taetris 's review for:

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
4.0

A page-turning romp with nice world-building and good characters.

In this world, magicians are the ruling elite. Nathaniel is a young magicians apprentice. He makes an enemy of the powerful magician Simon Lovelace - or rather - Lovelace makes an enemy of him. Because a year later, when Nathaniel is ready, he summons Bartimaeus, a witty, cynical Djinni to take revenge on his enemy.

The writing was suited to the task. Both Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are fully developed, three-dimensional characters. The world that Stroud creates is interesting and addictive.