What do you think?
Rate this book
Children of the Lamp #4
Kerr:Die Kinder des Dschinn: Entf?hrt i
Djinn twins John and Philippa 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. An aging curse has been placed on their father, and if the twins are gone too long, he'll rapidly become an old man. Meanwhile, museums all over the world are reporting robberies of valuable jade from their collections, as well as bizarre hauntings.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
47 people are currently reading
2307 people want to read
About the author
P.B. Kerr
30 books208 followersAlso writes as Philip Kerr.
Philip Kerr (P.B. Kerr) was a British author of both adult fiction and non-fiction, most notably the Bernie Gunther series, and of children's books, particularly the Children of the Lamp series.
Kerr was educated at a grammar school in Northampton. He studied law at the University of Birmingham from 1974–1980, achieving a masters degree. Kerr worked as an advertising copywriter for Saatchi and Saatchi before becoming a full-time writer in 1989. He wrote for the Sunday Times, the Evening Standard and the New Statesman.
Philip Kerr (P.B. Kerr) was a British author of both adult fiction and non-fiction, most notably the Bernie Gunther series, and of children's books, particularly the Children of the Lamp series.
Kerr was educated at a grammar school in Northampton. He studied law at the University of Birmingham from 1974–1980, achieving a masters degree. Kerr worked as an advertising copywriter for Saatchi and Saatchi before becoming a full-time writer in 1989. He wrote for the Sunday Times, the Evening Standard and the New Statesman.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
July 21, 2024
Holy fuck, Mr Kerr, holy fuck
*wipes the tears away*
*wipes the tears away*
March 21, 2011
Elements and style: This is the fourth book in this series. This book keeps you guessing and you keep wanting to turn the page through out the book until you finish it. It is set in New York, Babylon and Las Vegas and also in China. The protagonists are John and Phillipa Guant, their parents Mrs. and Mr. Gaunt. Nimrod, their uncle and his butler, Groanin. The antagonists are,Ifrit the head of the worst djinn tribe, his son and the warrior devils.
Plot: First, Mrs. Gaunt (John and Phillipa's mom) is going to become the blue djinn of Babylon. John and Philippa are djinn or genies and they don't want their mom to become the blue djinn because it hardens your heart so she wouldn't recognize them. To solve this problem someone has to replace her, so they decide to trade her with Fautima one of their friend's sister. But Fautima is dead, so they need to find her in the spirit world and locate her body and unite them. At the same time Fautima's brother, Dybbuck goes to a magic show and by showing off his "magic" starts a new T.V. show. But this is all apart of a plan.
Eventually John, Phillipa and their uncle find the body of Fatima and by going into the spirit world, they also find Fatimas spirit and unite them. The now alive Fatima goes and takes the place of Mrs. Gaunt, who flies back to her house.
John, Phillipa and Nimrod decide to go to Italy to find the tablet of command; a piece of gold that can control the terra-cotta warriors. At the same time Dybbuck creates a new episode in his magic show that somehow makes all the children watch it disappear and go into this underground pyramid. Back in Italy, Nimrod and John decide to go to the underground pyramid, which is China, and hope Phillipa gets back in time. Once John and Nimrod get to the underground pyramid they get trapped by Ifrit and his son but Phillipa comes with the tablet of command and saves them and the world.
Characterization: John sometimes doesn't get along with his sister but they work well as a team. John works hard but isn't the one with the plan usually. He finds someone he likes in the story too.
Plot: First, Mrs. Gaunt (John and Phillipa's mom) is going to become the blue djinn of Babylon. John and Philippa are djinn or genies and they don't want their mom to become the blue djinn because it hardens your heart so she wouldn't recognize them. To solve this problem someone has to replace her, so they decide to trade her with Fautima one of their friend's sister. But Fautima is dead, so they need to find her in the spirit world and locate her body and unite them. At the same time Fautima's brother, Dybbuck goes to a magic show and by showing off his "magic" starts a new T.V. show. But this is all apart of a plan.
Eventually John, Phillipa and their uncle find the body of Fatima and by going into the spirit world, they also find Fatimas spirit and unite them. The now alive Fatima goes and takes the place of Mrs. Gaunt, who flies back to her house.
John, Phillipa and Nimrod decide to go to Italy to find the tablet of command; a piece of gold that can control the terra-cotta warriors. At the same time Dybbuck creates a new episode in his magic show that somehow makes all the children watch it disappear and go into this underground pyramid. Back in Italy, Nimrod and John decide to go to the underground pyramid, which is China, and hope Phillipa gets back in time. Once John and Nimrod get to the underground pyramid they get trapped by Ifrit and his son but Phillipa comes with the tablet of command and saves them and the world.
Characterization: John sometimes doesn't get along with his sister but they work well as a team. John works hard but isn't the one with the plan usually. He finds someone he likes in the story too.
June 15, 2020
AWESOME!! Definitely my favourite Children of the Lamp (COTL) book so far. There seemed to be a few storylines grabbing for your attention but they all linked in the end somehow. I was never bored reading this awesome book.
Things I did not like.
Sometimes P.B.Kerr seems to forget that he's writing for children and insults you by saying that anyone would know some random fact that I don't think most adults would know! On the other hand sometimes he thinks he can get away with writing random things in and all kids won't think twice because as Iblis (I think) said 'All kids are gullible and will believe anything you tell them'.
