(Before I actually get to the question, I suppose that I should warn any forum members that have not read the entire trilogy to stay away from this topic.)


Hello there, Mr. Stroud. In the trilogy, you've obviously got a few very interesting characters with different aspects to their personalities, but the one that I enjoyed reading the most had to be the protagonist (if you could call him that): Nathaniel.

I've read reviews saying that Book 2 was not quite as good as the first because 1) there was less Bartimaeus and 2) Nathaniel was just unbearable. Well, for me Nathaniel was the reason I raced through the books (although Bartimaeus is the reason I keep rereading them) - he's such a deep and complex character that goes through such a huge change. When you first introduced Kitty I was thinking, "Oh, this should be interesting." Nathaniel is my favorite character because he's so fun to read about and also play with due to his personality.

With a character such as this that is really the focus of the books, what challenges did you encounter in writing him, and what was the most difficult part about writing him? (Besides not getting his names mixed up, that is. When you just wrote a long chapter about Nathaniel it's annoying to have to remember to call him Mandrake in a chapter about Kitty.)

Oh, and this is really minor, but what does the cover of Book 3 (UK) display? I was immediately impressed with it after ordering it (it's much better than those in the US, I think), but I'm still trying to work it out. The lion is Bartimaeus, I guess, taking his form from Ptolemy's death, and he's holding the Amulet, I think. Is that the Other Place in the background, or Ptolemy's Gate?

That's all (for now). I'll go before I bore any other readers to death.

Hi Bowles,

Good to hear that you liked Nathaniel. You'd be amazed (or maybe you wouldn't) how many people actively dislike him. But you're right: he's the main protagonist and is absolutely key to the books. Obviously Bart is more entertaining in the sense of more gags, footnotes etc, but not being human we can't truly identify with him. The series has to have a human character with a narrative arc, and Nat fits the bill here - as you say, he goes through the biggest series of changes, and is the most complex emotionally.

Originally, when I began Amulet, I thought that the kid magician would be an out and out bad guy, but I soon realised it had to be more complicated than that. So throughout the first book we look at his education and upbringing and see WHY he is who he is - flaws and all. He had a terrible, lonely time, and it's a wonder he's got any noble characteristics. But he has: he's idealistic, brave etc. By the time we see him in Golem, he's been further corrupted by the adults round him, and is a lot less likeable. Kitty's introduction helps to balance this, but you're right that Nat's unheroic side allows me to have a lot of fun with him: such as him being all prissy and fastidious and then having to go and hang out in graveyards.

But it's book III that things really take off with the character, because we have to try and reclaim him from his corruption, and the real meat of the book is whether or not he can rediscover his good side. This was the most tricky of the three to write (as far as N is concerned) because I didn't want to shy away from his nasty side, and I didn't want it to get sentimental either. But it's crucial that we have to get respect back for him. It helps hopping between characters because it allows us - readers and writer - to get a bit of space from them, and draw breath. It also allows us to get insights on each of them from the other characters' points of view.

Anyway, I'm glad N's got a true supporter...

As for that cover, well, I wanted both UK and US versions of PG to show Bart in the form of Ptolemy - that would have made most narrative sense. But publishers are wary of showing kids on covers (hard to draw well, date easily etc). They wanted Bart in a more exciting form. Trouble is, B spends most of his time running around like a frog or a patch of slime. So they went for the lion warrior, a form he takes twice, in chapter 17 with Nat and also in the flashback with Ptolemy. Let's face it, that lion isn't the most important thing in the book, but hey. The amulet is back because we needed him to hold something. The background either represents the swirling void of the Other Place or the fiery barrier between this world and ours. Covers are one of the most tricky things to get right.

Thanks for your questions.

Jonathan

Hmm...In the US edition of Gate he's holding some sort of swirling multi-colored stuff with both hands/claws and its slipping out and swirling toward his head. The Amulet isn't even depicted on the whole cover.

the us cover of golem's eye.. the one with the horns was it a buffalo? was that the one bartimaeus transformed into when he encountered the golem at the british museum?? or was it the one he took when he was summoned again by nataniel in GM?:)

It was both, and it was a Minotaur.

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