Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 86 (click to see context) from:
** [[spoiler:FusionDance:]][[spoiler:In order to stop them Nathaniel and Bartimaeus do the same thing except that they are in an equal partnership with neither trying to dominate the other. This has the added bonus that the process can be reversed, with Bartimaeus able to return to the Other Place, unlike the other demons who are trapped in their new bodies.]]
to:
** [[spoiler:FusionDance:]][[spoiler:In order to stop them Nathaniel and Bartimaeus do the same thing except that [[TwoBeingsOneBody they are in an equal partnership with neither trying to dominate the other.other]]. This has the added bonus that the process can be reversed, with Bartimaeus able to return to the Other Place, unlike the other demons who are trapped in their new bodies.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 85 (click to see context) from:
* DemonicPossession: Honorius in the second book possesses the bones of Gladstone; in addition, [[spoiler: hundreds of demons possess the British parliament in Nouda and Faquarl's rebellion - Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are forced to do the same in order to stop them.]]
to:
* DemonicPossession: Honorius in the second book possesses the bones of Gladstone; in addition, [[spoiler: hundreds of demons possess the British parliament in Nouda and Faquarl's rebellion - rebellion.]]
** [[spoiler:FusionDance:]][[spoiler:In order to stop them Nathaniel and Bartimaeusare forced to do the same thing except that they are in order an equal partnership with neither trying to stop them.dominate the other. This has the added bonus that the process can be reversed, with Bartimaeus able to return to the Other Place, unlike the other demons who are trapped in their new bodies.]]
** [[spoiler:FusionDance:]][[spoiler:In order to stop them Nathaniel and Bartimaeus
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CoughSnarkCough: Done by Bartimaeus in ''The Golem's Eye''
-->'''Bartimaeus''': "Ahem." The serpent of silver plumes gave a light cough. "A-''hem''." Still no response. How impolite was this? You call someone up, then take them for granted. I coughed a little louder. "A-''thaniel''." That got a response.
-->'''Bartimaeus''': "Ahem." The serpent of silver plumes gave a light cough. "A-''hem''." Still no response. How impolite was this? You call someone up, then take them for granted. I coughed a little louder. "A-''thaniel''." That got a response.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Zero Context Example of renamed trope
Deleted line(s) 233 (click to see context) :
* PaintingTheFourthWall: Bartimaeus is very good at this.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* KitchenChase: In book 1, when Bartimaeus tries to evade the BigBad's guards by running through the kitchen, the "chef" turns out to be his old enemy, Faquarl.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* StockholmSyndrome: Ammet to a T. Let's face it, there's no other reason anyone would like Khaba.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Edited example
Changed line(s) 70 (click to see context) from:
** In "Golem's Eye" Jakob makes an offhand remark to Kitty that since his family runs a binding shop, they can doctor any books Tallow sends to them as revenge for assaulting Jakob. [[spoiler: Later, when the various magicians perform a mass summoning to quell Honorius, Tallow attempts to summon an afrit. His book contained an error Jakob's family put in, and the afrit devours him whole.]]
to:
** In "Golem's Eye" Jakob makes an offhand remark to Kitty that since his family runs a binding shop, printing press, they can doctor any books Tallow sends to them as revenge for assaulting Jakob. [[spoiler: Later, when the various magicians perform a mass summoning to quell Honorius, Tallow attempts to summon an afrit. His book contained an error Jakob's family put in, and the afrit devours him whole.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Edited example
Changed line(s) 166 (click to see context) from:
* ImprobableAge: Nathaniel is on the fast track to being a government minister by the time he is fourteen. Granted, he was a prodigy with high-end magical knowledge early on (though little practice), and he narrowly saved the prime minister's life.
to:
* ImprobableAge: Nathaniel is on the fast track to being a government minister by the time he is fourteen. Granted, he was a prodigy with high-end magical knowledge early on (though little practice), and he narrowly saved the prime minister's life. But that still doesn't explain the fact that he is held single-handedly responsible for matters of national security.
** Kitty appears as the plaintiff in a court case by herself at the age of 13, with her parents explicitly refusing to have anything to do with the case.
** Kitty appears as the plaintiff in a court case by herself at the age of 13, with her parents explicitly refusing to have anything to do with the case.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler: When Kitty and Jacob accidentally cause him to crash his expensive car while playing baseball, Tallow summons his djinn, who casts a spell to disfigure the two kids for the rest of their lives. Jacob's family returns this to Tallow in kind by sabotaging his spellbook, causing him to botch a summoning and suffer a terrifying death by afrit.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Fixed a major spoiler at the cost of a pothole.
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Most of the government has been killed off, much of the city is in ruins, and [[HeroicSacrifice Nathaniel is dead]]. On the other hand, things are looking up for a more equal society and Nouda is dead, and all the spirits get to...go right back to being enslaved.
to:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Most of the government has been killed off, much of the city is in ruins, and [[HeroicSacrifice Nathaniel is dead]]. On the other hand, things are looking up for a more equal society and Nouda is dead, and all the spirits get to...go right back to being enslaved.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Most of the government has been killed off, much of the city is in ruins, and [[HeroicSacrifice Nathaniel is dead]]. On the other hand, things are looking up for a more equal society, the magicians might think twice before summoning spirits again, and Nouda is dead.]]
to:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Most of the government has been killed off, much of the city is in ruins, and [[HeroicSacrifice Nathaniel is dead]]. On the other hand, things are looking up for a more equal society, the magicians might think twice before summoning spirits again, society and Nouda is dead.]]dead, and all the spirits get to...go right back to being enslaved.
Added DiffLines:
** Particularly so in the third book when the protagonists save the human race from genocide and allowed for the formation of a more egalitarian government...at the cost of ensuring djinn enslavement will continue forever.Fher
Added DiffLines:
** Also, Bartimaeus. He doesn't die, but helping Nathaniel [[spoiler: wipe out all the rampaging demons]] just ensures that he and the rest of his kin remain enslaved by the magicians. All for the sake of saving two humans he doesn't hate completely, who will be dead in a blink of ''his'' eyes owing to the screwy passage of time in the Other Place. The only real perk is that everyone thinks he died with Nathaniel so he'll get to relax for a few centuries before another scrawny dude in robes and a pointy hat summons him again through a different name.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 280 (click to see context) from:
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Simon Lovelace, [[spoiler:Duvall]], [[spoiler:Quentin Makepeace]].
to:
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Simon Lovelace, [[spoiler:Duvall]], [[spoiler:Henry Duvall]], [[spoiler:Quentin Makepeace]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** There's a pretty grim one in the third book. At one point, Nathaniel summons Bartimaeus again, who appears with a lion's head, sans mane. He explains that manes both get clogged with blood and dirt, and they block all peripheral vision. [[spoiler: In the final Ptolemy flashback, it's revealed that Bartimaeus, attempting to spirit Ptolemy to safety, was brought down by a Detonation that he didn't see -- the guise he was in had a mane, which blocked his vision.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 173 (click to see context) from:
--> Bartimaeus: One magician I worked for once called for my aid during an earthquake which was toppling histower. Unfortunately for him, the precise words he used were: ‘Preserve me!’ A cork, a great big bottle, a vat of pick-ling fluid, and – presto! – the job was done.
to:
--> Bartimaeus: One magician I worked for once called for my aid during an earthquake which was toppling histower. his tower. Unfortunately for him, the precise words he used were: ‘Preserve me!’ A cork, a great big bottle, a vat of pick-ling pickling fluid, and – presto! – the job was done.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* JackassGenie: What most of the genies try to be if they can get away with it. (Completely justified as HumansAreBastards).
--> Bartimaeus: One magician I worked for once called for my aid during an earthquake which was toppling histower. Unfortunately for him, the precise words he used were: ‘Preserve me!’ A cork, a great big bottle, a vat of pick-ling fluid, and – presto! – the job was done.
--> Bartimaeus: One magician I worked for once called for my aid during an earthquake which was toppling histower. Unfortunately for him, the precise words he used were: ‘Preserve me!’ A cork, a great big bottle, a vat of pick-ling fluid, and – presto! – the job was done.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
That\'s not an inversion, surely.
Changed line(s) 247 (click to see context) from:
* SaveTheVillain: Inverted: towards the end of ''The Golem's Eye'', [[spoiler:Kitty saves an unconscious Nathaniel from the golem, even though he has been her InspectorJavert for much of the book and has just betrayed her with the intention of arresting her.]]
to:
* SaveTheVillain: Inverted: towards Towards the end of ''The Golem's Eye'', [[spoiler:Kitty saves an unconscious Nathaniel from the golem, even though he has been her InspectorJavert for much of the book and has just betrayed her with the intention of arresting her.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 51 (click to see context) from:
* BlessedWithSuck: Solomon's ring is an item of unparalleled magical power, one that gives him undisputed rule of any kingdom he set his eyes on, allows him to summon 20,000 demons with a single twist, and is basically the reason for his entire success. [[spoiler: It also causes him incredibly pain to wear it, and saps his life force with every use. He can only take it off while he sleeps, because if he is ever seen without it, his circle of magicians will slay him and take the ring for themselves in a second. On top of this, due to the many miracles he worked with the ring in his youth, the populace expects him to use the ring to solve every little problem. As a result Solomon must continue to shorten his life to appease the people, and spend what little of it he has left in unbearable agony.]]
to:
* BlessedWithSuck: Solomon's ring is an item of unparalleled magical power, one that gives him undisputed rule of any kingdom he set his eyes on, allows him to summon 20,000 demons with a single twist, and is basically the reason for his entire success. [[spoiler: It also causes him incredibly incredible pain to wear it, and saps his life force with every use. He can only take it off while he sleeps, because if he is ever seen without it, his circle of magicians will slay him and take the ring for themselves in a second. On top of this, due to the many miracles he worked with the ring in his youth, the populace expects him to use the ring to solve every little problem. As a result Solomon must continue to shorten his life to appease the people, and spend what little of it he has left in unbearable agony.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 224 (click to see context) from:
* PaintingTheFourthWall: Bartimaeus hangs a nice painting off it, too.
to:
* PaintingTheFourthWall: Bartimaeus hangs a nice painting off it, too.is very good at this.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Namespace Changed.
Changed line(s) 4,5 (click to see context) from:
In an [[AlternateHistory alternate version]] of modern London, a world ruled by magicians, a precocious young [[TheApprentice apprentice magician]] named Nathaniel summons the ancient, powerful, [[DeadPanSnarker wisecracking]] djinni Bartimaeus to steal a valuable amulet. He quickly finds himself caught up in a dark world of corruption and political intrigue with the unwilling djinni in tow.
to:
In an [[AlternateHistory alternate version]] of modern London, a world ruled by magicians, a precocious young [[TheApprentice apprentice magician]] named Nathaniel summons the ancient, powerful, [[DeadPanSnarker wisecracking]] djinni Bartimaeus to steal a valuable amulet. He quickly finds himself caught up in a dark world of corruption and political intrigue with the unwilling djinni in tow.
tow.
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
** Since magic exists in this version of our world, it also fits the NeverWasThisUniverse type of AlternateHistory.
to:
** Since magic exists in this version of our world, it also fits the NeverWasThisUniverse type of AlternateHistory.
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
** Nathaniel, at his high points.
to:
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
--> "You rebuilt the walls of Prague? [[SubvertedTrope What, the ones that took Gladstone ten seconds to break through]]? Sure you didn't work on [[TheBible Jericho]] too?"
to:
--> "You rebuilt the walls of Prague? [[SubvertedTrope What, the ones that took Gladstone ten seconds to break through]]? Sure you didn't work on [[TheBible [[Literature/TheBible Jericho]] too?"
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
** Also, [[spoiler: Bartimaeus and Kitty are alive, and Nathaniel died doing the same thing Ptolemy did - saving Bartimaeus' life. Which probably earned him some points in Bartimaeus' book.]]
to:
** Also, [[spoiler: Bartimaeus and Kitty are alive, and Nathaniel died doing the same thing Ptolemy did - saving Bartimaeus' life. Which probably earned him some points in Bartimaeus' book.]] ]]
Changed line(s) 61 (click to see context) from:
* CatsAreMagic: Cats are the only animals naturally able to see more than one plane.
to:
* CatsAreMagic: Cats are the only animals naturally able to see more than one plane.
