Children of the Lamp

Last updated
Children of the Lamp
AuthorP. B. Kerr
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy
Published2004-2011
No. of books7

Children of the Lamp is a series of contemporary fantasy novels written by the British author P. B. Kerr. It tells the story of twins John and Philippa as they discover how to act in the world of djinn.

Contents

Volumes

Volume list
No.TitleRelease year
1 The Akhenaten Adventure 2004
2 The Blue Djinn of Babylon 2006
3 The Cobra King of Kathmandu 2006
4 The Day of the Djinn Warriors 2007
5 The Eye of the Forest 2009
6 The Five Fakirs of Faizabad 2010
7 The Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan 2011

Reception

Writing about the first book, a critic Matt Berman stated, "Like many other adult novelists trying to make the transition, [Kerr] will need to learn that different rules apply – the pacing is different, and kids prefer warm passion to cool detachment. There's a lot of potential here for future books in the series, but to be really successful, he will need to bring John and Philippa to life." [1]

The series

The Akhenaten Adventure

John and Philippa Gaunt are twelve-year-old twins with a remarkably gifted mother, a very kind father, and two dogs that are not who they seem to be. The family lives a life of luxury in New York. One day, their wisdom teeth all appear at once. During an operation to get the wisdom teeth removed, they have the same dream in which their uncle, Nimrod, asks that they come to London. He tells them that they are djinn. They begin the adventure of a lifetime, going from Cairo to London, using pink Ferraris, and riding camels. From New York to Egypt to London, the twins' adventures are filled with excitement as they undergo training in the use of their newly discovered powers but are also fraught with danger as they battle the evil Ifrit tribe of djinn and its leader, Iblis. They must preserve the balance of good and bad luck in the world and free seventy ancient djinn.

The Blue Djinn of Babylon

John and Philippa Gaunt, twelve-year-old twins who recently discovered themselves to be descended from a long line of djinn and who are now in possession of great powers, have only just returned from their adventures battling evil djinn in Cairo and London. Now the mystery surrounding a powerful book of djinn magic named Solomon's Grimoire lures the twins straight into their next extraordinary adventure.

When the Solomon Grimoire is reported missing, John and Philippa are called upon to retrieve this book of power. They travel across the globe, from New York City to Istanbul, Berlin to Budapest, but little do they know, a trap has been set and the djinn twins are about to walk right into it. Soon, John must embark on an epic journey to save his sister from the fate of eternal hard-heartedness before it is too late.

The Cobra King of Kathmandu

Fiery magic in a land of ice, midnight intruders, and murder by snakebite sweep John and Philippa Gaunt into their third fantastic adventure. After their friend Dybbuk Sachertorte sends an email pleading for help, the twins go save him. Dybbuk gives a mysterious painting leading them to Nepal. In snowy Kathmandu, the children face the ultimate test of their djinn powers.

The Day of the Djinn Warriors

The Day of the Djinn Warriors is the fourth novel and deals with a race against time for John and Philippa Gaunt to outwit the wicked Iblis. John and Philippa attempt to rescue their mother from her fate as the Blue Djinn of Babylon and discover that an aging curse has been placed on their father and if the twins are gone too long, he will rapidly become an old man. As the twins and their friends travel around the globe on their rescue mission, they notice an evil force has awakened the terracotta warriors created by an ancient Chinese emperor, and someone with very bad intentions has cast a spell possessing the soldiers with wicked spirits.

The Eye of the Forest

John and Philippa Gaunt find themselves tangled up in a spellbinding mystery that takes them deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle. When a collection of Incan artifacts goes missing, the Blue Djinn of Babylon dispatches the twins and Uncle Nimrod to recover them.

The Five Fakirs of Faizabad

John and Phillipa Gaunt are in search of an ancient fakir, who is a holder of one of the world's greatest secrets given by Tirthankara. A fakir comes out only when the world is full of misfortune.

The Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan

Djinn twins John and Philippa are off on another enchanting, and dangerous, adventure in the last book in the series. As volcanoes begin erupting all over the world, spilling golden lava, the twins must go on a hunt for the wicked djinn who wants to rob the grave of the great Genghis Khan.

Use of djinn power in the series

The djinn are the guardians of luck, so they derive their power from luck or fate. Much of the narrative thus comes from those who promote good luck, who are attempting to combat those who promote bad luck. The djinn power that all djinn possess is directly linked to their own lifelines, fueled by fire. Every wish granted costs the djinn a portion of their life force and shortens their lifespan. The energy lost cannot be regained and the older a djinn is, the more force is drained from them. Because of their connection with fire, djinn are immune to it and can not be burnt or killed by it.

The exact limits of djinn power vary with age and experience, but what all djinn have in common is that when they use their power they must picture and think about what exactly they will use their power for, be it making an object appear and disappear or granting a wish. Djinn power has limits, as djinn cannot bring back anything from the dead. Djinn power cannot affect the flow of time and cannot create copies of themselves; it also generally cannot undo the spells of another djinn.

Characters

Philippa Gaunt

Philippa Gaunt is the twin of John Gaunt. Philippa is shorter with red hair and glasses, like her father. She prefers to be called Phil rather than Philippa. Like her brother John, she is claustrophobic and dislikes loud noises. Philippa is described as the more intellectual twin.

John Gaunt

John Gaunt is the twin of Philippa Gaunt. John is described as tall and dark, and previously pimply. John, like most djinn, is claustrophobic but as seen in The Akhenaten Adventure , John panics more than Philippa does. He has a strong dislike of vegetables, as revealed in The Blue Djinn of Babylon . He is quite athletic, and acquired more strength in the second book in order to fight off a bully physically.

Dybbuk Sachertorte

Dybbuk Sachertorte is a djinn friend of John and Philippa who prefers to go by the name of Buck. His mother is the djinn Doctor Sachertorte, who helps John and Philippa recover from their illness in The Blue Djinn of Babylon . He goes with them on their adventures in The Cobra King of Kathmandu . His favorite things are treasure hunts and old war movies. He, his mother, and his pet coyote, Colin, live in Palm Springs, California. He is romantically interested in Philippa.

Uncle Nimrod

Nimrod Plantagenet Godwin is the powerful djinn uncle of John and Philippa and de facto leader of the Marid. Nimrod is depicted as a loud djinn who enjoys the color red, and a near-expert at all things relating to djinn. Apparently, he has a strong dislike of jade as well as rubies. He is always seen with a cigar, and is talented in creating shapes with his cigar smoke which then turn real. Nimrod's companion is Mr. Rakshasas, who he always keeps in his pocket. He first appeared in a dream of John's and Philippa's simultaneously, when their wisdom teeth or "dragon teeth" were extracted.

Mr. Harry Groanin

Mr. Harry Groanin is Nimrod's one-armed butler. Groanin freed Nimrod from confinement and won three wishes. After wasting his first two wishes, he became Nimrod's butler so he could properly consider how to use his third wish, and to make sure Nimrod does not trick him. He uses his third wish to help locate a trapped Nimrod and feels quite liberated afterwards.

Mr. Rakshasas

Mr. Rakshasas is Nimrod's djinn friend. Mr. Rakshasas has an Irish accent which he got from watching Irish shows in order to learn English. He feels more at home in his lamp than outside of it, following a long period of forced confinement in a milk bottle thanks to a djinn from the Ghul tribe. He is afraid of large and open spaces. He is considered a leading djinn expert on the Baghdad Rules, a series of conventions regulating wishes and wish granting. In the fourth book of the series, he is absorbed by one of the Terracotta warriors. In Hindi, the word Rakshasas generally means 'monster', 'greedy', or even 'demon'. However, he mostly resembles one of the rare "good Rakshasa", Vibhishana.