At one point Kerr completely messed up a normal person's reaction to a weird thing. Without spoiling I will try and explain. Basically this guy comes back from the dead and this woman (who I think is mundane) walks in and Nimrod literally says "Hello, this is Marco Polo who just came back from the dead. Marco, this is some nun who works here." And she stares at Marco for a moment and then OFFERS HIM A BISCUIT! :0 Yes I'm sure when you come back from the dead you would quite like a biscuit but still... :0
Also, its not that bad but I did notice that these two quotes are used A LOT. A wish is a dish that's a lot like a fish once its been eaten its harder to throw back and a wish is like a fire, it is reasonable to assume the smoke might make someone cough
Things I liked
The introduction of Faustina's character. I hope (but doubt) that we will hear from her again but you never know!
The changes of scene. They globe-trotted a bit didn't they! I didn't lose track though and I don't think it was overdone.
The sprit moving. We learnt a bit about the sprit world and it was well written and comical at times.
Jonathan Tarot's magic show - great idea!! Oh and while we're on the subject John/Jonathan, bit similar aren't they?
There were plenty of other enjoyable scenes but I will leave you to discover them on your on.
This book was great. I would recommend it to children who enjoy magic and adventure books.
Things I did not like.
Sometimes P.B.Kerr seems to forget that he's writing for children and insults you by saying that anyone would know some random fact that I don't think most adults would know! On the other hand sometimes he thinks he can get away with writing random things in and all kids won't think twice because as Iblis (I think) said 'All kids are gullible and will believe anything you tell them'.
At one point Kerr completely messed up a normal person's reaction to a weird thing. Without spoiling I will try and explain. Basically this guy comes back from the dead and this woman (who I think is mundane) walks in and Nimrod literally says "Hello, this is Marco Polo who just came back from the dead. Marco, this is some nun who works here." And she stares at Marco for a moment and then OFFERS HIM A BISCUIT! :0 Yes I'm sure when you come back from the dead you would quite like a biscuit but still... :0
Also, its not that bad but I did notice that these two quotes are used A LOT. A wish is a dish that's a lot like a fish once its been eaten its harder to throw back and a wish is like a fire, it is reasonable to assume the smoke might make someone cough
Things I liked
The introduction of Faustina's character. I hope (but doubt) that we will hear from her again but you never know!
The changes of scene. They globe-trotted a bit didn't they! I didn't lose track though and I don't think it was overdone.
The sprit moving. We learnt a bit about the sprit world and it was well written and comical at times.
Jonathan Tarot's magic show - great idea!! Oh and while we're on the subject John/Jonathan, bit similar aren't they?
There were plenty of other enjoyable scenes but I will leave you to discover them on your on.
This book was great. I would recommend it to children who enjoy magic and adventure books.
March 24, 2024
Interessantes Konzept, die Zwillinge den Großteil dieses Abenteuers ohne ihre Kräfte bewältigen zu lassen. War eine spannende Abwechslung.
"Interessant" war auch die, in diesem Falle inzestuöse, Art der Kraft-Übertragung.
Ebenfalls eher unangenehm fand ich die Anziehung zwischen John und Faustina, deren Körper vielleicht nicht gealtert ist, aber die sich geistig definitiv weiterentwickelt hat.
Die Charaktere werden vor einige moralische Konflikte gestellt und auch dass Taten und Wünsche große Konsequenzen haben können, wird nochmal behandelt.
Auch dass sich mit den Nebencharakteren beschäftigt wird, hat mir gefallen. Ich mag es gerne, die Beweggründe der einzelnen Personen nachvollziehen zu können, was sich durch mehr Information durchaus vereinfacht.
Mr Rakshasas Weisheiten werden immer abstrakter - und amüsanter.
Die Storyline ist immernoch recht weit hergeholt und der historische Gastauftritt lies mich etwas verwirrt zurück, aber im Großen und Ganzen fand ich es halbwegs nachvollziehbar und auch spannend.
Er hat es sich wieder "einfach" gemacht und sich durch einige Schlupflöcher gewurschtelt, aber an Einfallsreichtum mangelt es ihm auf jedenfall nicht.
Wie bereits in den Büchern davor, konnte man durch die geschichtlichen Einblicke einiges dazu lernen. (Falls diese korrekt recherchiert sein sollten, ich hab keine Ahnung, wie viel von den erwähnten Sachen tatsächlich stimmen)
Leider sind auch hier wieder einige eher unschöne Vorurteile über verschiedene Kulturen aufgetaucht. Ich hoffe, dass das in einer späteren Auflage vielleicht überarbeitet werden konnte.
"Interessant" war auch die, in diesem Falle inzestuöse, Art der Kraft-Übertragung.
Ebenfalls eher unangenehm fand ich die Anziehung zwischen John und Faustina, deren Körper vielleicht nicht gealtert ist, aber die sich geistig definitiv weiterentwickelt hat.
Die Charaktere werden vor einige moralische Konflikte gestellt und auch dass Taten und Wünsche große Konsequenzen haben können, wird nochmal behandelt.
Auch dass sich mit den Nebencharakteren beschäftigt wird, hat mir gefallen. Ich mag es gerne, die Beweggründe der einzelnen Personen nachvollziehen zu können, was sich durch mehr Information durchaus vereinfacht.
Mr Rakshasas Weisheiten werden immer abstrakter - und amüsanter.
Die Storyline ist immernoch recht weit hergeholt und der historische Gastauftritt lies mich etwas verwirrt zurück, aber im Großen und Ganzen fand ich es halbwegs nachvollziehbar und auch spannend.
Er hat es sich wieder "einfach" gemacht und sich durch einige Schlupflöcher gewurschtelt, aber an Einfallsreichtum mangelt es ihm auf jedenfall nicht.
