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Summary: The New and Imroved Harry Potter
Review: i picked up this book because of the color changing amulet on the cover, i stayed with it because of the funny and suspenceful tone of the book. bartimaues, the djinni writes with hilarious footnotes, and beeming personalilty, nathanial on the other hand is written from a different perspective, and is equily good but in a different way. many people like humorous books, and many people like serious book, this book it both, as well as suspence, abd other things.
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Summary: Disney meets New Age Spirituality
Review: The Bartimaeus Trilogy is a great read. In some ways it is like the Harry Potter series or more influenced by the Harry Potter series. I think that Harry Potter is a much more powerful story with better plot and fleshed out but the Djinn in this story is a work of art. As Harry Potter focus on medieval magic this one is more New age meets Disney. Jonathan Stroud is a great writer and I cant wait for part two to come out. Other books to check like this:"Lord of the Rings" By the King of fantasy
"All Harry potter stuff" from the Queen of fantasy Rowling
"Shadowmancer" by up and coming G.P. Taylor
"Chronicles of Narnia" By the Don of fantasy C. S. Lewis
"His Dark Materials Trilogy" from the leader of the Republic Philip Pullman
Rating:
Summary: excelent i demand more
Review: i loved this book i was wondering if there was anyway to find otu when the others are being released in book form or if they have already and i was also wondering if it was posible to get a hold of the auther so i could express my gratitude for his writing of this bookplease let me know
Rating: 
Summary: It has a certain appeal...
Review: It took me a while to get into this book; I found Bartemeus's footnotes a bit annoying, I wasn't too impressed with the writing, and the plot was okay. But after a little while, I got caught up in it and couldn't stop reading it. I just wanted to find out what would happen next!
One thing that kind of made me nervous though, was the fact that in this book, the source of magic is demons, which kind of sounds like the controversy surrounding the Harry Potter books. I wasn't very comfortable with that, and especially with the fact that in this book, most magicians seem to be ambitious and self-centered. Not very good role models for children. Parents should probably read this book before allowing their children to read it.
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Summary: Incredible Book!!!!!
Review: This book was amazing! It starts out really fast, then gets slightly slow, but not for long. The plot twists this way and that way and keeps you hooked. If you're not sure you'll like this book, trust me. My favorite books are artemis fowl, harry potter, lord of the rings, and the wind on fire, and the pendragon series but this ranks tops out of all of those. I can't wait till the next one comes out. The magic in this book was completely new and original so it was really good. Not only that but it's got a mysterious plot that keeps you guessing. The character development is great and I love all the new ideas in it. It's a really super awesome, incredible, magical, fantastical book!!!!
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Summary: Amulet of Samarkand
Review: I'll keep this short. This is an awesome book. If you have any ideas about it being some kind of Harry Potter repeat, forget them and go buy books one of the Bartimaeus Trilogy. When I first saw it, and started reading it, I hadn't even thought about it being an attempt to copy H.P. And although I'd be a liar if I said this book wasn't at all similiar to the Harry Potter series, it's a book all in it's own (as many other reviewers have mentioned) and should defintley be on your must read list.
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Summary: Most entertaining book ever
Review: I've read them all. Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl...heck, I've grown so bored I've read all of the Harry Potter Books at least twice, so when I saw this book (which stands out among the rest simply by it's beautiful cover) I was delighted to hand over my thirty dollars.
That was the best thirty dollars I've ever spent.
This awesome book starts out as a young boy, Nathaniel is delivered to a magician, "...a tradition that has been upheld for centuries." The boy endures his master's rough training, with only his beloved stepmother-like idol to care for him. He is humiliated at a party for telling a great magician he was a sore loser, and vows to get revenge on the magician, and his own master for not interfering with his unnecessary punishment. In secret he surpasses his own master's average abilities and summons the five-thousand year-old Djinni Bartamaeus of Uruk.
The story get's very interesting here. Bartamaeus is no kind servant, and has an attitude of his own. He is witty, hilarious, and very insightful throughout the entire book. His long life has given him a great deal of knowledge, and he explains some of the tragic events in history and what really happened. He delivered an ankle bracelet to Cleopatra for heavens sake! The boy finds a way to make sure Bartamaeus doesn't hurt him, and charges him to steal The Amulet of Samarkand from Lovelace, the magician who had humiliated him.
