The Amulet of Samarkand: Graphic Novel

I very much enjoyed this book--I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator had the most wonderful voice. The character of Bartimaeus was the chief joy of the book for me--arrogant and cheeky and sly, as a demon should be, with a personality as big as his notion of his own wonderfulness. I didn't like the main human character, Nathaniel, as much, but have hopes that he might improve (that is, become less whiny and self-pitying) in later books.

It's been many many years since I read the original novel version of the story of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, so I can't quite remember enough of the details to do a true comparison with this graphic novel edition. That being said, there are some really wonderful things and some really terrible things about this book on its own. The big benefit to presenting this novel in graphic format is that the illustrations add a lot of flavour to the story. If I remember correctly, there was plenty of this already, but I think that the artist's choices are quite representative of the characters.

What bugged me about the adaptation right from the beginning was the chapter headings. They appear far too often in story line at the beginning and take up show more an entire panel, which totally throws off the reader's visual progression and makes it difficult to get immersed in the story. Clearly they were trying to maintain the chapter breaks from the novel, but when they're therefore on every page it is obvious that it would have been better to break up the graphic novel into larger "chapters" and do away with the original chapter breaks.

Overall, it was an entertaining read once I got past the diversions and really got into the plot, but it's pretty clear that the graphic novel doesn't quire stand up on its own - hence the rest of the novels not getting adaptations as well. show less

This story follows 2 characters in first-person narrative: the human mage in training-Nathaniel and the djinni he enslaves- Bartimaeus. The first person narrative switching back and forth between demon and master kept the story engaging. The Bartimaeus chapters were snarkier (as per the nature of the narrator), but the Nathaniel chapters held the bulk of the world-building and plot. It was an enjoyable read and the full series should be easy to borrow from the library.

This was my first experience of a graphic novel, but as a huge Bartimaeus fan, I couldn’t resist. I read The Amulet of Samarkand some time ago, and listened to the audio version fairly recently – I love the characters, the ideas, and most of all the wit and humour.

My first impression of the book was very positive – the art, provided by Lee Sullivan is extremely vivid and detailed. It bring the story to life, and compels you to keep reading. My main concern was whether something would have to give as the story was compacted, but I shouldn’t have worried. The story is all there, and whilst I’m sure details are missing, they were nothing noticeable. Some of Bartimaeus’s lines will be missing, but that general feel of his wit show more and cheek remains.

The joy of this format is that there’s something for everyone. For the reluctant reader, I would imagine graphic novels are more inviting, and the art work in this be enough to pull most people in. The characters and stories are all there, and it may even encourage them to go on and pick up the rest of the series – although they are sadly not in graphic form yet.

For those who are already fans, such as myself, it’s a welcome addition to my book shelf, and I certainly enjoyed revisiting the story in this format. show less

A djinn unlike any other will make you laugh and wonder how you could actually like a creature so devious. But I guess in a world that he is summoned to, it isn't so hard to love him.

Bartimaeus is a very old, quite powerful, and especially hilarious djinn. He is summoned by a new wizard, a boy, who should not have the ability to summon anything remotely as powerful as Bartimaeus, but he does. Not only does he summon him, he outwits him and tricks him into doing his bidding.

There is a bad wizard out there. Lovelace is power hungry, greedy, and just a nasty piece of work. He embarrasses this young, powerful wizard and this child is not playing games. He is now out for revenge against Lovelace. His journey of vengeance causes him to lose show more everything he ever loved...

I loved this book when I read the novel about a year ago. I was sucked into the brilliance of the story, the original way it was told, and the overall feel of the book. When I saw there was a graphic novel available, I jumped at the chance to get to see what I had imagined all this time.

The artwork in this book is very striking, and I think this graphic novel did a great job leaving the main essence of the story in place. Like any movie adaptation, a graphic adaptation of a novel will have to change a few details and leave things out, but this story was just as engaging as the original. I highly recommend it to anyone.

It really was a treat to get to see the different planes the way Bartimaeus gets to see them, the imps, the demons, and of course the climax of the story was quite captivating. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the books in the series in graphic novel form. It was a great break in my work day to sit back and relax with this. show less

The first book of the Bartimaeus Trilogy told in graphic novel form.

This is a good adaption. The story feels well-rounded and while you know they left quite a bit of the finer plot points out, the story feels complete and would do justice for a reader new to the series.

The artwork is okay, actually quite good, but not my preferred more artistic style however it does seem to fit with our wizard boy Nathaniel's personality perfectly. Bartimaeus is a superb character any way he is presented to the reader and here his classic cheek and wit is executed nicely.

A good version but I definitely prefer the novel format for the extra rich detail you are privy to and enjoy.

The first book of the Bartimaeus Trilogy told in graphic novel form.

This is a good adaption. The story feels well-rounded and while you know they left quite a bit of the finer plot points out, the story feels complete and would do justice for a reader new to the series.

The artwork is okay, actually quite good, but not my preferred more artistic style however it does seem to fit with our wizard boy Nathaniel's personality perfectly. Bartimaeus is a superb character any way he is presented to the reader and here his classic cheek and wit is executed nicely.

A good version but I definitely prefer the novel format for the extra rich detail you are privy to and enjoy.