The Cobra King of Kathmandu (Children of the Lamp, Book 2) [Hardcover]

P. B. Kerr (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

From the New York Times bestselling author P. B. Kerr, comes the third volume in this exceptional, imaginative adventure series about a twin boy and girl who discover they are djinns.

In the third book of the bestselling Children of the Lamp series, djinn twins, John and Philippa Gaunt, are on the trail of another magical mystery. As they travel from New York to London to Nepal and India on a whirlwind adventure, the twins try to help their friend and fellow djinn, Buck, find out who murdered his friend using the venomous snakebite of the king cobra. All too soon, John and Philippa find themselves caught up in the lethal world of the Cult of the Nine Cobras, only to discover that they themselves are a target of the creepy cobra cult.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–8—This third installment in the series finds 12-year-old djinn twins Philippa and John embarking on a harrowing journey to Northern India and Nepal in search of the long-lost and powerful talisman, the Cobra King of Kathmandu. The twins believe that it holds the answers to certain mysterious deaths and hope to find it before it falls into the hands of the malevolent cult of the Nine Cobras, led by the egomaniacal Guru Masamjhasara, who seeks to profit from controlling and selling djinn power. However, the siblings soon find themselves imprisoned by the deadly cult and must rely upon their wits and a generous helping of good fortune to survive. This fast-paced, plot-driven fantasy adventure plunges readers into the curious world of djinn society and explores the many intriguing facets of its lore. The suspenseful plot twists, coupled with a liberal dosing of humor, make this a fun page-turner. Harry Potter fans will enjoy this foray into a different type of magical subculture.—Debbie Lewis O'Donnell, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL
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From Booklist

Venomous snakes, treasure maps, kidnapping, and murder are part and parcel of the Indiana Jones lifestyle of twins John and Philippa Gaunt in this third Children of the Lamp series title. Traveling with genies and humans, the siblings speed to India to retrieve a magical cobra amulet and defeat a power-mad malefactor masquerading as a guru. Keith’s sinuous pronunciation unhesitatingly glides over such names as Sadhguru Masamjhasara and Ruchira P. Warnakulasuriya. His voice for evil characters slips and slithers into our subconscious as he discloses vicious schemes of vampirism. Keith’s comedic turns for a grumpy butler and three priests are both shimmering and subservient, acting as a welcome foil to the more fearsome characters, who by turns sound silky and deceptively obsequious. Most enjoyable is his rendering of Uncle Nimrod, who exclaims “Light my lamp” and “Bottle me!” An action-packed reading. Grades 5-8. --Lolly Gepson --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books; First Edition edition (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439670233
• ISBN-13: 978-0439670234
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #872,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Philip Kerr was born in Edinburgh in 1956 and read Law at university. Having learned nothing as an undergraduate lawyer he stayed on as postgraduate and read Law and Philosophy, most of this German, which was when and where he first became interested in German twentieth century history and, in particular, the Nazis. Following university he worked as a copywriter at a number of advertising agencies, including Saatchi & Saatchi, during which time he wrote no advertising slogans of any note. He spent most of his time in advertising researching an idea he'd had for a novel about a Berlin-based policeman, in 1936. And following several trips to Germany - and a great deal of walking around the mean streets of Berlin - his first novel, March Violets, was published in 1989 and introduced the world to Bernie Gunther.
"I loved Berlin before the wall came down; I'm pretty fond of the place now, but back then it was perhaps the most atmospheric city on earth. Having a dark, not to say black sense of humour myself, it's always been somewhere I feel very comfortable."
Having left advertising behind, Kerr worked for the London Evening Standard and produced two more novels featuring Bernie Gunther: The Pale Criminal (1990) and A German Requiem (1991). These were published as an omnibus edition, Berlin Noir in 1992.
Thinking he might like to write something else, he did and published a host of other novels before returning to Bernie Gunther after a gap of sixteen years, with The One from the Other (2007).
Says Kerr, "I never intended to leave such a large gap between Book 3 and Book 4; a lot of other stuff just got in the way; and I feel kind of lucky that people are still as interested in this guy as I am. If anything I'm more interested in him now than I was back in the day."
Two more novels followed, A Quiet Flame (2008) and If the Dead Rise Not (2009).
Field Gray (2010) is perhaps his most ambitious novel yet that features Bernie Gunther. Crossing a span of more than twenty years, it takes Bernie from Cuba, to New York, to Landsberg Prison in Germany where he vividly describes a story that covers his time in Paris, Toulouse, Minsk, Konigsberg, and his life as a German POW in Soviet Russia.
Kerr is already working on an eighth title in the series.
"I don't know how long I can keep doing them; I'll probably write one too many; but I don't feel that's happened yet."
As P.B.Kerr Kerr is also the author of the popular 'Children of the Lamp' series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kobra King of Kathmandu, August 27, 2007

By 

A. Doss "Will read anything" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cobra King of Kathmandu (Children of the Lamp, Book 2) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent third book in a series. The young djinn twins have many adventures and misadventures but there is somehow, always a silver bullet to save the day. Nice, light, reading for grades 4-7. (But I'm 54 and I enjoyed it too!)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Purchase, June 7, 2009

By 

Crystal M. Demeyer (Albia, IA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Children of the Lamp #3: The Cobra King of Kathmandu (Mass Market Paperback)

The book arrived just as they stated it would and actually arrived a little earlier. Very good purchase

4.0 out of 5 stars Children of the Lamp, February 16, 2008

By 

Jonathan T. Scheiblich - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Children of the Lamp #3: The Cobra King of Kathmandu (Mass Market Paperback)

An excellent series for all ages. I am reading them to my boys 6 and 9.