Changed line(s) 66 (click to see context) from:
* ChekhovsGun:
to:
* ChekhovsGun: ChekhovsGun:
Changed line(s) 68 (click to see context) from:
** In "Golem's Eye" Jakob makes an offhand remark to Kitty that since his family runs a binding shop, they can doctor any books Tallow sends to them as revenge for assaulting Jakob. [[spoiler: Later, when the various magicians perform a mass summoning to quell Honorius, Tallow attempts to summon an afrit. His book contained an error Jakob's family put in, and the afrit devours him whole.]]
to:
** In "Golem's Eye" Jakob makes an offhand remark to Kitty that since his family runs a binding shop, they can doctor any books Tallow sends to them as revenge for assaulting Jakob. [[spoiler: Later, when the various magicians perform a mass summoning to quell Honorius, Tallow attempts to summon an afrit. His book contained an error Jakob's family put in, and the afrit devours him whole.]] ]]
Changed line(s) 87 (click to see context) from:
** Faquarl and Jabor serve this role to Simon Lovelace in the first book.
to:
** Faquarl and Jabor serve this role to Simon Lovelace in the first book.
Changed line(s) 89 (click to see context) from:
* DoubleEntendre: In this scene.
to:
* DoubleEntendre: In this scene.
Changed line(s) 99,100 (click to see context) from:
** Most afrits are described as being this.
* {{Dystopia}}: Magician-ruled England, and many other sorcerous empires.
* {{Dystopia}}: Magician-ruled England, and many other sorcerous empires.
to:
** Most afrits are described as being this.
this.
* {{Dystopia}}: Magician-ruled England, and many other sorcerous empires.
* {{Dystopia}}: Magician-ruled England, and many other sorcerous empires.
Changed line(s) 108,109 (click to see context) from:
** Faquarl is this to Bartimaeus. Both are djinn of considerable power and cunning and resent the spirits' slavery by magicians. [[spoiler:However, while Faquarl sets off a violent spirit rebellion against humanity, Bartimaeus, through interactions with people such as Ptolemy, Kitty, and Nathaniel, starts to believe that both people and spirits can change for the better and ends up saving humanity.]]
** Simon Lovelace is what Nathaniel could have become if he allowed his ambition to consume him. [[spoiler:In the later books, Nathaniel at the lower points of his CharacterDevelopment starts to resemble Simon Lovelace, which Bartimaeus points out.]]
** Simon Lovelace is what Nathaniel could have become if he allowed his ambition to consume him. [[spoiler:In the later books, Nathaniel at the lower points of his CharacterDevelopment starts to resemble Simon Lovelace, which Bartimaeus points out.]]
to:
** Faquarl is this to Bartimaeus. Both are djinn of considerable power and cunning and resent the spirits' slavery by magicians. [[spoiler:However, while Faquarl sets off a violent spirit rebellion against humanity, Bartimaeus, through interactions with people such as Ptolemy, Kitty, and Nathaniel, starts to believe that both people and spirits can change for the better and ends up saving humanity.]]
]]
** Simon Lovelace is what Nathaniel could have become if he allowed his ambition to consume him. [[spoiler:In the later books, Nathaniel at the lower points of his CharacterDevelopment starts to resemble Simon Lovelace, which Bartimaeus points out.]] ]]
** Simon Lovelace is what Nathaniel could have become if he allowed his ambition to consume him. [[spoiler:In the later books, Nathaniel at the lower points of his CharacterDevelopment starts to resemble Simon Lovelace, which Bartimaeus points out.
Changed line(s) 122 (click to see context) from:
* FunctionalMagic
to:
* FunctionalMagic FunctionalMagic
Changed line(s) 151 (click to see context) from:
--> "But the rest were sorry wastes of essence, Beyzer being boastful, Tivoc sarcastic, and Xoxen full of false modesty, which in my humble opinion are three immensely tiresome traits."
to:
--> "But the rest were sorry wastes of essence, Beyzer being boastful, Tivoc sarcastic, and Xoxen full of false modesty, which in my humble opinion are three immensely tiresome traits." "
Changed line(s) 161 (click to see context) from:
** Subverted painfully [[spoiler:when the Resistance attempts to rob Gladstone's tomb. Also, even someone as strong as the mercenary can be brought down with truly overwhelming application of magic.]]
to:
** Subverted painfully [[spoiler:when the Resistance attempts to rob Gladstone's tomb. Also, even someone as strong as the mercenary can be brought down with truly overwhelming application of magic.]] ]]
Changed line(s) 205 (click to see context) from:
* NoBloodTies: Enforced just for the magicians, who are not allowed any biological children, but are later given an orphan as an apprentice. This is to prevent instances of FeudingFamilies, which apparently happened frequently enough in the past to be quite a problem.
to:
* NoBloodTies: Enforced just for the magicians, who are not allowed any biological children, but are later given an orphan as an apprentice. This is to prevent instances of FeudingFamilies, which apparently happened frequently enough in the past to be quite a problem.
Changed line(s) 213 (click to see context) from:
-->[[spoiler:'''Faquarl''': Vengeance is our master here. It keeps us here. It gives us purpose.]]
to:
-->[[spoiler:'''Faquarl''': Vengeance is our master here. It keeps us here. It gives us purpose.]] ]]
Changed line(s) 252 (click to see context) from:
* ShoutOut: Many, mostly to mythology and classic literature, and a very brief LawyerFriendlyCameo by Twoflower of {{Discworld}} fame. [[MandrakeTheMagician His name is "Mandrake" and he's a "magician."]]
to:
* ShoutOut: Many, mostly to mythology and classic literature, and a very brief LawyerFriendlyCameo by Twoflower of {{Discworld}} Literature/{{Discworld}} fame. [[MandrakeTheMagician His name is "Mandrake" and he's a "magician."]]
Changed line(s) 254 (click to see context) from:
* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:In the third book, when Faquarl accuses Bartimaeus of betraying his kind, Bartimaeus angrily retorts that Faquarl is the traitor who abandoned the Other Place (where they and other spirits come from) and even encouraged other spirits to leave for the sake of vengeance.]]
to:
* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:In the third book, when Faquarl accuses Bartimaeus of betraying his kind, Bartimaeus angrily retorts that Faquarl is the traitor who abandoned the Other Place (where they and other spirits come from) and even encouraged other spirits to leave for the sake of vengeance.]] ]]
Changed line(s) 265 (click to see context) from:
** In the middle of book three, [[spoiler:Ms. Lutyens outright tells Nathaniel that he is no longer the boy who was grateful to her and leaves in disgust.]]
to:
** In the middle of book three, [[spoiler:Ms. Lutyens outright tells Nathaniel that he is no longer the boy who was grateful to her and leaves in disgust.]] ]]
Changed line(s) 271 (click to see context) from:
* TwoPartTrilogy: The second and third books are more connected in theme, plot, and character than the first to the second.
to:
* TwoPartTrilogy: The second and third books are more connected in theme, plot, and character than the first to the second.
Changed line(s) 288 (click to see context) from:
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: [[LaResistance The Resistance]] is introduced as a group of crazy teenage anarchists who want to bring down the noble and just government.
to:
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: [[LaResistance The Resistance]] is introduced as a group of crazy teenage anarchists who want to bring down the noble and just government.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Of course, it's mentioned in Bartimaeus' footnotes that Jabor is the type to "steadily paint himself into a corner" or "happily saw off the branch he's sitting on".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
** Also, [[Bartimaeus and Kitty are alive, and Nathaniel died doing the same thing Ptolemy did - saving Bartimaeus' life. Which probably earned him some points in Bartimaeus' book.]]
to:
** Also, [[Bartimaeus [[spoiler: Bartimaeus and Kitty are alive, and Nathaniel died doing the same thing Ptolemy did - saving Bartimaeus' life. Which probably earned him some points in Bartimaeus' book.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Most of the government has been killed off, much of the city is in ruins, and [[HeroicSacrifice Nathaniel is dead]]. On the other hand, things are looking up for a more equal society, and Nouda is dead.]]
to:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Most of the government has been killed off, much of the city is in ruins, and [[HeroicSacrifice Nathaniel is dead]]. On the other hand, things are looking up for a more equal society, the magicians might think twice before summoning spirits again, and Nouda is dead.]]
** Also, [[Bartimaeus and Kitty are alive, and Nathaniel died doing the same thing Ptolemy did - saving Bartimaeus' life. Which probably earned him some points in Bartimaeus' book.]]
** Also, [[Bartimaeus and Kitty are alive, and Nathaniel died doing the same thing Ptolemy did - saving Bartimaeus' life. Which probably earned him some points in Bartimaeus' book.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 37,38 (click to see context) from:
** "You rebuilt the walls of Prague? [[SubvertedTrope What, the ones that took Gladstone ten seconds to break through]]? Sure you didn't work on [[TheBible Jericho]] too?"
*** "[[StopHelpingMe Yes, but he doesn't like to talk about it]]--"
*** "[[StopHelpingMe Yes, but he doesn't like to talk about it]]--"
to:
** Used to taunt [[spoiler: Nouda]] during the climax of Ptolemy's Gate. Except it was Nathaniel's, but Bartimaeus was the one who [[spoiler: said it for him]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Played mostly straight, with magicians, at Lovelace's party.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 146 (click to see context) from:
-->"But the rest were sorry wastes of essence, Beyzer being boastful, Tivoc sarcastic, and Xoxen full of false modesty, which in my humble opinion are three immensely tiresome traits." - The Ring of Solomon.
to:
--> "But the rest were sorry wastes of essence, Beyzer being boastful, Tivoc sarcastic, and Xoxen full of false modesty, which in my humble opinion are three immensely tiresome traits."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
-->"But the rest were sorry wastes of essence, Beyzer being boastful, Tivoc sarcastic, and Xoxen full of false modesty, which in my humble opinion are three immensely tiresome traits." - The Ring of Solomon.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:185:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/13911137_592.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:185:A modern-day London run by magicians.]]
[[caption-width-right:185:A modern-day London run by magicians.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BookEnds: Bartimaeus uses the same "special effects" for Nathaniel's first and last summonses.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
In an [[AlternateHistory alternate version]] of modern London, a world ruled by magicians, a precocious young [[TheApprentice apprentice magician]] named Nathaniel summons the ancient, powerful, [[DeadPanSnarker wisecracking]] djinni Bartimaeus to steal a valuable amulet. He quickly finds himself caught up in a dark world of corruption and political intrigue with the unwilling djinni in tow.
As Nathaniel learns to navigate the realm of magic and politics, he crosses paths with Kitty Jones, a [[{{Muggles}} "commoner"]] with ties to the mysterious group called [[LaResistance the Resistance]].
[[AC: The trilogy by Jonathan Stroud:]]
* ''The Amulet of Samarkand''
* ''The Golem's Eye''
* ''Ptolemy's Gate''
* ''The Ring of Solomon,'' a prequel set, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin surprisingly enough]], in the time of Solomon.
----
!!This series provides examples of:
* ActionGirl: Kitty, Asmira from the prequel, and some of the "female" demons, assuming they have genders.
* AdultsAreUseless: Not all of them, admittedly, but the {{Big Bad}}s are all defeated with the brains of a kid or a couple of kids, the mentors are all [[FairWeatherMentor fairweather]] and the commoner adults are generally sheep. This may be somewhat of an overstatement, though, as most of the plotting and trickery is pulled off by a djinni who is thousands of years old. Additionally, many adult commoners secretly resist the government in later novels.
* AffablyEvil: Almost all of the magicians.
* AgeAppropriateAngst: Averted; Nathaniel's reaction to TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive is surprisingly cold for a young boy. Also inverted to an extent. In the first book, he is [[spoiler:devastated at Mrs. Underwood's death]], but by the second, his hair takes top priority. [[spoiler: Though also played straight in the third book where he has complex feelings about the cruelties of the government and his own part in it, culminating in his HeroicSacrifice]].
* AllMythsAreTrue: Mythology from all over the world shows up in this universe - and, if Bartimaeus is to be believed, he had a hand in most of it.
* AlternateHistory: Gladstone in this universe led a campaign to conquer all of Europe...and was a magician.
** Since magic exists in this version of our world, it also fits the NeverWasThisUniverse type of AlternateHistory.
** The American Revolution has just recently started in modern times. In the third book, the demons are threatened with "being sent to fight in the Colonies".