Layla Gaunt

Layla Gaunt is an extremely tall and glamorous woman, the eccentric mother of John and Philippa, and sister to Nimrod. She first appears as a very nice and allowing mother, telling John that naming one of the dogs Elvis would be a nice change. From then and through the series, she is depicted as an extremely tall djinn who had the media clamouring for her. She had cut herself off from the djinn world, including dropping the use of her powers right after turning her husband's murderous brothers into pet dogs. She finally began using her powers again to turn an assassin, hired to kill John and Phillipa, into a cat, who they took in as a pet and named Monty. She had renounced the use of her djinn powers after she attempted to save her daughter Philippa from her mother Ayesha. Ayesha wished her to become the new Blue Djinn of Babylon, a position Layla did not desire, resulting in the kidnapping of Philippa in order to force Layla to take the position. In The Cobra King of Kathmandu , Layla Gaunt leaves her family forever in order to become the next Blue Djinn.

Edward Gaunt

The father of the twins Philippa and John Gaunt. He is fearful of the twins' powers after their mother turned his two brothers into dogs. Described as absentminded, but a brilliant and a good father, he is quite fond of antiques and is a successful banker. During the end of the third book he becomes a victim of the Methuselah Binding (which causes him to age several years), cast by Layla Gaunt to prevent John and Philipa from attempting to stop her from being the next Blue Djinn after Ayesha. He is short and has glasses.

The Six Tribes of Djinn

Good Tribes

Marid

Jinn

Jann

Evil tribes

Ifrit

Shaitan

Ghul

Planned adaptation

In 2007 DreamWorks acquired the rights for a film adaptation to be produced by Nina Jacobson. [2] [3] Later DreamWorks dropped the project and Paramount signed the film to distribute with Disney. Writers Michael Handelman, Lee Hall, and Dave Guion were all, at one point, involved in developing a script. [4] In April 2013, Paramount was in talks with director/writer Robert Rugan to direct the film. [5] However, the film was never produced after the release of the final book.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Swynford</span> English noblewoman

Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth son of King Edward III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aladdin</span> Middle-Eastern folk tale

Aladdin is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, despite not being part of the original text; it was added by the Frenchman Antoine Galland, based on a folk tale that he heard from the Syrian Maronite storyteller Hanna Diyab.

Philippa de Roet was an English courtier, the sister of Katherine Swynford and the wife of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippa of Lancaster</span> Queen consort of Portugal, 1387–1415

Philippa of Lancaster was Queen of Portugal from 1387 until 1415 as the wife of King John I. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage secured the Treaty of Windsor and produced several children who became known as the "Illustrious Generation" in Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ifrit</span> Supernatural creatures in Arab culture and Islam

Ifrit, also spelled as efreet, afrit, and afreet, plural عفاريت ʿafārīt), is a powerful type of demon in Islamic culture. The ʿafārīt are often associated with the underworld and identified with the spirits of the dead, and have been compared to evil geniī loci in European culture. In Quran, hadith, and Mi'raj narrations the term is always followed by the phrase "among the jinn". In later folklore, they developed into independent entities, identified as powerful demons or spirits of the dead who sometimes inhabit desolate places such as ruins and temples. Their true habitat is the Jahannam or underworld.

Iblis is the name of The Devil in Islam.

<i>Sonic and the Secret Rings</i> 2007 video game

Sonic and the Secret Rings is a 2007 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Wii. A spin-off from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, it is the first title in the franchise for the system, and follows Sonic the Hedgehog's quest to stop an evil genie named the Erazor Djinn. In addition to the basic platforming gameplay of previous Sonic titles, Secret Rings uses a system of experience points and levels, as well as special moves that are unlocked by means of progression.

The term Rakshasa, originally referring to a demon in Hindu mythology, has been used in western and Japanese literature and popular culture. The following are some examples:

<i>Aladdin</i> (1992 Golden Films film) Short animated film

Aladdin is a 1992 animated fantasy film. It is based on the classic Arabian Nights story Aladdin, translated by Antoine Galland. Aladdin was produced by Golden Films and the American Film Investment Corporation. Like all other Golden Films productions, the film featured a single song, "Rub the Lamp", written and composed by Richard Hurwitz and John Arrias. It was released directly to video on April 27, 1992 by GoodTimes Home Video and was reissued on DVD in 2002 as part of the distributor's "Collectible Classics" line of products.

