BARTIMAEUS: THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND

BARTIMAEUS: THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND by Jonathan Stroud

I had a book hit the trash can today. I can honestly say I tried multiple times to read this book, and I'll tell you why at the end of this post.

It's not uncommon for me to wake up around 6 and sit and do my devotions and read. A couple of months ago, my personal reading pile was dwindling, so I went to the kids' shelves and selected a book. What I chose was Book 1 of the Bartimaeus Series, The Amulet of Samarkand.

Immediately, the book began with a dark tone. Nathaniel is an 11-year-old boy who is a Magician's apprentice. He is standing inside a pentacle, which is another name for a pentagram, summoning a djinni named Bartimaeus. He is summoning Bartimaeus to punish another magician by having Bartimaeus steal a precious amulet that he owns, because this magician embarrassed Nathaniel in front of his own master Magician, who did nothing to protect him. Bartimaeus successfully procures the amulet through a series of complicated shape shifts. He contemplates delivering the amulet to Nathaniel in the form of a naked woman to see how he would respond.

What follows is the history of how we arrived at this point in the book as Nathaniel learns from his master who cares very little for him. We see multiple experiences of demon encounters and even the summoning of a demon. There are multiple references to pentacles as they are an important part of the summoning process. We also learn that Nathaniel's master taught him early on that demons are their great secret and the source of their power.

I made it to page 114 before I finally quit and had had enough. I was trying to "redeem" the book and look for a good versus evil ending. I don't normally invest so much if I am struggling with the content. The only reason I did was because this book was a 2021 High School Boys Sonlight Summer Reader. That is how it ended up on our shelves. I'm not going to say much more about that in this post, except to say I have reached out to them in concern.

So when do I call it quits on a book that is magically based? After all, I am a lover of Tolkien and Lewis. I have read the first Harry Potter, and I have read Fantastic Beasts. (I did not like Fantastic Beasts at all and I have mixed feelings about Harry Potter.) I definitely draw a line when I am seeing evil things in the book that are true and not just imaginary ( such as pentagrams and demons) held as useful tools for the main character that we are supposed to empathize with. When I see satanic symbols, I personally want to see someone redeemed from them and from that life.

So now you, the reader, have the info. I just deliver what I find, but you get to chose what you want to do with it!