When their wisdom teeth appear, twelve-year-old twins John and Philippa Gaunt develop extraordinary magical gifts, so they travel to London to meet their wildly eccentric djinn-uncle, Nimrod, who after teaching them to harness their new power sends them to find Akhenaten, a long-dead pharaoh, and his tomb, in hopes of rescuing seventy lost djinn trapped there, but they are soon engaged in a battle with Iblis, the most wicked djinn of all.
You can tell from the very first page that P. B. Kerr had great fun writing his novel,
The Akhenaten Adventure. The way the author introduces his wittily-named characters and atmospheric setting, the fun tone of his narration--all signposts that a hugely entertaining story is in store. The first instalment of his
Children of the Lamp sequence may be set firmly in the present day, but it soon breaks away from its apparent normality and encompasses several wonderfully colourful parts of the globe, England and Egypt included.
John and Philippa Gaunt, two twelve year old not-very-identical twins, live a privileged life on the Upper East of Manhattan with their wealthy parents and two curiously-mannered Rottweiler dogs called Alan and Neil. Both children realise there’s something amiss with their world when a string of strange things begin to happen after their wisdom teeth are extracted. They dream the same dreams, become stronger, zits clear up. Wishes wished in their presence inexplicably come true. And when their estranged Uncle Nimrod asks them to come to England for the summer during one such shared dream, the discovery of their destiny is set in motion.
For they are descended from a long line of Djinn, have great inherent powers and must suddenly call upon them a lot sooner than they anticipated. The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten is not as dead as history has so far declared and his legion of seventy magical djinn could tip the balance of power in the magical realm and affect the whole world order.
P.B. Kerr, under his regular name Philip Kerr, is the author of several bestselling thrillers for adult readers. His debut novel for children is a slick, zeitgeisty fantasy adventure that is sure to win him a new raft of fans. The Blue Djinn of Babylon is next up for those who get hooked. (Age 10 and over) --John McLay
