The Amulet of Samarkand

Reading Recommendation for Harry Potter Fans: The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Trilogy #1) This is a really, really good book. I can't count how many times I actually laughed out loud. More than Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, Cornelia Funke's Inkheart and Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, I think this book really provides a good in-between Book Five and Book Six read for Harry Potter fans.

The Amulet of Samarkand is in some ways not as good, but in other ways better than Harry Potter. The story is set in modern London as well, and is told from the alternating points of view of Nathaniel (a 12-year-old magician) and the thousands-year-old djinni he summons, Bartimaeus. In this book, the source of a magician's power is not his actual self but rather who he is magically learned enough to summon. Nathaniel is more believable than Harry as a 12-year-old-boy (he's not as saintly) but the true enjoyment of the books stems from the character of Bartimaeus, who just might be the wittiest character in children's fiction. Why are you still reading this... get your ass on over to Barnes and Noble, stat! Oh and for people who enjoy fantasy novels, pick up Eragon. It's written by a 19-year-old (Christoper Paolini) who was 15 when he started, which makes me feel like a complete loser. The first 50 pages is a bit slow as he builds up the story, but the last 450 make it well worth it.