Children of the Lamp
Children of the Lamp is a series of fantasy novels for senior children as well as adolescents and adults written by the British author P.B. Kerr. It tells the story of twin djinn, John and Philippa Gaunt, and their challenges with adapting to the world of djinn. The story has a variety of themes, family, adventure, and loyalty being a few. The first book, The Akhenaten Adventure, was published in 2004. The second book, The Blue Djinn of Babylon, was published in 2006. The third book, The Cobra King of Kathmandu, was also released in 2006. The fourth book was published in August 2007 [1], and is named The Day of the Djinn Warriors. The fifth book came out in 2009 and is titled The Eye of the Forest. The film rights are held by Dreamworks. Kerr is in the process of writing the sixth book, The Five Fakirs of Faizabad, which is expected to be released November 1, 2010.
The Books
The Akhenaten Adventure
John and Philippa are twelve year old twins, with a remarkably beautiful mother, and a very rich, not very handsome, but very kind father, who live a life of luxury in New York. One day, their wisdom teeth appear simultaneously. Then they both have the same dream in which their uncle, Nimrod tells them to come to London. He tells them that they are djinni (genies).They begin the adventure of a lifetime, from Cairo to London, from pink Ferraris to camels. With a wise old uncle named Nimrod, his one-armed butler who is called Groanin, his enormously tall Egyptian servant called Creemy, and an agoraphobic ancient djinn called Mr. Rakshasas. From New York to London to Egypt, back to London and back, 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 tribes of djinn, to preserve the balance between good and evil in the world.
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 monsters called djinn (commonly called genies) 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 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 from Ayesha, before it's 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; they can't refuse. Dybbuk gives a mysterious painting leading them to Nepal to save their friends. In snowy Kathmandu, the children, along with Mr. Groanin, face the ultimate test of their amazing djinn powers. Can they uncover the venomous secrets of an evil Snake Cult to find the long-lost talisman of the Cobra King? Meanwhile, at home, their mother prepares to follow her destiny, which she has still kept secret.
The Day of the Djinn Warriors
The Day of the Djinn Warriors is the fourth novel and deals with more of the Sachertorte family's past, as well as the encounter with the newly changed Layla Gaunt.
The fourth djinncredible adventure for the Children of the Lamp. Theft, hauntings and red-hot mystery - it's a race against time for John and Philippa Gaunt to outwit the wicked Iblis. But can the djinn twins stop Iblis now he has woken the ancient warriors of a long-dead emperor from their sleep...?
The djinn twins are off on another whirlwind adventure that takes them around the globe and into unknown worlds. And it's a race against time as they attempt to rescue their mother from her fate as the Blue Djinn of Babylon.(the blue djinn of babylon is a djinn that is beyond good and evil, who as powers over all. The blue djinn of babylon must be a girl. Once a girl is chosen by the previous blue djinn to become the next blue djinn,she must stay in a house inside Iravotum to have a hardened heart. For you may not become the blue djinn unless you have a hard heart.) They discover that an aging curse has been placed on their father and if the twins are gone too long, he'll rapidly become an old man. As the twins and their friends travel around the globe on their rescue mission, they notice that something very strange is happening: 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. And now, the very fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Meanwhile, museums all over the world are reporting robberies of valuable jade artifacts from their collections, as well as bizarre hauntings. Can the twins stop the mysterious terracotta warriors, rescue their parents, AND save the world before it's too late? Join John, Philippa on their amazing adventure!
The Eye of the Forest
In their latest adventure, John and Philippa Gaunt find themselves tangled up in a spellbinding mystery that takes them deep into the heart of the Amazon jungle in book five of the NY TIMES bestselling Children of the Lamp series. When a collection of Incan artifacts goes missing, the Blue Djinn of Babylon dispatches the twins and Uncle Nimrod to recover them. Along the way, though, John and Philippa encounter their friend Dybbuk, who was drained of his djinn powers but is determined to get them back. In a fury, he's headed to an ancient Incan Empire where he believes he can regain his power. Dybbuk will stop at nothing . . . even if it means opening a cursed portal, disturbing the enchanted kingdom of the Incas that has slept for thousands of years, and (unintentionally) destroying the world. Dybbuk's kindness was crushed, and his evilness took over his body. Philippa tried to save him but failed. What will happen in the next book? Is Dybbuk lost forever?
