L'amulette de samarcande t1

published	November 20th 2003 by Albin Michel Jeunesse-Prix Speciaux
binding	Paperback
isbn	2226143319 (isbn13: 9782226143310)
ebook
pages	557
description	Nathaniel est recueilli, dès son plus jeune âge, par Mr Underwood, magicien confirmé, qui a pour mission de lui enseigner l'art de la sorcellerie....more [close] Nathaniel est recueilli, dès son plus jeune âge, par Mr Underwood, magicien confirmé, qui a pour mission de lui enseigner l'art de la sorcellerie. Le jeune garçon révèle très vite des capacités exceptionnelles attisant la jalousie de son entourage, et tout particulièrement celle du sinistre Simon Lovelace, sorcier à l'ambition démesurée. Ce dernier va jusqu'à humilier Nathaniel en public, qui, blessé dans son orgueil, mettra tout en œuvre pour se venger. Pour cela, il appelle à son service le dévoué et rusé génie Bartiméus. Leur but : retrouver l'Amulette de Samarcande aux exceptionnelles vertus protectrices, dérobée par Lovelace, prouver que celui-ci n'est qu'un vulgaire traître, avide de pouvoir, et remettre le précieux talisman entre les mains du Premier ministre, qui lui seul en a la propriété. Un roman brillamment écrit où le jeune lecteur franchit, dès les premières pages, les portes d'un univers magique d'une rare densité. L'intrigue, imaginée dans l'Angleterre du XIXe siècle, mêle tour à tour aventure, suspense et humour, ingrédients savamment dosés pour offrir une lecture des plus captivantes. À découvrir dès 11 ans. --Catherine Taudin [close]
date added	07-22-07 edit book

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Judith rated it:

(review of isbn 078681859X)

05/06/08

bookshelves: fantasy, young-adult

Read in April, 2008

If the quality of a book rested solely on its plot, this would be an excellent novel. The general plot is, of course, standard fantasy fare (save the world!) but its details and the world built to drive it is unique. Also, there appears to be a second plot running under the main one which will obviously be continued in the later books, and this plot seems much more promising.

Story-wise, this first installment in The Bartimaeus Trilogy is respectably good. However, the writing failed to appea...more If the quality of a book rested solely on its plot, this would be an excellent novel. The general plot is, of course, standard fantasy fare (save the world!) but its details and the world built to drive it is unique. Also, there appears to be a second plot running under the main one which will obviously be continued in the later books, and this plot seems much more promising.

Story-wise, this first installment in The Bartimaeus Trilogy is respectably good. However, the writing failed to appeal to me in many ways that, were they not already in my possession, I might not even bother with the next two books. Jonathan Stroud somehow manages to write with so much distance between the narrator(s) and the readers — even when he’s telling the story in first person through Bartimaeus. This is partly because Bartimaeus is vain and patronizing, but mostly because even the first-person narrative sounds like a third-person omniscient storyteller is telling it, only with “I’s”.

The gratuitous footnotes did not help. I’ve seen authors incorporate even the most long-winded of footnotes smoothly and sparingly that they don’t disrupt the narrative. This book has too much of them, however, and most of them were either useless or flat-out unamusing. It makes me wonder if Mr. Stroud let an editor touch his book (he is, after all, an editor himself). Some of the footnotes are entertaining, but halfway through the book I was so sick of Bartimaeus’ self-satisfied, conceited remarks that I wanted to scream every time I saw a superscript. A number of the useful footnotes could also have been incorporated into the normal narrative with a bit of rearrangement. It would have been easier to absorb, would have saved me from moving my eyes, and would have kept the book flowing smoothly.

To cap off the distant, flat narrative, and the distracting footnotes, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are so remarkably unsympathetic, I felt none of the usual drive to finish a book as soon as possible because I really didn’t care much about what was going to happen to them. I like the flawed hero as much as the next (I’ve even written my share of really crrrrrrrrazy heroes) but no one in the book liked Nat and Barty (apart from two very one-dimensional characters) and they didn’t like anybody back — heck, they didn’t even like each other. This made them so isolated, it was nearly impossible to relate to them. Also, I don’t know how the author managed it, but his two heroes had such a bland relationship — even when fighting or hating each other.

In the end, I’m of two minds about recommending this book to anybody. The story is all right (nothing revolutionary, though interesting) but the humor falls flat, the prose is cold, and the characters are not very loveable....less

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