The setting is present day London, but not exactly the London of today. While much of the background is left murky, magicians run the British Empire using the power of the demons and spirits they summon and control. Young magicians are taken from their parents and placed in foster settings with government magicians so they can learn their craft and take their place in a magic orientated aristocracy or bureaucracy.

As I noted above, the story alternates between the perspective of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus tells the story in the first person and with a sort of amoral and smart aleck tone. Nathaniel's story, on the other hand, is told in third person. He provides the emotional and psychological tension. Nathaniel has all the normal angst and insecurity of a tennager plus the added stress and emotion of being taken from his family and placed with strangers To top it all off his master is a rather cruel and yet incompetent mid-level magician. Nathaniel is more talented than master realizes and so chafes at the restraints and cold discipline. Nathaniel seeks solace in his foster mother and in his art tutor. His sensitivity and impatience, however, lead him to a humiliating run in with Simon Lovelace. This in turn leads to his summoning of Bartimaeus and the rest of the story.

As the story is where the fun is, I won't spoil anymore details for you. But let me give you my take on the book as a whole. I must say that I enjoyed it for what it was, a light hearted fantasy story. There will inevitably be comparisons to Harry Potter, teenage boy ripped from his family to secretly learn magic etc., but this book is really quite different from the Potter series. For one Bartimaeus is a central character unlike any in Potter. Also, Nathaniel is similar to Potter in that he is struggling with his emotions and his talents, but he does so largely alone. Harry has Hogwarts, Nathaniel does not. In fact, Nathaniel's dilemmas are a great deal more grey than Harry's. Nathaniel is rather haughty despite his poor surroundings and his lack of patience is the source of most of his troubles. Sure Nathaniel is fighting against bad guys but he is not an ambiguously good person. His motives are mostly vengeful and based in pride or loss. He does mature as the story progresses but mostly in fits and starts. Oddly enough, J.K. Rowling's series are more about character than this one even if Nathaniels character flaws are a big part of the story. Still there are enough similarieties to provoke comparison.

That said, the characters are interesting and entertaining. Bartimaeus provides key story details and background information (often through amusing and snide footnotes) while also supplying much of the action. Nathaniel is an interesting character because of the ambiguities mentioned above. He is a bit reckless and naive, yet obviously possesses talent. As a result he is unpredictable. You always know that he will end up being the hero somehow but you are not quite sure in what way - straight or tragic. His thought process and inner dialogue are the flip side to the action.