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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Super-fun read. There are obvious comparisons to Harry Potter, but I found it NOTHING like that series. For one thing, there's sarcasm and piles of moral ambiguity from the get-go. I do feel like it would make a great movie, even though part of the pleasure was book-specific stuff like snarky footnotes. I love a snarky footnote. Definitely reading on in the series!
A fun beach read - on first glance it seems like an imitation of Harry Potter, but in substance it is quite a bit different. Darker, and significantly more sarcastic. I'm looking forward to the other two in the series.
Wow, this was a blast!
The story is well paced, and you can see the wider social issues, corruption, classism, exploitation, slavery etc., in the world as the plot progresses. There is a lot going on, but not everything is obvious, and rather a tad subtle.
The world building and the magic system are interesting.
The characters feel nuanced, and have depth. The disparity in Bartimaeus and Nathaniel's chapters are very well done. The writing style gives you an insight about the characters themselves.
I could not stop laughing while reading the chapter where Bartimaeus ambushes an imp carrying messages from Simon.
It is really unfair to compare this book to Harry Potter. Unlike Harry Potter, Amulet of Samarkand actually does have interesting and nuanced characters, story, themes, world building, magic system, and writing. This book does not shy away from talking about important social issues from a non-status-quo point of view.
The story is well paced, and you can see the wider social issues, corruption, classism, exploitation, slavery etc., in the world as the plot progresses. There is a lot going on, but not everything is obvious, and rather a tad subtle.
The world building and the magic system are interesting.
The characters feel nuanced, and have depth. The disparity in Bartimaeus and Nathaniel's chapters are very well done. The writing style gives you an insight about the characters themselves.
I could not stop laughing while reading the chapter where Bartimaeus ambushes an imp carrying messages from Simon.
It is really unfair to compare this book to Harry Potter. Unlike Harry Potter, Amulet of Samarkand actually does have interesting and nuanced characters, story, themes, world building, magic system, and writing. This book does not shy away from talking about important social issues from a non-status-quo point of view.
This series was completely unlike what i expected it to be. When I first started reading it, I very much expected a "young boy and a genii go on an adventure" story... REALLY not what this is about!!! For a YA Fantasy story, this series gets quite deep at times- about human rights issues, individual rights to freedom, slavery- and there is one central relationship in Egypt that is stunningly beautiful to read about.
(One of those moments that- when they happen in REAL human history, and a human being stops and pulls their head out of their butt and chooses to LEARN ABOUT ANOTHER instead of subjugating them... and then both beings enjoy a heightened relationship... it was just wow.
I don't think this is really spoiler-y - I hope not. It isn't really a plot point, and doesn't directly affect the story in any way, other than providing an undercurrent theme- sort of like saying there is an organization in the Harry Potter books that is very reminiscent of the Nazi's. The Death Eaters are that, but it doesn't really tell you much about how that drives the story-)
Anyway. When I started this book, I was a bit disappointed as it wasn't what I expected, and I had to actually learn to care about the characters- rather than the character I expected in my mind- (The sweet adventurous magician boy... don't expect him to be around. This is one of those books where the characters are quite realistic- you don't always like them or their behaviour or beliefs. There were many times I found myself very unsure of who exactly was the bad guy-- and what would happen next... which was FANTASTIC! It's so lovely to be listening to an audiobook and have really unexpected things occur.
I'm really glad I chose to wait (lol, yeah I chose... I put it off is more like it. :) ) until I had read the whole series until I posted this because my attitude to the series and the characters greatly changed over the series. The characters grew and changed, and my feelings for them grew and changed. By the end of the series I was really bummed it was over! I'd definitely recommend this series, and I'd also recommend that- if you're finding it a wee bit difficult to get through the first book- give it a chance. By all means, I don't expect you to read the whole series if you hate it- but give yourself a chance to become a part of the world, learn the people and become invested... you might find yourself enjoying the story a lot more than you expected!
(One of those moments that- when they happen in REAL human history, and a human being stops and pulls their head out of their butt and chooses to LEARN ABOUT ANOTHER instead of subjugating them... and then both beings enjoy a heightened relationship... it was just wow.
I don't think this is really spoiler-y - I hope not. It isn't really a plot point, and doesn't directly affect the story in any way, other than providing an undercurrent theme- sort of like saying there is an organization in the Harry Potter books that is very reminiscent of the Nazi's. The Death Eaters are that, but it doesn't really tell you much about how that drives the story-)
Anyway. When I started this book, I was a bit disappointed as it wasn't what I expected, and I had to actually learn to care about the characters- rather than the character I expected in my mind- (The sweet adventurous magician boy... don't expect him to be around. This is one of those books where the characters are quite realistic- you don't always like them or their behaviour or beliefs. There were many times I found myself very unsure of who exactly was the bad guy-- and what would happen next... which was FANTASTIC! It's so lovely to be listening to an audiobook and have really unexpected things occur.
I'm really glad I chose to wait (lol, yeah I chose... I put it off is more like it. :) ) until I had read the whole series until I posted this because my attitude to the series and the characters greatly changed over the series. The characters grew and changed, and my feelings for them grew and changed. By the end of the series I was really bummed it was over! I'd definitely recommend this series, and I'd also recommend that- if you're finding it a wee bit difficult to get through the first book- give it a chance. By all means, I don't expect you to read the whole series if you hate it- but give yourself a chance to become a part of the world, learn the people and become invested... you might find yourself enjoying the story a lot more than you expected!
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved it because it took me into a magical world of wizards and genies. It was very well written.