Due to the popularity of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, most fantasy books followed a similar plot arc complete with fictional maps, expansive histories, richly imagined languages, and epic adventures.  Hobbits were untouchable, but elves, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, trolls and wizards lived on.

Star Wars also influenced many science fiction books, replacing stories like 2001: A Space Odyssey with swashbuckling space tales.  Spaceships no longer plodded through space, swords became standard fare, and roguish pirates were all the rage thanks to Han Solo

But that was back in the day.

In my mind, The Bartimaeus Trilogy bucks those trends in favor of more modern ones.

With the explosion of Harry Potter onto the lit scene (a book I first heard about from my friend’s Dutch parents when I was in college), wizards and magicians have been thrown into modern times and are no longer relegated to Middle Earths or even Medieval times.  Similarly, the success of Twilight (for proof of success see the review of Breaking Dawn in a previous posting) has spawned vampire and werewolf stories set in the midst of urban, modern areas.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy follows a similar suit.  Magicians have ascended to prominent positions (Prime Minister, Chief of Security etc) in the English government and throughout Europe because of the power they wield.  In what is a very nice touch, the author locates the power of the magicians in “demons” which are summoned and forced into servitude.  Magicians who can summon powerful demons to do their bidding are therefore more powerful and achieve greater status.

Unfortunately for the magicians, the demons do not enjoy being torn from their homes and forced to live a life of servitude.  If a magician were ever to get careless, the demon would immediately set upon the magician and kill him or her.  This threat ensures that magicians treat their demons with cruelty, caution and arrogance.  Magicians despise demons, demons despise magicians,  and so the cycle continues.

All of this leads us to Nathaniel, a small boy living under the tutelage of a rather ordinary magician who cruelly mistreats him and doesn’t recognize the boy’s immense potential.

The boy lashes out at this cruel treatment by summoning the powerful demon, Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus has the ego of a Greek hero, the wit of a British comedian, and more sarcasm then even, well, me.  His outrage at being summoned by a mere boy to carry out childish whims leads him to say and do all sorts of humorous and potentially dangerous things.  Every few paragraphs we are treated to Bartimaeus’ narcissistic footnotes to his personal history.

After Nathaniel is humiliated by some elder magicians who firmly believe in the phrase “might makes right”, he sets Bartimaeus on a task to steal one of the magicians most powerful charms, the Amulet of Samarkand.  In doing so, Nathaniel unwittingly uncovers a plot to overthrow the current Prime Minister and puts himself and others around him in excessive danger.

Jonathan Stroud, the author, sets up an odd dynamic.  The expected hero of the story, Nathaniel, becomes as unpleasant as protagonists come.  His ambition makes him naive, unsavory, cold-hearted, and eventually gains him a foothold in the government at the expense of his soul (not literally).  On the other hand, Bartimaeus, who has very little free will of  his own, quickly wins the reader over to his side through his humor, feisty temperament and surprising grasp of what it means to be morally good.

Over the three books, the two characters trade barbs, indulge in their historical enmity, and generally don’t get along unless they have to.  By tracing the arc of Nathaniel’s maturity through his adventures with Bartimaeus, the reader comes to care about both characters and along the way there are gripping plot twists and exciting battles.

These books were certainly enjoyable and should resonate with many young adults.  There is no shortage of gore and death, and the author finds time to sprinkle in a bit of romance while he is busy setting the stage for magical machinations and enthralling escapades.

Stroud, Jonathan.  The Amulet of Samarkand. New York: Hyperion Books, 2003.

Most fans of the Twilight Saga would think “How can this series get any better?”  Anyone who has read the fourth book of the thrilling saga will say, “It can!”  Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer is the fourth and most adventurous of the books in the series.

In the previous books and in the beginning of Breaking Dawn, we get a sense of how Bella, a girl who moved from sunny Arizona to dreary Forks, Washington, feels about her vampire sweetheart, Edward Cullen.  Through a series of vampire battles and struggles, she discovers the fantasy world of immortals that she never thought existed.

The second book in the saga, New Moon, shows how Bella’s life is altered again when she discovers that her best friend, Jacob, is a werewolf.  Werewolves and vampires don’t get along, so Bella is constantly conflicted about which side to be on, without hurting anyone she loves. 

Many fans of the saga have different opinions about how they thought Jacob acted.  Some thought that he was way too pushy and mean.  However, Minah Choi (7), one fan of the saga says “Jacob was hysterical in his account.  He came off as being too critical but that is what made him so funny.

In the previous book, Eclipse, Bella decides between her best friend and her true love.  She chooses to become a vampire and stay with Edward forever.  In Breaking Dawn, her wish just might be answered through a series of odd and almost unexplainable events.

Breaking Dawn tells the tale of Bella’s last breaths as a human and the astonishing and unforeseeable events that come with it.  Then the story is turned over to Jacob.  He explains the odd events that follow through a slightly more human perspective.  These events include the coming of a new vampire- well, an almost vampire.  Jacob keeps readers down to earth and shows the true shock and mortification that any mortal would feel in the frantic preparation for the new member of the Cullen coven.  However his disgust for the new, loveable character that hasn’t even arrived yet is shown in a hateful and rude way.  The discovery of the character only comes from his visits to Bella and Edward.  He only hates this new creature because it is causing Bella pain, and he is still in love with her.

After Jacob’s insensitive account of Bella’s painful experience, the story is turned back to Bella in her new and much improved vampire self.  However, Bella isn’t like the usual newborn vampire that is vicious and bloodthirsty.  She has the control to not injure or attack any humans.

The newcomer is much like Bella in this way.  This is one of the reasons why Bella describes it with such adoration.  She loves it so much that she doesn’t care that it caused her pain.  Even though this newcomer is a delight to be around, the Volturi, an evil vampire coven, finds out about it and is out to destroy the entire Cullen family because they believe this newcomer will destroy all existing vampires.

Velvet Sewell (8), another fan, says, “The Volturi are just like Stalin because they both jump to conclusions about possible crimes that are most likely untrue.  They have a ‘kill now, ask questions later’ attitude.”

Despite all of the conflicts in Breaking Dawn, everything turns out exactly how the Cullens envision.  This book is the most action-packed and thrilling book in the series.  It is by far the best way to end the saga.

Choi and Sewell say, “Everyone should read Breaking Dawn.  You won’t regret it!”