The Amulet of Samarkand (2003)

Excellent fantasy/magical book. A world where magicians are used as generals to lead armies. They summon creatures and bind them to do their will. The series follows a young magician and the spirit Bartimaeus. The spirit is quite proud of his accomplishments and doesn't hesitate to list his resume items. ( )

a young magician in training calls up the djinni Bartimaeus to revenge himself on another magician and in the process saves England from a revolt of other magicians. This was very occultic, with all the pentagrams and incense and whatnot.

And all the footnotes by Bartimaeus threw the whole rhythm off. Couldn't read half a page before you had to stop the main story and read a stupid footnote. Like that through the whole book. Very poorly executed. I'll probably try the next one, but it is definitely taking a backseat in the bookline. ( )

This was an engaging story told from the alternating points of view of a young (11 year old) magician, Nathaniel, and the ancient djinni he summons, Bartimaeus. Although billed as a young adult book, I found this was written with enough depth to be an enjoyable read for a fantasy-loving adults too, while remaining accessible to the young adult audience. The first person point of view for the Bartimaeus chapters is perfect, as it gets across his inflated opinion of himself and his own abilities, and contrasts nicely with the third person point of view used for Nathaniel. The djinni's voice is the star of the show though, giving a good feel for his character - not as nasty as he likes people to think he is. The use of footnotes for Bartimaeus to give further thoughts and information gave an added dimension, with some fun facts, although at times when there were several footnotes on a page I found them a little distracting.

I have to admit the protagonist, Nathaniel, wasn't the most sympathetic of characters, being full of his own importance, and to me seemed like he needed bringing down a peg or two. I was hoping for some kind of twist where he would be brought down to size, and realise that there was a bigger picture that he hadn't been aware of that explained some of the actions of the people he originally thought of as being 'nasty'. Unfortunately (and I hope this isn't a spoiler), this didn't really happen, and the bad people turned out to be bad, the weak people turned out to be weak, and only Nathaniel and Bartimaeus turned out to be 'clever'. This was striking in the climax when only Nat and Bartimaeus are clever enough to win the day, with all the other great and good magicians from the government and security running around like headless chickens. However, I am looking forward to reading book 2, where I am sure the characters will develop further, and the plot may have further twists and turns. I would recommend this as a fun read if you like the idea of djinnis and magic. ( )

4 stelle piene.
Storia intrigante, personaggi interessanti e incredibilmente promettenti...
Non vedo l'ora di leggere il seguito! ♡♡♡ ( )

A magician’s apprentice, a sleazy wizard, government politics, and an ill-summoned djinn make this read a romping good time. The djinn’s witty inner dialogues and barbs in the form of footnotes add a unique touch to this story’s plot line.