The Amulet of Samarkand (Amulet Trilogy) (Hardcover)

However. I then began to read it and immediately regretted ever having a negative thought.

This is an absolutely fantastic book. Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are such well formed characters, and, despite being complete opposites of each other, mesh together amazingly well. The plot does not waver once throughout and you feel yourself becoming drawn right into it, a quality which is a must for me. Perhaps one of the most intriguing parts of the plot is that the government is made up entirely of magicians...Themes within the book range from family, love and politics to name but a few. The author allows you to use your imagination which his fantastic descriptions of each character + setting used without overdoing it as many have before. I particularly enjoyed the style in which the author wrote, using first person + amusing footnotes for the character of Bartimaeus and using third person for Nathaniel.

This book is unique and is a must for people of all ages (I'm a mere 18!), if you love Harry Potter, you shall perhaps love this even more.

The other half is the young apprentice magician, Nathaniel, coming of age in an alternative-reality London. The book's focus is his quest to right the wrongs done to him in his short life and moves on to his fight against the tangled plot to overthrow government.

The book is based in and around Stroud's London - a very similar place to the London we all know, except that Stroud's Parliament is run by magicians who take their powers exclusively from demon-kind summoned from the Other Place. Bartimaeus is one of those, a djinni summoned by Nathaniel.

Stroud's work is really exceptional stuff. It has the easy-readability of Harry Potter and a fast-paced, entertaining style all it's own that makes it great for kids and adults alike. The book is split into two distinct methods of telling the tale, a traditional narrative and the first-person story told by Nathaniel's conjured djinni, the hilarious Bartimaeus himself.

This is not the type of book I would usually pick up, but as it was a Christmas present I felt obliged to read it. I am very pleased that I did, as I found the djinni's ramblings about his antics throughout the ages (he often takes the form of one of his favourite masters, Ptolemy) frankly hilarious and Nathaniel a likeable enough character. Above all this is all completely original stuff, well told and truly entertaining. And that's what I liked best.

This should appeal to kids and adults, to those who are into fiction and fantasy alike. I can't wait for the second part, but I am pleased that the first is a self-contained story in it's own right. Superb and well worth the price.

In terms of imagination, this book far outstrips Harry Potter. I recognised some of the magical background in the novel, having read the odd text myself out of interest, and one senses that the author did plenty of careful research - the result is that, though the book is a fantasy, there is a sense of versimilitude and even in its wierdest moments it remains convincing. In terms of character depth and insight, I thought this surpassed HP5; Nathaniel is a far more convincing angry adolescent than HP.

Above all, the author has an elegant, seductive, intelligent prose style. Maybe this isn't as amazing as Pullman, but it comes close and I cannot wait to read the rest of the triology.
This book deserves the hype!