Wie bereits in den Büchern davor, konnte man durch die geschichtlichen Einblicke einiges dazu lernen. (Falls diese korrekt recherchiert sein sollten, ich hab keine Ahnung, wie viel von den erwähnten Sachen tatsächlich stimmen)
Leider sind auch hier wieder einige eher unschöne Vorurteile über verschiedene Kulturen aufgetaucht. Ich hoffe, dass das in einer späteren Auflage vielleicht überarbeitet werden konnte.
May 15, 2020
I remember this series being one of my childhood favourites, but coming back to it now... it's an entirely different story.
This was incredibly frustrating to read. I hated almost every character and every plot development felt like it was being forced down my throat. I really tried to finish it! But at some point, I just had to give up.
Turns out that point was page 43…
I. just. couldn’t. do. it. anymore.
This left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had really high hopes for this series, sadly I was majorly let down. ☹
This was incredibly frustrating to read. I hated almost every character and every plot development felt like it was being forced down my throat. I really tried to finish it! But at some point, I just had to give up.
Turns out that point was page 43…
I. just. couldn’t. do. it. anymore.
This left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had really high hopes for this series, sadly I was majorly let down. ☹
July 4, 2021
Like the other reviews said, this wasn't nearly as interesting as the other books from the series that kept me hooked throughout the entire story. I would have dropped it, had I not been stuck in an environment where I wasn't allowed to do anything but read, sleep, or die of boredom, for 6 hours.
The main reason I'm giving this a low rating though, is because the Chinese was completely messed up. I know there are several ways to romanize Chinese--like "Gong Hay Fat Choy" instead of "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Cantonese vs. Mandarin spelling), for example, basically meaning "Happy New Year"--but the author switches back and forth throughout the whole book, which was kind of disorienting, and some of the spellings he used I don't even think are actual ways to romanize things. Many of the phrases he used made no sense either--it's clear he used something like Google Translate for his translation, and not an actual Chinese speaker. For example, using "zi" for "stop". First of all, it's "zhi", not "zi", and while it does mean "stop", no one uses it alone--it's usually used like "ting zhi". However, to tell someone to stop, people usually just use "ting". If you say "zhi" to anyone in China, I can guarantee you're going to get some weird looks.
And at the "Dong Xi" part, I really wanted to slam my face on the desk as hard as I could, but alas, as I was required to stay quiet, I could not. "Dong Xi" literally means "thing". Kerr did address that "Dong Xi" means thing, but all the other translations he threw in, like "less than human"--they're true, but no one uses it that way. If you say "the Dong Xi are sucking up the souls" to someone, I am 100000% sure they're going to interpret it as "the things are sucking up the souls". Which, again, makes no sense and sounds kind of lame.
And there actually is a word for zombie in Chinese. “僵尸", or "jiang shi".
You can tell the author didn't spend much time on that aspect of the story. He's a pretty well-known author, does he not know a single person who speaks Chinese?
The main reason I'm giving this a low rating though, is because the Chinese was completely messed up. I know there are several ways to romanize Chinese--like "Gong Hay Fat Choy" instead of "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Cantonese vs. Mandarin spelling), for example, basically meaning "Happy New Year"--but the author switches back and forth throughout the whole book, which was kind of disorienting, and some of the spellings he used I don't even think are actual ways to romanize things. Many of the phrases he used made no sense either--it's clear he used something like Google Translate for his translation, and not an actual Chinese speaker. For example, using "zi" for "stop". First of all, it's "zhi", not "zi", and while it does mean "stop", no one uses it alone--it's usually used like "ting zhi". However, to tell someone to stop, people usually just use "ting". If you say "zhi" to anyone in China, I can guarantee you're going to get some weird looks.
And at the "Dong Xi" part, I really wanted to slam my face on the desk as hard as I could, but alas, as I was required to stay quiet, I could not. "Dong Xi" literally means "thing". Kerr did address that "Dong Xi" means thing, but all the other translations he threw in, like "less than human"--they're true, but no one uses it that way. If you say "the Dong Xi are sucking up the souls" to someone, I am 100000% sure they're going to interpret it as "the things are sucking up the souls". Which, again, makes no sense and sounds kind of lame.
And there actually is a word for zombie in Chinese. “僵尸", or "jiang shi".
You can tell the author didn't spend much time on that aspect of the story. He's a pretty well-known author, does he not know a single person who speaks Chinese?
March 31, 2008
The story its self was pretty good. A step up from book three, for sure. I can't say it was a bad book, but it had a few tragic flaws.
First among these was the fact that he used a lot of mathematical formulaic type jazz(that's as well as I can describe it). In order to do that, the story had to stop for a few pages while he explained how the math worked...and then how the character figured it out.
Second was the fact that he used a lot of Chinese, which had to be translated.
Third was the fact that he used a lot of ancient Chinese tradition and folklore, which many Westerners aren't familiar with in a story that was already heavy with Middle-Eastern folklore that Westerners aren't really familiar with. Essentially, there were a lot of places where the story stopped so that key plot elements could be explained. I hate ham-handed exposition.
The story around all this gunk was pretty good, or I'd never have finished it in three days. There are better series out there. If you've made it this far, I can guarantee that you'll want to read book five. Why? Because they left some stuff WAY open ended in the last chapter. If nothing else, you just have to find out who is in which body and where.
First among these was the fact that he used a lot of mathematical formulaic type jazz(that's as well as I can describe it). In order to do that, the story had to stop for a few pages while he explained how the math worked...and then how the character figured it out.
Second was the fact that he used a lot of Chinese, which had to be translated.
