I finished Sabriel. It was very good. Touchstone irked me. But not so much as other clueless guys I have seen in other books. Thumbs up to Mr. Nix!
I also finished Catalyst, the sequel/companion to Speak, which I loved. Meh... I didn't enjoy it quite so much as the first one. I couldn't relate much at all to the protagonist, Kate, but this book did have moments for me. For instance, when... *spoilerspoilerspoilerspoilerspoiler* Mikey died, I cried... it was so sad. But the ending was weak. IMO.
*spoilerspoilerspoilerspoilerover*
Now I'm reading The Golem's Eye. Ugh. The first book was so good, and I always thought that the pacing was excellent. Then I pick up this second one, where we've been going for 200 pages and nothing has happened. Someone should have slapped Mr. Stroud and told him to PICK UP THE PACE. We have seen little of Bartimaeus, and when he does show up, he's not as funny as before. *sigh* I like Kitty, though. She is the coolest of the new-n-improved cast.
:stereo: