Britain is ruled by magicians in this first book of a trilogy, and eleven-year-old Nathaniel is an obedient apprentice to a cold, weak, mid-level magician named Arthur Underwood. Nathaniel has survived for 5 years or so in this forbidding environment where his salvation is Mrs. Underwood. Then, the day comes when Nathaniel finds himself thoroughly humiliated by a magician named Simon Lovelace. He responds by dedicating himself to becoming as knowledgeable a magician as possible and planning to get revenge through his own potential power. Along the way, Nathaniel summons a "djinni" named Bartimaeus. Suddenly, amid the pain and the belittling, Nathaniel has a powerful tool whose sense of humor delights the reader until the last page. Great imagination. Great adventure and mystery. Wonderful humor. Golem's Eye and Ptolemy's Gate complete the trilogy.