Bartimaeus Sequence Fan Forum

The whispering skull, Lockwood and co.

28 Aug 14 - 18:25

Today is the day. The one we'we been waiting for. The second Lockwood book has been released.

[+] Spoiler: First things first:the book was totally awsome, I was literally glued to my kindle while reading it. Despite all that he's done, the skull is my favourite character, and I'm glad Lucy kept him. George was, of course, awesome seeing as he had more of a personality than in the screaming staircase. Lockwood seemed more human here, despite trying his best to act like Sherlock Holmes. I wonder what happened to the sister.

How did you like the book?

Friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate
Si sapis, sis apis - If you're wise, be a bee
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's because it is fertilized with bullcabbage

Sentynel One with The Other Place

admin

28 Aug 14 - 20:53

Just finished it. Amazing.

[+] Spoiler: I really enjoyed the extra information about the effect of the Problem on society and the nature of crime in a haunted world. I imagine we'll be seeing more of the mystery lord from the auction.

Also an interesting hint at the end about the object Fittes handed over in the library being related to the ghost glasses. Technological means for the adults to continue to perceive ghosts has got to be an upcoming plot point of some sort, especially as the company themselves get older.

Disappointingly few hints about the nature and origins of the Problem. Guess we'll have to wait for the next book. But the overall theme of people meddling with the realms of the dead and suffering for it could be foreshadowing - if this crazy doctor opened a window to beyond that drives people insane if they look in, maybe someone else did something t hat actively draws spirits through.

Great to see some flashes of Lockwood's past and more references to his parents. His sister... obviously the room is haunted - that's what all the iron and silver is there for. But it's daytime when they went, so they haven't just been faced with his sister's spirit. Her remains?

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A still more glorious dawn awaits, not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise, a morning filled with 400 billion suns - the rising of the Milky Way

evillaugh Djinni

28 Aug 14 - 21:10

[+] Spoiler: What I want to know is why Lockwood, who is usually against any sort of compassion for ghosts and does his best to destroy them, is keeping his sister's remains at home.

The mirror is also a
very curious point. People know perfectly well that they will die if they look into it, but are still willing to risk it for so-called 'enlightment'.

I wonder when will see the mysterious object from Fittes again.

Friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate
Si sapis, sis apis - If you're wise, be a bee
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's because it is fertilized with bullcabbage

Sentynel One with The Other Place

admin

28 Aug 14 - 21:28

[+] Spoiler: Maybe Lockwood's sister will turn out to be a Type 3. Also, maybe Lockwood's zeal for destruction of ghosts and his professed disinterest in the reasons is an overreaction to him secretly keeping his sister's ghost around.

Well, the people who knew what they were doing were mostly very keen on other people looking into them in the quest for enlightenment. The ones who actually looked were forced to do it, or lured into it by the mirror's attraction.

Luciene Higher Spirit

29 Aug 14 - 02:21

[+] Spoiler: What are Carver's dodgy tattoos?

Also, I don't think she is a Type 3, probably a very weak Type 1 at worst. In the first book, Lockwood flipped out when Lucy brought home the locket because she was putting everyone in danger . He wouldn't keep a Type 2 around if she was dangerous and he would notice if she was alert enough to be a Type 3 and get Lucy to talk to her asap.

I think she is in a container. The iron bars on the room were to keep Lucy from sensing the ghost, not to keep the ghost in.

Also, if his professional disinterest was motivated by guilt, wouldn't he make more of an effort to keep her a secret? I think he wants to live up to his parents' legacy.

The skull reminds me a little of Bartimaeus <3

evillaugh Djinni

29 Aug 14 - 07:17

[+] Spoiler: I think there is enough iron there to contain a type two, but I agree wirh you on the type three thing. The locket flipped him out because it had no protection at all, and I think he's making an exception there for his sister.
He kept her a secret for a whole year after all, and I think he knew that if he didn't show them, it would tear the group apart.

I wonder who won the tournament in the end.

I hope the next book is in Georges POV.

Friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate
Si sapis, sis apis - If you're wise, be a bee
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's because it is fertilized with bullcabbage

Sentynel One with The Other Place

admin

29 Aug 14 - 18:05

[+] Spoiler: It was pretty heavily implied that Carver's tattoos were, ahem, ladies in a state of undress. (George says something like "they've given me a lot to think about".

Not all Type 2s are dangerous, and that room was very heavily defended. (I do think it's likely she was in a container of some sort as well, though.) And it's not necessarily obvious if a ghost is a Type 3.

