The Amulet Of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Sequence)

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The Ring of Solomon revisits the universe created in the Bartimaeus Trilogy, although the setting shifts from modern London to Jerusalem, 950 BC. It follows the djinni's adventures during the reign of King Solomon, who was frequently referenced in the footnotes during the trilogy. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2010 and in the U.S. on November 2, 2010. The story revolves around the troubles Bartimaeus faces while enslaved to Solomon's magicians, as he gets caught between the plots of his master to overthrow Solomon, and the schemes of Asmira, captain of the guard of the Queen of Sheba, who was sent by her to assassinate Solomon. I think the story is set in modern times, but Britain is still a great empire that still rules the American colonies. This alternate history adds to the creativity of the story.

A very interesting and fun read. Bartimaeus is an unforgettable character and very witty. Well done Jonathan Stroud for a well invented young adult, fantasy novel. I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would. This is a FANTASTIC book, one that suggests that Harry Potter books don't have to be just a phenomenon, but could be a genre as well, as long as there are people out there who have the capacity, as Jonathan Stroud does, to create new worlds. While Harry Potter may always be on the top of the heap (better protagonists), don't make me choose between Dobby and Bartimaeus; it will only end in house-elf tears. The Bartimaeus Sequence [1] is a series of young adult novels of alternate history, fantasy and magic. It was written by British writer Jonathan Stroud and consists of a trilogy published from 2003 to 2005 and a prequel novel published in 2010. The story follows the career of a teenage magician Nathaniel (aka John Mandrake) and a five-thousand-year-old djinni Bartimaeus, whom he has summoned and nominally controls, through the alternative history of the peak of London's domination as a magical oligarchy.Aside from all of that, I still enjoyed reading it. The readers get to be introduced to new environments and delve deeper into the story. Like the history of other Empires, the magicians, djinns. More information were being laid out and there were a lot of actions to keep me excited. There were even time when I have to stop reading it cause I can't handle the suspense just like so: This book is very cleverly written, with two alternating strands of narration. One in the third person, tells the story mainly from the point of view of Nathaniel. The other strand gives us a different perspective on the characters and events but it is in the first person, from the point of view of the devious, superior and sarcastic otherworldly being Bartimaeus.

I am really into children's books, YA fantasy, it´s so easy to consume in between, so interesting to see how the same tropes and ideas are used in easier to understand contexts, how humor is executed, and how the characters perform in contrast to the adult comedic fantasy, etc. and what should I say, many of these works are much better than average, not bad, novels just for adults. Because kids and teens don´t like getting bored with bad writing, so everything has to be even more perfected than for older readers. In Stroud's world, magicians have no power of their own - their power lies in the knowledge of how to summon (and enslave) spirits, like the djinni Bartimaeus, to do their will. These magicians are the proud, arrogant, entitled upperclass that pretty much oppress the commoners who work the city's factories and low-life jobs. They are bred for government, are not allowed to themselves breed, and thus take on apprentices instead to further the magical profession.After only the opening chapter, I was in love with the writing style Stroud uses in this book. The characterization of the djinni, Bartimaeus, is absoutely amazing and delightfully enjoyable to listen to. Nathaniel's character was not as interesting, but held true to what one would expect in a child that age. Well i do not usually compare any book with Harry potter but this one here just made me do so. It was an amazing read. Nearly everything about the book is just great. Over the course of these three books, our three heroes change and mature, taking us along on a thrilling ride full of witty humor, scathing sarcasm, melodrama, tragedy and pathos.