Name: Amulet of Samarkand
Rating: 3.951612903225806 (155 reviews)
ISBN: 078681859X

Jonathan Stroud

Nathaniel, a magician's apprentice, summons up the djinni Bartimaeus and instructs him to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace.

Amulet of Samarkand

The first volume in the brilliant, bestselling Bartimaeus sequence. When the 5,000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus is summoned by Nathaniel, a young magician's apprentice, he expects to have to do nothing more taxing than a little levitation or a few simple illusions. But Nathaniel is a precocious talent and has something rather more dangerous in mind: revenge. Against his will, Bartimaeus is packed off to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace, a master magician of unrivalled ruthlessness and ambition. Before long, both djinni and apprentice are caught up in a terrifying flood of magical intrigue, murder and rebellion. Set in a modern-day London controlled by magicians, this hilarious, electrifying thriller will enthral readers of all ages.

The Amulet Of Samarkand

Marija

WooW =D This book was great. I usualy admire authors who create unique magical world, and this one is one of them. But also, this book i fast paced and will keep you awake all night.

Ryan Mateyk

A really fun and lighthearted fantasy that takes you through the streets of an alternative London where magic reigns. The writing was great and Bartimaeus was a hoot.

Prashanth Srivatsa

Long due. And totally worth it. Imaginative, inventive, and just pure fun! Off to get myself some more.

Sade A

This book is absolutely fantastic. You can't help but love Bartimeus

The Amulet of Samarkand

Kirsten Simkiss

Okay, so the world idea is very interesting. Unfortunately, the world of djinni and afrits and imps is so complicated that they spend the entire book trying to teach you about this incredibly complicated world. It also seems awfully odd to me that those who are magically talented only really know how to summon and control magical beings and have very little skill at anything truly magical at all. Essentially, magicians are slave owners of magical creatures. And this is just widely accepted? Even the djinns seem to resent it, but they also seem to just accept that that's the way things are and take it in stride.

This book also suffers from boy genius syndrome, in which the lonely boy who's too intelligent for his own good rushes into things and causes way more trouble than he ever meant to and, in so doing, saves the day. In this case, Nathaniel really has no redeeming qualities whatsoever aside from a voracious appetite for knowledge. Granted, he is twelve. And twelve year olds have a lot to learn.

The saving grace of the book is Bartimeus and his foot notes, which are equally interesting and a bit disruptive. I often felt it took away from the flow of reading (having to look from the paragraph to the footnote, then trying to find your place based on what numbered footnote you'd just read), but the footnotes often offered the most history regarding the world. Bartimeus is quite funny and amusing, and often very resentful of his Master, Nathaniel. (I don't blame him there.)

Also, there were quite a few female characters with important roles in the story, which was nice. Granted of the five major ones, two of them were killed, one of them was dismissed and never heard from again, one never gets named that I can recall and is only in roughly two scenes, and the last one is portrayed as a frigid and unforgiving woman with no redeeming qualities. Two of those characters were sort of mother roles to Nathaniel with one being placed as the new mother at the very end of the story. And one of the two that died is simply kind of painted as a socialite airhead who didn't cotton on to the fact that her boyfriend was trying to murder all of magical parliament and the prime minister.

I'd probably give this one 2.5 stars out of 5 if I had half-star options. It just didn't really impress me that much.

Stephanie Ridiculous

Thoroughly entertaining and the best use of footnotes of all time.

Stefanie Sugia

The Amulet of Samarkand is the first book of the Bartimaeus trilogy. When i started reading this book, i have no idea what this is about; but when i finally pull things together, the book became an incredibly fun and exciting adventure! :D


The story tells about Nathaniel; a young magician who seek revenge and needed the help of Bartimaeus - a djinni. Nathaniel was humiliated by a magician named Lovelace; and he decided to study well and improve his magic so he could summon a djinni to be given a mission. Bartimaeus got the order to stole Lovelace's dearest treasure: The Amulet of Samarkand. The djinni succeeded to complete the mission; but unexpectedly, the amulet had a lot more story to it. After searching, it seems like Lovelace had stolen the amulet from someone else; even murdering someone to claim it. The adventure tells the story of how Nathaniel and Bartimaeus both tried to reveal Lovelace's evil plan and defeat him. :D


Nathaniel and Bartimaeus's personality together is entertaining already! :D Nathaniel who is cold and not-so-fun young boy; while Bartimaeus is full-of-talk djinni who likes to tease and boast about himself. :D i had a good laugh reading Bartimaeus's actions in the story.
Overall it is a good book. And i am hoping for a lot more great adventure in the next two books. :):)
i love Jonathan Stroud already ! <3

Laura Kehoe

This book was so much fun! I don't know why I didn't read it sooner!

Alexandra Mellas

Originally posted: http://raidingbookshelves.blogspot.co...

Publication Date: 30th September, 2003
Publisher: Miramax
Country: UK
ISBN: 078681859X
Original Language: English
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Source: NetGalley
Buy the Book: Amazon
Lootability: There's room but look for more.

The Amulet of Samarkand is the sweet, witty and extraordinary story of a young apprentice magician's quest for revenge after being humiliated. Of course, the story takes on much darker tones as Nathaniel finds himself in over his head. 