* AmazonBrigade: The hereditary guards of the Queen of Sheba in ''The Ring of Solomon''.
* AmbitionIsEvil
* AntiHero:
** Nathaniel, at his high points.
** Bartimaeus and Kitty too. (Yes, Kitty has noble intentions, but do remember that she's a terrorist.) So, everyone.
* AntiMagic: The "resilience" possessed by Kitty Jones and several other characters, as well as the most dangerous property of a Golem: as an immensely powerful creature of earth, it is [[ElementalRockPaperScissors anathema to the spirits composed of air and fire that the magicians summon.]]
* AntiVillain: Nathaniel becomes one at the low point of his CharacterDevelopment.
* ApothecaryAlligator: Mentioned in Book 1 in the description of the magician Arthur Underwood's study. Bart notes that this is a good indication that Underwood is distinctly second rate and trying to hide it; truly powerful magicians favor a sleek, modern look.
* ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: Solomon to Asmira in ''The Ring of Solomon'' after Khaba is defeated and the Ring returned to him.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Justified since the government consists of powerful magicians. Also see KlingonPromotion below.
* BadassBoast: Bartimaeus, constantly. For example: "I am Bartimaeus of Uruk! I am Sakhr al-Jinni, N'gorso the Mighty and the Serpent of Silver Plumes! I have rebuilt the walls of Uruk, Karnak and Prague. I have spoken with Solomon. I have run with the buffalo fathers of the plains. I have watched over Old Zimbabwe till the stones fell and the jackals fed on its people. I am Bartimaeus!" However, it's just as likely to be subverted when the subject either doesn't recognize him or is simply unimpressed.
** "You rebuilt the walls of Prague? [[SubvertedTrope What, the ones that took Gladstone ten seconds to break through]]? Sure you didn't work on [[TheBible Jericho]] too?"
*** "[[StopHelpingMe Yes, but he doesn't like to talk about it]]--"
* BadassLongcoat: Unsuccessfully [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by Nathaniel. He marks his rise in society by buying a long black coat that [[DramaticWind billows dramatically behind him]] when he walks, hoping for exactly this effect. It doesn't work.
* BadassNormal: Kitty Jones.
** Semi-normal. [[spoiler:She's immune to magic, remember?]]
* BeautifulAllAlong: Kitty, when Nathaniel first sees her aura. She sarcastically retorts, "Only just now?"
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Most of the government has been killed off, much of the city is in ruins, and [[HeroicSacrifice Nathaniel is dead]]. On the other hand, things are looking up for a more equal society, and Nouda is dead.]]
* BigBad: One for each book, but it's ultimately revealed that [[spoiler: Quentin Makepeace]] tops them all.
* BigBrotherIsEmployingYou: Commoners are frequently needed for messy or difficult jobs like tutoring apprentices and manufacturing spellbooks.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: The vigilance spheres used throughout the series.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: The commoners in the Resistance aren't immune to pettiness, greed, cowardice, and prejudice.
* BlatantLies: When Ptolemy first summons Bartimaeus, Bartimaeus greets him with the following - "I know the secrets of the earth and the mysteries of the air; I know the key to the minds of women." In his footnote, he comments "Patently all lies. Especially the last bit."
* BlessedWithSuck: Solomon's ring is an item of unparalleled magical power, one that gives him undisputed rule of any kingdom he set his eyes on, allows him to summon 20,000 demons with a single twist, and is basically the reason for his entire success. [[spoiler: It also causes him incredibly pain to wear it, and saps his life force with every use. He can only take it off while he sleeps, because if he is ever seen without it, his circle of magicians will slay him and take the ring for themselves in a second. On top of this, due to the many miracles he worked with the ring in his youth, the populace expects him to use the ring to solve every little problem. As a result Solomon must continue to shorten his life to appease the people, and spend what little of it he has left in unbearable agony.]]
* BreakTheCutie: Kitty's flashback.
* BreakTheHaughty: Nathaniel, particularly in the third book.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Bartimaeus sometimes addresses the readers directly in his footnotes.
* BrickJoke: Early in the first book, Bartimaeus explains that the footnotes are due to the fact that he has multiple layers of conscious thought--he can go off on tangents while still thinking about the original subject. Late in the third book, [[spoiler: when he and Nathaniel combine, he tries to do the footnotes again, but Nathaniel stops him because it feels really, ''really'' weird.]]
* BrilliantButLazy: Mr. Button is implied to be an incredibly powerful magician, who could easily stand up to some of the magicians on the council, but he is not interested in power; rather he is interested in knowledge. As such he remains a very low level magician.
* TheBrute: Jabor all the way.
* CallForward: Several in the prequel, most notably Khaba [[spoiler: and his shadow, a marid, being his equal and in love.]]
* CassandraTruth: [[spoiler: Faquarl when he says it's possible for the spirits to start a revolution (though it fails, he still ''started'' one). Also, Nathaniel's theories are never believed until it's almost too late.]]
* CatsAreMagic: Cats are the only animals naturally able to see more than one plane.
* CerebusSyndrome: The first book is noticeably lighter, shorter and has a kinder Nathaniel. That changes fast.
* ChainedHeat: Nathaniel and Bartimaeus in book three, while [[spoiler: Bartimaeus is possessing and mind-linked with Nathaniel]].
* CharacterDevelopment: Done very well for all three main characters.
* ChefOfIron: Farqual's preferred form is a jovial chef - Bartimaeus notes that he's been hanging around in kitchens for a few thousand years. This also makes him an EvilChef.
* ChekhovsGun:
** In ''Amulet of Samarkand'', Bartimaeus mentions seeing a golem's eye among Lovelace's possessions, commenting that he probably didn't know what it was when he bought it. [[spoiler:When Lovelace is killed, the eye is stolen by Duvall.]]
** In "Golem's Eye" Jakob makes an offhand remark to Kitty that since his family runs a binding shop, they can doctor any books Tallow sends to them as revenge for assaulting Jakob. [[spoiler: Later, when the various magicians perform a mass summoning to quell Honorius, Tallow attempts to summon an afrit. His book contained an error Jakob's family put in, and the afrit devours him whole.]]
** First played straight and later subverted by the serpent statue in the prequel. [[spoiler:Bartimaeus uses it to get rid of his master near the beginning of the book after being told about its powers by the spirit that had been guarding it. At the end, Solomon tries to use it on Khaba, but only succeeds in activating its anti-theft mechanisms on himself.]]
* TheChessmaster: The magicians all attempt to be this, with reasonable amounts of success; [[spoiler: Makepeace did a terrifyingly good job of it.]]
* ComeOutComeOutWhereverYouAre: [[spoiler: Used by Ammet the marid to Bartimaeus in ''The Ring of Solomon''. Also used by Honorius on Kitty in ''The Golems Eye'' when they loot Gladstones tomb.]]
* CompensatingForSomething: Kitty accuses Bartimaeus of this in ''Ptolemy's Gate'' when he appears in the form of a hideous, roaring demon.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Tybalt in the prequel. He normally takes the form of a harmless white mouse, but is implied to be a very powerful spirit. (Although we never get to see exactly ''how'' powerful. We don't even know what class of spirit he is!)
* CrystalBall: One method of scrying; bowls and discs are also common.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:Faquarl vs. four djinn sent to capture him. (More precisely, they were sent to capture the person whose body he was residing in, and so didn't really see that coming.)]]
** [[spoiler:Honorius vs. The Resistance.]]
* TheDarkSide: The change from Nathaniel to John Mandrake in the second and third books.
* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: The third book shows this, to some extent.
* DeadpanSnarker: Bartimaeus; Kitty also has her moments.
* DemBones: Honorius, the mad afrit, was charged to guard Gladstone's tomb and did so by encasing himself in Gladstone's skeleton.
* DemonicPossession: Honorius in the second book possesses the bones of Gladstone; in addition, [[spoiler: hundreds of demons possess the British parliament in Nouda and Faquarl's rebellion - Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are forced to do the same in order to stop them.]]
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Bartimaeus gives bigger, more powerful spirits lip too often for his own good.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Since he's big on self-preservation, this happens a lot less, but still occurs, especially in Book 3.
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Duvall. After he is arrested, he tries to escape by turning into a werewolf and killing his guards, then jumping out the window. Unfortunately for him, they were five floors up.]]
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:Quentin Makepeace, who resembles a foppish playwright in the prime minister's company.]]
* TheDragon:
** Faquarl and Jabor serve this role to Simon Lovelace in the first book.
** Faquarl in the third book serves as this to [[spoiler: Makepeace (in his disguise as Hopkins) and later, Nouda. Of course, he's actually weaker than Nouda, since Nouda is a force of nature.]]
* DoubleEntendre: In this scene.
-->'''Nathaniel:''' I tried last night and you were gone. Who was it? Which magician were you seeing?
-->'''Bartimaeus:''' Don’t get so worked up. It was a brief encounter. Nothing serious. It’s over.
-->'''Nathaniel:''' Nothing serious? Think I’m going to believe that?
-->'''Bartimaeus:''' Calm down, Mr. Jealous. You’re making a scene.
-->'''Nathaniel:''' Who was it? Man or woman?
-->'''Bartimaeus:''' Look, I know what you’re thinking, and I didn’t.
* [[spoiler: DragonWithAnAgenda: Faquarl. He engineers, by out-Chessmaster-ing Makepeace, a chance for spirits to rebel against and take revenge on humanity.]]
* DumbMuscle: Jabor has the personality down pat. We are never actually told he's dumb. It's possible he just can't think straight when angry. Of course, since he's [[strike:almost]] ALWAYS angry...
** Most afrits are described as being this.
* {{Dystopia}}: Magician-ruled England, and many other sorcerous empires.
* EldritchAbomination
** The spirits on the higher planes, Faquarl especially. His true form (which is never described besides having tentacles) makes even other demons queasy and he even killed some ravens when he appeared to them in that form. Furthermore, Ramuthra [[spoiler: and later Nouda]] appear as, respectively, a disturbance on all seven planes, only visible because he's the only area that isn't being ripped at the seams [[spoiler: and, after inhabiting a normal human body, a mass of inhuman tentacles: barbs, horns, you name it.]]
* EldritchLocation: The "Other Place" where all imps, foliots, djinn, afrits, and marids "live". It is possible for a human to visit, but is strongly recommended against, as it wreaks havoc on both body (staying in the Other Place too long forces the person to forget how to move their physical body) and mind (it's quite the AcidTripDimension, and the person will be trapped forever, absorbed by some spirit's essence if he or she does not have a trustworthy spirit to call upon and serve as a guide.)
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Subverted in the second book; Nathaniel fails to activate Gladstone's Staff and instead gets knocked out by it. [[spoiler: Not so in the third book, where he gets the seven-league boots from the mercenary, retrieves Gladstone's Staff and is then possessed by Bartimaeus, which enhances his magical aptitude and physical ability enough so that he can go skipping across London, destroying human/spirit hybrids at every turn with the same staff he couldn't use earlier.]]
* EnemyMine: Bartimaeus and Faquarl in the prequel, due to sharing the same master (and equally loathing said master).
* EnigmaticMinion: Bartimaeus, from Kitty's point of view.
* EvilCounterpart:
** Faquarl is this to Bartimaeus. Both are djinn of considerable power and cunning and resent the spirits' slavery by magicians. [[spoiler:However, while Faquarl sets off a violent spirit rebellion against humanity, Bartimaeus, through interactions with people such as Ptolemy, Kitty, and Nathaniel, starts to believe that both people and spirits can change for the better and ends up saving humanity.]]
** Simon Lovelace is what Nathaniel could have become if he allowed his ambition to consume him. [[spoiler:In the later books, Nathaniel at the lower points of his CharacterDevelopment starts to resemble Simon Lovelace, which Bartimaeus points out.]]
* EvilIsNotAToy: The message that magicians attempt to instill in their apprentices, reminding them that if they make the slightest mistake the demon will be free to destroy them. In ''Ptolemy's Gate'' [[spoiler: Makepeace and his conspirators believe they can control demons massively more powerful than themselves through willpower, and are taken over. Makepeace himself is particularly notable for summoning into his own body Nouda, a creature that would usually require several magicians to summon and partially control under normal circumstances.]]
* ExactWords: [[spoiler: Bartimaeus allows Kitty to escape anywhere but in Nathaniel's limo, because his orders were "Stop them from escaping in that car!"]] This is actually a recurring theme in the series, as demons are required to carry out the orders that their masters give them, but they can interpret those words with some liberty, making exact words important for loopholes.
