Amulet of Samarkand

Another book in my current drive to read some of the Children's Fiction that I see at the library every day, but don't know much about. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud is the first book of the Bartimaeus trilogy. Basically, it's the story of a novice magician who is learning the trade and an ancient demon who he summons without permission to do his bidding. The young magician character reminds me a little of Artemis Fowl, but with a more human side. The demon (Bartimaeus) is wonderfully sarcastic, and has his own sense of style and self-worth. I really liked Stroud's writing style, too, which included footnotes a la Terry Pratchett, another of my favorite authors. Gotta love an author who can poke fun at his own use of footnotes... In a footnote. Great sense of humor; I enjoyed this enough that I've got the second book, The Golem's Eye, on hold at the library already.

Book 20