Customer Reviews

The Akhenaten Adventure (Children of the Lamp)

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

When the initial PR on a book is about how much the publisher is going to spend on marketing the book, I feel it's fair game to factor this information into the review. Orchard Books ( a division of Scholastic) is positioning a British import, CHILDREN OF THE  LAMP: THE AKHENATEN ADVENTURE, as the first installment of another flagship franchise. Two more books have been contracted and Dreamworks has purchased the film rights. Could it be another Harry Potter? Well...no. But CHILDREN OF THE LAMP if filled with potential.

THE AKHENATEN ADVENTURE has the scope of an epic adventure, moving rapidly from New York, to London, to Cairo, to Russia, and even to the polar ice cap. It's opening earthquake sequence in the Egyptian desert with a native artifact hunter and his son is evocative of an Indiana Jones adventure. It's London museum crime caper calls images of Thomas Crown or maybe Artemis Fowl.

The book is also populated by interesting characters including twins who are unaware of their destiny, an adventurous uncle, a one armed butler, and two dogs with a past. Like Harry, twelve-year-old John and Philippa Gaunt discover that they are not ordinary. When both have an early arrival of wisdom teeth, the truth of their heritage starts to emerge - they are part of a powerful clan of Djinn. Unlike Harry, however, the reader may find it hard to empathize with the twins who live in Manhattan, in an extremely privileged family, and seem to be spoiled beyond reason. Also like the boy wizard, the twins find themselves to be central characters in a great battle of good and evil - or more accurately, good luck and bad luck. You see, Djinn control all the luck in the world, and a population balance between the "good" and "bad" Djinn clans is essential to a smoothly functioning world.

There is also great potential in the magical world P. B. Kerr creates. The Djinn world is refreshingly different from the now overworked world of wizards and witches. Interesting ideas like what is life like inside a bottle? It is perhaps the set up of this world, however, that most directly keeps THE AKHENATEN ADVENTURE from our RECOMMENDED list. Kerr spends so much time having Uncle Nimrod explain the rules the Djinn world, and it takes so long for the twins to be come the active agents in the story, that the book fells like a very long prologue to a potentially excellent story.

On a more personal note. I am not a stickler for political correctness, but I had a problem with the part smoking plays in the story. I can understand its presence in principle, but it really is not crucial (at least in this book), particularly to the detail of naming brands. And this brings up another "what were the editors thinking" aspect of this book.  It is filled with product placements. Do corporations now pay publishers for placements like they do film producers? Or is this a concession to the film deal already in place?

Reservations aside, I do look forward to the next installment, and I hope the trilogy lives up to potential.

SPECTRUM Children's Book Club - www.incwell.com

AA is another overhyped children's book, attempting to grab a little of that Harry Potter sales magic. It starts with a reasonably promising premise - twins who discover that they are half-djiin - and has a reasonably well-thought out story. The problem is that it is all artificial. The author (a successful adult fiction writer) has no feel for the genre, and consequently the children are rather wooden, the humour forced, and there is no sense of wonder. Add to that the rather cynical elements such as setting the opening in New York and the slightly offensive names given to some of the foreign characters and you have a disappointing, bandwagon-jumping, pudding. Publishers and authors would do well to remember that we love Harry Potter because we sympathise and empathise with Harry, Hermione and Ron, and because they are tales of friendship, loyalty and courage. Our favourtie stories have heart and soul: it's not just a question of ticking off the ingredients on a childrens' book recipe.

John and Philippa Gaunt are the most unidentical twins ever. They don't look one bit alike or even wear the same colors. They do, however, think in similar ways. Their parents are wealthy, and another odd pair. Mrs. Gaunt is young, beautiful, tall and athletic. Her husband is very short with gray hair and glasses.

The twins would like to change the names of the family dogs from Alan and Neil to Elvis and Winston. Despite Mr. Gaunt's strenuous disapproval, they get their mother's permission. Somehow it doesn't seem all that unusual that the dogs take themselves to the vet when they're sick and put coins in parking meters. But the twins do find it odd that, when their wisdom teeth are removed, they share a dream under anesthesia --- a dream in which they meet their estranged Uncle Nimrod, who suggests they ask their parents to send them to London to visit him for summer vacation. Amazingly, their parents agree. Even more incredibly, their father acts rather afraid of his children.

Other weird things have happened to the twins lately. John had a nightmare and woke up to find the mirror on his wall cracked in the identical way that a wall in Cairo cracked during an earthquake. John's pimples cleared up. When people wish out loud around Philippa, their wishes mysteriously come true. But the most startling event of their lives will occur when Uncle Nimrod tells them who they really are. John and Philippa are off for a tremendous adventure, which will include traveling to Cairo, the Arctic Circle, and to the inside of a vase (!). They'll also fight evil for the good of mankind, giving them quite a bit of material for those "What I Did for Summer Vacation" school essays.

I wholeheartedly recommend THE AKHENATEN ADVENTURE to anyone who enjoys fantasy. This is not a Harry Potter knock-off (thank goodness), but is totally original and every bit as much of a great read. I can't wait to get my hands on the next two books in the trilogy. I'm sure they'll be, as this one is, the answer to my wish for a magical reading adventure.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

I consider P. B. Kerr's The Akhenaten Adventure to be well worth your attention. It's the first book in the new Children of the Lamp series, about 12-year-old twins John and Philippa, who discover themselves to be descended from a long line of djinn. A djinn, as the book says, "is the proper name for describing what is vulgarly known as a genie." John and Philippa travel to London to learn about being djinn from their Uncle Nimrod. With Nimrod, the twins embark on a series of adventures in Cairo and London and up to the North Pole. This book was strongly recommended to me by an 11-year-old friend in Austin, TX.