** Another great example in Solomon's Ring: [[spoiler: At the end, Bartimaeus is ordered to drop the Ring in the ocean. When he returns (after a chase and battle), he reveals that he still has the Ring. How? Asmira didn't say he had to ''leave'' it in the ocean.]]
* ExpositoryHairstylechange: Nathaniel's haircut between books two and three underscores the changes in his personality.
* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler: The demon/human hybrids in the third book; Nouda becomes more demon than human rather quickly, though.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: Going into government leads to this, invariably.
* FailureKnight: We learn in book three that [[spoiler:Bartimaeus]] feels this way about [[spoiler:Ptolemy]].
* FairWeatherMentor: All of Nathaniel's masters are willing to sacrifice him to save their own reputations.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Kitty at the end of Book 2.]]
* FemmeFatale: Jane Farrar, though she's not as good as she likes to think.
* FirstPersonSmartass: Bartimaeus in the chapters he narrates, and even more so in the footnotes.
* FootnoteFever: Bartimaeus's sections are littered with it.
* FunctionalMagic
** Theurgy, with elements of Rule Magic.
** GeometricMagic
** SummonMagic
* GenieInABottle: Used in several ways. The Indefinite Confinement spell is a punishment for disobedient spirits, and traps them eternally in whatever object the magician selects. Additionally, it is apparently possible to trap many spirits inside objects such as bottles if they enter of their own free will. However, it's also an ancient trick that is very unlikely to work.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Magicians have glasses (though contact lenses are far more popular) that allow them to see past the guises of weaker spirits by enabling them to view up to the third plane.
* {{Golem}}
* GoodAllAlong: Nathaniel.
* GovernmentConspiracy
* GreyAndGrayMorality: The less morally questionable governmental bickering.
* HappinessInSlavery: Simpkin, a minor demon character, is happy to be a servant. Also a major theme in The Ring of Solomon, with both the human protagonist and TheDragon. Bartimaeus finds the idea of willing servitude an abomination.
* HeroAntagonist: Kitty for a good portion of the second book.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Nathaniel and Ptolemy.]] Subverted with [[spoiler: Bartimaeus's master during the siege of Prague. He accidentally blew himself up trying to save the Emperor, and Bartimaeus calls this his finest moment since it freed Bartimaeus and thus saved his life.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Nathaniel and the junior magicians at the end of the third book.]]
* HeelRealization: Nathaniel in the third book.
* HistoricalInJoke: Bartimaeus's anecdotes about his past masters. Quite a few about Britain as well, such as Gladstone's famous magicians' duel with Disraeli.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Simon Lovelace is devoured by the very being he summoned to destroy all his opposition in the government]].
* HumansAreBastards: Bartimaeus certainly thinks so, while Nathaniel thinks djinn are AlwaysChaoticEvil. The ultimate conclusion seems to be that neither species is inherently better or worse.
* HypocriticalHumor: Bartimaeus, at times. It's unclear how aware he is of his hypocrisy, though.
-->Bartimaeus: Faquarl wasn't a sly old equivocator like Tchue; he prided himself on blunt speaking. Mind you, he did have a weakness for boasting. If you believed all his stories, you'd have thought him responsible for most of the world's major landmarks as well as being adviser and confidant to all the notable magicians. This, as I once remarked to Solomon, was quite a ridiculous claim.
** From the nature of his interactions with Solomon in The Ring of Solomon it seems unlikely that they ever got around to discussing Faquarl, which also brings up the subject of UnreliableNarrator.
*** Don't forget the part where Bartimaeus's section ends with this exchange:
--->"But we haven't time..."
--->I spoke gently to quieten him. "Just watch and listen."
--->I didn't show it, but I was worried myself now. The boy was right: we really had no time. *Skip to Nathaniel's part*
--->"But we haven't time-" Nathaniel began.
--->"Just shut up and watch!" The fly was buzzing frantically around their prison. It sounded decidedly panicked.
*** It's left unclear as to which author is ''accurately'' portraying the scene.
* IKnowYourTrueName: Magician's birth names are closely guarded secrets as knowledge of them protects you from most of their magic, while demons can only be summoned using one of their (many) true names. Barimaeus knows Nathanial's true name, which means that Nathaniel continuing to summon Bartimaeus would ordinarily be considered recklessly dangerous. However, the two have reached an agreement. Ptolemy told Bartimaeus his true name the first time that he asked. He, however, was unique-- he never employed any punishment spells against the spirits he summoned (thus no magic to turn against him) and gained their trust through politeness and dogged persistence.
* IdiotBall: For all his intelligence, Bartimaeus gets this on occasion. For example, accidentally leading Lovelace to Underwood's house in the first book, and turning off the lights when faced with Faquarl in the third book (even though spirits can see perfectly well in the dark).
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Played with: TrueNeutral demon Bartimaeus [[spoiler:persuades Kitty to save Nathaniel by telling her, "if you let him die, you'll be just like ''me''."]]
* IHaveManyNames: Bartimaeus, a.k.a. Bartimaeus of Uruk, Sakhr al-Jinni, N'Gorso the mighty, the Serpent of Silver Plumes...
** Most importantly, his Egyptian name, which is Rekhyt.
* ImAHumanitarian: Most demons, who show no qualms about devouring either humans or each other. Bartimaeus enjoys playing it for squick in the [[FootnoteFever footnotes]]. [[FridgeBrilliance Possibly due to their nature in the Other Place, in which they have no true individual identity, combined with their hatred for humans over thousands of years of slavery]].
* ImplacableMan:
** The bearded mercenary.
** Anyone with sufficiently strong resilience becomes this.
** Subverted painfully [[spoiler:when the Resistance attempts to rob Gladstone's tomb. Also, even someone as strong as the mercenary can be brought down with truly overwhelming application of magic.]]
* ImprobableAge: Nathaniel is on the fast track to being a government minister by the time he is fourteen. Granted, he was a prodigy with high-end magical knowledge early on (though little practice), and he narrowly saved the prime minister's life.
* IncomingHam: Bartimaeus, like most spirits, enjoys making his initial materialization in the human world as flashy as possible. The first lines in the entire series are describing him doing an act that wouldn't be out of place in ReligiousHorror climaxes.
* InsistentTerminology: Spirits really hate being called demons (or the equivalent in the local language). Additionally, in ''The Ring of Solomon'', Asmira hates being referred to as either a "slave" or an "assassin," insisting that she's a "hereditary guard."
* InspectorJavert: Nathaniel -> Kitty at some points.
* InSpiteOfANail: Although Gladstone was a magician who became Prime Minister by overthrowing the non-magical government of Britian and instituting a police state, he still had a famous rivalry with (his fellow magician) Disraeli; although Europe's major empire in the first half of the 19th century was Prague, London still has a Trafalgar Square containing Nelson's Column.
* InterspeciesRomance: Parodied and ridiculed, not that it stops the Shippers. Also, while it may not qualify as romance per se, Succubi exist and are at times summoned. In The Ring of Solomon, the BigBad and his [[TheDragon shadow]].
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: From ''The Golem's Eye'':
-->'''Kitty:''' You're all callous and wicked and heartless and vain!
-->'''Nathaniel:''' Vain? How wonderfully hysterical. I'm just well turned out. Presentation's important, you know.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: Oh so subverted. Played straight in the minor occurrence, also [[spoiler: somewhat inverted]] in the major occurrence, based on the last sentence. [[spoiler: Nathaniel, also, seems to have changed enough to feel it was an honor, though he refuses to admit it. He is, after all, very old-fashioned in some ways, and perhaps a tad {{tsundere}}]].
* TheJuggernaut: The golem in the second book, as well as The Mercenary due to his extraordinary resilience.
* KidWithTheLeash: Deconstructed/subverted: Nathaniel firmly believes that demons are AlwaysChaoticEvil, and that elaborate incantations and [[ExactWords careful wording]] are necessary to keep enslaved summons in check. While this is not unjustified (Bartimaeus is very open about his willingness to free himself by killing Nathaniel and brags of magicians he has killed in the past), Bartimaeus - the demon - is often [[NobleDemon more moral]] than Nathaniel. He complains about being given less-than-ethical tasks, and there are hints throughout the series that both the djinni and the boy would be better off if Nathaniel [[ThePowerOfTrust had shown more trust in him]]. However, it is quite clear that even Nathaniel and Bartimaeus's strained relationship is unusual and that spirits will destroy their masters in painful ways given any opportunity.
** Of course, even that idea is subverted - when Kitty calls up Bartimaeus with talk of friendship and mutual trust, he challenges her to step outside the bounds of the pentacle protecting her to demonstrate ''her'' trust, and when she doesn't, he remarks that it was "worth a try". Whether he would have killed her, simply left, or actually taken her up on her offer was left an open question due to the ambiguity of that statement.
* KickTheDog: The magicians frequently do so.
* KnightTemplar: Nathaniel is a borderline case in the later books.
* LargeHam:
** Bartimaeus tops a long list.
** Jabor [[NoIndoorVoice HAS NO DIALOGUE NOT DELIVERED IN ALL-CAPS!!]]
** Given his theatrical persona, Quentin Makepeace definitely counts.
* LaResistance: The Resistance. Numerous references to others are mentioned in the third book.
* LemonyNarrator: Bartimaeus, in the chapters he narrates.
* TheLegionsOfHell: [[spoiler:Nouda and co. in Book 3.]]
* LiteralGenie: Both straight and averted. The orders spirits get function like this and magicians try to word orders to avoid problems, but spirits are rarely shown exploiting this, likely because fulfilling the letter of their order doesn't protect them from magical punishment. Bartimaeus does manage to take advantage of it at times. [[spoiler:Also, in the third book, a rather large lampshade is hung on the fact that the spirits failed to exploit a loophole in an agreement.]]
* LivingShadow: Khaba has one in the prequel, [[spoiler:which is actually a marid]].
* MachiavelliWasWrong: The contrast between Bartimaeus's relationship with Nathaniel and his relationship with Ptolemy.
* MacGuffin: The Amulet of Samarkand, among others. (Except that they get used).
* TheMagocracy: A very corrupted one, at that.
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Quentin Makepeace]].
* TheMessiah: Ptolemy was like this - no wonder Bartimaeus still likes him. [[spoiler:Nathaniel also becomes this at the end of his long CharacterDevelopment.]]
* {{Masquerade}}: While magic is no secret - the government is run by magicians - [[{{Muggles}} "commoners"]] are kept from knowing that the magicians' power comes from enslaved demons; without them they are just ordinary humans.
* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler: Solomon]], to an extent.
* MonumentalBattle: A memorable scene in the British Museum, among others.
* MonumentalDamage
* MoreHeroThanThou
* {{Muggles}}: "Commoners."
* MultipleNarrativeModes: There are multiple narrators, one of which is first-person and the rest of which are third-person.
* MundaneUtility: Bartimaeus in the beginning of Book 3.
* MustMakeAmends: [[spoiler: Nathaniel when he gives Kitty the Amulet of Samarkand, despite the fact that he would make more use of it.]]
* MysteriousMercenaryPursuer: The... Mercenary.
* MyGreatestFailure: Bartimaeus not being able to save [[spoiler: Ptolemy, because the boy dismissed him at the cost of his own life.]]
* TheNastyParty
* NeverFoundTheBody
* NobleDemon: Bartimaeus.
* NoBloodTies: Enforced just for the magicians, who are not allowed any biological children, but are later given an orphan as an apprentice. This is to prevent instances of FeudingFamilies, which apparently happened frequently enough in the past to be quite a problem.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: What usually happens to Bartimaeus when he goes up against a demon out of his weight class, such as a marid, in a straight fight. An example is found at the beginning of ''The Golem's Eye'', when he goes up against Honorious and is soundly thrashed for his trouble.
* TheNondescript: Mr. Hopkins.
* NonHumanSidekick: Bartimaeus, sort of.
* NoodleIncident: The "messy episode of the Anarchist and the Oyster."
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: Honorius, among others]].