Use of Magic in the Series
The djinn -whether they like it or not- 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. In particular the book focuses on the Marid, led by Layla Gaunt (John and Philippa's mother), a tribe of djinn, to which the Gaunt family belongs, and the Ifrit, led by the evil djinn Iblis, who provide many of the enemies in the five books. With the book's logic, they do not consider it magic, but a force from an undefined section of their brains.
The djinn power that all djinn possess is directly linked to their own lifelines, every wish that is granted costs the djinn a portion of their lifeforce and shortens their lifespan. The energy that is lost can't be regained and the older a djinn is, the more force is drained from them. Djinn require heat to use djinn power. The younger a djinn, the more heat required to use djinn power. An adult djinn must be frozen in ice to prevent use of djinn power. The average temperature of a healthy djinn is 106 degrees Fahrenheit.
Djinn shake hands by folding their middle finger or their "life line" finger into their palm because the middle finger acts like a bridge that allows djinn to combine powers together or lend a de-powered djinn some degree of power.
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 from making an object appear and disappear to granting a wish.
Djinn power allows djinn to grant three wishes per individual, also there is a fourth wish in the event the individual doesn't like the outcome of the wishes and can unwish the previous three. Also, it has been proven that djinn can offer three wishes to anybody; instead of having to be released from a confinment every time to bestow wishes' to individuals.
When djinn power is released there is a surge of energy that effects the djinns surroundings; for example, before John had his wisdom teeth removed his untapped djinn power caused a crack to stretch from his bedside to his side of his bedroom, through a mirror and ended just a few feet from the bedroom door.
Djinn power has limits, as stated by John and Philipaa's mother that djinn can't bring back the dead be it animal, human, or plant. Djinn power can't effect the flow of time and can't create copies of themselves. Also, djinn can't undo the spells of another djinn, except the Blue Djinn of Babylon.
It also appears djinn age slower than mundanes, because according to Nimrod djinn can live up to 500 years and if bottled up in suspended animation, time can't ravage a djinn until released from the bottle. In fact, djinn don't actually start aging until their wisdom teeth is taken out no matter how old he/she was before the wisdom teeth were removed, for example in book 3 John and Philipa turn 1 year old in djinn years while physically they are 12 years old.
Characters
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 to 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. During the second book, John faces numerous obstacles, including having to kill a very real looking projection of his own father, in his efforts to save Philippa. His focus word is ABECEDARIAN. When he meets Faustina in book four he immediately falls for her.
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 one; this was seen with her quick skill of telling lies to Miss Pickings, allowing herself to successfully remove Gordon Warthoff's pimples, and is an expert Djinnverso player. In "The Blue Djinn of Babylon", she is kidnapped by her maternal grandmother Ayesha, the Blue Djinn of Babylon. It's revealed Philippa was used as a key to get Layla Gaunt to usurp the role as Blue Djinn. Her focus word is FABULONGOSHOOMARVELISHLYWONDERPIPICAL, the longest one in the series (with the exception of John's discrimen). She has no idea that Dybbuk likes her, but she is shown to have a sense of affection for him as she tries to rescue him in the Eye of the Forest.
Uncle Nimrod
Nimrod Plantagenet Godwin is the powerful Djinn uncle of John and Philippa and defacto leader of the Marid. Nimrod is depicted as a loud djinn who enjoys the color red, and a near experate at all things relating to djinn. Apparently, he has a strong dislike to jade, and rubies. He is always seen with a cigar, and has a strong talent in allowing the smoke of his cigar to create shapes and/or allowing those shapes to then become 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. His focus word is QWERTYUIOP (the top ten letter keys on a keyboard).
