Another book recommendation
Nov. 8th, 2003 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vivienI just finished the Bartimaeus Trilogy Book One: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. This is another "youth" title, but it's darker and more morally ambiguous than JKR could ever dream of writing a Harry Potter. There are many other comparisons to make to the Harry Potter series, but this book stands on its own even so. It is set in London, the magical capital of the world. The magic in question is all derived from imps, djinni, afrits and so forth - and this magical world is how it would have been if the Slytherins had "come out of the closet" and taken over the Muggle world.
The plot is told from the alternating viewpoints of Bartimaeus of Uruk, a djinni, and Nathanial, a 12 year old magician who commands him. Nathanial is a hard character to like, but you see the glimmers of a conscience coming through arrogance and the consequences of an unhappy upbringing. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, is just plain fun.
This was an exciting, action filled read that is obviously the first of three books. It posed some very interesting questions about a different kind of magical society, and I look forward to reading more.
The plot is told from the alternating viewpoints of Bartimaeus of Uruk, a djinni, and Nathanial, a 12 year old magician who commands him. Nathanial is a hard character to like, but you see the glimmers of a conscience coming through arrogance and the consequences of an unhappy upbringing. Bartimaeus, on the other hand, is just plain fun.
This was an exciting, action filled read that is obviously the first of three books. It posed some very interesting questions about a different kind of magical society, and I look forward to reading more.