* NotMyDriver
* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler:In the third book, by stealing magicians' bodies and setting off violent revolt against humanity, Faquarl, Nouda, and other spirits become the very thing they resented, which Bartimaeus doesn't hesitate to point out. Of course, one of the main themes of the trilogy is slavery and how it corrupts both the slavers and the enslaved. Best demonstrated in the following exchange:]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Faquarl''': Vengeance is our master here. It keeps us here. It gives us purpose.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Bartimaeus''': 'Purpose' is a ''human'' concept. We never needed that before. This body of yours isn't a disguise anymore, is it? It isn't just a barrier against pain. It's what you are busily becoming.]]
* NotWearingPants
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: All of the magicians, to a certain degree.
* OrSoIHeard: Bartimaeus sometimes likes to use this to explain his knowledge of subjects he considers himself too dignified to otherwise know about, such as the crude Egyptian game "Dogs and Jackals."
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: See below.
* OurGeniesAreDifferent: They're demons.
** On the contrary! "Demon" is a highly offensive and pejorative term. They're ''exalted spirits''!
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: They're police officers.
** if only there was an 'our police officers are different' trope.
* OvertRendezvous: Nathaniel is asked to meet the British agent in Prague at a cemetery at midnight. Complaining about the melodrama, he insists that their next meeting be somewhere more ordinary and they agree to meet in the main square around six - "Harlequin" had wanted to pick the old plague pits. He does cope with the change well, and [[spoiler: Nathaniel receives his information in a hot dog bun he bought from the disguised agent.]]
* PaintingTheFourthWall: Bartimaeus hangs a nice painting off it, too.
* {{Paratext}}
** Bartimaeus peppers the chapters he narrates with long, digressive, usually humorous footnotes. It is later mentioned that, as a djinni, he has the ability to carry on two or more trains of thought at once.
** Bartimaeus, as part of his introduction, informs us, as an aid to our comprehension of his cranial capacity, that were the text in the book overlaid with the text of three more novels, he could observe the jumble of ink that we would see and discern the text of all four stories, and comprehend them perfectly, without any trouble whatsoever. This is the sort of IQ found in the things wizards trap in order to get their power. That's a being I'd treat with a little respect.
*** It's not so much IQ as actually having a multiple-track mind. While humans have one conscious and one unconscious track, spirits have several tracks. IIRC, Bartimaeus mentions that he has the ability to simultaneously make small talk, search a room for possible ways to escape, think about various things, and sneak attack the person he is talking to.
*** Subverted hilariously in Ptolemy's Gate, when he is telling us something in a footnote, and [[spoiler: Nathaniel, who is melded with Bart at the time, cuts him off in mid-footnote, saying outside of said footnote, "Will you stop doing that? It's distracting!"]]
* ParentalAbandonment: Happens to ''all'' magicians, at least those of this universe's London. Parents can choose to give up their children for the government to have them trained into magicians for a hefty sum in return.
* PassThePopcorn: In ''Golem's Eye'' Bartimaeus comments, "All I need is some popcorn," as he watches Nathaniel get himself in trouble. He also does this, possibly anachronistically if he hasn't yet been summoned in the Americas, in ''The Ring of Solomon'' as he watches the spirit army summoned by the ring descend on Jerusalem.
* PetTheDog: Nathaniel does so occasionally.
* PoliceState
* PossessionImpliesMastery: Subverted. [[spoiler:Bartimaeus scoffs when Nathaniel tries to use the newly-retrieved [[ForgottenSuperweapon Gladstone's staff]] to fight the golem, saying it's impossible for the boy to master such a powerful object on his first try. To his disbelief, Nathaniel seems to generate a powerful aura around the staff... which backfires, knocking Nathaniel unconscious.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: Ptolemy.
* PowerTrio: [[spoiler:Only at the end of the last book]]
* PowerOfTrust: Crucial in the third book. [[spoiler:It's Kitty's trust in Bartimaeus that allows Bartimaeus to regain his faith in humans and save London from the spirit revolt.]]
* PowersViaPossession: Attempted by [[spoiler: Makepeace.]] It [[GoneHorriblyWrong doesn't work very well]]. [[spoiler:Goes better with Bartimaeus and Nathaniel.]]
* PropagandaMachine: Nathaniel serves as this role in the third book.
* PuppeteerParasite: [[spoiler: The demons summoned in the third book. Originally intended as a way for magicians to gain power by summoning a spirit into themselves, the spirits took over and then began forcing other magicians to summon spirits into themselves.]]
* RavensAndCrows: A form Jakob's grandmother said that demons take. Bartimaeus and other spirits, such as the imps guarding the Tower of London, repeatedly take the form of a crow.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Bartimaeus is thousands of years old, but his preferred form looks about twelve.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Poor, poor Nathaniel.]]
* ReversePsychology: [[spoiler:Bartimaeus "praises" Kitty for her "intelligence" in leaving Nathaniel to his doom. He also uses this to trick a trapped marid into revealing the secrets of Solomon's Ring, and to manipulate several of his previous masters to their deaths and...yeah, he does this a lot.]]
* TheRival: Faquarl -> Bartimaeus; Jane Farrar -> Nathaniel.
* RivalTurnedEvil
* SaveTheVillain: Inverted: towards the end of ''The Golem's Eye'', [[spoiler:Kitty saves an unconscious Nathaniel from the golem, even though he has been her InspectorJavert for much of the book and has just betrayed her with the intention of arresting her.]]
* SayingTooMuch: In ''The Ring of Solomon'', Bartimaeus at one point wears the guise of a pygmy hippo that bears more than a passing resemblance to one of Solomon's wives. Solomon is annoyed because he ordered that none of the spirits wear unnatural guises, but doesn't notice the resemblance to that particular wife. Much later in the book, Solomon chastises Bartimaeus for his various transgressions and mentions the hippo guise and Bartimaeus protests that it looked nothing like his wife. Solomon stops him and says that what he was ''going'' to say was that it showed disrespect for the sanctity of his temple.
* SealedEvilInACan
* ShapeshifterDefaultForm: Bartimaeus has a plethora of guises at hand, but in the trilogy he is known to be most comfortable in the appearance of Ptolemy. Faquarl similarly defaults to the appearance of a pudgy chef with a meat cleaver.
* SharingABody: [[spoiler: Bartimaeus and Nathaniel in Book 3.]]
* ShoutOut: Many, mostly to mythology and classic literature, and a very brief LawyerFriendlyCameo by Twoflower of {{Discworld}} fame. [[MandrakeTheMagician His name is "Mandrake" and he's a "magician."]]
* ShooTheDog: [[spoiler: Ptolemy and Nathaniel to Bartimaeus; Bartimaeus and Nathaniel to Kitty]].
* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:In the third book, when Faquarl accuses Bartimaeus of betraying his kind, Bartimaeus angrily retorts that Faquarl is the traitor who abandoned the Other Place (where they and other spirits come from) and even encouraged other spirits to leave for the sake of vengeance.]]
* SlaveToPR: Nathaniel in the later books, once he enters politics - note that this does not necessarily make him more ethical, just more underhanded.
* SmugSnake: Lovelace. Nathaniel himself in the second book. And Julius Tallow. And [[spoiler:Duvall, seeing as Makepeace played him like a fiddle.]] And [[spoiler:seeing as how Faquarl played ''him'' like a fiddle, Quentin Makepeace probably counts.]] Hell, just about ''every'' magician counts.
* SnoopingLittleKid: Nathaniel in the first book.
* SpiritWorld: The "Other Place."
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Khaba]] in the prequel.
* SummonBiggerFish: [[spoiler:At the end of the prequel, Bartimaeus does this using Solomon's Ring to get rid of Ammet.]]
* SummoningRitual
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Any time Bartimaeus and Nathaniel work together without a pentacle; actually a subversion, as Bartimaeus would have killed Nathaniel if there hadn't been other parts in the agreement to stop it... Or so he insist.
* ThatManIsDead:
** "You'll notice I'm calling you John Mandrake now... the boy who was Nathaniel's fading, almost gone."
** In the middle of book three, [[spoiler:Ms. Lutyens outright tells Nathaniel that he is no longer the boy who was grateful to her and leaves in disgust.]]
** Then finally, at the end of book three, [[spoiler:Nathaniel tells Kitty his birth name, and no longer goes by Mandrake, looking at how he used to be with disgust.]]
** To a lesser extent, Kitty. She considers giving one of her false identities to the junior magicians... and realizes she doesn't need to.
* TrickingTheShapeshifter - When Kitty tries to use this on Bartimaeus, he laughs at the idea that he would fall for one of TheOldestTricksInTheBook. He notes, however, that had the trick worked it would have been a very powerful binding charm since he would have imprisoned himself of his own free will.
* {{Trickster}}: Bartimaeus.
* TrilogyCreep: It ''was'' a trilogy, then along came the announcement of a prequel.
* TwoPartTrilogy: The second and third books are more connected in theme, plot, and character than the first to the second.
* UnknownRival: Twelve-year-old Nathaniel -> Simon Lovelace in Book 1.
* UnreliableNarrator: Bartimaeus.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Nathaniel and Kitty; Jane Farrar and John Mandrake, though he's probably happy about that last one being unresolved.
* VillainProtagonist: Nathaniel, sometimes. Also, depending on your point of view, the human protagonist of The Ring of Solomon for much of the book.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Simon Lovelace, [[spoiler:Duvall]], [[spoiler:Quentin Makepeace]].
* VolleyingInsults: Bartimaeus and Nathaniel at their most childish - i.e. most of the time.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Bartimaeus and the other spirits, though the number of shapes varies,[[spoiler:and Kitty while in The Other Place, though she's not very good at it.]] Djinn seem to have the most diverse forms, with lower-level spirits lacking the imagination and high-level spirits being somewhat mode-locked due to their own power.
* WaterWakeup: Nathaniel gets one in Book 2.
* WeakButSkilled: Bartimaeus, relatively. Djinn are in the middle in the hirearchy of conventional, commonly summoned demons (behind afrits and marids). He's a moderately strong djinni, but is weaker than Faquarl and Jabor in an all-out fight, not to mention anything stronger. He gets by with his wits and running away at appropriate times, especially as he grows progressively less strong in Book 3 from being continually summoned. As djinn are the most powerful demon likely to be summoned, with afrits and marids being a sign of OhCrap levels of power, he's often moderately outclassed.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Spirits and silver/iron - but somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that they are alien to earth and ''everything'' connected to it causes them discomfort (like we get from fire because we are alien to it). It's part of traditional folklore that silver and iron weapons are effective against supernatural beings.
* WeAreAsMayflies: Bartimaeus claims to avoid becoming attached to his human masters because he knows he will inevitably outlive them.
* WhatTheHellHero: Bartimaeus calls Nathaniel on this every time, though Nathaniel rarely seems to get the point. It is open to interpretation whether Bartimaeus actually ''cares'' or just gets his kicks seeing Nathaniel squirm.
* {{Whitehall}}: An alternate universe version.
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: None of Faquarl's forms are desribed as having white hair, but he has the personality down pat.
* WideEyedIdealist: Nathaniel - he gets over it. [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Almost too far over it]] at least for a while. More purely, Ptolemy and Kitty.
* WouldHitAGirl: Played with. In the opening of ''The Ring of Solomon'', the magician Ezekiel grows annoyed with Bartimaeus's cheek and threatens to pummel him with a punishment called the "Essence Fist." "You'd hit a woman?" asks Bartimaeus, who is wearing a sultry female guise at the moment.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: [[LaResistance The Resistance]] is introduced as a group of crazy teenage anarchists who want to bring down the noble and just government.
----
As Nathaniel learns to navigate the realm of magic and politics, he crosses paths with Kitty Jones, a [[{{Muggles}} "commoner"]] with ties to the mysterious group called [[LaResistance the Resistance]].
[[AC: The trilogy by Jonathan Stroud:]]
* ''The Amulet of Samarkand''
* ''The Golem's Eye''
* ''Ptolemy's Gate''
* ''The Ring of Solomon,'' a prequel set, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin surprisingly enough]], in the time of Solomon.
----
!!This series provides examples of:
* ActionGirl: Kitty, Asmira from the prequel, and some of the "female" demons, assuming they have genders.
* AdultsAreUseless: Not all of them, admittedly, but the {{Big Bad}}s are all defeated with the brains of a kid or a couple of kids, the mentors are all [[FairWeatherMentor fairweather]] and the commoner adults are generally sheep. This may be somewhat of an overstatement, though, as most of the plotting and trickery is pulled off by a djinni who is thousands of years old. Additionally, many adult commoners secretly resist the government in later novels.
* AffablyEvil: Almost all of the magicians.
* AgeAppropriateAngst: Averted; Nathaniel's reaction to TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive is surprisingly cold for a young boy. Also inverted to an extent. In the first book, he is [[spoiler:devastated at Mrs. Underwood's death]], but by the second, his hair takes top priority. [[spoiler: Though also played straight in the third book where he has complex feelings about the cruelties of the government and his own part in it, culminating in his HeroicSacrifice]].
* AllMythsAreTrue: Mythology from all over the world shows up in this universe - and, if Bartimaeus is to be believed, he had a hand in most of it.
* AlternateHistory: Gladstone in this universe led a campaign to conquer all of Europe...and was a magician.
** Since magic exists in this version of our world, it also fits the NeverWasThisUniverse type of AlternateHistory.
** The American Revolution has just recently started in modern times. In the third book, the demons are threatened with "being sent to fight in the Colonies".
* AmazonBrigade: The hereditary guards of the Queen of Sheba in ''The Ring of Solomon''.
* AmbitionIsEvil
* AntiHero:
** Nathaniel, at his high points.
** Bartimaeus and Kitty too. (Yes, Kitty has noble intentions, but do remember that she's a terrorist.) So, everyone.
* AntiMagic: The "resilience" possessed by Kitty Jones and several other characters, as well as the most dangerous property of a Golem: as an immensely powerful creature of earth, it is [[ElementalRockPaperScissors anathema to the spirits composed of air and fire that the magicians summon.]]
* AntiVillain: Nathaniel becomes one at the low point of his CharacterDevelopment.
* ApothecaryAlligator: Mentioned in Book 1 in the description of the magician Arthur Underwood's study. Bart notes that this is a good indication that Underwood is distinctly second rate and trying to hide it; truly powerful magicians favor a sleek, modern look.
* ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: Solomon to Asmira in ''The Ring of Solomon'' after Khaba is defeated and the Ring returned to him.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Justified since the government consists of powerful magicians. Also see KlingonPromotion below.
* BadassBoast: Bartimaeus, constantly. For example: "I am Bartimaeus of Uruk! I am Sakhr al-Jinni, N'gorso the Mighty and the Serpent of Silver Plumes! I have rebuilt the walls of Uruk, Karnak and Prague. I have spoken with Solomon. I have run with the buffalo fathers of the plains. I have watched over Old Zimbabwe till the stones fell and the jackals fed on its people. I am Bartimaeus!" However, it's just as likely to be subverted when the subject either doesn't recognize him or is simply unimpressed.
** "You rebuilt the walls of Prague? [[SubvertedTrope What, the ones that took Gladstone ten seconds to break through]]? Sure you didn't work on [[TheBible Jericho]] too?"
*** "[[StopHelpingMe Yes, but he doesn't like to talk about it]]--"
* BadassLongcoat: Unsuccessfully [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by Nathaniel. He marks his rise in society by buying a long black coat that [[DramaticWind billows dramatically behind him]] when he walks, hoping for exactly this effect. It doesn't work.
* BadassNormal: Kitty Jones.
** Semi-normal. [[spoiler:She's immune to magic, remember?]]
* BeautifulAllAlong: Kitty, when Nathaniel first sees her aura. She sarcastically retorts, "Only just now?"
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Most of the government has been killed off, much of the city is in ruins, and [[HeroicSacrifice Nathaniel is dead]]. On the other hand, things are looking up for a more equal society, and Nouda is dead.]]
* BigBad: One for each book, but it's ultimately revealed that [[spoiler: Quentin Makepeace]] tops them all.
* BigBrotherIsEmployingYou: Commoners are frequently needed for messy or difficult jobs like tutoring apprentices and manufacturing spellbooks.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: The vigilance spheres used throughout the series.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: The commoners in the Resistance aren't immune to pettiness, greed, cowardice, and prejudice.
* BlatantLies: When Ptolemy first summons Bartimaeus, Bartimaeus greets him with the following - "I know the secrets of the earth and the mysteries of the air; I know the key to the minds of women." In his footnote, he comments "Patently all lies. Especially the last bit."
* BlessedWithSuck: Solomon's ring is an item of unparalleled magical power, one that gives him undisputed rule of any kingdom he set his eyes on, allows him to summon 20,000 demons with a single twist, and is basically the reason for his entire success. [[spoiler: It also causes him incredibly pain to wear it, and saps his life force with every use. He can only take it off while he sleeps, because if he is ever seen without it, his circle of magicians will slay him and take the ring for themselves in a second. On top of this, due to the many miracles he worked with the ring in his youth, the populace expects him to use the ring to solve every little problem. As a result Solomon must continue to shorten his life to appease the people, and spend what little of it he has left in unbearable agony.]]
* BreakTheCutie: Kitty's flashback.
* BreakTheHaughty: Nathaniel, particularly in the third book.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Bartimaeus sometimes addresses the readers directly in his footnotes.
* BrickJoke: Early in the first book, Bartimaeus explains that the footnotes are due to the fact that he has multiple layers of conscious thought--he can go off on tangents while still thinking about the original subject. Late in the third book, [[spoiler: when he and Nathaniel combine, he tries to do the footnotes again, but Nathaniel stops him because it feels really, ''really'' weird.]]
* BrilliantButLazy: Mr. Button is implied to be an incredibly powerful magician, who could easily stand up to some of the magicians on the council, but he is not interested in power; rather he is interested in knowledge. As such he remains a very low level magician.
* TheBrute: Jabor all the way.
* CallForward: Several in the prequel, most notably Khaba [[spoiler: and his shadow, a marid, being his equal and in love.]]
* CassandraTruth: [[spoiler: Faquarl when he says it's possible for the spirits to start a revolution (though it fails, he still ''started'' one). Also, Nathaniel's theories are never believed until it's almost too late.]]
* CatsAreMagic: Cats are the only animals naturally able to see more than one plane.
* CerebusSyndrome: The first book is noticeably lighter, shorter and has a kinder Nathaniel. That changes fast.
* ChainedHeat: Nathaniel and Bartimaeus in book three, while [[spoiler: Bartimaeus is possessing and mind-linked with Nathaniel]].
* CharacterDevelopment: Done very well for all three main characters.
* ChefOfIron: Farqual's preferred form is a jovial chef - Bartimaeus notes that he's been hanging around in kitchens for a few thousand years. This also makes him an EvilChef.
* ChekhovsGun:
** In ''Amulet of Samarkand'', Bartimaeus mentions seeing a golem's eye among Lovelace's possessions, commenting that he probably didn't know what it was when he bought it. [[spoiler:When Lovelace is killed, the eye is stolen by Duvall.]]
** In "Golem's Eye" Jakob makes an offhand remark to Kitty that since his family runs a binding shop, they can doctor any books Tallow sends to them as revenge for assaulting Jakob. [[spoiler: Later, when the various magicians perform a mass summoning to quell Honorius, Tallow attempts to summon an afrit. His book contained an error Jakob's family put in, and the afrit devours him whole.]]
** First played straight and later subverted by the serpent statue in the prequel. [[spoiler:Bartimaeus uses it to get rid of his master near the beginning of the book after being told about its powers by the spirit that had been guarding it. At the end, Solomon tries to use it on Khaba, but only succeeds in activating its anti-theft mechanisms on himself.]]
* TheChessmaster: The magicians all attempt to be this, with reasonable amounts of success; [[spoiler: Makepeace did a terrifyingly good job of it.]]
* ComeOutComeOutWhereverYouAre: [[spoiler: Used by Ammet the marid to Bartimaeus in ''The Ring of Solomon''. Also used by Honorius on Kitty in ''The Golems Eye'' when they loot Gladstones tomb.]]
* CompensatingForSomething: Kitty accuses Bartimaeus of this in ''Ptolemy's Gate'' when he appears in the form of a hideous, roaring demon.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Tybalt in the prequel. He normally takes the form of a harmless white mouse, but is implied to be a very powerful spirit. (Although we never get to see exactly ''how'' powerful. We don't even know what class of spirit he is!)
* CrystalBall: One method of scrying; bowls and discs are also common.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:Faquarl vs. four djinn sent to capture him. (More precisely, they were sent to capture the person whose body he was residing in, and so didn't really see that coming.)]]
** [[spoiler:Honorius vs. The Resistance.]]
* TheDarkSide: The change from Nathaniel to John Mandrake in the second and third books.
* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: The third book shows this, to some extent.
* DeadpanSnarker: Bartimaeus; Kitty also has her moments.
* DemBones: Honorius, the mad afrit, was charged to guard Gladstone's tomb and did so by encasing himself in Gladstone's skeleton.
* DemonicPossession: Honorius in the second book possesses the bones of Gladstone; in addition, [[spoiler: hundreds of demons possess the British parliament in Nouda and Faquarl's rebellion - Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are forced to do the same in order to stop them.]]
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Bartimaeus gives bigger, more powerful spirits lip too often for his own good.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Since he's big on self-preservation, this happens a lot less, but still occurs, especially in Book 3.
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Duvall. After he is arrested, he tries to escape by turning into a werewolf and killing his guards, then jumping out the window. Unfortunately for him, they were five floors up.]]
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:Quentin Makepeace, who resembles a foppish playwright in the prime minister's company.]]
* TheDragon:
** Faquarl and Jabor serve this role to Simon Lovelace in the first book.
** Faquarl in the third book serves as this to [[spoiler: Makepeace (in his disguise as Hopkins) and later, Nouda. Of course, he's actually weaker than Nouda, since Nouda is a force of nature.]]
* DoubleEntendre: In this scene.
-->'''Nathaniel:''' I tried last night and you were gone. Who was it? Which magician were you seeing?
-->'''Bartimaeus:''' Don’t get so worked up. It was a brief encounter. Nothing serious. It’s over.
-->'''Nathaniel:''' Nothing serious? Think I’m going to believe that?
-->'''Bartimaeus:''' Calm down, Mr. Jealous. You’re making a scene.
-->'''Nathaniel:''' Who was it? Man or woman?
-->'''Bartimaeus:''' Look, I know what you’re thinking, and I didn’t.
* [[spoiler: DragonWithAnAgenda: Faquarl. He engineers, by out-Chessmaster-ing Makepeace, a chance for spirits to rebel against and take revenge on humanity.]]
* DumbMuscle: Jabor has the personality down pat. We are never actually told he's dumb. It's possible he just can't think straight when angry. Of course, since he's [[strike:almost]] ALWAYS angry...
** Most afrits are described as being this.
* {{Dystopia}}: Magician-ruled England, and many other sorcerous empires.
* EldritchAbomination
** The spirits on the higher planes, Faquarl especially. His true form (which is never described besides having tentacles) makes even other demons queasy and he even killed some ravens when he appeared to them in that form. Furthermore, Ramuthra [[spoiler: and later Nouda]] appear as, respectively, a disturbance on all seven planes, only visible because he's the only area that isn't being ripped at the seams [[spoiler: and, after inhabiting a normal human body, a mass of inhuman tentacles: barbs, horns, you name it.]]
* EldritchLocation: The "Other Place" where all imps, foliots, djinn, afrits, and marids "live". It is possible for a human to visit, but is strongly recommended against, as it wreaks havoc on both body (staying in the Other Place too long forces the person to forget how to move their physical body) and mind (it's quite the AcidTripDimension, and the person will be trapped forever, absorbed by some spirit's essence if he or she does not have a trustworthy spirit to call upon and serve as a guide.)
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Subverted in the second book; Nathaniel fails to activate Gladstone's Staff and instead gets knocked out by it. [[spoiler: Not so in the third book, where he gets the seven-league boots from the mercenary, retrieves Gladstone's Staff and is then possessed by Bartimaeus, which enhances his magical aptitude and physical ability enough so that he can go skipping across London, destroying human/spirit hybrids at every turn with the same staff he couldn't use earlier.]]
* EnemyMine: Bartimaeus and Faquarl in the prequel, due to sharing the same master (and equally loathing said master).
* EnigmaticMinion: Bartimaeus, from Kitty's point of view.
* EvilCounterpart:
** Faquarl is this to Bartimaeus. Both are djinn of considerable power and cunning and resent the spirits' slavery by magicians. [[spoiler:However, while Faquarl sets off a violent spirit rebellion against humanity, Bartimaeus, through interactions with people such as Ptolemy, Kitty, and Nathaniel, starts to believe that both people and spirits can change for the better and ends up saving humanity.]]