<i>The Akhenaten Adventure</i> 2004 novel by P.B. Kerr

The Akhenaten Adventure is a novel by the Scottish writer P.B. Kerr. It is the first book of the Children of the Lamp series. It tells the story of John and Philippa Gaunt and their adventures when they find that they are djinn, or mystical genies. The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for children's books and received generally favorable reviews. The novel's sequel is The Blue Djinn of Babylon, the second book in the seven part series.

<i>The Blue Djinn of Babylon</i> 2005 novel by P. B. Kerr

The Blue Djinn of Babylon is a novel by P. B. Kerr which tells the second chapter of John and Philippa Gaunt and their adventures as djinn. It is the second book of the Children of the Lamp series. The book earned a place on the New York Times Best Seller list for children's books and received generally favorable reviews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayoth</span>

The Hayoth are a fictional team of superpowered Israeli commandos published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Suicide Squad #45, and were created by John Ostrander, Kim Yale and Geof Isherwood. The Hayoth's team name is a reference to four holy beasts from the Zohar, as seen in the Soncino Zohar (1934) published as a part of the Soncino Books of the Bible series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onslaught (DC Comics)</span>

The Onslaught are a fictional team of state sponsored super powered Quraci terrorists published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Suicide Squad #1, and were created by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell.

<i>The Day of the Djinn Warriors</i>

The Day of the Djinn Warriors is the fourth installment of seven in the Children of the Lamp series.

Genies or djinns are supernatural creatures from pre-Islamic and Islamic mythology. They are associated with shapeshifting, possession and madness. In later Western popular representation, they became associated with wish-granting and often live in magic lamps or bottles. They appear in One Thousand and One Nights and its adaptations, among other stories. The wish-granting djinns from One Thousand and One Nights, however, are the divs of Persian origin, not the Arabian djinns.

<i>The Eye of the Forest</i> Fifth novel in the Children of the Lamp series

The Eye of the Forest is the fifth installment of seven in the Children of the Lamp series.

<i>The City of Brass</i> (novel) 2017 novel by S.A. Chakraborty

The City of Brass is an American science fiction and fantasy novel written by S. A. Chakraborty. It is the first of The Daevabad Trilogy, followed by The Kingdom of Copper in 2019 and The Empire of Gold in 2020.

<i>The Final Wish</i> 2018 horror film directed by Timothy Woodward Jr.

The Final Wish is a 2018 mystery-horror film directed by Timothy Woodward Jr., written by Jeffrey Reddick, William Halfon and Jonathan Doyle, and starring Lin Shaye and Michael Welch. Distributed by Cinedigm Entertainment Group, The Final Wish was released on October 17, 2018 at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival.

<i>Ali Baba</i> (TV series) Indian fantasy television series

Ali Baba is an Indian fantasy television series based on the Arabian Nights character Ali Baba. Produced by Alind Srivastava and Nissar Parvez under Peninsula Pictures. The series follows the life of an orphan Alibaba, from the Mamuli Gali of Kabul, and the challenges he faces while he tries to protect and take care of five other orphan children.

References

  1. Berman, Matt. "Review: The Akhenaten Adventure (Children of the Lamp, Book 1) Twins discover they're djinn". Family.com. Disney. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  2. Rappe, Elisabeth (16 July 2008). "DreamWorks Lighting 'Children of the Lamp'". moviefone.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  3. Holmes, Matt (25 June 2011). "CHILDREN OF THE LAMP setup by Dreamworks". whatculture.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  4. "Two Scribes Penning Children of the Lamp". ComingSoon.net. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  5. Kroll, Justin (12 April 2013). "Paramount Eyes Robert Rugan to Helm 'Children of the Lamp' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 2013-04-25. Retrieved 28 March 2021.