Review Detail

Reader reviewed by FlooCrookshanks

I love this book, I LOVE this book!

A fourteen year-old apprentice magician, Nathaniel, is humiliated one night by a man called Simon Lovelace and thus Nathaniel concocts a plan to reap his revenge. Nathaniel - forbidden by his master to perform any magic - summons a reluctant ancient Djinni called Bartimaeus and orders him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace's house. Events snowball, and both Nathaniel and Bartimaeus land themselves in some serious unforseen dilemmas.

While the plot is interesting in itself, I find that the most compelling aspect of the book is the odd relationship between Nathaniel and Bartimaeus. Both work furiously to gain the upper hand over the other - as Nathaniel summoned Bartimaeus against Bartimaeus's will, there is already animosity between them. It's further driven by them both struggling to not be controlled by the other, in spite of the fact that Bartimaeus is a powerful Djinni, and Nathaniel is far more intelligent than he first appears.

The story is mostly told from the point of view of Bartimaeus, but it does occasionally switch to Nathaniel's. Bartimaeus's chapters are by far the most entertaining, though, as they're dashed with humourous footnotes inserted by Bartimaeus himself.

Witty, clever, original, and gripping. I've not yet met anyone who has read this book and not enjoyed it.