Bartimaeus is a djinn, the hero of the eponymous novel by Jonathan Stroud, which is written for readers 10 years of age and older. Bartimaeus is summoned to the service of Nathaniel, a 10-year old apprentice magician. It is Nathaniel’s first summoning of a major entity from across the void and the beginning of a master-slave relationship between the two in which the rôles interchange.

Set in a parallel universe of present day London where Magic rules, Bartimaeus is, without doubt, a well-written page-turner of a book, more than 450 of them. It is the first volume of a trilogy scheduled for publication on 30 September 2003. Volumes 2 and 3 are due in 2004, 2005.

Nathaniel is a willful little prat who deserves to be kicked around more than he is by Bartimaeus. Even by the end of the book he doesn't seem to have learned much. Fu-Manchu failed to develop real sympathy for the characters, which may be because the relationships are forced by the circumstances of the story. It might have worked better if Stroud could have found some way for Bartimaeus and Nathaniel to break the mold of slave and master wherein they could work together more from friendship and need, each bringing their own qualities in aid of the common cause. Such a relationship would have much greater power in the world of Bartimaeus and Nathaniel because it would be unique and founded upon the fundamental power of close friendship, something entirely absent from the magical power structure against which they struggle. Ptolemy, a form assumed by Bartimaeus, is more attractive than Nathaniel precisely because he is a fond memory, whereas Nathaniel is not much more than a pain in the essence.

Anyway, Fu-Manchu looks forward to the next installment of the series to see what happens next. These books are going to make lots of persons froth at the mouth who are insecure in their religion, especially those of fundametalist religious stripe. It’s the subject matter: pentacles, summonings, incantations, black magic, and such like. To these persons Fu-Manchu says: Pish, it’s just a story! Don’t mistake fiction for reality.