The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Can you believe that i'm STILL reading Jane Eyre? *sigh* i read a few pages but then i get distracted and put it down. One of these days i'm just have to force myself to read it because i really want to get on to forcing myself to read the sequel to this book.

I read the Amulet of Samarkand in the middle of the winter last year, right after the holidays when i was spazzed out with all the gifts i got. The Amulet caught my eye because it wasn't something that i had seen before: i was unique and, as i learned, uniquiely written. I like that it told a story of magicians and didn't call them 'wizards' and that there 'magic' was all based on demons, dangerous creatures they enslaved for their own selfish means. I liked that it sounded more realistic than the Harry Potter universe and in my opinion is better. it may not have as many details or as complicated a plot, but in many ways it is certainly a better adventure than any of the Potter books.

Jonathan Stroud weaves a brillant tapestry of character in the voice of Bartimaeus, an ancient djinni tricked into the service of a young apprentice magician, Nathaniel. Bartimaeus is witty, sarcastic and infinetly amusing, so much that i found myself rooting for him instead of the main character, the boy Nathaniel, known to the world of magicians as John Mandrake. The story revolves around the ambitions and revenge inspired plots of Nathaniels, where he desperately uses Bartimaeus to prove his extraordinary worth to the magicing world. But with a companion like Bartimaeus things envitably go wrong and Nathaniel "finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espinage, murder, and rebellion."

Honestly, this book was amazing. i dare you find a funnier "wizard" book. Bartimaeus is BRILLANT!