Third was the fact that he used a lot of ancient Chinese tradition and folklore, which many Westerners aren't familiar with in a story that was already heavy with Middle-Eastern folklore that Westerners aren't really familiar with. Essentially, there were a lot of places where the story stopped so that key plot elements could be explained. I hate ham-handed exposition.
The story around all this gunk was pretty good, or I'd never have finished it in three days. There are better series out there. If you've made it this far, I can guarantee that you'll want to read book five. Why? Because they left some stuff WAY open ended in the last chapter. If nothing else, you just have to find out who is in which body and where.
March 12, 2023
I'm not sure if I'm just too old for some of these series anymore, or if early-mid 2000s children's fantasy series just consistently dropped in quality as they progressed. I remember enjoying the first two books when I was in middle/high school, and later reading book 3 in college and still finding it enjoyable. They weren't super memorable but I still liked them.
Book 4 has been...a chore. It took me multiple months to finally just grit my teeth and finish, because while I was excited to start it, a lot of things just didn't work for me and I really struggled to keep going.
Some random thoughts:
- None of the kids are particularly likable in this one. Philippa and John are the least annoying, but even then they're weirdly childish despite also doing really important things to save the world. We're supposed to be sympathetic to Dybbuk but it's really difficult to be, Faustina's characterization felt really thin, and Finlay is just here as a plot device to get around the mom's curse without losing John.
- There was also that thing again--everyone has a crush on Faustina because she's pretty and it's so unnecessary. Also SUPER awkward because the two boys who think this are sharing a body at that point. Why do all kids fantasy series from this time period HAVE to include some mentions of crushes?
- The plot meanders a lot. It felt like the author wasn't that into writing this series anymore and just came up with some random stuff as he went. At least in book 3 we went to India pretty early and started getting involved in the magic part of the plot. In this one we spend a bunch of time dicking around in Europe, probably because the author doesn't actually know anything about China. Which leads to...
- The author clearly doesn't know anything about China and couldn't even be bothered to google. The romanization is weird and inconsistent, the choices of "Chinese" words are weird and incorrect, the initial story we get about the macguffin is wildly patronizing (even if the author vaguely tries to handwave it away later), the name of the hotel they stay at in China is just orientalist nonsense, one character claims no one in China knows English--I could go on for a while. Also, there's an entire chapter where Groanin is just wildly racist about Chinese people and what they eat, and the author makes a half-hearted attempt to mitigate it by having Nimrod say he doesn't mind. However, the amount of time he spends on this, the fact that Groanin and Finlay vomit a ton, and then the fact that Groanin continues to make racist jokes about this afterward that aren't really framed properly (imo), just makes the whole thing feel, well, racially insensitive at best. Not only did this author never ask anyone about the Chinese language, he just never asked anyone (not even the internet) about China the country.
- Related to this: when we finally get to China, there is basically no ambience for China the way book 3 at least tried to give Indian ambience. The only real descriptions are of the tomb, and the only other places they go are the British consulate and a restaurant, neither of which is really described. There are literally no Chinese characters involved (I guess aside from the surprise deus ex machina that shows up at the very end), and most of the time the characters are in China someone is complaining about the people eating everything, the laws on thievery being harsh, or how they can't understand or use Chinese.
- There are like 3 parallel storylines going on in this book. 1) Restoring Faustina so she can take over as the Blue Djinn, 2) the main group's adventures in finding out what's going on with the terra cotta warrior zombies, and 3) Dybbuk's obnoxious adventures as a child star. The first problem is that the Blue Djinn plotline is only very loosely related to the rest of the story. The cutaways to what the mom is doing are just not very interesting, particularly since there's literally no buildup - there's a single chapter where her whole arc is basically resolved, followed by two more random sections detailing her problems getting home (again unrelated to the main plot). The other problem is that Dybbuk's storyline, while relevant to the plot, really didn't need as much pagetime as it got, and Dybbuk being an enormous prick didn't make his chapters more bearable. We are also told fairly early on what the main secret is about Dybbuk's story, which really spoils the rest of the chapters about him.
- Finally, I felt like the overall plotline was just all over the place, and a lot of contrivance and handwaving was used. Philippa is left alone at one point with what is basically a ghost as a guardian...so she can figure out a puzzle no one else has. One character mentions talking to someone and has literally no description whatsoever, and immediately another character knows who he's talking about. We are introduced to the Chinese magic circle (in tedious detail) just so it can be tossed in as a plot device at the end, which doesn't even make use of the mathematical/puzzle element. The ending feels haphazardly thrown together, and the mom's choice at the end is honestly kind of creepy. I just...I swear the first few weren't this bad.
Anyway, I think I saw a warning in another review saying that Chinese people should probably not read this, and they were right. I have resolved to be less of a series completionist, and this is the first series I decided not to finish. Book 4 was just pretty bad, and the reviews for the rest of the series don't really give me hope.
Book 4 has been...a chore. It took me multiple months to finally just grit my teeth and finish, because while I was excited to start it, a lot of things just didn't work for me and I really struggled to keep going.
Some random thoughts:
- None of the kids are particularly likable in this one. Philippa and John are the least annoying, but even then they're weirdly childish despite also doing really important things to save the world. We're supposed to be sympathetic to Dybbuk but it's really difficult to be, Faustina's characterization felt really thin, and Finlay is just here as a plot device to get around the mom's curse without losing John.
- There was also that thing again--everyone has a crush on Faustina because she's pretty and it's so unnecessary. Also SUPER awkward because the two boys who think this are sharing a body at that point. Why do all kids fantasy series from this time period HAVE to include some mentions of crushes?
