 |
The Amulet of Samarkand
by Jonathan Stroud
(Corgi, £5.99, 259 pages, paperback; October 2004; ISBN: 0552550299.)
Review by Caleb Woodbridge
In CS Lewis's book Prince Caspian, the children, having been
magically summoned  to
the land of Narnia, comment that people don't really think about where
the djinn comes from when such creatures are summoned. Indeed they don't,
not usually at any rate, but this book is rather unusually narrated
by Bartimaeus, one such djinn. He is summoned up by the young apprentice
wizard Nathaniel, and isn't too happy to discover that Nathaniel wants
him to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, but having been bound
to his new master's will he has little choice in the matter.
What then follows is in terms of the plot a standard game of "chase
the magic object" so beloved of fantasy writers, though excitingly told
as Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are caught up in the notoriously subtle
and dangerous intrigues of wizards. The setting is a like-yet-unalike
reality where Britain is ruled by a group of powerful and unpleasant
wizards who oppress the non-magical population, accompanied by another
fairly routine subplot of rebels plotting against the evil regime. All
this is enjoyable hokum, but it is the spiky relationship between Bartimaeus
and Nathaniel that really makes this story shine.
Bartimaeus is cynical, egotistical and wise-cracking, and an absolute
joy to read. Part of the fun are the footnotes frequently employed by
Bartimaeus, apparently his concession to beings like us who unlike him
cannot think simultaneously on multiple levels! His acid tongue is directed
at everything from human nature to the "ridiculous idea of bundling
wizards off to boarding school", a cheeky poke at the adventures of
a certain other boy wizard! The power politics between him and Nathaniel
are also highly entertaining--Bartimaeus will be all too happy to misintepret
Nathaniel's wishes if at all possible, but Nathaniel has some clever
tricks up his proverbial sleeves.
It makes a pleasant change to have a children's fantasy that is both
unashamedly humourous and entertaining, while at the same time being
darker and edgier than other similar fare on the market. Despite the
amoral and ambiguous characters, it maintains a firm sense of goodness
and humour as a balance to the often quite dark storyline. I'm unsure
whether the distinctive style will bear repeated use while remaining
enjoyable, but hopefully Stroud will be able to inject enough variety
in the sequels to make this an entertaining and distinctive trilogy.
|
|
