The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

The books in this series are The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate, his first books to be published in the United States.

This is done by examining the perspective of the sarcastic and slightly egomaniacal djinni Bartimaeus. A special feature of these novels compared to others of their genre is that Stroud examines the stereotypes and ethics of the magician class and the enslaved demons. In May 1999, Stroud published his first children's novel, Buried Fire, which was the first of a line of fantasy/mythology children's books.Īmong his most prominent works are the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy. During the 1990s, he started publishing his own works and quickly gained success. He worked with different types of books there and this soon led to the writing of his own books. After he completed his studies of English literature at the University of York, he worked in London as an editor for the Walker Books store. To escape boredom he would occupy himself with books and stories. Between the ages seven and nine he was often ill, so he spent most of his days in the hospital or in his bed at home. Stroud grew up in St Albans where he enjoyed reading books, drawing pictures, and writing stories. Jonathan Anthony Stroud is an author of fantasy books, mainly for children and youths. 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 a Faustian fever, he devours magical texts and hones his magic skills, all the while trying to appear subservient to his master.

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 gets along tolerably well over the years in the Underwood household until the summer before his eleventh birthday. The boy's only saving grace is the master's wife, Martha Underwood, who shows him genuine affection that he rewards with fierce devotion. 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. Powerful magicians rule Britain, and its empire, and Nathaniel is told his is the 'ultimate sacrifice' for a 'noble destiny.' 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.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud