The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1)
by Jonathan Stroud
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jonathan StroudEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2003-09-30
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 464
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Miramax
Book Reviews of The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1)
Book Review: after a few chapters it became quite clear and quite cleaver
Summary: 5 Stars
I stumbled across "The Amulet of Samarkand" in February, and am surprised that I haven't heard of it before. This is the first book in the "Bartimaeus Trilogy", and so far I'm impressed. I particularly liked how Stroud used POV (Point of View).
Typically, most authors pick a POV and stick to it (for good reason), however Stroud very successfully worked in a mix. There are basically two POVs, and he changes back and forth between them in each chapter. In the Bartimaeus chapters, Stroud uses first-person. In the Nathaniel ones, he uses third-person. At first this threw me off, but after a few chapters it became quite clear and quite cleaver.
Story overview:
An eleven-year-old boy named Nathaniel-or at least that's his true name-forced to become an apprentice magician at a very young age, struggles in a love deprived home. He spends his days studying and memorizing the art of magic. Because his master is so mediocre, he wishes to keep Nathaniel below him, and so the boy hides the fact that he is years ahead of the game.
One day, when challenged to a battle of wits by an arrogant wizard named Lovelace, Nathaniel quickly proves his knowledge of the art. Rather than showing recognition, Lovelace gets angry and makes a fool of Nathaniel by calling an imp to physically assault him. This begins a chain of events between Nathaniel and Lovelace, which only gets thicker and thicker as the story progresses.
Ultimately, Nathaniel summons a djinni (pronounced jin-ee) named Bartimaeus to steal an object from Lovelace, only to find that the Amulet of Samarkand is going to be used as an object for the master wizard's dreaded plot. The boy and the djinni find themselves dependent on each other in order to bring down the evil wizard.
My thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I would even go so far as to say that I loved it! Many of the arrogant comments that came from Bartimaeus forced a literal LOL out of me, and the characters are both wonderfully and dreadfully (in a good sense) designed. Great tensions between them all. I will absolutely read the next book in the series, and am looking forward to doing so soon.
James D. Maxon
[...]
Summary of The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1)
When the 5000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus is summoned by Nathaniel, a young magician's apprentice, he expects to have to do nothing more taxing than a little levitation or a few simple illusions. But Nathaniel is a precocious talent and has something rather more dangerous in mind: revenge. Against his will, Bartimaeus is packed off to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, a master magician of unrivalled ruthlessness and ambition. Before long, both djinni and apprentice are caught up in a terrifying flood of magical intrigue, murder and rebellion.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
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