** Simon Lovelace is what Nathaniel could have become if he allowed his ambition to consume him. [[spoiler:In the later books, Nathaniel at the lower points of his CharacterDevelopment starts to resemble Simon Lovelace, which Bartimaeus points out.]]
* EvilIsNotAToy: The message that magicians attempt to instill in their apprentices, reminding them that if they make the slightest mistake the demon will be free to destroy them. In ''Ptolemy's Gate'' [[spoiler: Makepeace and his conspirators believe they can control demons massively more powerful than themselves through willpower, and are taken over. Makepeace himself is particularly notable for summoning into his own body Nouda, a creature that would usually require several magicians to summon and partially control under normal circumstances.]]
* ExactWords: [[spoiler: Bartimaeus allows Kitty to escape anywhere but in Nathaniel's limo, because his orders were "Stop them from escaping in that car!"]] This is actually a recurring theme in the series, as demons are required to carry out the orders that their masters give them, but they can interpret those words with some liberty, making exact words important for loopholes.
** Another great example in Solomon's Ring: [[spoiler: At the end, Bartimaeus is ordered to drop the Ring in the ocean. When he returns (after a chase and battle), he reveals that he still has the Ring. How? Asmira didn't say he had to ''leave'' it in the ocean.]]
* ExpositoryHairstylechange: Nathaniel's haircut between books two and three underscores the changes in his personality.
* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler: The demon/human hybrids in the third book; Nouda becomes more demon than human rather quickly, though.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: Going into government leads to this, invariably.
* FailureKnight: We learn in book three that [[spoiler:Bartimaeus]] feels this way about [[spoiler:Ptolemy]].
* FairWeatherMentor: All of Nathaniel's masters are willing to sacrifice him to save their own reputations.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Kitty at the end of Book 2.]]
* FemmeFatale: Jane Farrar, though she's not as good as she likes to think.
* FirstPersonSmartass: Bartimaeus in the chapters he narrates, and even more so in the footnotes.
* FootnoteFever: Bartimaeus's sections are littered with it.
* FunctionalMagic
** Theurgy, with elements of Rule Magic.
** GeometricMagic
** SummonMagic
* GenieInABottle: Used in several ways. The Indefinite Confinement spell is a punishment for disobedient spirits, and traps them eternally in whatever object the magician selects. Additionally, it is apparently possible to trap many spirits inside objects such as bottles if they enter of their own free will. However, it's also an ancient trick that is very unlikely to work.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Magicians have glasses (though contact lenses are far more popular) that allow them to see past the guises of weaker spirits by enabling them to view up to the third plane.
* {{Golem}}
* GoodAllAlong: Nathaniel.
* GovernmentConspiracy
* GreyAndGrayMorality: The less morally questionable governmental bickering.
* HappinessInSlavery: Simpkin, a minor demon character, is happy to be a servant. Also a major theme in The Ring of Solomon, with both the human protagonist and TheDragon. Bartimaeus finds the idea of willing servitude an abomination.
* HeroAntagonist: Kitty for a good portion of the second book.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Nathaniel and Ptolemy.]] Subverted with [[spoiler: Bartimaeus's master during the siege of Prague. He accidentally blew himself up trying to save the Emperor, and Bartimaeus calls this his finest moment since it freed Bartimaeus and thus saved his life.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Nathaniel and the junior magicians at the end of the third book.]]
* HeelRealization: Nathaniel in the third book.
* HistoricalInJoke: Bartimaeus's anecdotes about his past masters. Quite a few about Britain as well, such as Gladstone's famous magicians' duel with Disraeli.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Simon Lovelace is devoured by the very being he summoned to destroy all his opposition in the government]].
* HumansAreBastards: Bartimaeus certainly thinks so, while Nathaniel thinks djinn are AlwaysChaoticEvil. The ultimate conclusion seems to be that neither species is inherently better or worse.
* HypocriticalHumor: Bartimaeus, at times. It's unclear how aware he is of his hypocrisy, though.
-->Bartimaeus: Faquarl wasn't a sly old equivocator like Tchue; he prided himself on blunt speaking. Mind you, he did have a weakness for boasting. If you believed all his stories, you'd have thought him responsible for most of the world's major landmarks as well as being adviser and confidant to all the notable magicians. This, as I once remarked to Solomon, was quite a ridiculous claim.
** From the nature of his interactions with Solomon in The Ring of Solomon it seems unlikely that they ever got around to discussing Faquarl, which also brings up the subject of UnreliableNarrator.
*** Don't forget the part where Bartimaeus's section ends with this exchange:
--->"But we haven't time..."
--->I spoke gently to quieten him. "Just watch and listen."
--->I didn't show it, but I was worried myself now. The boy was right: we really had no time. *Skip to Nathaniel's part*
--->"But we haven't time-" Nathaniel began.
--->"Just shut up and watch!" The fly was buzzing frantically around their prison. It sounded decidedly panicked.
*** It's left unclear as to which author is ''accurately'' portraying the scene.
* IKnowYourTrueName: Magician's birth names are closely guarded secrets as knowledge of them protects you from most of their magic, while demons can only be summoned using one of their (many) true names. Barimaeus knows Nathanial's true name, which means that Nathaniel continuing to summon Bartimaeus would ordinarily be considered recklessly dangerous. However, the two have reached an agreement. Ptolemy told Bartimaeus his true name the first time that he asked. He, however, was unique-- he never employed any punishment spells against the spirits he summoned (thus no magic to turn against him) and gained their trust through politeness and dogged persistence.
* IdiotBall: For all his intelligence, Bartimaeus gets this on occasion. For example, accidentally leading Lovelace to Underwood's house in the first book, and turning off the lights when faced with Faquarl in the third book (even though spirits can see perfectly well in the dark).
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Played with: TrueNeutral demon Bartimaeus [[spoiler:persuades Kitty to save Nathaniel by telling her, "if you let him die, you'll be just like ''me''."]]
* IHaveManyNames: Bartimaeus, a.k.a. Bartimaeus of Uruk, Sakhr al-Jinni, N'Gorso the mighty, the Serpent of Silver Plumes...
** Most importantly, his Egyptian name, which is Rekhyt.
* ImAHumanitarian: Most demons, who show no qualms about devouring either humans or each other. Bartimaeus enjoys playing it for squick in the [[FootnoteFever footnotes]]. [[FridgeBrilliance Possibly due to their nature in the Other Place, in which they have no true individual identity, combined with their hatred for humans over thousands of years of slavery]].
* ImplacableMan:
** The bearded mercenary.
** Anyone with sufficiently strong resilience becomes this.
** Subverted painfully [[spoiler:when the Resistance attempts to rob Gladstone's tomb. Also, even someone as strong as the mercenary can be brought down with truly overwhelming application of magic.]]
* ImprobableAge: Nathaniel is on the fast track to being a government minister by the time he is fourteen. Granted, he was a prodigy with high-end magical knowledge early on (though little practice), and he narrowly saved the prime minister's life.
* IncomingHam: Bartimaeus, like most spirits, enjoys making his initial materialization in the human world as flashy as possible. The first lines in the entire series are describing him doing an act that wouldn't be out of place in ReligiousHorror climaxes.
* InsistentTerminology: Spirits really hate being called demons (or the equivalent in the local language). Additionally, in ''The Ring of Solomon'', Asmira hates being referred to as either a "slave" or an "assassin," insisting that she's a "hereditary guard."
* InspectorJavert: Nathaniel -> Kitty at some points.
* InSpiteOfANail: Although Gladstone was a magician who became Prime Minister by overthrowing the non-magical government of Britian and instituting a police state, he still had a famous rivalry with (his fellow magician) Disraeli; although Europe's major empire in the first half of the 19th century was Prague, London still has a Trafalgar Square containing Nelson's Column.
* InterspeciesRomance: Parodied and ridiculed, not that it stops the Shippers. Also, while it may not qualify as romance per se, Succubi exist and are at times summoned. In The Ring of Solomon, the BigBad and his [[TheDragon shadow]].
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: From ''The Golem's Eye'':
-->'''Kitty:''' You're all callous and wicked and heartless and vain!
-->'''Nathaniel:''' Vain? How wonderfully hysterical. I'm just well turned out. Presentation's important, you know.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: Oh so subverted. Played straight in the minor occurrence, also [[spoiler: somewhat inverted]] in the major occurrence, based on the last sentence. [[spoiler: Nathaniel, also, seems to have changed enough to feel it was an honor, though he refuses to admit it. He is, after all, very old-fashioned in some ways, and perhaps a tad {{tsundere}}]].
* TheJuggernaut: The golem in the second book, as well as The Mercenary due to his extraordinary resilience.
* KidWithTheLeash: Deconstructed/subverted: Nathaniel firmly believes that demons are AlwaysChaoticEvil, and that elaborate incantations and [[ExactWords careful wording]] are necessary to keep enslaved summons in check. While this is not unjustified (Bartimaeus is very open about his willingness to free himself by killing Nathaniel and brags of magicians he has killed in the past), Bartimaeus - the demon - is often [[NobleDemon more moral]] than Nathaniel. He complains about being given less-than-ethical tasks, and there are hints throughout the series that both the djinni and the boy would be better off if Nathaniel [[ThePowerOfTrust had shown more trust in him]]. However, it is quite clear that even Nathaniel and Bartimaeus's strained relationship is unusual and that spirits will destroy their masters in painful ways given any opportunity.
** Of course, even that idea is subverted - when Kitty calls up Bartimaeus with talk of friendship and mutual trust, he challenges her to step outside the bounds of the pentacle protecting her to demonstrate ''her'' trust, and when she doesn't, he remarks that it was "worth a try". Whether he would have killed her, simply left, or actually taken her up on her offer was left an open question due to the ambiguity of that statement.
* KickTheDog: The magicians frequently do so.
* KnightTemplar: Nathaniel is a borderline case in the later books.
* LargeHam:
** Bartimaeus tops a long list.
** Jabor [[NoIndoorVoice HAS NO DIALOGUE NOT DELIVERED IN ALL-CAPS!!]]
** Given his theatrical persona, Quentin Makepeace definitely counts.
* LaResistance: The Resistance. Numerous references to others are mentioned in the third book.
* LemonyNarrator: Bartimaeus, in the chapters he narrates.
* TheLegionsOfHell: [[spoiler:Nouda and co. in Book 3.]]
* LiteralGenie: Both straight and averted. The orders spirits get function like this and magicians try to word orders to avoid problems, but spirits are rarely shown exploiting this, likely because fulfilling the letter of their order doesn't protect them from magical punishment. Bartimaeus does manage to take advantage of it at times. [[spoiler:Also, in the third book, a rather large lampshade is hung on the fact that the spirits failed to exploit a loophole in an agreement.]]
* LivingShadow: Khaba has one in the prequel, [[spoiler:which is actually a marid]].
* MachiavelliWasWrong: The contrast between Bartimaeus's relationship with Nathaniel and his relationship with Ptolemy.
* MacGuffin: The Amulet of Samarkand, among others. (Except that they get used).
* TheMagocracy: A very corrupted one, at that.
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Quentin Makepeace]].
* TheMessiah: Ptolemy was like this - no wonder Bartimaeus still likes him. [[spoiler:Nathaniel also becomes this at the end of his long CharacterDevelopment.]]
* {{Masquerade}}: While magic is no secret - the government is run by magicians - [[{{Muggles}} "commoners"]] are kept from knowing that the magicians' power comes from enslaved demons; without them they are just ordinary humans.
* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: [[spoiler: Solomon]], to an extent.
* MonumentalBattle: A memorable scene in the British Museum, among others.
* MonumentalDamage
* MoreHeroThanThou
* {{Muggles}}: "Commoners."
* MultipleNarrativeModes: There are multiple narrators, one of which is first-person and the rest of which are third-person.
* MundaneUtility: Bartimaeus in the beginning of Book 3.
* MustMakeAmends: [[spoiler: Nathaniel when he gives Kitty the Amulet of Samarkand, despite the fact that he would make more use of it.]]
* MysteriousMercenaryPursuer: The... Mercenary.
* MyGreatestFailure: Bartimaeus not being able to save [[spoiler: Ptolemy, because the boy dismissed him at the cost of his own life.]]