Lockwood's parents appear to be researchers of some sort, though - pretty much the opposite of Lockwood's persona. Maybe it's a rebellion against them, or maybe he thinks their research got them killed (assuming they're actually dead).

The skull reminded me a bit of Barti too!

evillaugh Djinni

29 Aug 14 - 19:26

[+] Spoiler: I'm pretty sure their research got them killed. And the sister probably violently murdered, seeing as she's still a ghost after being dead for quite some years. I get the impression Lockwood's persona has been carefully crafted by him.

Not all type twos are interested in ruining humans' lives, but they're dangerous nonetheless.

If the sister is a type three, Lockwood doesn't know it, otherwise, as luciene said, he'd have gotten Lucy to talk to her.

I'd like to know more about DEPRAC

Friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate
Si sapis, sis apis - If you're wise, be a bee
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's because it is fertilized with bullcabbage

TrueHauntings Imp

30 Aug 14 - 16:46

Hi! I enjoyed The Whispering Skull very much. It was probably even better than the first one!

[+] Spoiler: I think that Lockwood's sister is a Type Two. For some reason, I remembered Kipps' remark in The Screaming Staircase when they were in the archive. He said that something bad happens to everyone who deals with Lockwood. Could he be referring to Lockwood's sister?

Sentynel One with The Other Place

admin

30 Aug 14 - 17:15

Welcome to the site!

[+] Spoiler: That's a good catch. I think I assumed that was probably referring to his parents, but it could well have been his sister. Would be interesting if Kipps knows that much about Lockwood's past...

evillaugh Djinni

30 Aug 14 - 19:38

[+] Spoiler: Well, I certainly think that a jab in the buttox isn't the reason they hate each other. I think Kipps knows exactly what happened to his family, maybe he even had an indirect hand in it.

, Lilacdream!

Friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate
Si sapis, sis apis - If you're wise, be a bee
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's because it is fertilized with bullcabbage

TrueHauntings Imp

31 Aug 14 - 12:55

Thank you! :)

[+] Spoiler: I think that Kipps will become a very important character in the next books. It seems that he knows a lot things about Lockwood indeed. Maybe Lockwood will reveal some more facts of himself and his family as well - he changed his opinion about secrets after all.

Sentynel One with The Other Place

admin

31 Aug 14 - 14:40

Jen and I had a chat. Here are some highlights:

[+] Spoiler: Jen points out the heaven/hell symbolism with the harp symbol on the goggles and Penelope Fittes' box, and Bickerstaff's window into what appears to be hell ("I think the mirror portrays the devil luring you in then killing you; a search for heaven gone horribly wrong"). I posit that the purposes of the goggles (which seem to show adults ghosts) and the window (which supposedly shows the afterlife) are not all that dissimilar.

We agree that the cause of the Problem could be meddling similar to the creation of the window, whether an actual device or a violation of some sort of pact or compact which has weakened the barriers and let more of the dead through (though clearly they've been able to come through to some extent for some time). Since the Problem appears to be worsening, we debate whether ongoing research is weakening the barriers further, or whether the original damage is just causing it to unravel like fabric (Jen's description).

Jen hypothesises that Lockwood has chosen this moment to reveal his sister because, given that Lucy's abilities have now been conclusively demonstrated on the ghost in the jar, he now hopes she can communicate with his sister's ghost, and speculates that she may know something about what happened to his parents.

We don't trust the authorities at all - what does DEPRAC's secret research involve? What are Fittes doing with all the artefacts they're supposedly destroying, and the general social power they wield? What is Penelope Fittes in particular up to? I suggest that the major agencies might be deliberately perpetuating the Problem in order to generate business; Jen suggests that Fittes hopes to understand it and control it for personal power.

We discuss whether DEPRAC is actively controlled by the agencies (my theory) or whether they simply cooperate where convenient and would happily backstab each other (hers). Jen suggests that maybe Fittes is actually trying to fix things from the inside, but that she doubts it because she seems callous about the lives of her child employees.

I wonder what Fittes is being nice to Lockwood and Co for, if she's evil - what she's trying to gain. Jen suggests that maybe she's found out about Lucy's powers and wants to exploit them, though we think that probably hasn't happened yet because the party invitation arrived before she could plausibly have discovered that (the skull having only briefly spoken to Lucy at the time). She also suggests that Fittes might know things about Lockwood's past (or his parents specifically) that she hopes to exploit, or that he's inherited something from his parents that she wants. I suggest that she has dirty work she wants doing, and needs a talented group who aren't linked to her agency in order to get it done deniably - if it goes wrong and there's an investigation, it'll just find that a misguided agency with no adult leadership got itself into something over its heads.