- The plot meanders a lot. It felt like the author wasn't that into writing this series anymore and just came up with some random stuff as he went. At least in book 3 we went to India pretty early and started getting involved in the magic part of the plot. In this one we spend a bunch of time dicking around in Europe, probably because the author doesn't actually know anything about China. Which leads to...
- The author clearly doesn't know anything about China and couldn't even be bothered to google. The romanization is weird and inconsistent, the choices of "Chinese" words are weird and incorrect, the initial story we get about the macguffin is wildly patronizing (even if the author vaguely tries to handwave it away later), the name of the hotel they stay at in China is just orientalist nonsense, one character claims no one in China knows English--I could go on for a while. Also, there's an entire chapter where Groanin is just wildly racist about Chinese people and what they eat, and the author makes a half-hearted attempt to mitigate it by having Nimrod say he doesn't mind. However, the amount of time he spends on this, the fact that Groanin and Finlay vomit a ton, and then the fact that Groanin continues to make racist jokes about this afterward that aren't really framed properly (imo), just makes the whole thing feel, well, racially insensitive at best. Not only did this author never ask anyone about the Chinese language, he just never asked anyone (not even the internet) about China the country.
- Related to this: when we finally get to China, there is basically no ambience for China the way book 3 at least tried to give Indian ambience. The only real descriptions are of the tomb, and the only other places they go are the British consulate and a restaurant, neither of which is really described. There are literally no Chinese characters involved (I guess aside from the surprise deus ex machina that shows up at the very end), and most of the time the characters are in China someone is complaining about the people eating everything, the laws on thievery being harsh, or how they can't understand or use Chinese.
- There are like 3 parallel storylines going on in this book. 1) Restoring Faustina so she can take over as the Blue Djinn, 2) the main group's adventures in finding out what's going on with the terra cotta warrior zombies, and 3) Dybbuk's obnoxious adventures as a child star. The first problem is that the Blue Djinn plotline is only very loosely related to the rest of the story. The cutaways to what the mom is doing are just not very interesting, particularly since there's literally no buildup - there's a single chapter where her whole arc is basically resolved, followed by two more random sections detailing her problems getting home (again unrelated to the main plot). The other problem is that Dybbuk's storyline, while relevant to the plot, really didn't need as much pagetime as it got, and Dybbuk being an enormous prick didn't make his chapters more bearable. We are also told fairly early on what the main secret is about Dybbuk's story, which really spoils the rest of the chapters about him.
- Finally, I felt like the overall plotline was just all over the place, and a lot of contrivance and handwaving was used. Philippa is left alone at one point with what is basically a ghost as a guardian...so she can figure out a puzzle no one else has. One character mentions talking to someone and has literally no description whatsoever, and immediately another character knows who he's talking about. We are introduced to the Chinese magic circle (in tedious detail) just so it can be tossed in as a plot device at the end, which doesn't even make use of the mathematical/puzzle element. The ending feels haphazardly thrown together, and the mom's choice at the end is honestly kind of creepy. I just...I swear the first few weren't this bad.
Anyway, I think I saw a warning in another review saying that Chinese people should probably not read this, and they were right. I have resolved to be less of a series completionist, and this is the first series I decided not to finish. Book 4 was just pretty bad, and the reviews for the rest of the series don't really give me hope.
December 30, 2010
Kerr needs better research into the Chinese language. Some of the descriptions and usage are wrong or awkward. Claims no such "zombie" word in Mandarin even though it could be found in Chinese mythology.
The Marco Polo history is a little interesting even though there were plot holes. The major inconsistency was that there's no explanation nor reference of the evil djinns found at the Xian site as mentioned in a previous book.
Not one of the best book in the series. (listened to story on CD)
The Marco Polo history is a little interesting even though there were plot holes. The major inconsistency was that there's no explanation nor reference of the evil djinns found at the Xian site as mentioned in a previous book.
Not one of the best book in the series. (listened to story on CD)
May 30, 2013
it was REALLY CREEPY but it was probably my favorite of the 4 children of the lamp books that i have
read. And i really like the Dong Xi warriors. they are trying reunite Faustina's spirit with her body so she can be the blue djinn of Babylon instead of Layla, John and Philippa Gaunt's mother. And they have to stop the dong xi warriors from absorbing more spirits. 4th book in the children of the lamp series and my favorite one of the 4 books that i have read:)
- review by Tyler, 8.5 years old
read. And i really like the Dong Xi warriors. they are trying reunite Faustina's spirit with her body so she can be the blue djinn of Babylon instead of Layla, John and Philippa Gaunt's mother. And they have to stop the dong xi warriors from absorbing more spirits. 4th book in the children of the lamp series and my favorite one of the 4 books that i have read:)
- review by Tyler, 8.5 years old
June 23, 2021
Înainte de a pleca din New York spre Irak, să-şi preia funcţia de Djinn Albastru al Babilonului, cel mai puternic djinn din lume, Layla Gaunt a aruncat o vrajă de legare Matusalem asupra soţului ei, Edward, astfel încât să-i oprească pe copiii ei, gemenii John şi Philippa, să vină după ea. Se ştie că Matusalem este cea mai vârstnică persoană menţionată în Biblie. Şi, aşa cum v-aţi putea aştepta, o vrajă de legare Matusalem face ca o persoană să îmbătrânească şi să înainteze în vârstă foarte repede.
