Editorial 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
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Customer Reviews
Great new fantasy voice 
2008-05-02
These books are awesome! I've been reading a lot of fantasy books lately, and I haven't read anything lately that comes close to as enjoyable as the Bartimaeus trilogy. The narrator is a hilarious djinni that adds in footnotes to commentate on everything he says; often the comments are longer than the normal text on a page. You'll love these!
A Rare Treat 2008-04-26
After the first few pages, I knew I was in for something special. I'd never read a book that was alternately narrated in the first person by a demon (!) and in the third person for the main character, who turns out to be a rather unlikable anti-hero. You might think this is the recipe for disaster, but it actually works.
Even with no good (in the sense of morally good) characters in the story, the book is captivating and utterly admirable. Perhaps it is due to the fact that the demon Bartimaeus, although wicked, is actually extremely likable (certainly much more than the main character, a child magician).
Whatever the cause, I loved it to the last page. It is one of those rare first books in a trilogy that has both a completely satisfying finale and a set-up for the remaining two books.
The story takes place in an alternative reality - primarily an alternative England, to be more specific, whose government has turned autocratic. The juvenile magician Nathaniel has to fend for himself in this corrupt system, enlisting the forced help of the demon Bartimaeus.
Due to the political overtones of the story, it lends itself easily for drawing parallels to current political developments - even more so in the other two books of the trilogy.
But you don't have to look for political overtones to appreciate this novel. Any fan of juvenile fantasy will find this a treat.
- Jacob Schriftman, Author of The Crack Beneath the Worlds and Other Books
Fun quick read 
2008-04-09
I am a 40 yr old man with what seems like a propensity for teenage based books. In spite of that I am somewhat critical of the writing, narrative, plot movement, etc. I really enjoyed the Amulet of Samarkand. I look forward to buying the other two in the series.
Best Fantasy In A Life-Time! 2008-03-26
Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! This is a fantasy novel of a life-time. There is an orphan named Nathaneil who becomes the apprentice of magician named Arthur Underwood. He teaches Nathaneil at a slow pace and is repected as a child. He has smarts to surprise everyone and goes on a mission alone. He once had a bad "acquaintance" when he first met a man named Simon Lovelace. He had been humiliated so he sought a way to get revenge. He didn't have the power to take him on alone so he summoned a djinni named Bartimaeus who helped him. It is said that if aanother magcian knows your true name, you were dead. Bartimaeus found out and almost evaporated Nathaniel. Nathaniel showed over all in the book that he had lots of love for his adobted mother, but not his adopted father. She always calmed him down and when he was sad, she would make him happy. He was devestated when he saw her burn away as her enemy killed her. He swore on her dead body that he would get revenge of her death by taking out Simon Lovelace. I liked how the author made this book different then all the fantasy and magic novels out there. This boy is not just an ordinary magician. He goes through an endless journey to bring peace to everyone. There was nothing bad about this book except that it was to good to read. Everyone. You will LOVE it!
A good start to the trilogy 2008-01-29
As a parent and part-time librarian, I read across ages groups and genres looking for good books. I thought "Amulet of Samarkand" was a very good book. I found it hard to put down, though it isn't the kind of book I normally read. Bartimaeus was quite a character and full of commical relief in both his footnotes (which you should read) and in his overall mannerisms. The book was very descriptive and did a great job of creating a very modern and beliveable world of magic. My final remark on the book, highly recomended for those of you out who are looking for a good fantasy series to keep you spellbound.
The Amulet of Samarkand (On the quality of purchase) 2008-01-20
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
GREAT 2007-12-31
This is more like it, Harry Potter fans! 11-year-old magician's apprentice Nathaniel and 5,000-year-old djinni (see genie) Bartimaeus are trapped in an uneasy alliance, both dependent on and distrustful of the other. Brisk, entertaining, hilarious. I will definitely read more by this author.
Great Book and Series 2007-12-31
This was an excellent book, as was the whole series. I just came on to look for more Jonathan Stroud books and decided to give my first book review! I love Bartimaeus and all the sarcasm. Give it a try if you haven't already.
Wonderfully Surprised! 2007-12-29
I started to read this book expecting it to be Harry Potter-esque and was very surprised to find this book to stand on it's own and never make me feel that it was trying to be a Harry Potter knock-off. The Amulet of Samarkand stands on it's own and I can't wait to read the rest of the Bartimaeus Trilogy!
Need something to fill that empty space now that Harry Potter is done? 2007-12-23
I originally checked this book out from my local library as something to fill that empty spot while awaiting Harry Potter 5. When the second and third books came out and our library chose not to buy the books I was a little disapointed. I found the second book on sale from a library in Memphis and decided to buy it, and was very glad I did so. I really liked the first book, Bartimaeus made it a real page turner, but fell in love with it on the second read. Nathaniel is no Harry Potter in this book, his primary desire is to seek revenge on an adult magician who humilated him (such a bad boy!!). But just wait this story has more twists and turns than you can imagine, and that's just the beginning of why this is a great book for anyone who loves this genre. Be warned that the story builds piece by piece from page one of the first book to the last page of book three. I found myself continually looking back to passages from this book to solve clues in the next two books, especially the third.
This book is also very different from Harry Potter in that Nathaniel and Bartimaeus at first look are not someone you would bring home to your parents, and especially not somone you would want your kids to be around. Nevertheless both have a central core of goodness that keeps peeking through and makes you root for them to succeed. If you have Harry Potter in your library I encourage you to get this series, it still is a story of good vs evil and of good triumphing over evil, but with a very different approach (can't tell more without spoiling the story). Get it you won't be disappointed.