My wild theory: Marissa Fittes (or possibly Tom Rotwell) is a Type 3 Lucy will end up communicating with. We discuss whether a helpful Type 3 could exist and therefore whether Lucy could cooperate with her. Clearly the skull is a lot like himself in life, but he was evil, and Fittes' warnings about communicating with Type 3s are quite categorical. I suggest that maybe the fact that the skull is a Type 3 is no accident - he's been involved in research into this sort of thing before his death, and is obviously terrified of the beyond - could he have found a way to deliberately keep his full personality around after death? If so, maybe the general nature of Type 3s is just a function of the sort of person who normally has the means and desire to make themselves a Type 3, and it would be possible for someone good with sufficient motivation to become a good ghost. (Certainly not all Type 2s are malicious.)

Also, Stroud has confirmed on Twitter that the next book will be released this time next year!

Jen Foliot

31 Aug 14 - 19:22

Oh my word, what a book.

[+] Spoiler: Thanks for exposing all my wild musings, Sam. <<

I reckon like Sam pointed out that part of Lockwood's reason for revealing his dear departed sister now, is that he has confirmed Lucy's ability and is hoping she might be able to talk to his cold pale sister.

I think she may be a type two. Another type three, just like that, would be a bit much. Too convenient.

But maybe type twos can evolve into type threes? Pokemon style?

I also think Ms. Fittes is evil, and that they are destined to strike up a friendship with the rag-tag crew that have been their "rivals" up to this point. I think the Fittes agency is going to deteriorate, the kids' lives will be risked an increased amount, and that they will be forced to cooperate again.

I also think there are some big secrets kept from us. Like evillaugh, I wanna know more about DERPAC.

SO EXCITED

"Don't piss me off, Sir - I'm running out of places to hide the bodies."

- Emily

Sentynel One with The Other Place

admin

31 Aug 14 - 19:35

[+] Spoiler: You're welcome, Jen! ^_^

I think the cooperation theory is a really good one actually - the other team were definitely played increasingly sympathetically towards the end of the book, and they're bound to come back... I think they could well end up genuinely cooperating, not just being forced too. Hmm...

evillaugh Djinni

31 Aug 14 - 20:26

[+] Spoiler: I wonder if the ultimate goal for the books is to solve, or minimize The Problem, with Lockwood and co. (especially Lucy) having a big hand in it.

I agree with Jen that another type 3 would be a bit too convenient, but not impossible. Maybe Lucy can find out what happened to her by hearing, and connect to her like with Annie Ward.

I also agree that Fittes is evil and would do anything to prevent the solving of The Problem. I think she's working on using equipment like the goggles to replace all the kids with adults, maybe going as far as sending a team to their deaths, so that she can claim kids aren't mature enough for the job. That is where a cooperation of Kipps' team and Lockwood and co. would come in, where Kipps smells trouble and goes to Lockwood for help.

DEPRAC obviously disapproves of Kids being in charge and is therefore working on stuff like the goggles, so that they can be in charge of The Problem.

Friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate
Si sapis, sis apis - If you're wise, be a bee
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's because it is fertilized with bullcabbage

FuzzyLobster Marid

1 Sep 14 - 02:08

IT'S OUT ALREADY!? ahhhhhhh

Apparently we don't get it until the sixteenth. Gives me time to re-read the first one!

FOUNDER OF THE SAM THE BARMAN FANCLUB: QUOTE IN YOUR SIG TO JOIN

evillaugh Djinni

1 Sep 14 - 09:21

What do you mean, you don't get it till the 16th? What kind of backwater do you live in?

Friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate
Si sapis, sis apis - If you're wise, be a bee
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's because it is fertilized with bullcabbage

TrueHauntings Imp

1 Sep 14 - 12:51

The hardcover edition will be released on the sixteenth. I wonder why? That's kind of weird. :ermm:

evillaugh Djinni

1 Sep 14 - 13:38

I think that's only in the US.

Friends come and friends go, but enemies accumulate
Si sapis, sis apis - If you're wise, be a bee
If you think the grass is greener on the other side, it's because it is fertilized with bullcabbage

The whispering skull, Lockwood and co.

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