The Amulet of Samarkand

The Amulet of Samarkand is a couldn’t-put-it-down instant classic of recent children’s fantasy fiction. Don’t like Harry Potter but are still a fan of fantasy? Maybe this one is for you… it’s kind of like the Anti-Harry Potter!

This is an alternate version of our own world... a modern-day British empire ruled over by magicians. The British class system is very much alive still, the magicians are the elite and they occupy every position in government whilst the plebian class of non-magic practicing peoples below them toil away in their service. Britain is at war with the Czechs, another magic-practicing empire, and a highly powerful magical artefact - the Amulet of the title - has recently gone missing. This doesn't bode well for the British government.

Whereas Harry Potter shows the wizarding world as a mostly uninterfering and democratic group, the magicians here are a uniformly right-wing and fascistic bunch who take advantage of their powers almost purely for self-gain. It's an interesting set up. The story is also told from two perspectives... the first is Nathanial, a young boy sold into the service of a magician to be trained as an apprentice for the government. He is treated poorly by his master and is shown little love by anyone in particular. His aptitude for magic is beyond what anyone suspects. The other perspective featured is that of Bartimaeus (whom the trilogy is named after - oh yeah, I forgot to mention this book is the first in a trilogy).

Bartimaeus is a the moderately-powerful djinn that Nathaniel summons as his servent. You see, the way magic works in this world is that the magicians don't actually have any magical powers - their powers are restricted wholly to the summoning and control of various demons from a nether realm known simply as the 'Other Place'. These demons, Bartimaeus included, hate their masters and are forever trying to find ways to break their summoning spells so they can wreak havoc on their enslavers. It's a scenario that sets up the balance of power somewhat precariously and gives the book much of it's unique charm.

Nathaniel's sequences are the basis of the plot. He is humiliated by both his master and one Simon Lovelace, a high-profile government magician, and decides to exact revenge upon them with the help of Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus's sequences are what really sell the book though - told in the first person, his dry and facetious views of humanity and Nathaniel are hysterical and are what propel the book along in such an entertaining fashion. I'd like to say that both sides of the story are as important as the other (and, to an extent, they are), but for the entire trilogy I kept wanting to get back to Bartimeus's bits because they were just so damn enjoyable.

Anyway, this is a classy and very witty piece of children's fantasy. Don't be put off by the fact that it's in the children's section - it's a lot more original than a lot of adult's fiction, and it's one of the most entertaining adventure stories I've read in a while. The entire trilogy goes in some pretty surprising directions as it goes on too.