Arabian nights, days of magic
When was the last time you heard the story of the jinni who came out of a wonderful lamp? Bartimaeus is that kind of demon. He runs errands for his masters, yet keeps an eye for ways to outwit him; is punished repeatedly for his audacious behaviour and finds himself time and again in the midst of trouble.
The Ring of Solomon is a prequel to the Bartimaeus trilogy published between 2003 to 2005. But this novel is different from the trilogy which is, quite in the Harry Potter fashion, centered in a fairly recent London. The Ring of Solomon, however, takes you back to the land of Arabian Nights.
The Jerusalem of 950 BC is a kingdom full of magic. It is ruled by Solomon who’s sovereign control lies in the power of a ring on his finger. A ring by merely touching which the king can summon thousands of spirits. The king has an array of powerful magicians at his beck and call. Sharp-tongued and free-spirited Bartimaeus is the slave of one of the magicians of the king. Desperate to be set free Bartimaeus devours his master. When the king hears of this he orders Khaba the cruel, to bring back Bartimaeus and punish him.
Meanwhile, far away in the kingdom of Sheba, Queen Balkis, is visited by a demon messenger of king Solomon. The spirit threatens the Queen into paying a regular tribute of Sheba’s riches to the king and gives her 15 days to make up her mind. The cornered queen sends out one of her royal guards, lovely Asmira, on a secret rescue mission to Jerusalem.
Bartimaeus, who has been sent by his new master, saves Asmira as her caravan is ambushed by robbers. Asmira gains attentions of Khaba and steals Bartimaeus from under his nose. She summons the jinni to help her kill king Solomon and gain his ring. Bartimaeus has little option but to obey, but that’s not the only reason for him to help Asmira as the egocentric jinni begins to look up to her abilities.
This is a racy book, hard to put down and easy to recall, unlike other novels of this expanse where you might have to turn back pages to find out who-was-who. Only once in 400-pages of the book you may find the story loosing grip but it makes a quick comeback and proceeds thereon to a grand finale. You may not have heard of the trilogy, but you will understand the world of spirits into which Jonathan Stroud takes you. The novel is sprayed with interesting and humorous asides regarding nitty-gritty of the way spirits function.
The story assumes a picaresque character as Asmira in the course of her adventures witnesses her long-held beliefs shattered. Both Bartimaeus and Asmira begin to seem curiously similar as they both must carry out another’s orders. Young and naive Asmira must get over her absolute trust of her mistress and find her own happiness while the 2,000-year-old Bartimaeus struggles for his freedom and peace.
Stroud’s story enthralls with its fantastic imagination and magic. Bartimaeus takes the mind off mundane and “impossible” aspects of life, leaving you looking out for winged, horned, naughty fiends in the crowd.
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