and Honorius. What an AWESOME character, first the shock of of Gladstone's bones moving then realizing just what he did (binding an afrit to them.) His remarkable power as a high level afrit, appearance as a skeleton, and his insanity and humor from being locked up for ever. I suppose I'll stop there before I REALLY start to ramble

So..where to start...

1.) In Book II when Bart and two other Djinn were hunting down Honorius, upon their first encounter they each took a shot at him, a detonation, a compression (or convulsion, I forget). Anyway I recall them having no effect and Honorius declaring that magic from Djinn would have no effect on a high ranking Afrit such as himself. So my question is, is it true that they had NO effect on him or was he just overstating his power? Can spirits of significantly lower power "gang up" on higher beings? Or would 50,000 imps be < 1 Afrit.

2.) We know that Spirits' powers are not unlimited in this world, they are tired simply by being here and also tire from exerting themselves (bart could not say just fire an unlimited number of detonations and not break a sweat.) My question would be for spirits bound to objects (or people for that matter in PG.) Take Gladstone's staff, after many many uses would it's power gradually diminished as the Marids' energy inside was used without chance to return to the OP? Same thing for spirits bound to people, would Nouda find himself with less power say 100 years later (if he survived) after never being able to return? I realize that being encased in an object (or human) protects them from the constant drain of being in this world, but wouldn't they run out of energy after lobbing detonations and flying around?

3.) Resilience. I have a hard time discerning wether this is something born with, aquired, or both. I can't see how it would be something that's "Darwinized", since in PG Nat was being told about an alarming number of Commeners that seemed to have
Resilience (I.E being able to spot Spirits disguises), but hardly enough time for a generation has passed.

4.) I remember Bart mentioning early on that it's either impossible or nearly impossible for Spirits to move up in power though many try to. I thought of one instance where maybe this could possibly happen? I believe it was in the second book that Bart was on the run (again) and incredibly exhausted when he was swallowed up by I think a Horla in seagull form. He explained that normally lesser beings couldn't consume higher ones but it was a close call since Bart was so tired. So my question is, if a lower ranking spirit conveniently found a higher spirit in such a weakened state that he could consume it, would he possibly move up a notch on the scale?

Thankyou very much,
Joseph

Hi Joseph,

Thanks for the interesting questions; apologies for the innordinate delay...

1. I suppose if you got 50,000 imps together and persuaded them to hold their ground and not run away as they would doubtless prefer, then got them to unleash their mediocre powers at once, it would be pretty unpleasant even for a very high ranking spirit. In general the only way for an inferior spirit to defeat a more powerful one is to use intelligence or low cunning (Bart would claim the former), not overt power.

2. If a very powerful spirit is somehow insulated against the corrosive properties of our world - either in a host body or in an object such as the Amulet or Staff, then, provided they get plenty of respite, their power can go on for a long time. I suppose if they were being used all the time it might be different; but to all intents and purposes, in our mortal time-scale at any rate, they can persist indefinitely.

3. Several generations have gone by since Gladstone's day when London began to have a LOT of magic going on in it. So I think resilience HAS begun to appear in the general population: it's a kind of environmental factor that works quickly on those nearby. Obviously a lot faster than your typical bit of natural selection.

4. hmm, interesting question. I think it's unlikely that any much weaker spirit could swallow another one, even if it was in bad nick; more likely the two would be more or less equal (though one was weakened), so the surge of energy gained wouldn't be enough to 'double' the victor's power, but simply restore it to its normal optimum. Phew, almost confused myself there.

Cheers,

Jonathan