Rating: 
Summary: A Darker Harry Potter
Review: Young wizard apprentice Nathaniel has been belittled and held down his entire life. The last straw is being humiliated by the older and much more powerful wizard, Simon Lovelace. He concocts a plan to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace after he overhears the pains Lovelace took to obtaining it. The lynchpin of his revenge plan, however, rests in summoning Bartimaeus, a middle-brow Djinn to steal the amulet. Bartimaeus, while hardly pleased at being ordered around by a 12 year old is forced to obey and steals the amulet, setting off a much larger chain of events that Nathaniel could have never predicted. There's plenty of humor in THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, courtesy of the Djinn Bartimaeus himself. But this is clearly not a case of good vs. evil as it is w/the Harry Potter series. The reader is given much to suspect that despite the sympathy the reader can feel for Nathaniel and his rough childhood, there is much to suggest he is hardly what you would label as "good." I'm eagerly awaiting the next installments to see which side of the fence Nathaniel falls on. The crux of this series lies in the love/hate relationship Nathaniel and Bartimaeus have and by god is it ever entertaining to read. Highly recommended for anyone who is not looking for a simple good vs. evil story.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing new fantasy voice
Review: Let's face it, fantasy is a well-worn genre, bloated with Tolkein ripoffs, tired generic plots and characters. There seems to be no end to the stuff...and no shortage of readers who'll swallow it. And to this we can add a new type of fantasy that is fast reaching critical mass for younger readers...the Harry Potter clone. Check the young readers section of your local bookstore and you'll find literally dozens of books about young boy and girl wizards. As the saying goes, everyone wants to be the first to do something second. There is nothing new in fantasy, only old wine in new bottles. So when a new fantasy comes along that actually feels new its a red letter day in my book. That rant is by way of saying that this wonderful book avoids the pitfalls of many fantasy writers simply by virtue of the writing. A few years back David (and Leigh) Eddings burst onto the fantasy scene with their original Belgariad books. Plot-wise they were simply Tolkein retreads without the epic mthology. But what made them so readable, and so popular, was the original and entertaining voice with which they told their tales. So it is with Jonathan Stroud. This is a fun, wry, funny, well-charactered piece about a modern London where magicians rule the land and magic comes in the form of controlling various levels of demons (or djinn). Set amidst the political intrigue is a story of a young apprentice magician's quest for revenge via the use of the some-time narrator djinn Bartimeus. He is the main reason to read the book. His amusing, ironic take on events is worth the price of admission alone. The world itself is well drawn and realised, as are all the characters. Yes there are shades of Harry Potter (a young apprentice wizard in a world of magic where commoners are virtually cattle) and various other genre books (Randall Garratt's Lord Darcy series spring to mind) but it's all done with such verve and charm that it quite rightly transcends its influences and becomes a classic in its own right. Buy it. Read it. You won't be disappointed. I look forward to the next chapters of this trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Absolutly wonderful, the mytic and style of Harry potter with a more poitical twist , also mixing some david eddings into it, I Loved it absolutly wonderful read, can't wait for the 2nd book
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Fantasy Adventure
Review: I read this book as a pre-pub and haven't stopped talking about it since. If you are looking for a book that has some of the charm of the Harry Potter series and some of the wonder of the Pullman (His Dark Materials) series you could do no better than this book. It offers readers (young and old) a very refreshing bit of fantasy mixed with a liberal dose of humor. The first character you meet is a deliciously dramatic dijin named Bartimaeus. His "take" on events is delightful (and occasionally disgruntled) and offers a very nice contrast with the "human" voice. I highly recommend this book. I look forward to the future installments.
Rating:
Summary: One of The Best Books In This Genre.
Review: Some of the most entertaining, original, and exciting books being published today are not by the John Grishams and the Tom Clanceys of the literary world but instead a new crop under the mantle of, "Young Adult Books". Authors like Cornelia Funke and Christopher Paolini are writing original and magical worlds that are being devoured by as many adults as young people who are looking for more beyond Harry Potter.
English writer Jonathan Stroud adds what I feel is one of the very best, including the Potter canon, with the first of a planned trilogy, 'The Amulet of Samarkand'.
Young apprentice Nathanial is frustrated by the meager teachings from his C level magician guardian. His own studies have, in his mind, already surpassed what his master knows. After a humiliating experience at the hands of a pompous colleague of his master, Nathanial plans revenge with the help of Bartimaeus, a five thousand year old djinni. Telling the story from both their perspectives as the situation careens wildly out of control, Stroud creates a wonderfully original page turner. Bartimeaus is a fanatstic character who illustrates many finer points with the help of hilarious footnotes. It's too bad the series is only a trilogy for this is a franchise I'd love to see go beyond three books.
Rating:
Summary: highly original book
Review: I'm a science fiction/fantasy fan and read books like shannara, harry potter, lord of the rings, bartimeaus, and eragon. This book was highly original in the power of magicians. It's not just like using magic to do everything and being in secret from non-magic people. the structure of it is cool because of the way it has two main charaxters and switches views. Since magicians don't actually use magic, (they summon demons and the stronger the demon, the harder he is to control so you need to be a strong magician to control strong demons) Bartimeaus is actually the one with all the power, not Nathaniel (the magician). I loved the ending of the book because of the strategic plans the main characters come up with. BOTTOM LINE-------- if you're a fantasy fan, READ THIS SERIES.