Layla Gaunt
Layla Gaunt is the eccentric, rather glamorous 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 was depicted as an extremely tall djinn who had the media clamouring up for her. She had an apparent blatant relationship with her brother Nimrod in their later lives, but had grown up loving him earlier. She then cut herself off from the djinn world, including dropping the use of her powers right after turning her husband's murderous brothers into the 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. In "The Day of the Djinn Warriors" she is replaced by Faustina , Dybbuk's sister, as the Blue Djinn and comes back home. On her way home from Iraq, her body is incinerated by a pyroclastic flow from the Hawaiian volcano Kilauea and she is forced to find another body to possess. Her spirit is currently occupying the body of Mrs. Trump (the Gaunts' maid. During the events of "The Eye Of The Forest" she gets absorbed by an exorbere (a half-man-half-spider creature), but her husband saves her from ending up like Mr Rakshasas. Her focus word is NEPHELOKOKKYGIA (from Cloud cuckoo land).
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 brilliant and a good father. He is quite fond of antiques and a successful banker. During the fourth book he becomes a victim of the Methuselah Binding, cast by Layla Gaunt to prevent John and Philipa from attempting to stop her from being the Blue Djinn. He is short and has a beard.
Recurring characters
Faustina Sachertorte: Sister of Dybbuk and the current Blue Djinn. She took over the Prime minister's body to get back at Iblis when she realized he had taken over her father's body. John and Philippa save her and she repays them by rescuing their mother from becoming the blue djinn. She is also quite fond of John, who likes her even more.
Ayesha Godwin: (Deceased) The old Blue Djinn of Babylon, Layla Gaunt's mother, and John and Philippa's grandmother. She is about two hundred years old, but looks like she is in her late eighties. As Blue Djinn, Ayesha is the arbitrator of djinn disputes and is considered "beyond" good and evil. Her state of mind is not achieved naturally; she uses the tree of logic (the "third tree of Eden") to become hard-hearted.
Iblis Teer: Leader of the evil Djinn tribe, the Ifrit. He was punished by Ayesha for killing Hussein Hussaout in the first book. Ayesha sentenced him to be exiled to Venus for ten years, but the container he was trapped in never made it to the shuttle because it was stolen, in the Cobra King of Kathmandu his body is torn apart by Djinn tigers and he possessed a magician as his new body, he is now trapped in an impenetrable suit of Jade and Gold. He has a son named Rudyard who extremely dislikes the twins. His focus word is TETRAGRAMMATONITIS.
Mr. Harry Groanin: 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 doesn't trick him. He uses his third wish to help locate a trapped Nimrod and feels quite liberated afterwards. Groanin's other arm was recreated by John, Philippa, and Dybbuk in book 3. This arm is strong enough to fight an angel in book 4 and win.
Mr. Rakshasas: Nimrod's djinn friend. Mr. Rakshasas feels more at home in his lamp than outside of it, following a long period of forced confinement. 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 and even wrote a book on the subject called The Shorter Baghdad Rules. In the fourth book of the series, he was absorbed by one of the Terracotta warriors. His focus word is SESQUIPEDALIAN.
Dybbuk Sachertorte: Djinn friend of John and Philippa. 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 also has a crush on Philippa. In the third book, it is revealed that he is the youngest son of Iblis Teer, leader of the Ifrit tribe and most evil of all Djinn. Dybbuk acts as a magician under the name of Jonathon Tarot in the fourth book, but uses up his powers in a complicated stunt and becomes mundane, which for a Djinn, is very unfortunate. He regains his powers in the 5th book after splitting into two- a good Buck and an evil Dybbuk and the evil kills his good "twin". His focus word is ZYGOBRANCHIATE.
Alan and Neil: Brothers of Mr. Gaunt. Jealous of all of his success, the pair attempted to kill him. They were stopped by Mrs. Gaunt and turned into the family's beloved Rottweilers. In the first book, John tried to change their names into Winston and Elvis (much to the horror of his father). After they sacrificed their own lives to save John, in his quest to rescue Philippa, they returned to human form. Layla Gaunt had made it so that their punishment would only last for as long as the animals lived.
Rudyard Teer : The djinn son of Iblis and half-brother of Dybbuk Sachertorte. He suffers the same fate as his father, trapped in a suit of jade and gold.
The Six Tribes of Djinn in the Books
The Marid (the most powerful, according to Nimrod in the first book), the Jinn and the Jann maintain the homeostasis, as "good tribes", and will occasionally attempt to tip it in the favour of 'good' luck.
The Ifrit, the Ghul and the Shaitan are "bad tribes", which eschew the homeostasis in favour of causing as much 'bad' luck as possible.