To massage his ego and to correct the wrong Nat summons a Djinn of great repute.īartimaeus bad mouths him the moment he is summoned. It is then that Nat realises that his master is nothing short of a bumbling fool. Nathaniel is punished, rather harshly in full view of his tutor (whom he adores) and his master who, incidentally, just watches him being humiliated. Lovelace, being a top class magician, cannot accept to be spoken to like that. To be honest Nathaniel IS a little too loose mouthed and a bit big headed. On a chance encounter with a certain Simon Lovelace, a powerful magician, Nathaniel talks with a nonchalance which Lovelace cannot fathom. It is because of his hard work NOT paying off in the form of compliments and adulation from his master that Nat decides to take things in his own hands. If there’s one thing you cannot blame Nathaniel for it would be hard work. Nathaniel picks up spells and charms with disarming ease. This is in essence why and where the story takes off. Nathaniel (his real name) is an apprentice under a below average magician master. Although to add humour as a worthy tag wouldn’t be a bad enough idea. The Amulet of Samarkand can easily be bracketed into the teen-fantasy genre. Set up in modern times and dealing with magic and not being Harry Potter? The commoners, non-magical folks, only know they exist and are controlled by the elite magicians. The book is based in the modern magical London where demons and Djinn are a common enough sight. Although its USP most definitely is the sarcastic dialogue delivery by the Djinn, Bartimaeus. Now don’t mistake it as an out and out comedy.

And the book did justice to start with, if not with bangs and smoke screens, at least with sniggers.

As the new revamped group saw more participation and discussion it was like a new start for us. The Amulet of Samarkand was the first in the three book series by Jonathan Stroud. This was chosen by Bookhad as the book for the month of August 2012. Year: 2003 The brilliant Bartimaeus in one of his forms

The amulet of samarkand review