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justareadingmama_charly 's review for:
The Amulet of Samarkand
by Jonathan Stroud
This was a fun read with some unique aspects.
There were a lot of things I liked. The magic system and the politics (which I'm guessing we'll see more of in future books) we're all interesting. The plot was okay for the most part and I did end up liking both the characters (although I know that is not the case for everyone, their cleverness and the good in Nathaniel, small though it is, made me root for them).
My main problem with the book was the pacing. I felt the pacing was with the ending, making it drag out a little too long for me.
The other thing I noticed was that Bartimeus did feel really clever, but honestly, Nathaniel didn't. He made so many poor decisions and relied on Bartimeus' cleverness to get them out of nearly every problem they encountered. Sure, he could remember things quickly, but I got the feeling he was supposed to be some sort of prodigy; I just didn't feel that.
I will mention, too, that there wasn't really much character growth in this book. I've heard it's good over the series though, and if that's the case, I can forgive it here.
Overall, if you enjoy middle grade fantasy, this is a good one to try.
There were a lot of things I liked. The magic system and the politics (which I'm guessing we'll see more of in future books) we're all interesting. The plot was okay for the most part and I did end up liking both the characters (although I know that is not the case for everyone, their cleverness and the good in Nathaniel, small though it is, made me root for them).
My main problem with the book was the pacing. I felt the pacing was with the ending, making it drag out a little too long for me.
The other thing I noticed was that Bartimeus did feel really clever, but honestly, Nathaniel didn't. He made so many poor decisions and relied on Bartimeus' cleverness to get them out of nearly every problem they encountered. Sure, he could remember things quickly, but I got the feeling he was supposed to be some sort of prodigy; I just didn't feel that.
I will mention, too, that there wasn't really much character growth in this book. I've heard it's good over the series though, and if that's the case, I can forgive it here.
Overall, if you enjoy middle grade fantasy, this is a good one to try.