Dear Mr Stroud,

First of all, I want to say I love your books !! (read the bartimaeus trilogy three times ! no kidding )

Why did Nathaniel say these last words to Bartimaeus before he died : "Bartimaeus...You've been a good servant...I didn't say you were perfect...Far from it. Let's face it, you've generally managed to cock things up. Which is why I'm dismissing you right now. Don't take it the wrong way...It's just that...we've got to break the Staff at the right moment here. You're holding it in check. But I can't rely on you for something as important as this. You're bound to mess it up somehow. Best thing is...best thing is to dismiss you. That'll trigger the Staff automatically. Then I KNOW it'll be done properly. Say hello to Kitty for me.

It's almost as if John Mandrake has found his way back in Nathaniel's mind. Why didn't Nathaniel just say what I and I'm sure anyone else would've said to Bartimaeus in his last seconds of life : "Thank you for everything you have done. But there is no need for 2 of us to share the same fate when one is all it takes." Something similar to what Ptolemy said. Deep down we know Nathaniel cared for his djinni because he chose to save his life rather than extract the information out of him and let him die like Farrar wanted. Surely he didn't MEAN what he said ? Why did he lie ?

Hello,

I think the thing here is that WE know, and BART knows, and NATHANIEL knows the true emotions that Nat is feeling and displaying to Bart by his actions, but we don't need to actually hear them spelt out. In fact, it is much more powerful if they are expressed this way. It's not a lie: Nat is simply choosing to say one thing but mean another. Similarly Bart doesn't actually come out in the very last line and say exactly what he thinks about Nat. It's sometimes better to be self-effacing in matters of emotion. Or maybe I'm just being a bit English here...

J