The Twilight Streets
Book
There's a part of the city that no one much goes to, a collection of rundown old houses and gloomy...
Perdido Street Station
9.0
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The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the centre of its own bewildering world. Humans and...
Sisters of the Perilous Heart (Mortal Heritance #1)
Book
What would you do to save a sister? As the last mortal kingdom of Kepler resists the Immortal...
David McK (3425 KP) rated The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus, #1) in Books
Sep 1, 2024
Have you ever read any Terry Pratchett? (incidentally, one of my favourite)
The author of this surely has; in particular putting me in mind somewhat of Eric.
This, however, is set in a (fictional) London, still on planet Earth, but where magic is real and practiced by the ruling (and not very pleasant) class of Magicians, who summon magical creatures to do their dirty work.
Which is where Bartimaeus comes in: a djinni summoned by the boy would-be Magician Nathaniel (aka John) and initially bound to do his will until he discovers his masters birth name.
The story is told roughly every 2 or 3 chapters about from the perspective of both Bartimaeus (in the first person, and with tons of footnotes) himself and from that of Nathaniel (third person, no footnotes), leading up to the final chapter which flits between the both of them in the one chapter alone.
The result, I found, was an enjoyable enough read (although you do want to smack one main character in particular around the head) - I may pick up parts 2 and 3 in the series, but would not be in any great rush to do so.
The Shadow Thief (The Strangest Adventures #1)
6.0
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The successful first book in The Strangest Adventures series, now in new-look paperback edition. An...
The Whispering Swarm
Book
With his first full novel in almost ten years (not counting his Doctor Who book), Michael Moorcock -...
Successor's Promise: Book 3 of Millennium's Rule - Millennium's Rule
8.5
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International No.1 bestselling author Trudi Canavan returns with the third instalment in the...
fantasy
Magic Trick #7 Pro
Entertainment and Games
4.0
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App
Magic Trick #7 Pro gives the ability to prank your friends in a such crazy way! This app makes your...
The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles #2)
8.8
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Book
Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister...
The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus, #1)
6.6
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Book
Nathaniel is a boy magician-in-training, sold to the government by his birth parents at the age of...