While The Akhenaten Adventure is filled with action, it also includes considerable humor (a one-armed chauffeur named Groanin who complains all of the time, a pink Ferrari with Range Rover wheels, and dogs who can change the TV channel to CNN). Adults will especially enjoy the character of Uncle Nimrod, a snobbish British djinn who makes no secret of his distate for babies, and utters dry witticisms at regular intervals. For instance, in comparing English vs. American breakfasts he says "The bacon must taste like meat instead of strips of dried skin removed from the feet of an overworked rickshaw driver."

Uncle Nimrod is also a proponent of books, though this is a relatively minor theme. He won't tell the twins anything about being djinn until they have finished reading "Tales from a Thousand and One Nights." He advises them to read because "education is something you'd best give yourself", and later says "You can never read too many books." Of course I agree with him.

The Akhenaten Adventure also includes a veritable treasure trove of extra material at the end, including an author biography and interview, recipes and exercises for would-be djinn, and historical information about ancient Egypt. I learned from the author biography that Mr. Kerr was spurred to write this, his first children's series, by his son's reluctance to read books. "In order to entice William away from his video games, Mr. Kerr decided to write a story specifically for his children." I think that this book has to potential to lure many other children away from television and video games, too.

Mr. Kerr is also a prolific writer of thrillers under the name Philip Kerr. Asked about the switch from writing thrillers to writing children's fantasy, Mr. Kerr said: "Well, it's a bit of a thriller, as far as I'm concerned. I think thrillers are really just children's books for adults anyway." I found this last idea, that thrillers are just children's books for adults, personally satisfying. The books that I most like to read are children's books and adult mysteries and thrillers. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in seeing a link between them. And so I recommend The Akhenaten Adventure to you.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on January 21, 2006.

For the weird parents who think this book is "racist" "sexist" and "glorifies smoking"-

HELLO??? If a book says, "a woman tennis player who belongs in the men's tournament" it does not mean the book is necessarily sexist! That was listed ONCE. ONCE! And about the racist part- the French "is bad" thing was a clever way for you to suspect the woman, for goodness sake! You are being RIDICULOUS. And it was just the way they look at people. There are plenty of books that say Germans and Japanese people are bad. Have you critisized those too? If you criticized this one, you probably should. Unless you're racist too...?

Also, about the smoking- I'm 12 years old, I've read the book, and I'm not nearly stupid enough to go and try something just because I read it in a book. I don't think I'm a djinn! Duh! Anyway, John and Philippa DON'T SMOKE. Plus, for that lady who said the plot was too complicated for 12 and under...

SHEESH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chasing Vermeer was more complicated.

I first got this book from a friend, but I never checked or opened it, thinking it would probably be a lame book. But then I got desperate for a book to read, and I started this one.

After I had read the first chapter, I couldn't stop. There is a lot of adventure and it is pretty easy to read. The story line is about two twins(Philippa and John Gaunt), who discover that they are dijinn(genii). Along with their uncle Nimrod, another djinn, they try to stop Iblis, and evil djinn, from disrupting peace and finding the 70 lost djinn. Along the way, they try to uncover many secrets, as they practice their new djinn skills.

This book was amazing, and I couldn't believe how good it was. The second I finished it, I went to buy the sequels, which are equally good, though larger, which I prefer. This is a must read book!

John and Phillippa think they are two ordinary kids living in an ordinary place with beautiful and wealthy, yet ordinary parents.But when they have their wisdom teeth pulled out at the ages of 11, they are summoned by their mysterious uncle Nimrod who lives all the way in London.The children take a flight to London to see their uncle and learn the facts of life.Uncle Nimrod explain how they are genies and can grant three wishes, live in enclosed spaces and have magical powers, which explains why they were growing up too quickly.The children learn the three different types: Angels of light,Humans of earth and djinn or genies of fire.They also learn the war of genies and the evils and the goods.But when they enter Egypt for there great adventure, there uncle dissapears, Hussein Hussabout is murdered and they are taken captive by the evil and most deadly djiin ever,Iblis of the Marid.Learn about djiin in this fantastic tale that you will never forget.Bravo PB Kerr, Bravo!

The Akhenaten Adventure is a book that I finished reading in less than a week. The reason why I liked it so much was that its adventures never ended. It went from adventure to adventure without a stop. It never had any dull or boring parts to the story. The characters in the book had their own interesting and amusing characteristics. You would never expect what was coming next and is completely unpredictable. Everything works out in the book and everything fits in place. If you like the Harry Potter Series or the Divide series, then you'll love this book. It has its magical parts just like the two other series. Any reader who enjoys magical books will definitely enjoy this one. You have to read this book, but I'm not forcing you. If you don't read it , then you're missing out on a captivating and breathtaking book that will last in your memories. Also, visit the author's webpage at www.pbkerr.com to get even more details. I hope you enjoy The Akhenaten Adventure.

We read this book aloud as a family. It is such a wonderful way to redirect our thoughts on the subject of Akhenaten. We usually spend more time on his wife--- Nefertiti, and his son- Tut. This book appealed to our eight year old daughters sense of adventure, and the possiblities of magic. She loved all the characters, especially, NIMROD. We can only hope that P.B. Kerr will choose other dynastic persons for future adventures with John and Phillipa.

Chasing. Snooping. Being trapped inside a bottle. All of these things happen to the twins, Phillipa and John, in the first book of the Children of the Lamp series, The Akhenaten Adventure. It was a very exciting book with a great plot line. It also gave some historical facts about Ancient Egypt. I have read this book many times before and it never gets boring. New people popping up everywhere; not knowing who you can trust: it is all just fascinating how they combine scientific theory and fantasy in one great novel. I reccomend it to anyone who enjoys a great adventure.