SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
Young Nathaniel is taken from his parents when he is too young to remember them. Then he is brought up by a teacher so as to learn how to be a magician. Only special people have the ability to do magic, and the source of all magic are demons who are summoned and enslaved. A dramatic even leads young Nathaniel to summon the demon, Bartimaus, in secret. From then on a fast paced chain of events leads him from a road he cannot come back from.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Nathaniel is a young boy who is rather lonely and abused by his teacher. He is secretly rather smart, but keeps up the act of an obedient student. But he is also rather rash.
Bartimaus is a djinni who despises all of humanity (or so he claims) and makes fun of his master whenever he can. He is rather witty. He also evens out Nathaniel's naivete: he is not afraid to admit defeat or run from battle. He would rather use his brain than his strength. Like all djinni, he shapeshifts.
Underwood is an older man with a rather simple understanding of magic and modest skills. He is selfish and cruel, often putting Nathaniel at risk and physically abusing him.
Ms. Lutyens is Nathaniel's art teacher and the only teacher that shows him any kindness.
Simon Lovelace is an acquaintance of Underwood and a fellow government worker. However he is more skilled at summoning and has more knowledge. He has no love for commoners and children in general.
Martha Underwood is the wife of Underwood. The older lady is kind to Nathaniel and beside's Mrs. Lutyens, the only friend he has.
PACING
The story goes back and forth from Nathaniel to Bartimaus. This keeps the pacing fast. And although in the beginning of the book we get a history lesson about Nathaniel, it is never dull and all the information given is crucial to the story.
We essentially learn how Nathaniel go the point where the story started: when he first summons Bartimaus.
Chapters often end at cliffhangers and Bartimaus gets into predicaments that seem hopeless. But before we can find out how he escapes, we switch back to Nathaniel, who has his own crisis to deal with.
The pacing is that good. And even before we have learned about Nathaniel's past and the world he lives in, we are getting lots of action from Bartimaus' adventures. As well as mystery and suspense when it comes to Lovelace and his mysterious friend.
STRUCTURE
The story is broken into three parts.
The first part of the story is where we learn about Nathaniel's history as well as the world he lives in. It goes back and forth between these occurrences and the current story, where Bartimaus attempts to retrieve the amulet of Samarkand.
Part two is still a history lesson, and bouces back between the history and Bartimaus' spying on Lovelace. It ends with Nathaniel regaining power over Bartimaus.
In part three the story goes from seeking vengeance for vanity, to stopping someone who may want to overthrow the current government's regime.
A MAGICIAN'S WORLD-SPOILERS
In Stroud's world, the magicians have rose up and overtaken the government, which had been previously been run by “commoners”. They paint themselves as the saviors of their country by protecting them from other magicians. Although they don't care much for the non-magicians. They run everything, including the schools, and they make all of the laws.
For the most part the people are obedient, just wanting to get by. But their place in life is already set, as they can only do menial tasks. From Nathaniel's eyes, the magicians are the good guys. Bartimaus disagrees.
There is more than just the type of government to learn about. Their are different types of demons.; Magician's wear contacts to see things they couldn't normally.
There is the great, William Gladstone; Not to mention how magician's view commoners and how they view demons.
Young children with a propensity to be magicians are given up by their parents for money and then given to a magician to teach and raise them. Then they are eventually renamed.
Every detail feels important to the story as it reveals how the world is, how people think, and how Nathaniel will think.
A DETAILED HISTORY
Bartimaus' past is as detailed as the current world that Nathaniel lives in. The story is full of footnotes. Sometimes these notes tell us more about the current even we are reading about, other times we get information about Bartimaus' long life and career as a summoned djinni. The majority of these were interesting or hilarious. Sometimes both.
I skimmed over very few of them.
The thing that was nice was, Stroud didn't tend to add things for the sake of it. To show he had a long history for a character that had nothing to to do with anything. Certain authors do this, showing there skill for a detailed world perhaps to make up for their lack of character likability and depth.
But these footnotes only added to my enjoyment of the story.
CHARACTER ARCS
There are different arcs at different times. For instance, although abused by Underwood on a regular basis, Nathaniel doesn't decide to fully abandon his loyalty to his teacher until one drastic event. After that, he realizes his teacher is not his protector and he has no loyalty to him. Not that he would want to see him hurt.