What I Liked: Bartimaeus was amazing. Everyone kept telling me that I would love his wry humour and obnoxious sarcasm (is there any other kind?) and they were right. He is snarky, selfish, smary and just a little too smart for his own good. His inner monologuing had me giggling and occasionally gasping at his audacity.
The complexity of the plot Nathaniel stumbles into is quite cunning, and was just twisted enough to prove its evil roots. The villains, Simon Lovelace, Rufus Lime and Master Shyler, are sufficiently devious and nasty. Poor Nathaniel's humiliation at the hands of Lovelace had me thinking of him like he was the gunk that gets stuck under my shoes.

What I Didn't Like: The story was in third person, so there wasn't much change between the chapters despite alternating between Nathaniel and Bartimaeus. But because there was a slight change in who was leading the story, I kept hoping the narration would change a little.

The Amulet of Samarkand is the first instalment of Jonathon Strouds Bartimaeus Trilogy. I'll be picking up the sequel Ptolemy's Gate at some point in the future.

Anastaciya

2020 upd - I don't know why I thought this was okay... I loved this book this time around! Simon Jones' narration of the audio version is brilliant, and honestly, I think Jonathan Stroud is one of my favourite authors.
It's so witty

[2017] it was good. Bartimaeus is funny, Nathaniel is a little piece of... but is ok. Stroud is a great storyteller. I liked Lockwood and Co. more, but I can't deny that the writing is good, and the author definitely achieves his goals.

The first volume in the brilliant, bestselling Bartimaeus sequence, now adapted into a stunning graphic novel format - this is Bartimaeus as you've never seen him before! Nathaniel, a young magician's apprentice, has revenge on his mind. Desperate to defy his master and take on more challenging spells, he secretly summons the 5000-year-old djinni, Bartimaeus. But Bartimaeus's 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 intrigue, rebellion and murder. Set in modern-day London controlled by magicians, this brilliant adaptation of Jonathan Stroud's bestselling novel will enthral readers of all ages.

Siobhán

I just want to thank Random House/Corgi Books for giving me this to review.

I have really never had an interest in graphic novels. I have only ever bought one and that was the Twilight graphic novel just because it was Twilight. So when the publishers contacted me about reviewing this I was unsure at first but thought I would give it try and I am really glad I did. When it came in the post my four year son clocked it and wanted it. So first I read it myself them we sat up last night and read together. We both enjoy it.

The Amulet of Samarkand Graphic Novel is an adaptions of the orginal novel (which I have yet to read) its follows the story of a young magican Nathaniel after he summons a Djinni called Bartimaeus and takes them both on a action packed adventure. That will surely be enjoyed by the young and old. 

The art work that is done by Lee Sullivan and Colour by Nicholas Chapuis is just wonderful. Its bright and colourful and really is easy on the eyes. Usually I have seen graphic novels that only use black and white and maybe that is the reason why I have never really took an interest in them. However, this really captures you and it is very easy to follow. However, my only negative would be the size of the writing. It is rather small and even though I wear glasses to read and I could read it ok. I think if some people would struggle with the text size.

Overall, a great fun read that will make you want to go out and buy the orginal books. And a huge thumbs up for a very happy four year boy who is totally in love with this graphic novel.

Brent Nef

** spoiler alert **
           3 stars might be a little low. I enjoyed this book, but I want to see how the series plays out before I make a definitive decision. The beginning was a little slow as the environment and characters were put into place, but it had a pretty good climax and resolution which was generally satisfying.

Nathanael dient als Zauberlehrling seinem Lehrmeister Underwood. Dieser ist, wie andere erfolgreiche Zauberer auch, Mitglied der Regierung. Als eines Tages Nathanael von dem arroganten Zauberer und Minister Simon Lovelace gedemütigt wird, sinnt er auf Rache. Er beschwört einen 5.000 Jahre alten Dschinn herbei, den Dämon Bartimäus, der widerstrebend seinen Befehlen gehorchen muss, Lovelace ausspioniert und bestiehlt. Unversehens geraten die beiden dabei in einen Strudel von politischen Intrigen, angezettelt von machthungrigen Zauberern. Nach dem gleichnamigen Buch (BA 9/04): "Mit viel Fantasie und vor allem Humor schildert der Autor aus der Sicht des Dämons Bartimäus die ungewöhnliche Beziehung zwischen ihm und Nathanael." Man kann sich für diese Geschichte kaum einen besseren Sprecher vorstellen als Martin Semmelrogge, der schelmischpfiffig von den Abenteuern des ungleichen Paares erzählt. Jugendliche ab 12 wie auch Erwachsene werden Spaß an den lässigschnoddrigen Dialogen haben und mühelos der spannend in Szene gesetzten Handlung von immerhin 430 Min. folgen. Breite Empfehlung. Zauberlehrling Nathanael will sich an den bösen Zauberer Simon Lovelace rächen. Er ruft den Dämon Bartimäus herbei, der widerwilig gehorchen muss, und beide geraten unversehens in gefährliche Abenteuer. (ab 12)

Amulet of Samarkand

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