The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1)

Presentingathrillingnewvoiceinchildren'sliterature-awitty,grippingadventurestoryfeaturingaboyandhisnot-so-tamedjinni.Nathanielisayoungmagician'sapprentice,takinghisfirstlessonsintheartsofmagic.ButwhenadevioushotshotwizardnamedSimonLovelaceruthlesslyhumiliatesNathanielinfrontofeveryoneheknows,NathanieldecidestokickuphiseducationafewnotchesandshowLovelacewho'sboss.Withrevengeonhismind,hemastersoneofthetoughestspellsofall:summoningtheall-powerfuldjinni,Bartimaeus.ButsummoningBartimaeusandcontrollinghimaretwodifferentthingsentirely,andwhenNathanielsendsthedjinniouttostealthepowerfulAmuletofSamarkand,Nathanielfindshimselfcaughtupinawhirlwindofmagicalespionage,murder,blackmail,andrevolt.Setinamodern-dayLondonspicedwithmagiciansandmayhem,thisextraordinary,funny,pitch-perfectthrillerwilldazzlethemyriadfansofArtemisFowlandtheHisDarkMaterialstrilogy.Andwiththerightssoldinmorethanadozencountries,andamajormotionpictureintheworks,theBartimaeustrilogyisonthefasttracktobecomingaclassic.这个魔法世界与我们的世界有点像又不太像──在英国，魔法师掌控了政经大权，从首相到政府官员，个个都是魔法师，拥有魔法天赋就表示能出人头地。然而魔法就必然是令人羡慕的天赋吗？故事以双重叙事进行，读者会一面享受老气横秋的千年巨灵唠唠叨叨、自以为是，一面从第三人称观点跟着阴沉的纳桑尼尔一步步踏进复仇的阴影。作者在阴沉与搞笑之间保持高超的均衡，让故事节奏既紧凑又轻松；巴谛魔的形象更是刻画得深入人心，99.9%的读者都会迷上这位随心所欲搞怪又爱碎碎念的老可爱！