Islām, however, classifies spiritual beings into angels (malā'ikah), demons (shāyaṭīn), and djinni, or genies.
By cunning, a superior use of intellect, or magic, a man might be able to manipulate a djinni for his own benefit.
According to legend, the djinni were created out of fire 2,000 years before the creation of Adam, the first man.
Capable of both visibility and invisibility, a djinni could assume various forms either animal or human and could be either a help or a hindrance to man.
Life under the French had been simple, Djinni recalled.
Teenager Nathaniel is just a magician's apprentice when he summons up Bartimaeus, a 5,000 year old djinni and sets him to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand from another evil and ruthless magician.
Beaten into a nightmare world where Farhad believes the djinni of his grandfather's tales is crushing his chest, he awakens to a more terrible reality in which, unable to return to his family and his previous life, he may as well be in hell.
I utterly adore Bartimaeus, mainly thanks to the certain djinni it's named after, and it's definitely perfect for those wanting more of that special Harry Potter brand of magic!
Nathaniel is a magician-in-training and, following a series of events, decides to summon an ancient djinni called Bartimaeus.
Jonathan Stroud is the author of the bestselling Bartimaeus trilogy, a fast-paced fantasy series set in a modern-day London ruled by magicians and featuring an ambitious young apprentice magician and the djinni he summons.
