I think my memories coloured this book a lot. There's much more history and politics and much less Bartimaeus and Nathaniel friendship than I remembered (I guess the latter only really happens in the last book), and Nathaniel still hasn't even started letting go of his stupid prejudices.

Also, I can accept teens being heroes when most characters are teens, but a 14-year-old becoming a minister among adults is ehh. It's pushing my suspension of disbelief more than the djinnis.