The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (Good/Evil)

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud delves into the world of magic in London, England and focuses on a boy names Nathaniel. Nathaniel was given to the state, in exchange for a large sum of money, to become a magicians apprentice. This book frequently blurs the lines between good and evil. Nathaniel who definitely starts out as a "good" boy who is eager to learn and thirsts for knowledge and to please his master, Underwood. However, from an early age Nathaniel is humiliated and subjected to treatment that hardens him towards his master and leads him to seek revenge on a famous magician named Simon Lovelace. In a wild series of events Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, a powerful two thousand year old djinn, fates become intertwined as they battle for revenge against the relentless and remorseless evil of Simon Lovelace. The interesting thing about this book is how the lines between good and evil, within Nathaniel especially, are constantly shifting. His thirst for revenge and high opinion of himself often lead him to do treacherous things that lead to deadly consequences for those around him (the firing of his favorite tutor, the death of his master and his wife, who was the only person the consistently care for and future Nathaniel, etc). Bartimaeus also has these lines blurred a lot as he, who claims to hate magicians and their slavery of his kind with everything in his being and actually tries to sabotage and harm them, at the end of the book exhibits a compassion and hope for his young master, Nathaniel. These lines are constantly blurred with majority of the characters as they make decisions throughout the book. This book also emphasizes the consequences of actions, both good and evil. Simon Lovelace encounters a brutal end to his life as a result of his ambition and the evil decisions he makes out of that desire. Nathaniel experiences redemption out of his bad decisions and his thirst for knowledge that often led to his evil desires behind his decisions. An interesting element of this book is that women in the book are not portrayed as evil but highly benevolent. Even Amanda, Lovelaces girlfriend who makes some questionable decisions aiding his evil, in the end is portrayed as good. Not sure exactly what this means but I found it a worthy observation and thing to think about. However, this book was a fun, more traditional look at good and evil (due to the portrayal more or less of a good guy and a bad guy and the elements of magic make it feel more fictitious) but also explores how these lines are not always black and white. These lines can be blurred and it explores the good and evil that exists within each of us and that each of us is capable of.