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The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1)
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The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1)by Jonathan Stroud
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216 of 224 people found the following review helpful: Refreshing new fantasy voice, October 19, 2003 Reviewer:Doc (Sydney, N.S.W. Australia) - Let's face it, fantasy is a well-worn genre, bloated with Tolkein ripoffs, tired generic plots and characters. There seems to be no end to the stuff...and no shortage of readers who'll swallow it. And to this we can add a new type of fantasy that is fast reaching critical mass for younger readers...the Harry Potter clone. Check the young readers section of your local bookstore and you'll find literally dozens of books about young boy and girl wizards. As the saying goes, everyone wants to be the first to do something second. There is nothing new in fantasy, only old wine in new bottles. So when a new fantasy comes along that actually feels new its a red letter day in my book. That rant is by way of saying that this wonderful book avoids the pitfalls of many fantasy writers simply by virtue of the writing. A few years back David (and Leigh) Eddings burst onto the fantasy scene with their original Belgariad books. Plot-wise they were simply Tolkein retreads without the epic mthology. But what made them so readable, and so popular, was the original and entertaining voice with which they told their tales. So it is with Jonathan Stroud. This is a fun, wry, funny, well-charactered piece about a modern London where magicians rule the land and magic comes in the form of controlling various levels of demons (or djinn). Set amidst the political intrigue is a story of a young apprentice magician's quest for revenge via the use of the some-time narrator djinn Bartimeus. He is the main reason to read the book. His amusing, ironic take on events is worth the price of admission alone. The world itself is well drawn and realised, as are all the characters. Yes there are shades of Harry Potter (a young apprentice wizard in a world of magic where commoners are virtually cattle) and various other genre books (Randall Garratt's Lord Darcy series spring to mind) but it's all done with such verve and charm that it quite rightly transcends its influences and becomes a classic in its own right. Buy it. Read it. You won't be disappointed. I look forward to the next chapters of this trilogy.
Product Review
Nathaniel is a boy magician-in-training, sold to the government by his birth parents at the age of five and sent to live as an apprentice to a master. Powerful magicians rule Britain, and its empire, and Nathaniel is told his is the "ultimate sacrifice" for a "noble destiny." If leaving his parents and erasing his past life isn't tough enough, Nathaniel's master, Arthur Underwood, is a cold, condescending, and cruel middle-ranking magician in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The boy's only saving grace is the master's wife, Martha Underwood, who shows him genuine affection that he rewards with fierce devotion. Nathaniel gets along tolerably well over the years in the Underwood household until the summer before his eleventh birthday. Everything changes when he is publicly humiliated by the ruthless magician Simon Lovelace and betrayed by his cowardly master who does not defend him.
Nathaniel vows revenge. In a Faustian fever, he devours magical texts and hones his magic skills, all the while trying to appear subservient to his master. When he musters the strength to summon the 5,000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus to avenge Lovelace by stealing the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, the boy magician plunges into a situation more dangerous and deadly than anything he could ever imagine. In British author Jonathan Stroud's excellent novel, the first of The Bartimaeus Trilogy, the story switches back and forth from Bartimaeus's first-person point of view to third-person narrative about Nathaniel. Here's the best part: Bartimaeus is absolutely hilarious, with a wit that snaps, crackles, and pops. His dryly sarcastic, irreverent asides spill out into copious footnotes that no one in his or her right mind would skip over. A sophisticated, suspenseful, brilliantly crafted, dead-funny book that will leave readers anxious for more. (Ages 11 to adult) --Karin Snelson
From AudioFile
Bartimaeus, a five-thousand-year-old djinni, possesses abilities far beyond those of an extraordinarily talented magician. Simon Jones excels at projecting the personality characteristics of someone who has seen and done it all: sarcasm, facetiousness, and dry wit. Jones's narration easily balances this cynicism against his portrayal of Nathaniel, an 11-year-old apprentice magician who has called up Bartimaeus to avenge himself against a brutal magician, Simon Lovelace. Nathaniel can summon Bartimaeus, but can he control him? The story is the told from a fresh viewpoint that will attract any listener with a yen for intelligent and humorous fantasy. E.J.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2004 YALSA Selection © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
edition.
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