În mod normal, doamna Gaunt nu şi-ar fi supus soţul unei sorţi atât de cumplite. Vraja de legare fusese menită să funcţioneze numai în absenţa gemenilor. Doamna Gaunt nu voise decât să-i împiedice pe gemeni s-o şteargă de acasă şi să umble haimana spre Babilon, în căutarea ei. Domnul Gaunt n-ar fi îmbătrânit în nici un caz mai repede, dacă ambii copii ar fi rămas acasă. Dar când aruncase asupra lui vraja de legare, doamna Gaunt habar n-avusese de faptul că siluetele despre care credea că sunt gemenii erau, în realitate, două imitaţii perfecte, create de un înger, pe nume Afriel, ca să le servească drept acoperire adevăraţilor copii, care se aflau în Nepal şi în India, prinşi într-o aventură. În consecinţă, când gemenii s-au întors, în sfârşit, la casa lor de pe strada 77 Est, bietul lor tată era deja un om foarte bătrân.
Cuvântul „ramolisment” n-ar putea nici pe departe să descrie felul în care arăta el, atunci când l-au revăzut. Fiinţe omeneşti – fiindcă, spre deosebire de soţia şi de copiii săi, Edward Gaunt era doar un om obişnuit, într-un scaun cu rotile, din pricină că picioarele lui, subţiri ca două fuse, erau acum prea nevolnice ca să-l mai poată susţine, şi înfofolit cu un şal din tartan, ca să-l apere de răcoarea primăverii din New York, era greu să-l asociezi pe domnul Gaunt de acum cu tatăl pe care-l cunoscuseră gemenii. Într-adevăr, abia mai aducea a om – semăna mai degrabă cu o creatură dintr-un film de groază vechi.
John aprecie că tatăl lui părea de optzeci de ani. În realitate, îmbătrânise atât de tare, încât arăta de parcă ar fi avut două sute cincizeci de ani. Domnul Gaunt era de departe cea mai bătrână fiinţă cu înfăţişare umană care a existat vreodată de la Matusalem încoace.
Nimrod, un alt djinn puternic, unchiul lui John şi al Philippei, era de părere că atâta vreme cât gemenii rămâneau aproape de tatăl lor, vraja de legare a doamnei Gaunt n-ar mai fi avansat.
— După o vreme, afirmase el, legarea asta se va întoarce de la sine şi tatăl vostru va începe să întinerească la loc. Cel mai important lucru este să rămâneţi cu el, aici, în New York. Fireşte că o să stau şi eu cu voi, în loc să mă întorc la mine acasă, în Londra.
Domnul Rakshasas, tot un djinn, şi el destul de bătrân, având cel puţin o sută cincizeci de ani – fiindcă djinnii trăiesc mult mai mult decât oamenii – fusese de acord cu Nimrod, referitor la reversibilitatea legării. Vorbind cu gemenii dinăuntrul lămpii antice din alamă în care locuia, el le recomandă să-i ceară sfatul doctorului de djinni Jenny Sachertorte.
În mod normal, doamna Gaunt nu şi-ar fi supus soţul unei sorţi atât de cumplite. Vraja de legare fusese menită să funcţioneze numai în absenţa gemenilor. Doamna Gaunt nu voise decât să-i împiedice pe gemeni s-o şteargă de acasă şi să umble haimana spre Babilon, în căutarea ei. Domnul Gaunt n-ar fi îmbătrânit în nici un caz mai repede, dacă ambii copii ar fi rămas acasă. Dar când aruncase asupra lui vraja de legare, doamna Gaunt habar n-avusese de faptul că siluetele despre care credea că sunt gemenii erau, în realitate, două imitaţii perfecte, create de un înger, pe nume Afriel, ca să le servească drept acoperire adevăraţilor copii, care se aflau în Nepal şi în India, prinşi într-o aventură. În consecinţă, când gemenii s-au întors, în sfârşit, la casa lor de pe strada 77 Est, bietul lor tată era deja un om foarte bătrân.
Cuvântul „ramolisment” n-ar putea nici pe departe să descrie felul în care arăta el, atunci când l-au revăzut. Fiinţe omeneşti – fiindcă, spre deosebire de soţia şi de copiii săi, Edward Gaunt era doar un om obişnuit, într-un scaun cu rotile, din pricină că picioarele lui, subţiri ca două fuse, erau acum prea nevolnice ca să-l mai poată susţine, şi înfofolit cu un şal din tartan, ca să-l apere de răcoarea primăverii din New York, era greu să-l asociezi pe domnul Gaunt de acum cu tatăl pe care-l cunoscuseră gemenii. Într-adevăr, abia mai aducea a om – semăna mai degrabă cu o creatură dintr-un film de groază vechi.
John aprecie că tatăl lui părea de optzeci de ani. În realitate, îmbătrânise atât de tare, încât arăta de parcă ar fi avut două sute cincizeci de ani. Domnul Gaunt era de departe cea mai bătrână fiinţă cu înfăţişare umană care a existat vreodată de la Matusalem încoace.
Nimrod, un alt djinn puternic, unchiul lui John şi al Philippei, era de părere că atâta vreme cât gemenii rămâneau aproape de tatăl lor, vraja de legare a doamnei Gaunt n-ar mai fi avansat.
— După o vreme, afirmase el, legarea asta se va întoarce de la sine şi tatăl vostru va începe să întinerească la loc. Cel mai important lucru este să rămâneţi cu el, aici, în New York. Fireşte că o să stau şi eu cu voi, în loc să mă întorc la mine acasă, în Londra.
