Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon

In the desert lands of the Ancient Near East, magicians and kings fight for dominance by commanding supernatural beings - the djinni - to do their bidding. An uneasy equilibrium is maintained by King Solomon, whose Ring grants the bearer seemingly unlimited power, yet the King has many enemies, not least of whom being the assassin Asmira and her reluctant assistant, the demon Bartimaeus.

A fantastic, fast-paced adventure story set in a vividly-realised world of Arabian and Biblical myth, and narrated by one of the most charming (if monumentally self-absorbed) demons one could hope to meet, The Ring of Solomon is by turns funny, entertaining, gripping, and unexpectedly, wise.