Bartimaeus meets a few old...friends working for Lovelace, but manages to retrieve the artifact. What neither of them know is, the amulet is part of a huge conspiracy, and is so vital to Lovelace that he will do anything to get it back.
Stroud effortlessely weaves descriptions of the settings into the greatest narrative I've ever read. It's not too described as in Tolkien's novels, but not as lame as "There was a green field."
I have read this book twice in the month I've had it, and loned it to three friends at school, all who came in the next day with sore eyes from staying up late reading. They all loved it.I can't wait for the second one to come out, and I will buy it the first day it comes out. Also, I'd lke to see a Bartamaeus Chronicles, recounting his adventures with Solomon and Ptolemy.
Overall, this is a book anyone would like, regardless of age. It certainly not Barney kiddy book, as many teen fantasies are accused of being. It is a delightful, and insightful adventure worthy of anyone who likes a good novel. Now go buy this book!
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Summary: An original gem in a field crowded with rocks
Review: Ever since Harry, there have been a lot of copycat wanna-be's out there. Some of them are decent (Artemis). Some of them are horrible (Eragon). This one is in a class all by itself. It's magnificent, brilliant, unbelievable, and incredible. It's the work of a genius! The skillful double narration, flawless writing, laugh-out-loud humor, fingernail-biting suspense, original story structure - make this book an absolute joy. Don't you dare miss this book!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book
Review: To answer the biggest question, yes there are some similarities to Harry Potter, but overall it's a much different tale. The story revolves around 2 main characters. Bartimaeus and Nathaniel. If you want to go in fresh, skip the next paragraph. It won't spoil anything plot-related, but it will cover the basics mentioned in the book. The world inside this book is complex, but fairly easy to comprehend. In our world, there are magicians and commoners. Magicians rule the world, they have all the high government positions. Magicians are born with powers, it's not explained how but it's not genetic. They are given a birthname, and at a young age are given to a master as an apprentice. The birthname must be forgotten and at the age of 12, a new name is assumed. This is because the birthname is a very sacred thing, and other magicians could use it to their advantage. Which brings me to the next point. Magicians are not like in Harry Potter. They are all power-hungry and competitive. Magicians in the highest positions usually got there by killing other magicians. The type of magic is also different from Harry Potter; there are no wands. Instead, magicians derive all their powers from "demons" of the Other World. There are different types of demons, the 3 most common seen in the book are Imps, Djinni, and Afrits. Imps are the weakest, Afrits are the strongest. The stronger the demon, the harder it is to summon, which is why most magicians only have Imps or Djinni to protect them. In the book, there are 7 different planes (or dimensions). Humans can only see the first plane. Demons can change form and appear as one thing on the first few planes, but as their true self on the last few planes. Bartimaeus is a Djinni, a particularly smart and witty one. He's been around a LONG time, and has had many adventures.
Nathaniel is a young apprentice who has been treated badly all his life. He's been brought up by a mean and incompetent master, but his only refuge has been in two women; his master's kind wife, and his drawing teacher. In one incident, he was humiliated and beaten by a magician named Simon Lovelace, and his drawing teacher was fired. This incident is the spark that send him planning his revenge on Lovelace, a very powerful magician with intent on seizing control of the government by kililng all of the officials. Nathaniel studies on his own, and decides to summon the Djinni Bartimaeus to steal Lovelace's magical amulet. One event leads to another, and the climax at the end really makes this book worthwile. Stroud creates his own magical universe here, a very well thought out one. I'm looking forward to the next 2 parts in this series; if they're anywhere near as good as this one, I'll be first in line to buy.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Fantasy
Review: The Amulet of Samarkand is a book that most authors can only dream of writing. Jonathon Stroud has definately out done hisself with this new and intriguing novel of murder, mystery, and magic. The young apprentice, Nathaniel is an inexperienced magician. He knows much about demons and imps, but this knowledge is kept a secret. By summoning Bartimaeus (a powerful djinni), Nathaniel has him under his control and he is commanded to do some heavy duty work.
It is alomst unbearable waiting for the next two books in the series to be published. I guarantee that is you read this book, you'll fall under a spell that binds you to the next books.
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