The Amulet of Samarkand
So many western fantasy novels follow the simple 1300’s King Arthur style story. A young knight must overcome great odds to defeat the evil sorcerer..Yeah, Yeah, Yeah we’ve heard it a thousand times over!
But The Amulet of Samarkand is different from most modern fantasy novels.
It is the present day and instead of Goblins, Wizards, Dwarves, Elves, Dragons, and Hobbits there are Djinni, a race of demons invisible to the average person who are commonly used as servants and slaves to a faction of Magicians. Nathaniel, a six old boy is adopted by one of these magicians after being disowned by his real parents. At age twelve Nathaniel; unbeknownst to his step father, summons a five thousand year old Djinni called Bartimaeus and commands him to steal The Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, a well respected magician who had previously humiliated him at a social gathering.
The story flips from Nathaniel’s point of view to Bartimaeus’s. While you’ll definitely enjoy both sides of the coin you’ll most likely be more interested in Bartimaeus’s side of the story.
The Plot is a clever, and witty tale full of suspense, murder, comedy, and epic story telling that anyone who’s ever enjoyed fantasy can get into. Bartimaeus is a great character in almost every aspect, he’s a very sarcastic but good natured Djinni. Allot of the character’s backstory and information is explained in little foot notes scattered throughout the book, it explains things in an easy down to earth matter while making a clever jokes here and there. I dare you not to crack a smile while reading this book.
While Bartimaeus is a comedic trickster who anybody can like, Nathaniel’s more of the straight man, which is fine because really the Series is named after Bartimaeus so it makes perfect sense that he would be the real hero.
Overall The Amulet of Samarkand is a great read and I am looking forward to reading the sequel ounce I’ve finished reading “The Dooms Day Book”. But don’t take it from me, just look at that little devil on the cover. Now stop wasting time on the internet and start reading! You lazy Sod...
But The Amulet of Samarkand is different from most modern fantasy novels.
It is the present day and instead of Goblins, Wizards, Dwarves, Elves, Dragons, and Hobbits there are Djinni, a race of demons invisible to the average person who are commonly used as servants and slaves to a faction of Magicians. Nathaniel, a six old boy is adopted by one of these magicians after being disowned by his real parents. At age twelve Nathaniel; unbeknownst to his step father, summons a five thousand year old Djinni called Bartimaeus and commands him to steal The Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, a well respected magician who had previously humiliated him at a social gathering.
The story flips from Nathaniel’s point of view to Bartimaeus’s. While you’ll definitely enjoy both sides of the coin you’ll most likely be more interested in Bartimaeus’s side of the story.
The Plot is a clever, and witty tale full of suspense, murder, comedy, and epic story telling that anyone who’s ever enjoyed fantasy can get into. Bartimaeus is a great character in almost every aspect, he’s a very sarcastic but good natured Djinni. Allot of the character’s backstory and information is explained in little foot notes scattered throughout the book, it explains things in an easy down to earth matter while making a clever jokes here and there. I dare you not to crack a smile while reading this book.
While Bartimaeus is a comedic trickster who anybody can like, Nathaniel’s more of the straight man, which is fine because really the Series is named after Bartimaeus so it makes perfect sense that he would be the real hero.
Overall The Amulet of Samarkand is a great read and I am looking forward to reading the sequel ounce I’ve finished reading “The Dooms Day Book”. But don’t take it from me, just look at that little devil on the cover. Now stop wasting time on the internet and start reading! You lazy Sod...
posted by Unknown | 8:57 PM
1 Comments:
This series is one of the most original series I have ever read. Stroud is a master word craftsman. I love all three books. I'm currently reading Valley of the Heroes by Stroud. *Wes
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