* TheNastyParty
* NeverFoundTheBody
* NobleDemon: Bartimaeus.
* NoBloodTies: Enforced just for the magicians, who are not allowed any biological children, but are later given an orphan as an apprentice. This is to prevent instances of FeudingFamilies, which apparently happened frequently enough in the past to be quite a problem.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: What usually happens to Bartimaeus when he goes up against a demon out of his weight class, such as a marid, in a straight fight. An example is found at the beginning of ''The Golem's Eye'', when he goes up against Honorious and is soundly thrashed for his trouble.
* TheNondescript: Mr. Hopkins.
* NonHumanSidekick: Bartimaeus, sort of.
* NoodleIncident: The "messy episode of the Anarchist and the Oyster."
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: Honorius, among others]].
* NotMyDriver
* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler:In the third book, by stealing magicians' bodies and setting off violent revolt against humanity, Faquarl, Nouda, and other spirits become the very thing they resented, which Bartimaeus doesn't hesitate to point out. Of course, one of the main themes of the trilogy is slavery and how it corrupts both the slavers and the enslaved. Best demonstrated in the following exchange:]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Faquarl''': Vengeance is our master here. It keeps us here. It gives us purpose.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Bartimaeus''': 'Purpose' is a ''human'' concept. We never needed that before. This body of yours isn't a disguise anymore, is it? It isn't just a barrier against pain. It's what you are busily becoming.]]
* NotWearingPants
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: All of the magicians, to a certain degree.
* OrSoIHeard: Bartimaeus sometimes likes to use this to explain his knowledge of subjects he considers himself too dignified to otherwise know about, such as the crude Egyptian game "Dogs and Jackals."
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: See below.
* OurGeniesAreDifferent: They're demons.
** On the contrary! "Demon" is a highly offensive and pejorative term. They're ''exalted spirits''!
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: They're police officers.
** if only there was an 'our police officers are different' trope.
* OvertRendezvous: Nathaniel is asked to meet the British agent in Prague at a cemetery at midnight. Complaining about the melodrama, he insists that their next meeting be somewhere more ordinary and they agree to meet in the main square around six - "Harlequin" had wanted to pick the old plague pits. He does cope with the change well, and [[spoiler: Nathaniel receives his information in a hot dog bun he bought from the disguised agent.]]
* PaintingTheFourthWall: Bartimaeus hangs a nice painting off it, too.
* {{Paratext}}
** Bartimaeus peppers the chapters he narrates with long, digressive, usually humorous footnotes. It is later mentioned that, as a djinni, he has the ability to carry on two or more trains of thought at once.
** Bartimaeus, as part of his introduction, informs us, as an aid to our comprehension of his cranial capacity, that were the text in the book overlaid with the text of three more novels, he could observe the jumble of ink that we would see and discern the text of all four stories, and comprehend them perfectly, without any trouble whatsoever. This is the sort of IQ found in the things wizards trap in order to get their power. That's a being I'd treat with a little respect.
*** It's not so much IQ as actually having a multiple-track mind. While humans have one conscious and one unconscious track, spirits have several tracks. IIRC, Bartimaeus mentions that he has the ability to simultaneously make small talk, search a room for possible ways to escape, think about various things, and sneak attack the person he is talking to.
*** Subverted hilariously in Ptolemy's Gate, when he is telling us something in a footnote, and [[spoiler: Nathaniel, who is melded with Bart at the time, cuts him off in mid-footnote, saying outside of said footnote, "Will you stop doing that? It's distracting!"]]
* ParentalAbandonment: Happens to ''all'' magicians, at least those of this universe's London. Parents can choose to give up their children for the government to have them trained into magicians for a hefty sum in return.
* PassThePopcorn: In ''Golem's Eye'' Bartimaeus comments, "All I need is some popcorn," as he watches Nathaniel get himself in trouble. He also does this, possibly anachronistically if he hasn't yet been summoned in the Americas, in ''The Ring of Solomon'' as he watches the spirit army summoned by the ring descend on Jerusalem.
* PetTheDog: Nathaniel does so occasionally.
* PoliceState
* PossessionImpliesMastery: Subverted. [[spoiler:Bartimaeus scoffs when Nathaniel tries to use the newly-retrieved [[ForgottenSuperweapon Gladstone's staff]] to fight the golem, saying it's impossible for the boy to master such a powerful object on his first try. To his disbelief, Nathaniel seems to generate a powerful aura around the staff... which backfires, knocking Nathaniel unconscious.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: Ptolemy.
* PowerTrio: [[spoiler:Only at the end of the last book]]
* PowerOfTrust: Crucial in the third book. [[spoiler:It's Kitty's trust in Bartimaeus that allows Bartimaeus to regain his faith in humans and save London from the spirit revolt.]]
* PowersViaPossession: Attempted by [[spoiler: Makepeace.]] It [[GoneHorriblyWrong doesn't work very well]]. [[spoiler:Goes better with Bartimaeus and Nathaniel.]]
* PropagandaMachine: Nathaniel serves as this role in the third book.
* PuppeteerParasite: [[spoiler: The demons summoned in the third book. Originally intended as a way for magicians to gain power by summoning a spirit into themselves, the spirits took over and then began forcing other magicians to summon spirits into themselves.]]
* RavensAndCrows: A form Jakob's grandmother said that demons take. Bartimaeus and other spirits, such as the imps guarding the Tower of London, repeatedly take the form of a crow.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Bartimaeus is thousands of years old, but his preferred form looks about twelve.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Poor, poor Nathaniel.]]
* ReversePsychology: [[spoiler:Bartimaeus "praises" Kitty for her "intelligence" in leaving Nathaniel to his doom. He also uses this to trick a trapped marid into revealing the secrets of Solomon's Ring, and to manipulate several of his previous masters to their deaths and...yeah, he does this a lot.]]
* TheRival: Faquarl -> Bartimaeus; Jane Farrar -> Nathaniel.
* RivalTurnedEvil
* SaveTheVillain: Inverted: towards the end of ''The Golem's Eye'', [[spoiler:Kitty saves an unconscious Nathaniel from the golem, even though he has been her InspectorJavert for much of the book and has just betrayed her with the intention of arresting her.]]
* SayingTooMuch: In ''The Ring of Solomon'', Bartimaeus at one point wears the guise of a pygmy hippo that bears more than a passing resemblance to one of Solomon's wives. Solomon is annoyed because he ordered that none of the spirits wear unnatural guises, but doesn't notice the resemblance to that particular wife. Much later in the book, Solomon chastises Bartimaeus for his various transgressions and mentions the hippo guise and Bartimaeus protests that it looked nothing like his wife. Solomon stops him and says that what he was ''going'' to say was that it showed disrespect for the sanctity of his temple.
* SealedEvilInACan
* ShapeshifterDefaultForm: Bartimaeus has a plethora of guises at hand, but in the trilogy he is known to be most comfortable in the appearance of Ptolemy. Faquarl similarly defaults to the appearance of a pudgy chef with a meat cleaver.
* SharingABody: [[spoiler: Bartimaeus and Nathaniel in Book 3.]]
* ShoutOut: Many, mostly to mythology and classic literature, and a very brief LawyerFriendlyCameo by Twoflower of {{Discworld}} fame. [[MandrakeTheMagician His name is "Mandrake" and he's a "magician."]]
* ShooTheDog: [[spoiler: Ptolemy and Nathaniel to Bartimaeus; Bartimaeus and Nathaniel to Kitty]].
* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:In the third book, when Faquarl accuses Bartimaeus of betraying his kind, Bartimaeus angrily retorts that Faquarl is the traitor who abandoned the Other Place (where they and other spirits come from) and even encouraged other spirits to leave for the sake of vengeance.]]
* SlaveToPR: Nathaniel in the later books, once he enters politics - note that this does not necessarily make him more ethical, just more underhanded.
* SmugSnake: Lovelace. Nathaniel himself in the second book. And Julius Tallow. And [[spoiler:Duvall, seeing as Makepeace played him like a fiddle.]] And [[spoiler:seeing as how Faquarl played ''him'' like a fiddle, Quentin Makepeace probably counts.]] Hell, just about ''every'' magician counts.
* SnoopingLittleKid: Nathaniel in the first book.
* SpiritWorld: The "Other Place."
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Khaba]] in the prequel.
* SummonBiggerFish: [[spoiler:At the end of the prequel, Bartimaeus does this using Solomon's Ring to get rid of Ammet.]]
* SummoningRitual
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Any time Bartimaeus and Nathaniel work together without a pentacle; actually a subversion, as Bartimaeus would have killed Nathaniel if there hadn't been other parts in the agreement to stop it... Or so he insist.
* ThatManIsDead:
** "You'll notice I'm calling you John Mandrake now... the boy who was Nathaniel's fading, almost gone."
** In the middle of book three, [[spoiler:Ms. Lutyens outright tells Nathaniel that he is no longer the boy who was grateful to her and leaves in disgust.]]
** Then finally, at the end of book three, [[spoiler:Nathaniel tells Kitty his birth name, and no longer goes by Mandrake, looking at how he used to be with disgust.]]
** To a lesser extent, Kitty. She considers giving one of her false identities to the junior magicians... and realizes she doesn't need to.
* TrickingTheShapeshifter - When Kitty tries to use this on Bartimaeus, he laughs at the idea that he would fall for one of TheOldestTricksInTheBook. He notes, however, that had the trick worked it would have been a very powerful binding charm since he would have imprisoned himself of his own free will.
* {{Trickster}}: Bartimaeus.
* TrilogyCreep: It ''was'' a trilogy, then along came the announcement of a prequel.
* TwoPartTrilogy: The second and third books are more connected in theme, plot, and character than the first to the second.
* UnknownRival: Twelve-year-old Nathaniel -> Simon Lovelace in Book 1.
* UnreliableNarrator: Bartimaeus.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Nathaniel and Kitty; Jane Farrar and John Mandrake, though he's probably happy about that last one being unresolved.
* VillainProtagonist: Nathaniel, sometimes. Also, depending on your point of view, the human protagonist of The Ring of Solomon for much of the book.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Simon Lovelace, [[spoiler:Duvall]], [[spoiler:Quentin Makepeace]].
* VolleyingInsults: Bartimaeus and Nathaniel at their most childish - i.e. most of the time.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Bartimaeus and the other spirits, though the number of shapes varies,[[spoiler:and Kitty while in The Other Place, though she's not very good at it.]] Djinn seem to have the most diverse forms, with lower-level spirits lacking the imagination and high-level spirits being somewhat mode-locked due to their own power.
* WaterWakeup: Nathaniel gets one in Book 2.
* WeakButSkilled: Bartimaeus, relatively. Djinn are in the middle in the hirearchy of conventional, commonly summoned demons (behind afrits and marids). He's a moderately strong djinni, but is weaker than Faquarl and Jabor in an all-out fight, not to mention anything stronger. He gets by with his wits and running away at appropriate times, especially as he grows progressively less strong in Book 3 from being continually summoned. As djinn are the most powerful demon likely to be summoned, with afrits and marids being a sign of OhCrap levels of power, he's often moderately outclassed.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Spirits and silver/iron - but somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that they are alien to earth and ''everything'' connected to it causes them discomfort (like we get from fire because we are alien to it). It's part of traditional folklore that silver and iron weapons are effective against supernatural beings.
* WeAreAsMayflies: Bartimaeus claims to avoid becoming attached to his human masters because he knows he will inevitably outlive them.
* WhatTheHellHero: Bartimaeus calls Nathaniel on this every time, though Nathaniel rarely seems to get the point. It is open to interpretation whether Bartimaeus actually ''cares'' or just gets his kicks seeing Nathaniel squirm.
* {{Whitehall}}: An alternate universe version.
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: None of Faquarl's forms are desribed as having white hair, but he has the personality down pat.
* WideEyedIdealist: Nathaniel - he gets over it. [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Almost too far over it]] at least for a while. More purely, Ptolemy and Kitty.
* WouldHitAGirl: Played with. In the opening of ''The Ring of Solomon'', the magician Ezekiel grows annoyed with Bartimaeus's cheek and threatens to pummel him with a punishment called the "Essence Fist." "You'd hit a woman?" asks Bartimaeus, who is wearing a sultry female guise at the moment.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: [[LaResistance The Resistance]] is introduced as a group of crazy teenage anarchists who want to bring down the noble and just government.
----