Domnul Rakshasas, tot un djinn, şi el destul de bătrân, având cel puţin o sută cincizeci de ani – fiindcă djinnii trăiesc mult mai mult decât oamenii – fusese de acord cu Nimrod, referitor la reversibilitatea legării. Vorbind cu gemenii dinăuntrul lămpii antice din alamă în care locuia, el le recomandă să-i ceară sfatul doctorului de djinni Jenny Sachertorte.
February 10, 2018
„ - Atunci când am folosit denumirea de zombi, tocmai caracteristicile despre care vorbeai tu le-am avut în minte: târșâitul picioarelor și lipsa de creier, explică Faustina. În privința asta, și tu ai putea să fii un zombi, John.” O să iau un moment pentru acest citat, fiindcă ar fi păcat să nu îl menționez aici.
M-a prins și de data aceasta povestea și sunt curioasă ce se va mai întâmpla mai departe, acum că Faustina va deveni Djinnul Albastru, mama gemenilor și-a pierdut trupul din cauza acelei erupții vulcanice și faptul că Iblis și unul din fiii săi au sfârșit întemnițați în acele costume din jad pe care le făcuseră cu intenția de a deveni imuni.
M-a prins și de data aceasta povestea și sunt curioasă ce se va mai întâmpla mai departe, acum că Faustina va deveni Djinnul Albastru, mama gemenilor și-a pierdut trupul din cauza acelei erupții vulcanice și faptul că Iblis și unul din fiii săi au sfârșit întemnițați în acele costume din jad pe care le făcuseră cu intenția de a deveni imuni.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2020
Some things to consider in this book are the plot holes. If I wasn’t reading straight through from book to book, I may not have noticed how, for example, Gronnins arms that are supper strong are now down to one arm. Perhaps the author had intended only one arm to be strong but I’d think he would just go with how he played grinning in the last book.
Also odd how the kids were running to a few McMuffins that suddenly helped them when they were in a bind. Just because the kids are djinn and their power affects luck shouldn’t mean they can’t just get out of a scenario by chance (which Nimrod himself said isn’t real). This includes random friends from other books just showing up.
But the story was interesting to see a kind of djinn doomsday device that a Bond villain.
Also odd how the kids were running to a few McMuffins that suddenly helped them when they were in a bind. Just because the kids are djinn and their power affects luck shouldn’t mean they can’t just get out of a scenario by chance (which Nimrod himself said isn’t real). This includes random friends from other books just showing up.
But the story was interesting to see a kind of djinn doomsday device that a Bond villain.
July 20, 2025
Das vierte Buch der Serie, führt uns an verschiedene schauplätze, wobei besonders China zu erwähnen ist. Wir erfahren einiges über die Geschichte der terrakottakrieger und Marco Polo und begleiten die Zwillinge wieder durch ein spannendes Abenteuer. Diesmal geht es auch sehr viel um ihre Mutter Layla und ihren Freund Dybbuk, sowie dessen Geheimnis um seine tote Schwester Faustina. Für mich ein sehr gutes Buch, das nun auch die schwierigeren Themen wie Tod, Verlust und Verrat; aber auch die Liebe aus jugendlicher Sicht miteinbindet.
November 29, 2017
A fiction story about genies and wishes.
March 13, 2018
cool story!
January 30, 2020
So far my least favorite of the series. There is so much that happens, and it's all connected by a very thin thread requiring quite a bit of suspension of disbelief.
March 7, 2020
This book series is sooo funny, there have been many moments where I cannot stop laughing like when Groanin got stung by that bee. I really love how there are several funny moments in these books.
April 25, 2020
Not as good as its predecessors, but still a good fantasy story.
December 31, 2020
Love a good dose of fantasy every now and then!
August 24, 2023
Nice book
May 6, 2025
Finishing a series I enjoyed in my childhood but never finished. I love the concept but am noticing it’s a little xenophobic. Regardless, I’m determined to finish the series!
September 21, 2015
To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with this one. I'm starting to agree with some of the other reviews I've read: I really don't know how this series is going to drag on for another three books. The storyline didn't grip me because they seemed just to be solving some kind of vague old mystery for no reason. One of the characters did say something like: "Why are we trying to solve this mystery anyway? I just want to go home and see mom. . ." then Nimrod replied: "Because, John, old mysteries like this are not to be left alone. They carry ancient and powerful magic." And I was like: "OK, so I'm reading this book because of that? They need a better reason." I think the reason I actually did persevere is because of the weird thing that was happening to Dybbuk/Jonathan Tarot. That storyline was moderately entertaining, but ended, sorry - stopped suddenly and not very well at all. (and, just one little thing - what is it with all the John/Jons in this book! I think P.B. Kerr must like that name and doesn't realize that he gives it to almost every male minor character. There was; John (main character), Jonathan (moderately main character's new name), Jon (minor character who was somebody's hairdresser), John (some author one of the characters mentions). . . I could go on! There was too many Johns!)
When the book started off, after last book's epic final line and dilemma that I was looking forward to being solved, I wondered if the series was losing it's charm. My favourite characters went sort of strange and everything was going wrong for the characters. It was basically just a bit of a downer at that point.
Then it started to pick up as the twins went adventuring off around the globe as usual. Soon all the djinn were leaving their bodies and becoming spirits all over the place. I couldn't stop thinking: This is so weird. At one point three people were sharing a body, and it was beyond strange. Also, the author is seriously rubbish at writing normal people's reactions to extraordinary things. At one point a man who'd been dead for who knows how long came back to life just because his bones were laid out on the floor in a magical way or something like that. A woman who was not a djinn or anything came in and didn't seem in the slightest weirded out that a man from thousands of years ago had come back to life!
