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A review by lyricallit
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I enjoyed the ride! Very different magic system, and Bartimaeus 's footnotes are amusing and digestible way to understand it. I don't find Nathaniel all that endearing but Bartimaeus is a snarky and clever delight.
I feel bad for Stroud; the publishing industry did him dirty on this. This book gets shelved as a middle grade novel, and it's definitely not a middle grade book. ONE of the two protagonists is a 12 year old boy, but the other is a centuries-old djinni! The structure uses footnotes, the front cover creeped out my own young readers, it's quite long for the age group, and at least one death happens on page, not even including the intensely chaotic "final boss" scene. This is definitely more YA, possibly even adult, fiction.
I feel bad for Stroud; the publishing industry did him dirty on this. This book gets shelved as a middle grade novel, and it's definitely not a middle grade book. ONE of the two protagonists is a 12 year old boy, but the other is a centuries-old djinni! The structure uses footnotes, the front cover creeped out my own young readers, it's quite long for the age group, and at least one death happens on page, not even including the intensely chaotic "final boss" scene. This is definitely more YA, possibly even adult, fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and Death of parent