The Amulet of Samarkand: The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1

By: Jonathan Stroud

Narrated by: Simon Jones

Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Nathaniel is eleven-years-old and a magician's apprentice, learning the traditional art of magic. All is well until he has a life-changing encounter with Simon Lovelace, a magician of unrivaled ruthlessness and ambition. When Lovelace brutally humiliates Nathaniel in public, Nathaniel decides to speed up his education, teaching himself spells far beyond his years. With revenge on his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all and summons Bartimaeus, a five-thousand-year-old djinni, to assist him. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal Lovelace's greatest treasure, the Amulet of Samarkand, he finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder and rebellion.

Set in a modern-day London spiced with magicians and mystery, The Amulet of Samarkand is an extraordinary, edge-of-your-seat thriller with many unexpected twists. Following Bartimaeus and Nathaniel in turn, the story introduces us to two wonderfully memorable characters destined to go through many adventures together and bound by a spell that is nearly impossible to break.

©2010 Johnathan Stroud (P)2010 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"One of the liveliest and most inventive fantasies of recent years." ( Booklist)

"Spun into surprisingly colorful cloth." ( The New York Times Book Review)

Entertaining and rather original

The overall story and plot was engaging and entertaining. It was easy to fall into and I found it quite original.
The characters felt well written. Nathaniel actually acted his age most of the time (which doesn't always happen in fiction). A clever boy but still very much a boy – sometimes whining and childish and sometimes cunning but still rather childish haha. I liked how he switched between following his own childish desires and doing things that showed what a brave and heartwarmingly good person he could be.
Bartimaeus was hilarious and wonderful! A great character and demon that was easy to fall in love with, with all his faults and greatness.
The journey these two go through together and the way their relationship evolve over the story is a great listen. They never get to understand each other fully and they bicker a lot but most of the time this just makes their relationship more endearing.

The narrator did a great job with narrating both characters.

Excellent! !

Simon Jones is an excellent narrator along with Jim Dale. I'd love for this trilogy to be done in a movie series and Simon Jones MUST be the voice of Bartimeus..

Great for those who love fanatsy and sci fi, 13+

Fun, engaging story with great voices and feeling in the reading. I have listened to it more than once and find it just as fun when listened to again.

Amulet of Samarkand

I really enjoyed this audiobook and would highly recommend it for adults and kids. Excellent narration and moves along quickly. I Can't wait to get the other titles in this series(3 titles altogether in The Bartemaeus series)

Enjoyable series

I randomly discovered this series on Audible and decided to give it a try. The world of magicians in this book is quite different from usual magician stories. In this world Jonathan Stroud created, you are picked to be a magician and there is no difference between magical powers of commoners and magicians. It all depends on who controls the "spirits from the other place" or demons. If you think of demons as a bad thing, it is not exactly the case in these stories. They are called to do the bidding of the magician, and bound to that. I think the message sent is about the evils of greed and power.

Wonderful story, excellent characters

This was great in every way. Story, characters, narration, dynamics. This is a must. Enjoy!!

Witty, entertaining, well read

Simon Jones made this book happen. His talent with the personalities, and ability to make the wit his own made a very entertaining series absolutely delightful. All three books in the series are worth a listen. You will be highly entertained.

Bartimaeus for President!!

What a great book! Jonathon Stroud has created a world ruled by Wizards. Not the Harry Potter style, but instead wizards who rely on the power of the demons that they trick and trap to do their bidding. I found myself rooting for the valiant, resourceful, and powerful demons, particularly Bartimaeus, while despising their weak, selfish, parasitic and often cruel masters. This book is great for preteen to adult.

Among the best series of all time

The Bartimaeus Trilogy is one of the best fantasy series I know, if not the best.

Music?

I do no enjoy the loud music accompaniment. I did very much enjoy the voice of Bartimaeus.