I do not believe Mr. Stroud intends to write a sequel to PG. I read in a couple of interviews which he considers the trilogy over and, indeed, he initially didn't even think he would write any prequels.

I believe we should not be told what happened after the unexpected, almost apocalyptic ending of PG. Yes, I am curious, just like the rest of you, but knowing too much would make the "magic" disappear. I remember that once Tolkien said he was not sure The Silmarillion should be published because there were many references in the Lord of the Rings which could stimulate one's fantasy, but knowing the answers could be disappointing.

Indeed, the human mind is often thrilled by the unknown, whereas when you get to know it, it looks banal.

Nick

Nick76 wrote:knowing too much would make the "magic" disappear.

I disagree. Personally, not knowing just annoys me.

Man, that Bart scribble is basically the best thing ever.
I still have a picture of another one of his whiteboard drawings on my computer somewhere...

wrote:I hope Stroud writes a book which is a sequel to PG. It would be the best thing possible!

as to this, my opinion is mostly this:

wrote:knowing too much would make the "magic" disappear... Indeed, the human mind is often thrilled by the unknown, whereas when you get to know it, it looks banal.

But besides prequels, I occasionally entertain myself with the idea that a short story will be written about one of Kitty's exploits after PG, just to see where she is now in the world. Bart probably wouldn't be involved, what with how improbable that would be right after MAKEPEACALYPSE, but I don't think I'd mind if he was (in fact JS would probably pull it off awesomely because he is the author and not a bad fan fiction writer).

I don't think Kitty could possibly have any more exploits after what she went through (even if she fully regains her strength). I suppose she would just travel around the world and would later return to London where she would possibly be consulted by the others on some matters.

David Cat wrote:

Nick76 wrote:knowing too much would make the "magic" disappear.

I disagree. Personally, not knowing just annoys me.

Well, the issue is probably terminological in nature. You say not knowing "annoys" you. Maybe I could rephrase it by saying that it "stimulates" you and your fancy. Yes, every time we read a good story we feel like "going beyond it", knowing more, we wonder what will happen after it to all the characters involved (all those who are still alive, at least). This means the story is fascinating.

In many cases, though, when a sequel or a follow-up is released, fans are disappointed. Ever asked yourself why? Mostly because mystery must remain mystery. Everyone is entitled to "complete" the story as s/he desires, but adding an appendix to a story which was not originally conceived to continue may be immensely disappointing.

Let me draw your attention to some examples. Everybody knows Charlie Brown's "red-haired girl", although nobody ever saw her. If she's an interesting character, it is because she is mysterious. Everyone portrays her in a different was in his/her mind. Schulz himself realized that he should never show her: that would destroy the "magic effect".

Similarly, for those of my generation who grew up with Star Wars, the release of the first three episodes was worse than a fist in our face. Yes, now we know much more about the Jedi knights... So what? The incredible feats which Luke managed to perform in episodes IV-V-VI now resemble banal tricks a thousand Jedi knights had already done on a regular basis. Repetitions create clichés.

Incidentally, something similar has been happening lately with all great successes from the Eighties: Rambo, Rocky, Star Wars... And all the recent films, with no exceptions, proved worse than the original. Just nostalgic (and commercial) low-quality stuff.

Finally, do you know the Lone Wolf gamebook series? The books came out when I was a child, I was eager to read a new one. For the first 12 episodes, it worked well. Then Lone Wolf managed to utterly destroy its enemies, the Shadow Lords... And that was supposed to be the end. Of course, since the series was successfull, the author added some books, which were less and less credible, less and less enjoyable. The story was over. The rest was just a repetition of old themes and clichés.

Having said so, of course I would buy and read any sequel of the Bartimaeus trilogy. And I might even enjoy it if it is good. Yet, I hope the series is over. Some prequels or side stories, detached from the trilogy, may be appreciated every now and then, but after a while it ruins the original idea.

