Nathaniel is a boy magician-in-training, sold to the government by his birth parents at the age of five and sent to live as an apprentice to a master. Powerful magicians rule Britain, and its empire, and Nathaniel is told his is the "ultimate sacrifice" for a "noble destiny." If leaving his parents and erasing his past life isn't tough enough, Nathaniel's master, Arthur Underwood, is a cold, condescending, and cruel middle-ranking magician in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The boy's only saving grace is the master's wife, Martha Underwood, who shows him genuine affection that he rewards with fierce devotion. Nathaniel gets along tolerably well over the years in the Underwood household until the summer before his eleventh birthday. Everything changes when he is publicly humiliated by the ruthless magician Simon Lovelace and betrayed by his cowardly master who does not defend him.

Nathaniel vows revenge. In a Faustian fever, he devours magical texts and hones his magic skills, all the while trying to appear subservient to his master. When he musters the strength to summon the 5,000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus to avenge Lovelace by stealing the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, the boy magician plunges into a situation more dangerous and deadly than anything he could ever imagine. In British author Jonathan Stroud's excellent novel, the first of The Bartimaeus Trilogy, the story switches back and forth from Bartimaeus's first-person point of view to third-person narrative about Nathaniel. Here's the best part: Bartimaeus is absolutely hilarious, with a wit that snaps, crackles, and pops. His dryly sarcastic, irreverent asides spill out into copious footnotes that no one in his or her right mind would skip over. A sophisticated, suspenseful, brilliantly crafted, dead-funny book that will leave readers anxious for more. (Ages 11 to adult) --Karin Snelson


From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-Nathaniel has been apprenticed to Mr. Underwood for several years. At the age of 12, he has finally been Named and is on his way to becoming a real magician. Suddenly, London is in an uproar. The Amulet of Samarkand has been stolen from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace. Only Nathaniel knows what really happened because it was he who commanded the 5000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus to steal it for him. Now, with a rebellious demon under his control and all of London searching for the thief, he must figure out a way to keep the amulet hidden. Stroud has woven an intricate fantasy set in an alternative London where the most influential members of society, and even the Prime Minister himself, are magicians. The richly rewarding story unfolds in chapters that alternate between Bartimaeus's first-person narration, which includes arcane and very funny footnotes, and Nathaniel's account, told in third person. There is plenty of action, mystery, and humor to keep readers turning the pages. This title, the first in a trilogy, is a must for fantasy fans, and in particular for those anxious for the next Harry Potter.Ginny Collier, Dekalb County Public Library, Chamblee, GACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From AudioFile
Bartimaeus, a five-thousand-year-old djinni, possesses abilities far beyond those of an extraordinarily talented magician. Simon Jones excels at projecting the personality characteristics of someone who has seen and done it all: sarcasm, facetiousness, and dry wit. Jones's narration easily balances this cynicism against his portrayal of Nathaniel, an 11-year-old apprentice magician who has called up Bartimaeus to avenge himself against a brutal magician, Simon Lovelace. Nathaniel can summon Bartimaeus, but can he control him? The story is the told from a fresh viewpoint that will attract any listener with a yen for intelligent and humorous fantasy. E.J.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2004 YALSA Selection © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Gr. 6-12. Picture an alternative London where the Parliament, composed of powerful magicians, rules the British empire. When five-year-old Nathaniel's parents sell him to the government to become a magician's apprentice, the boy is stripped of his past and is given over for training to a grim, mid-level magician from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Over the next seven years, Nathaniel studies the lessons given by his cold master, but in secret he delves into advanced magic books, gaining skill beyond his years: he summons a djinn to steal the powerful amulet of Samarkand. Inspired by a desire for revenge, this bold act leads to danger and death. Nathaniel's third-person narrative alternates with the first-person telling of Bartimaeus the djinn, a memorable and highly entertaining character. Rude, flippant, and cocky, his voice reflects the injustice of his millennia of service to powerful magicians who have summoned him to do their capricious bidding. His informative and sometimes humorous asides appear in footnotes, an unusual device in fiction, but one that serves a useful purpose here. Stroud creates a convincingly detailed secondary world with echoes of actual history and folklore. The strong narrative thrust of the adventure will keep readers involved, but the trouble that is afoot in London extends beyond the exploits here. The unresolved mysteries will be more fully explored in the next two volumes of the trilogy. One of the liveliest and most inventive fantasies of recent years. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


The New York Post
"Harry Potter has a new challenger…if you haven’t heard of him yet, you will."


