The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Sequence)

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The plot works, though between action, it can slow down considerably, but the magical scenes are pretty fantastic, and, while HP has managed to sadden me on occasion, this book was the first that scared me with its monsters. 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. Bartimaeus refers constantly to his relation with his former master Ptolemy, comparing him much more favorably to Nathaniel.

I know he had a miserable childhood and all, but he was whiny at the best of times; at the worst, he was downright treacherous. Mrs Underwood’s failure to challenge her husband’s harshness and mistreatment of his apprentice, however, makes her seem somewhat weak and ineffectual. The outside world remains ignorant of his heroic acts, yet Nathaniel is satisfied with a true magician's lifestyle under a new master, Jessica Whitwell. The other strand gives us a different perspective on the characters and events but it is in the first person, from the point of view of the devious, superior and sarcastic otherworldly being Bartimaeus.Nathaniel, the boy is too young to give us real insight into the history of this world (or to understand it for that matter). Many of Nathaniel’s scenes are flashbacks, and make you feel badly for him, even as he’s learning to become just as awful as every other magician. Before I had any prominence or visibility on Goodreads whatsoever, my first review for this book drew a lot of heated opposition. While I imagine writing books can be hard for some people, writing a character like Bartimaeus must make Stroud love his job. While Harry Potter may always be on the top of the heap (better protagonists), don't make me choose between Dobby and Bartimaeus; it will only end in house-elf tears.

Like any movie adaptation, a graphic adaptation of a novel will have to change a few details and leave things out, but this story was just as engaging as the original. People with magical gifts are taken from their parents as children, fostered with strangers, and made to forget their own names. I was reading Happy Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to my class and remembered reading this book from my youth. The kindest character in Bartimaeus is Mrs Underwood, the wife of the magician to whom Nathaniel is apprenticed. Learning that Bartimaeus: The Amulet of Samarkand is the story of a young apprentice magician, cruelly bereft of his parents and lonely and neglected in his foster home, we may feel that we are in over-familiar territory.Interestingly, none of Stroud's characters are very likeable --possibly he's read too much Iris Murdoch? After escaping Faquarl and Jabor, Bartimaeus is also accosted in an alleyway by a mysterious gang of youths, who attempted to steal the Amulet from him, somehow spotting it under Bartimaeus's clothes. This is one of my favorite childrens book of all time, primarily because of the great characterization of its protagonist, Bartimaeus.

A couple of the mean dudes have simply vanished into hiding (you don't suppose they'll be back, do you? No, instead what you get with this book is a relaxed tone, a great sense of humor and a worthwhile adventure. After recounting a modified version of events which belittles Bartimaeus' achievement, advocates the role of Mrs.

Nathaniel attempts to warn the seated magicians of the coup, but is unknowingly foiled by Jessica Whitwell, who places him in an impenetrable bubble.