Author: Jonathan Stroud
Narrator: Simon Jones
Genre: Fantasy
Producer: Listening Library
Books in Series: Listened to the trilogy as well as the companion novel

Story Review: This series is FABULOUS! Bartimaeus is an awesome narrator. I love listening to his snide comments, and how he really is "evil" but he still has a big heart. Each book in this series flows seamlessly, despite the fact that quite a bit of time separates each book. One of my favorite things about these books, is that you are given characters that you love to hate, and that you hate to love. Your character-judging skills really have to come into play.

I also love that it's our world, just a little twisted. We get to see what the world would be like if there were magic and demons as viable and common sources of power in our world (unlike Harry Potter where magic is in our world, but hidden).

But mostly, what gives this series major points it its characters. Brace yourselves, though, the ending of this series is a DOOZY!

Audio Review: Simon Jones has one of those British accents that sounds like melting chocolate. I could fall into his voice and just float there. Sometimes I would find myself actually repeating his words out loud just because I loved how he said them. He's also a master at covering a range of emotions. He has Bartimaeus' sarcastic attitude down to a T, but he also conveys a scared little boy and a stubborn girl just as accurately! He's one of those narrators that I actually looked up after I finished listening to this series, just so I could see if he had narrated anything else I might like to listen to!