Book Description
Presenting a thrilling new voice in children's literature-a witty, gripping adventure story featuring a boy and his not-so-tame djinni. Nathaniel is a young magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hotshot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of everyone he knows, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge on his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all: summoning the all-powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt. Set in a modern-day London spiced with magicians and mayhem, this extraordinary, funny, pitch-perfect thriller will dazzle the myriad fans of Artemis Fowl and the His Dark Materials trilogy. And with the rights sold in more than a dozen countries, and a major motion picture in the works, the Bartimaeus trilogy is on the fast track to becoming a classic.

ANNOTATION

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.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Presenting a thrilling voice in children's literature -- a witty, gripping adventure story featuring a boy and his not-so-tame djinni.

Nathaniel is a young magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hotshot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of everyone he knows, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge in his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all: summoning the all-powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt.

Set in modern-day London spiced with magicians and mayhem, this extraordinary, funny, pitch-perfect thriller will dazzle the myriad fans of Artemis Fowl and the His Dark Materials trilogy.


About the Author

Jonathan Stroud is a former publishing executive who has published several children's books in England. He lives in London.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In a starred review, PW called this novel narrated by an ancient djinn, Bartimaeus, bonded to a 10-year-old magician in modern-day London a "darkly tantalizing tale. Readers will eagerly anticipate the next two volumes." Ages 10-up. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Beth Guldseth

Here is a long, involved, original, and exciting fantasy. England is in the power of magicians who hold all government offices. Young Nathaniel is apprenticed to a mediocre bureaucrat who does not see the boy's exceptional talents. When Nathaniel is humiliated by a most powerful and evil magician, he sets out on his own to extract revenge. This is refreshing because it is nothing like Harry Potter, and the author even manages a little dig in that direction: "Well, unless age-old practices were now being dropped and apprentices were being bused off to boarding school (hardly likely)...." Told from two points of view, the djinni Bartimeus's and the author's, the story is not hard to follow. After page 250 or so I couldn't put it down and read straight through to the end at just under 500. 2003, Miramax/Hyperion, Ages 10 to 14.

KLIATT - Donna Scanlon

Eleven-year-old Nathaniel has been the apprentice of magician Arthur Underwood since he was five, but he is largely self-taught. His pompous and stuffy master constantly underestimates Nathaniel's ability and fails to defend him from humiliation at the hands of fellow magician Simon Lovelace. Nathaniel plots his revenge carefully, summoning a demon called Bartimaeus to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace and subsequently humiliate him. But Nathaniel and Bartimaeus get far more than they bargained for as they uncover a plot to overthrow the government and run into a group of "commoner" children who can detect and are stealing magical objects. The story, told alternately in first person by Bartimaeus and from Nathaniel's point of view in third person, is fast-paced and funny, although at times it takes a serious tone. Nathaniel grows from a whiny, petulant and self-involved boy to a character with strength and courage, retaining enough of his former attitude to maintain credibility. Bartimaeus, a demon with an extraordinarily high opinion of himself, tries to maintain that his service is entirely enforced by the summons, but by the end of the book, the reader knows better. Loose ends are deliberately left untied, as this is the first book in a trilogy, a happy prospect for readers of this delightful tale. (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book One). KLIATT Codes: JSA*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2003, Hyperion, 452p., Ages 12 to adult.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-Nathaniel has been apprenticed to Mr. Underwood for several years. At the age of 12, he has finally been Named and is on his way to becoming a real magician. Suddenly, London is in an uproar. The Amulet of Samarkand has been stolen from the powerful magician Simon Lovelace. Only Nathaniel knows what really happened because it was he who commanded the 5000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus to steal it for him. Now, with a rebellious demon under his control and all of London searching for the thief, he must figure out a way to keep the amulet hidden. Stroud has woven an intricate fantasy set in an alternative London where the most influential members of society, and even the Prime Minister himself, are magicians. The richly rewarding story unfolds in chapters that alternate between Bartimaeus's first-person narration, which includes arcane and very funny footnotes, and Nathaniel's account, told in third person. There is plenty of action, mystery, and humor to keep readers turning the pages. This title, the first in a trilogy, is a must for fantasy fans, and in particular for those anxious for the next Harry Potter.-Ginny Collier, Dekalb County Public Library, Chamblee, GA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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