“The sky, like a bashful youth kissed for the first time, blushed with a peach-pink light. Through the open windows came the gentlest of breezes, carrying the fragrances of evening. It stirred the hair of the young woman standing alone and pensive in the centre of the marble floor, and caused her dress to flutter against the contours of her lean, dark limbs.

She lifted a hand; slim fingers toyed with a ringlet of hair beside her neck. Why so shy, my lord?” she whispered. “Come near and let me look on you.”

In the opposite pentacle the old man lowered the wax cylinder in his hand and glared at me with his single eye. “Great Jehovah, Bartimaeus!
You don’t think that’s going to work on me?”


Fans throughout the world will be delighted that Bartimaeus is back in a brilliant new adventure set in an earlier era of his existence. At the court of King Solomon, the wise-cracking djinni finds himself caught in a web of intrigue where he is commanded to steal the magic ring which gives King Solomon his power.

THE RING OF SOLOMON combines page turning action adventure with the world weary wit of Stroud's supreme creation, the inimitable Bartimaeus.
The comic relief is perfectly timed, the dialogue sharp and snappy and the fiendishly clever plot perfectly handled with Stroud's trademark flair and command of language.

Thrills, chills and a danger-spiked finale - this will be one of the publishing events of the year.


"Wonderfully written and brilliantly plotted, this book provides an entertaining cast of characters and a satisfying denouement, with ends finally tied after many twists and turns. Bartimaeus himself is a brilliant creation, offering lots of comedy opportunities..."
THE BOOKSELLER