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    <user id="90661">
    <name><![CDATA[Destinee]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>        
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  <id type="integer">334123</id>
  <isbn>078681859X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780786818594</isbn13>
  <ratings_count type="integer">5341</ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">698</text_reviews_count>
  <title>The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Trilogy, #1)</title>
  <average_rating></average_rating>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/334123.The_Amulet_of_Samarkand</link>
<author>
  <id type="integer">33467</id>
  <name>Jonathan Stroud</name>
  <ratings_count type="integer">15604</ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1969</text_reviews_count>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
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        <shelf name="british" />
        <shelf name="fantasy" />
        <shelf name="harry-potter-alternative" />
        <shelf name="teen" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[moral  magicians]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun May 20 17:05:52 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 09 12:24:55 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This series (a trilogy beginning with The Amulet of Samarkand) was just meant to be an HP rebound for me, but I ended up really caring about it. Like the Great Rowling, Stroud's really good at making serious ethical questions exciting by giving them a magical spin; but where Harry is a sympathetic character that has greatness thrust upon him, Nathaniel is a total douche most of the time. It'd be like HP following Draco Malfoy's moral development. Also, in many ways this series is a bit more sophisticated than HP. It's got a lot of that dry British sarcasm going on and the alternative London Stroud imagines is way more unsettling than Rowling's. Imagine a world that's 98% Slytherin and you'll get the idea. <br/><br/>I'm not saying this is better than HP. I'll admit there were times when I thought about putting it down and just rereading Order of the Phoenix, but I'm really glad I finished it. It was worth it. ]]></body>
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