auriya wrote:
Oryx and Crake
I'm currently reading The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. The plot (that I've read so far): magician's apprentice Nathaniel attempts to get sweet revenge on his powerful enemy Simon Lovelace (cheesiest name ever) by calling up the help of Bartimaeus the demon...of course, everything gets out of hand, and major trouble ensues. At first this book seems to be ripping off Harry Potter. Nathaniel is a young, pale, scrawny, dark-haired student of magic with an unhappy childhood. The setting is modern-day England, only with magic. See the similarities? But it's actually a good book--thanks to Bartimaeus's hilarious narration for half the book and also the fact that there's no good vs evil conflict. It's more like not-evil-but-getting-there vs really really evil. And Nathaniel's so adorable...in an arrogant, ruthless, vindictive way. I want to read a Harry Potter/Amulet crossover fanfic! ^_^
Ah, I was just going to post that I had just finished it yesterday. I'd say it was a good book if it weren't for the fact that the main characters were a tad bit too annoying to me. Nathaniel was too arrogant for his own good, and Bartimaeus more so but with more sarcastic remarks. You get used to the footnotes after a while but I thought Bartimaeus's (consequently the author's) purpose for using them sounded more like an excuse than an explanation. I lost my place more than once because of them. I'm hoping the characters will grow a bit more in the upcoming books. But other than that I enjoyed it. If I didn't like it I'd honestly toss it on the floor, promise myself I'd get back to it, then never at it again.
And its not like Harry Potter at all in my opinion. Magicians + England + Lanky unnoticed boy turned hero does not always = Harry Potter