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)

One of the best characters ever

I love the characters in this story! This is my 3rd time reading/listening to this story and the t just keeps getting better.

Always Worth the Read

A Classic Story and a great performance of it. Haven't read it since I was a kid and still provides a thrilling sense of excitement and a wonderful conclusion.

A fun, imaginative story read by a great talent

I would watch anything Tom Hanks makes, I will listen to every book narrated by Simon Jones. Thanks for a great escape

Just Amazing

I’ve always loved the Bartimaeus trilogy (and of course, the later came out prequel) and when I find out it available on audible, I just had to hear it… and Oh My God… isn’t it just such a treat! Simon Jones nailed the ever beloved sarcastic djinni perfectly.
It was such a pleasure and joy listening to it, I feel like I want to buy my whole gank of Bartimaeus trilogy fans the audible version. Seriously.

Oh, and in case it hadn’t been implied by the previous sentences, the book itself (I mean, the whole series) is such a gem. Love it!

Entertaining story, wonderfully read

Simon Jones does an fabulous job as reader, especially when reading the first person chapters as the genie Bartimaeus. In fact, I'd say I enjoyed his reading more than even Jim Dale with the Harry Potter series, or Gerard Doyle reading Eragon and Eldest, both of whom did excellent jobs. The story line itself keeps a good pace with richly described scenes. The characters are relatively one dimensional but interesting and appropriate to the young adult fantasy genre. In short, thoroughly entertaining!

Very fun!

Good for ages 12 to adult. The story keeps you engaged, and the performance is perfectly perfect.

Great narration

Love the story telling. I read the paper book before so I wasn’t sure how the footnotes would translate in audio form but it was great!

What a fun ride claymation Mark

(As posted in Goodreads)
I bought this book years ago upon my baby sister's recommendation ("baby sister" of over 50…). I finally got around to it a couple days ago…
I'm really glad I read it! What a fun trip involving magic, integrity, deceit, and more. You go in thinking that magic is good, Jins and imps, are bad, and all the stereotypical mythological creatures and beliefs are set in stone and totally immutable. Of course, the fact that their only mythology and imaginary things to start with, should clue you in to the flexibility of uses in fiction.
The main character is human and believable – well, other than the fact that he is a magician and a member of a totally non-real world… The reader is in for a fun and exhilarating trip!

Different voices!

Loved the reading!! Really made it come alive!!
Can’t wait to listen to the next book in the series!

Masterful story telling

Seemed to represent a youth on par as Robert Louis S. In treasure Island genie like the one leg pirate