Tallow's djinni Nemaides seems awfully similar to main character in Journey to The West have you by any chance ever read that book, and also is that where you got the inspiration to include the footnote " Some Chinese magicians even put spirits in clouds".

Thanks for answering.

Hello,

Thanks for your question, which is an interesting one.

I have indeed read Journey to the West, or at least I've read Arthur Waley's old translation Monkey. I've also got a fantastic old Chinese picture book that I picked up in a jumble sale when i was a kid called Monkey and the White Bone Demon, which shows Monkey et al fighting demons. I think the character of Monkey - his insolence, energy etc - must have been an influence at the back of my mind when I came up with Bartimaeus. I hadn't made the connection to Nemaides, though - I suppose physically there's a bit of a resemblence, but not in character, I don't think. And yep, you're right, the reference to Chinese magicians flying about on clouds IS a nod to the epic of Monkey. It's well worth a read, incidentally for anyone who's not read it.

Jonathan