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The Amulet of Samarkand
Let's face it, fantasy is a well-worn genre, bloated with Tolkein ripoffs
, tired generic plots and characters. There seems to be no end to the stuff...and no shortage of readers who'll swallow it. And to this we can add a new type of fantasy that is fast reaching critical mass for younger readers...the Harry Potter clone. Check the young readers section of your local bookstore and you'll find literally dozens of books about young boy and girl wizards. As the saying goes, everyone wants to be the first to do something second.
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.
The Golem's Eye
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.

The demon--excuse me--djinn, Bartimaeus once again steals the show in this second book of Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy. My favorite scene is in the British Museum where a mysterious monster is smashing his way through the ancient Egyptian antiquities and Bartimaeus clobbers it over the head with the Rosetta Stone.

This is one of the sharpest new fantasy trilogies that I've read since Cecilia Dart-Thornton's 'Ill-made Mute' series, and it seems to get better as it speeds along. My only problem is that one of the main characters, fourteen-year-old magician, Nathaniel is completely humorless and, sad to say, not very likeable. He is always puckering up into what Bartimaeus calls his "patented bulldog-who's-sat-on-a-thistle face."

A second major character, the commoner Jane is brave and likeable, but again, lacks a sense of humor.

Bartimaeus makes up in the humor department for both of them. He disguises himself as a minotaur when fighting the beast in the British Museum, as a bat when he and his master, Nathaniel are roaming about in Prague's oldest cemetery at midnight, and as a winged serpent when all of the British Government's magicians summon their servants in a vast chamber in the bowels of Whitehall.

It seems that a skeleton wearing the death mask of the great magician, Gladstone is terrorizing London. Nathaniel is already in trouble with the ruling magicians because he can't seem to shut down the Commoners' Resistance Movement, so he volunteers Bartimaeus to destroy the afrit-powered skeleton---"It was last seen gyrating Gladstone's pelvis on Horseguards' Parade."

I've already ordered the third book of this trilogy, "Ptolemy's Gate," and once you've been introduced to the witty, shape-shifting Bartimaeus, you will too. Even the minor magical creatures are a gas, although as our main djinn says in one of his footnotes: "Lesser spirits...are often small-minded and vengeful, and take any opportunity to discomfort a human in their power with talk of bloodcurdling tortures. Others have an endless roster of smutty jokes..."

"The Golem's Eye" is an endless roster of wit and inventive sorcery.

Ptolemy's Gate
I couldn't have asked for anything more. This was indeed a worthy finale to the trilogy. The character development just went into no-holds-barred mode, giving you such insight on the main characters, and, finally, a revelation on Bartimaeus' past with Ptolemy. What was it that made this djinn love the little Egyptian boy so? We finally find out.

The past two books ensnared me, but this one completely held me captive. There were times when I'd be tired all day from working, my eyes forcing themselves shut, and my body aching for rest. Yet, I fought against its cries for sleep just so I could continue reading Bartimaeus' tale.

Ptolemy's Gate is so well written that you will find yourself getting so involved with the characters throughout the story. I shared Bartimaeus' disappointment with Nathaniel so much that I yearned to jump in there and slap some sense into him myself. Not to mention that I was feeling sorry for Bartimaeus as well, while he goes into his own style of [justifyable] self-pity. Kitty, who I admit did not interest me so much in the past, played such a crucial part here that I could not help but develop a fondness for her as well.

Each turn of the page willed me to go on, and the excitement just seem to build up and up. And the ending.. Oh, the ending. I released the breath I wasn't aware I was holding, as I stare into space dumbfounded; mouth slightly open, as I play that final scene again and again in my head.

I hope to see Bartimaeus again in the future. Even with a completely different cast of characters, I would be happy!

So have you read them?

yes i have, and i loved them!!! my favorite was Ptolemy's Gate. this is a very well-written trilogy, and i highly recommend reading them (in order, of course)