Regards,

Nick

A good post. But then, I enjoyed reading Stroud's replies to our questions: a few of which pertain to what happened after Nat's death. They were not much in detail, and no, I wouldn't like very detailed replies too. But if there was a sequel to the trilogy, I don't think Stroud would focus much on what happened in the trilogy. Because Nat is dead and gone and I don't think he would continue Kitty's story (I think he did mention what Kitty did later on in one of his answers. I got to read those again. It has been such a long time). So I think it could be rightly assumed to be just Bart's story. And like Sent pointed out, you can't have Bart summoned very soon and it might be messy. So Bart's sequel story might occur many years after PG (see, I'm making a lot of assumptions here). And, in that case, if it contains very less of the trilogy, I don't see how it can be different from the prequel. The prequel provides us with Bart's story before the trilogy, the sequel after it. It is really not going to be part of the trilogy any more than the prequel is going to be. The sequel will deal with a world where, possibly, spirits and humans are in a more equal footing than ever before and thus, provide more variations to the story.
What you mostly speak about is getting bored with same old character and plots. Yes, that might happen if too many books are written on Bart and his exploits could get dreadingly familiar. It doesn't really matter whether it takes place before or after the trilogy. In fact, like I already mentioned, I think sequels would provide an opportunity for more variations. We already know what Bart's past life was like. The future is a complete mystery and it need not at all be continuation of the trilogy.

Honestly I'd only want more books (whether sequels or otherwise) if Stroud genuinely wants to write them. Sequels, etc, usually suck only if they're only made because of public pressure, money, etc. Or if the writer gets full of themselves and chooses protection from editors. If Stroud had an idea he liked and wanted to write about, it would probably be great.

I met Jonathan Stroud at Foyles this morning, and it was awesome.

I love his little drawings! =D

Epic_Footstool wrote:I met Jonathan Stroud at Foyles this morning, and it was awesome.

I love his little drawings! =D

I love that he drew you a footstool.

Sentynel wrote:

Epic_Footstool wrote:I met Jonathan Stroud at Foyles this morning, and it was awesome.

I love his little drawings! =D

I love that he drew you a footstool.

Yes!
You didn't tell him you called yourself Footstool over here, did you?

nathanielandbartimaeus wrote:

Sentynel wrote:

Epic_Footstool wrote:I met Jonathan Stroud at Foyles this morning, and it was awesome.

I love his little drawings! =D

I love that he drew you a footstool.

Yes!
You didn't tell him you called yourself Footstool over here, did you?

I told him she was coming and her username, so he knew.

So did Footstool tell him it was her or he guessed or something...
If so, he is brilliant guy! I'm sure he drew the footstool specially for her.

FuzzyLobster wrote:ROCK ON.

There isn't details on a Canadian tour because there isn't one, most likely. Mind you, I've never seen the big draw in meeting famous people (no matter how awesome) anyway. That being said, next time he goes to Chicago (not this time, I have no money), Nero, RCB and Luciene all have to roadtrip down there with me. They have a FREE ZOO. :P

AW YEAH ROADTRIP

---

Also, the footstool pic is fantastic

nathanielandbartimaeus wrote:So did Footstool tell him it was her or he guessed or something...
If so, he is brilliant guy! I'm sure he drew the footstool specially for her.

rcb wrote:Also, the footstool pic is fantastic

I made him what was probably a really lame card, with a sketch of Barty from AoS on the front, glittery writing, starstruck letter on the back et al. I signed it with both Footstool and my name, so (and I'm just guessing here) he probably found out that way. Then when I gave him my book to sign at the end, he drew a nice little footstool pic for me. <3

Epic_Footstool wrote:I made him what was probably a really lame card, with a sketch of Barty from AoS on the front, glittery writing, starstruck letter on the back et al. I signed it with both Footstool and my name, so (and I'm just guessing here) he probably found out that way. Then when I gave him my book to sign at the end, he drew a nice little footstool pic for me. <3

Wow. And giving the card was a brilliant idea.

Sentynel wrote:

yay!

Stroud had some input in the design of Barti for the graphic novel right? Because this looks like a chilled out baby version of the one on the AoS cover. Both of them are a little chubby although that one seems to be missing the cute little horns.

Aaand...
US dates/times have been updated. ^-^

Huzzah November 8th for me.

Kidnap him and bring him to Canada Mwamba, Sharing is Caring.

Luciene wrote:Kidnap him and bring him to Canada Mwamba, Sharing is Caring.

QFT

Luciene wrote:Kidnap him and bring him to Canada Mwamba, Sharing is Caring.

I'm sorry, I'd be far too jealous of a lover.

Can't you Canadians team up and go on a road trip? New York and Philadelphia are both about 8 hours away. (Philadelphia would probably be more desirable though, less crowded and expensive.) Best of all, if you all have such an epic meet up party, you could take lots of pictures and brag about it and make the rest of the forum ooze with jealousy.