When the 5,000-year-old djinni Bartimaeus is summoned by Nathaniel,
a young magician's apprentice, he expects to have to do nothing
more taxing than a little levitation or a few simple illusions. But
Nathaniel is a precocious talent and has something rather more
dangerous in mind: revenge.
"Drama, humour and hypnotically engaging storytelling" Independent "The truly original touch is the way Stroud alternates Nathaniel's story with the djinni's own knowing and irascible first-person narrative" Guardian "The narrative slips skilfully from first person to third and back and Bartimaeus's voice is laugh-out-loud sassy, while Nathaniel's story has an engaging poignancy as he tries to prove himself in a world in which he has always been despised" The Sunday Times "Not since Gulliver's Travels has a children's writer managed to combine a thrilling tale of magic and adventure with such deliciously pointed comedy" The Times "Terrific stuff" Mail on Sunday
Jonathan is the author of the bestselling Bartimaeus sequence, as well as standalone novels HEROES OF THE VALLEY, BURIED FIRE, THE LEAP and THE LAST SIEGE. Jonathan worked as a children's book editor before becoming a full-time writer. He lives in St Albans with his wife and two children.
