The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1) (Paperback)

There is nothing new in fantasy, only old wine in new bottles. So when a new fantasy comes along that actually feels new its a red letter day in my book.

That rant is by way of saying that this wonderful book avoids the pitfalls of many fantasy writers simply by virtue of the writing. A few years back David (and Leigh) Eddings burst onto the fantasy scene with their original Belgariad books. Plot-wise they were simply Tolkein retreads without the epic mthology. But what made them so readable, and so popular, was the original and entertaining voice with which they told their tales.

So it is with Jonathan Stroud. This is a fun, wry, funny, well-charactered piece about a modern London where magicians rule the land and magic comes in the form of controlling various levels of demons (or djinn). Set amidst the political intrigue is a story of a young apprentice magician's quest for revenge via the use of the some-time narrator djinn Bartimeus. He is the main reason to read the book. His amusing, ironic take on events is worth the price of admission alone. The world itself is well drawn and realised, as are all the characters.

Yes there are shades of Harry Potter (a young apprentice wizard in a world of magic where commoners are virtually cattle) and various other genre books (Randall Garratt's Lord Darcy series spring to mind) but it's all done with such verve and charm that it quite rightly transcends its influences and becomes a classic in its own right.

Buy it. Read it. You won't be disappointed. I look forward to the next chapters of this trilogy.

If you have been resisting Bartimeus because it sounds like a Harry Potter wannabe, don't-read it now. Although the parallels are obvious--a world of magicians, an orphan apprentice battling a supreme evil--the author is not out to mimic Potter but to offer a different and more pessimistic vision of what a magical world would be like. In Harry Potter's world, magicial ability is a sort of genetic artifact; there are good, evil, and silly magicians - just as in the `human' world; and themes of the importance of family and friends predominate.

Bartimeus' vision is much, much darker. Nathaniel lives in a world where magicians are a dominating ruling class, who thirst for wealth and power, and who will stop at nothing to get it. But all their power stems not from innate ability but from the ability to control the spirits (genies, imps, and the like) that populate the natural world. Here, the wizards are always on the edge of disaster created by losing control over these spirits. One word wrong in an incantation means disaster! There are no beneficent Dumbledore-like wizards here; all - and this includes Nathaniel - are driven by personal gain, revenge, and anger.

For all its darkness, author Jonathan Stroud has crafted an extremely well-paced and exciting book. Get past the first 40 pages or so and you won't be able to put it down until you find out just what evil Lovelace is up to and whether Nathaniel will be able to stop him. The ending is deliciously ambiguous - not all the villains are captured; a mysterious Resistance seems to be forming among the non-magical humans; Nathaniel may succumb to his own lust for power; and the sarcastic and clever djinn Bartimeus seems likely to reappear in future volumes. As Bartimeus is the first volume of the "Amulet of Samarkand" trilogy, surely there is more excitement to come.

Not, however, for people who thought that Harry Potter was dark or scary - if Harry disturbed you, this one will keep you checking under the bed at night and sleeping with the lights on.