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I read this book series a very long time ago (about 15-17 years ago). No one seems to remember it except for me!

From what I remember, there were 4 (I believe) books in the series. Hardcover books, yellow, green, red and blue covers. They had maps on the inside of the cover showing where they were in the books.

There was a younger boy. He befriended (was kidnapped, possibly, by) a demon whose name begins with "O" (I am about 90% sure). The boy becomes a wizard and has training with the demon. In one of the books, there is a magical (card?) game where the boy has to go against many demon/alien creatures to win.

In another, there is a tent with a very "Doctor Who" vibe (bigger on the inside) and a dragon in the backyard.

In the third (?) book, they go to battle (knights of the round table vibes) and in the fourth, they have to go save a princess who is encased in a gem (amber maybe?). I cannot for the life of me find any books like this. And it's driving me crazy. I remember reading these books over and over.

I am sorry for the very vague descriptions. I remember parts of the book so clearly in my head, but the main parts are vague.

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    It does have a vibe of Summoner series by Taran Matharu, but the first book was released in 2015. Summoning demons is a magic art taught to upper classes, who can afford capturing one. But the main protagonist is a commoner who happens to have a demon scroll (or maybe the ability to summon?). I can't recall the other events, but here's a link just in case: goodreads.com/book/show/…
    – Yksisarvinen
    Commented May 21 at 22:51

2 Answers 2

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Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures series?

cover art

The young wizard Skeeve is apprenticed to the demon (dimensional traveler) Aahz, from the dimension Perv (he's a Pervect; don't dare call him a Pervert), who is scaly in appearance. Skeeve acquires a pet dragon early on. They live in the bazaar at Deva, in a tent that's bigger on the inside - its own pocket dimension.

The very popular card game Dragon Poker has an enormous always varying set of rules; at least one book's plot is driven by it (Little Myth Marker).

I believe one of the earlier books involves stopping an expansionist kingdoms wars.

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    +1 If this is the OP's series, they may be excited to learn that there are more books in the series.
    – Lexible
    Commented May 21 at 14:56
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    @Lexible Then again, given the way the series went, they may not... ;-P
    – DavidW
    Commented May 21 at 14:59
  • @DavidW I think I stopped reading at book 3… but I trust your judgement. :)
    – Lexible
    Commented May 21 at 15:04
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    @JaySwolf This was also the first thing that came to mind while reading the question, so it's not too far off. What about the above description sounds different from what you're looking for? Edit the differences into the question, and they might spark someone's memory.
    – Cristobol Polychronopolis
    Commented May 21 at 15:57
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    I was going to suggest this as well - hard to imagine a 2nd series that so closely mirrors your description. I'm pretty sure the copies I have are paperback and have different covers - but do remember books are usually printed in hardcover first and then reprinted in paperback.
    – aslum
    Commented May 21 at 16:47
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Hadn't heard of this before but the physical description matches. The Bartimaues Trilogy Books The Bartimaeus Sequence is a series of young adult novels of alternate history, fantasy and magic. It was written by British writer Jonathan Stroud and consists of a trilogy published from 2003 to 2005 and a prequel novel published in 2010. The story follows the career of a teenage magician Nathaniel (aka John Mandrake) and a five-thousand-year-old djinni Bartimaeus, whom he has summoned and nominally controls, through the alternative history of the peak of London's domination as a magical oligarchy. Wikipedia

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    Was my first thought too, but I can not remember the king arthure vibes or princess in a gem. Has more "Harry Potter with less romantic" vibes for me...
    – Allerleirauh
    Commented May 21 at 21:14
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    It has been a while since I read these, but I don't remember a Tardis-tent or a dragon.
    – Stig Hemmer
    Commented May 22 at 10:53
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    Other than the existence of a boy and a demon, the Bartimaeus stories have absolutely nothing in common with the OP's description.
    – Mark
    Commented May 22 at 20:40

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