From then on, Nathaniel pretends to be meek and obedient, all the while secretly learning things well belong his capability. He had done some of this before, but is secret rebellion flourishes now.
After a second drastic event, whereupon Nathaniel no longer has a safe place to reside he is pushed into acting. His character takes more direct action, for the first time in the story. This arc leads to the climax of the story.
A FLAWED HERO
One of the strong points of the story is that both main characters are likable, even though they are presented as being quite flawed individuals. Nathaniel is naive, vengeful, angry and selfish. And yet I still found myself rooting for him the entire book.
It's not merely the fact that he has been abused that caused me to care for him. I have read many books with unlikable characters who were victims of some injustice. I knew there was good in Nathaniel. He had just been abused so badly that it was hard for even him to recognize it. But his love for Ms. Lutyens and Martha helped immensely. And although Nathaniel believes the magicians are a force for good, it's quite obvious to the reader that this is not so.
Even so, we know our hero is young, sheltered and naive. I had hope he would change.
AN ALLY?
Bartimaus could have easily come across as cruel and evil. Instead he was hilarious, and I could never really believe he would hurt Nathaniel. If he had been allowed to, all my sympathy for him would have vanished. Since he never was, I liked him. He provided insights not only into the magicians, but also into Nathaniel that added depth to the story.
Also, there are hints that he doesn't hate all of humanity like he claims. He saves an innocent child, framing it as something of an accident. Also, he keeps reverting back to the form of a young egyptian boy, hinting that there was once someone he quite respected.
VENGEANCE OR GUILT?
After Nathaniel accidentally causes a horrible incident, he vows vengeance. He says he will dismiss Bartimaus only after that. But Bartimaus knows its more than that, he points out it's guilt that pushes Nathaniel forward.
He wants to feel better, and his aim isn't as noble as he makes it out to be: mainly, stopping a man from trying to overturn the government and take power from himself. Once again, Bartimaus adds depth to the story. Painting it out for the reader if it isn't already obvious. And causing discomfort for Nathaniel, who still wants to pretend he has noble aims.
MYSTERIOUS THIEVES-SPOILERS
When Bartimaus leaves Nathaniel unattended, he gets mugged and has his scrying glass stolen. They let him live, but Nathaniel notes that they seemed to know he had the item, even though it was hidden. Bartimaus remembers a time earlier in the book where something similar happened to him when he was returning with the amulet. This mystery isn't solved. But Nathaniel does learn about a resistance that the government is trying to keep down.
THE MYSTERY OF LOVELACE
Bartimaus not only has to steal an amulet from Lovelace, he also has to spy on him. We learn about strange, coded phrases that hint that the magician is up to something. It's a mystery that when is finally revealed it's well worth the wait.
HILARIOUS BARTIMAUS
Almost all of the story's humor comes from Bartimaus. Stroud displays his unique sense of humor, almost always getting a laugh out of me. At least a guffaw. His relationship with Nathaniel proves to be a major point of comedy, but Bartimaus makes fun of everyone he meets, not limiting his wit to his master. He pokes fun at two djinn, Faquarl and Jabor, as well as any other magician he meets. No one is immune to his sharp wit. Least of all the reader.
Although the humor has more than just the purpose of amusement. He often humbles the arrogant, including his master. And he points out the truth about this so called “just” society.
CLIMAX
Bartimaus and Nathaniel separate and each face an enemy and emerge triumphant, before coming back together and attempting to face an even bigger challenge. Together, they manage to stop their enemy and Nathaniel is rehomed with a new teacher. Bartimaus is finally dismissed.
CONCLUSION
Stroud creates an original and detailed world with likable characters. Bartimaus adds so much humor to the story, all the while keeping anything personal about himself a secret, causing the reader to suspect there is more to him than meets the eye.
Nathaniel is abused but isn't liked for his victimhood, instead for his intelligence, willingness to learn, and his desire to be loved. His naivete about the magician's is easily overlooked, as he has so much potential to one day discover the truth about the magicians he admires.
The story balances fast paced action with informing us all about Nathaniel and how he has came to be. Chapter endings are often cliffhangers and both stories are equally important, coming together like puzzle pieces.
Nathaniel and Bartimaus perfectly compliment each other as characters, drawing out insights all the while drawing out the readers desire to learn more about the characters and root them on. I give “The Amulet of Samarkand” five stars.