Rating:
Summary: A terrific book for older children through adults
Review: This book was given me as a present (often the best way I discover new authors.) I finished it in a span of days, despite a busy schedule. The djinni Bartimaeus is the unusual character with a witty and sarcastic take on events who- this is important- isn't always correct in his interpretation of said events. Too frequently authors use such characters to offer their own views or interject their own philosophical musings in a world of the authors' own creation, where they are, of course, correct. Bartimaeus' view is enjoyable reading, but it is a testament to the author's skill that you don't become bored or irritated when the less powerful and far more mortal Nathaniel's point of view takes over. The writing is clever, the plot moves quickly, and the characters are well drawn. I will note that while there is little by way of language or sexuality in the book (aside from moments where Bartimaeus sneeringly tells his young summoner that he should take up an interest in girls or other, healthier subjects) there is some violence, including a few deaths, which might be disturbing to very young children. Some parents might frown upon the demon-summoning themes inherent to the book, but then, some parents have their springs entirely too tightly wound.
P.S. I can't resist mentioning that I interrupted reading Robert Jordan's 10th Wheel of Time book, _Crossroads of Twilight_, to read _Amulet_... And then interrupted it again to read _Amulet_ to my wife aloud. Yes, this book is _that_ good, and Jordan's book is _that_ bad. You can find my review of that here as well.
Rating:
Summary: Calling all fantast lovers!
Review: If you're looking at this book and thinking to yourself ,"Great... another book about a child misplaced, angsty, child magician.", then I urge you to reconsider.
I read through this book fairly quickly (5 days). It is no cut-and-paste story. The characters, plot, and writing style are just about the most original and captivating I've ever read in a children's/young adult novel.
The setting is quite interesting. We aren't really told what year it is or anything, but it's pretty clear that it is a modern setting. I'm pretty sure it's actually present-day, but kind of an "alternate" present-day if you will. This isn't like the world of Harry Potter, in which the Wizards live seperately and secretly apart from the world of the Muggles. Instead we have Magicians, and believe me they aren't nearly as admirable as the Wizards in the Harry Potter world. Instead we basically have ambitious, greedy politicians. Imagine Karl Rove in a cape.
Rather than working from their own inherent powers or abilities, magicianship in the world of this book is rather like a profession. The child magicians, of which the main character (Nathaniel) is one, are in fact called Apprentices. They are sold by their parents and given a "master" to study under. These magicians learn to summon djinn from "The Other Place" to do their bidding, and derive nearly all their power from these beings, whom they have the ability to bond to their service. The interesting thing is, djinn is not a made-up concenpt in this book. The djinn are actually a part of Islamic/Arabic folklore and I've read are even mentioned in the Koran.
The kind of rule the magicians exert over the "commoners" is actually bordering on Orwellian. In fact, throughout the book I was waiting for one of them to refer to the commoners as "proles". The magicians have created the impression that they are the ones keeping the "empire" safe, and that without them, it would crumble into chaos and death.
The two main characters are Nathaniel (human child) and Bartimaeus (a millenia old djinni). The story shifts between a third-person narrative and a first-person narrative (from Bartimaeus' view). The "Bartimaeus" chapters are particularly amusing to read. Bartimaeus has a very witty, but dark, sense of humor. He often muses in footnotes about things he's done in the distant past, and about his contempt for magicians.
The actual plot of the novel is very well thought out and surprising, but I felt the core motivation of Nathaniel's actions was a bit weak. Basically, he is humiliated in his home by a particularly loathsome, snotty little magician. He then hatches a plan to summon a powerful djinni (Bartimaeus) to aid him in his revenge against this magician by stealing a powerful artifact. The plot thickens nicely as Nathaniel realizes just HOW powerful the stolen artifact in fact is, but I felt the initial motivation for his actions made Nathaniel seem too petty. But then maybe that was the intention as Nathaniel does seem a bit too concerned with "worldly" things.
Overall, a fast-paced read (but not so fast your head will spin). If you're wanting a refreshingly original fantasy story, I'd recommend this book. It is interesting to note that I haven't heart much hub-bub over the content of this book. It's got some violence, but isn't overtly gory or gruesome. What I mean is, there is specific (and frequent) mention of pentacles and other such imagery (demons, etc) that could offend some in the religious right or what have you. I just kept thinking to myself while reading "Man, if people were cheesed off by Harry Potter, why aren't they angry over this book?"
Rating:
Summary: the Begining to one of my favorite trilogies
Review: When 12-year-old Nathaniel(cough, nice name) is humiliated in public by pompous Simon Lovelace, he is determined to have revenge. Nathaniel summons Bartimaeus, a 5,000 year old djinni with a pulsing hatred for magicians, to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace. However, the Amulet turns out to worth much more than it seems, and because of it, Bartimaeus ends up in government prison, Nathaniel's (fusturatingly stubborn/narrow-minded)master and his (much nicer)wife, Mr and Mrs Underwood, die a firey and unpleasant death when Lovelace is tipped off about the Amulet's whereabouts. When Nathaniel learns what Lovelace intends to do with the Amulet, he has no choice but to travel to Heddleham Hall with Bartimaeus in hopes of revealing his scheme...
Crafty and downright hilarious, 'The Amulet of Samarkand' is a must-read for anyone who enjoys fantasy plot-twisters.
Reading things from Barimaeus' point of view is nice, and his comidical footnotes makes the story more bearable despite Nathaniel's show-off prig of a personality(I am not saying that Nathaniel is all bad). In my book, 'The Amulet' deserves a lot more than five stars.
Rating:
Summary: The Amulet of Samarkand
Review: This book was very good. It created a whole new way of percieving magic. Also, it brings this magic to modern-day London. Stroud did not have to create another world or time. It was an amazing tale of how even the greatest government can be undirmined by those in power. A good read. I highly recommend it.
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