Book Amulet of Samarkand
The Plot(from the book)
A young magician's apprentice, Nathaniel, secretly summons the
irascible 5, 000 year-old djinni, Bartimaeus, to do his bidding. The
task is not an easy one - he must steal the powerful Amulet of
Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, a master magician of unrivalled
ruthlessness and ambition. Before long,
Bartimaeus *and *Nathaniel *are caught up in a terrifying flood of magical intrigue, rebellion and murder.
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My Review
Certain things to be aware of before you are hounded by the devils....(as told by our endearing demon, Bartimaeus)
Summon *- to call for the presence of a demon as by command, message, spell or signal.
Birthname *- All magicians have two names, their official name and
their birth-name. Their birth-name is that given to them by their
parents, and because it is intimately bound up with their true nature
and being, it is a source of great strength and weakness. They seek to
keep it secret from everyone, for if an enemy learns it, he or she can
use it to gain power over them, rather in the same way that a magician
can only summon a djinni if he knows their true name. Magicians thus
conceal their birth-names with great care, replacing them with official
names at the time of their coming of age. It is always useful to know a
magician's official name - but far better to learn his secret one. :)
- Varieties of demons *- Even magicians are confused by the infinite
varieties of demons, which are as different one from the other as
elephants are from insects, or eagles from amoebae. However, broadly
speaking, there are five basic ranks that you are likely to find
working in a magician's service. These are, in descending order of
power and general awe: marids, afrits, djinn, foliots, imps.
(There are legions of lowly sprites that are weaker than the imps, but
magicians rarely bother summoning these. Likewise, far above the marids
exist great entities of terrible power, they are seldom seen on
Earth, since few magicians dare even uncover their names). A detailed
knowledge of the hierarchy is vitally important for both magicians and
for us, since survival frequently depends on knowing exactly where you
stand. For example, as particularly fine specimen of a djinni, I treat
other djinn and anything above my rank with a certain degree of
courtesy, but give foliots and imps short shrift.
- Amulet *- Amulets are protective charms; they fend off evil. They are
passive objects and although they can absorb or deflect all manner of
dangerous magic they cannot be actively controlled by their owner. They
are thus the opposite of talisman, which have active magical powers
that can be used at their owner's discretion. A horse show is a
(primitive) amulet; seven-league boots are a form of talisman.
Ah....what a charming read for teens and adults. I say teens because
the vocabulary used in the book could be beyond the grasping power of
10 year olds.
Amulet of Samarkand *is an exciting magical thriller laced with loads
'n' loads of spells, adventure with demons(evil or good ones of all
shape, size, status & strength), suspense and murder. But I can't
compare this to Harry Potter simply because I've not read the latter
yet (believe that!). But like Potter, this book has great cinematic
potential (the movie version is set to release in 2009).
Amulet of Samarkand *is the first of the three thrillers written by
author Jonathan Stroud *under the name "The Bartimaeus Triology*" (just
like our Lord of the Rings trilogy).
The best aspects of the book are primarily the wonderful wit of the
central character Bartimaeus followed by the chase scenes involving
Bartimaues, Nathaniel and the rival demons.
The personality of
Bartimaeus can be roughly compared to that of any hippie friend of
yours at a happening bar! In the sense, he can be very cool or also
downright annoying (depending on which side of his you prick!). I truly
enjoyed reading every page where Bartimaeus is involved. His presence
brings life to our reading....whether its him hoodwinking the blows of
the more powerful afrits or fatally dangerous entities released by
Nathaniel's rival magicians, bashing junior demons back to their
momma's lap :), or even outclassing his master Nathaniel in verbal
duels. Check out the attitude of this smart-aleck djinni in one
instance - " *One magician demanded I show him an image of the love of
his life. I rustled up a mirror*. "
That was just one of the many hilarious one-liners you get to hear from
this lovely devil of a devil! But humor is not all. There's enough
adventure packed in here that leaves you entertained till the end.
Besides, you will also notice more than a few sub-plots that don't give
significant meaning to the main story. But there's a reason for it.
These events become important in the sequel, The Golem's Eye where the
author clarifies our nagging doubts explicitly.
There's some "zing" about fantasy books like these that intrigue us no
end, don't they? Maybe its because they temporarily steal us from our
harsh realities and sweep us into a world where anything is possible.
A-n-y-t-h-i-n-g! Imagine if you can cast a spell on your most obnoxious
professor leaving him dazed & immobile. *And then, pull down his
pants in front of a hundred students*.... :)
For parents, this magic-sparkled fiction is a wise gift for your
growing teens. They will have fun and improve their reading too.
For adults, its an immense source of relaxation. The action, adventure and ready wit (of Bartimaeus) makes it quite addicting.
The end wasn't very convincing to me but I'll still be partial to the
author because it left me entertained and smiling till
the last ink in the page.
Verdict ~ Now dear friends, you have two options. Either you can check this
out....or....may I cast a spell of * " Infinite-Confinement-to-watching-Ektaa Kapoor-serials **" *onto you silly skeptics?!
Command me, devil Dessertz at your
service* :)