I didn't think John and Faustina's relationship added anything to the tale, and didn't John have a crush on some girl in the last book?! Of course, that went nowhere and it doesn't look like this one will be either. I just hope this isn't becoming a habit for John; it's sort of weird. I also found the trail from Phillipa granting that policeman guy's wish to a volcano erupting, totally ridiculous and childish (I know that's random but I wanted to mention it).
So then in the next part of the story, we got onto the main mystery. I found it really sloppily planned and not very well written. The whole ancient-mystery-of-hauntings-and-stolen-stuff-from-museums-thing didn't grab me. The author also kept writing in new random people from all different times in history with complicated names that I couldn't remember. It was so confusing so that when this guy came near the end, the main characters were all like: "It's you!" "Where did you come from?" "We thought you were dead!" etc, and I didn't have the faintest idea who the man was.
All of the storylines were wrapped up, in general, poorly. They just seemed to either fix themselves in an instant, stop randomly with no closure, or just be too easy after all the build-up. The end of the book itself was also a bit of a let down. The last chapter was really sloppy as if the author just threw it together with no planning. After the really cool end line in the previous book, this one just felt like a random phrase. Not a good one to end a book with.
OK, I've been being a bit negative in this review. I did rate it 3 stars and there were some bits I did enjoy, like the whole spirit thing, which was infinitely weird, but kinda cool at the same time. It was interesting and enjoyable in it's own way, just not in all parts. I am going to continue with the series though and just pray that the next ones make up for this one :) (oh, and one more thing, the title for this book was in no way appropriate, they should have called it The Minute of The Clay Warriors because the warriors weren't djinn and it wasn't a day, it was more like a minute!)
When the book started off, after last book's epic final line and dilemma that I was looking forward to being solved, I wondered if the series was losing it's charm. My favourite characters went sort of strange and everything was going wrong for the characters. It was basically just a bit of a downer at that point.
Then it started to pick up as the twins went adventuring off around the globe as usual. Soon all the djinn were leaving their bodies and becoming spirits all over the place. I couldn't stop thinking: This is so weird. At one point three people were sharing a body, and it was beyond strange. Also, the author is seriously rubbish at writing normal people's reactions to extraordinary things. At one point a man who'd been dead for who knows how long came back to life just because his bones were laid out on the floor in a magical way or something like that. A woman who was not a djinn or anything came in and didn't seem in the slightest weirded out that a man from thousands of years ago had come back to life!
I didn't think John and Faustina's relationship added anything to the tale, and didn't John have a crush on some girl in the last book?! Of course, that went nowhere and it doesn't look like this one will be either. I just hope this isn't becoming a habit for John; it's sort of weird. I also found the trail from Phillipa granting that policeman guy's wish to a volcano erupting, totally ridiculous and childish (I know that's random but I wanted to mention it).
So then in the next part of the story, we got onto the main mystery. I found it really sloppily planned and not very well written. The whole ancient-mystery-of-hauntings-and-stolen-stuff-from-museums-thing didn't grab me. The author also kept writing in new random people from all different times in history with complicated names that I couldn't remember. It was so confusing so that when this guy came near the end, the main characters were all like: "It's you!" "Where did you come from?" "We thought you were dead!" etc, and I didn't have the faintest idea who the man was.
All of the storylines were wrapped up, in general, poorly. They just seemed to either fix themselves in an instant, stop randomly with no closure, or just be too easy after all the build-up. The end of the book itself was also a bit of a let down. The last chapter was really sloppy as if the author just threw it together with no planning. After the really cool end line in the previous book, this one just felt like a random phrase. Not a good one to end a book with.
OK, I've been being a bit negative in this review. I did rate it 3 stars and there were some bits I did enjoy, like the whole spirit thing, which was infinitely weird, but kinda cool at the same time. It was interesting and enjoyable in it's own way, just not in all parts. I am going to continue with the series though and just pray that the next ones make up for this one :) (oh, and one more thing, the title for this book was in no way appropriate, they should have called it The Minute of The Clay Warriors because the warriors weren't djinn and it wasn't a day, it was more like a minute!)
January 22, 2023
Considering how ‘djinn’ is pronounced I don’t know if this one’s title is as alliterative as Kerr hoped.
Coming to this one, I think that it’s quite obvious that Kerr has a tendency to exoticize cultures that aren’t modern American/British, and I’m not sure how I feel about that? The practices of keeping saints’ relics in Italy and the wide diet of the Chinese are both treated as very weird things; then again, they’re not treated as *bad*. In the case of different things eaten in China, neither Nimrod nor John act like it’s a bad thing, just different from what they’re used to, and the one with the most visceral reaction is Groanin, a stick-in-the-mud stuffy type (it’s in his NAME) who dislikes any food that isn’t English.
It’s worth noting that probably for a lot of readers, who are children, this is probably the first exposure they get to these cultures, so I’m not sure how they’ll come away from that? Will they pick up the subtleties, or just say, “The people in China eat what?? EW!”
In terms of story, this installment is mostly solid. There is what I think is a pretty wild coincidence which is not completely out there in the series, but still stretches credulity and makes me think: “Wow, Kerr just really wanted this thing to happen, Plot be damned, huh?” Because really? A granted food wish leads to a volcano erupting and vaporizing someone? That’s a bit out there.
I liked this one better than the last installment, which felt a bit more like filler. I’m not thrilled with every Plot development, but I am glad that Kerr wants to take risks and show real danger, while trying out new things. So I shall see where this series goes!
Coming to this one, I think that it’s quite obvious that Kerr has a tendency to exoticize cultures that aren’t modern American/British, and I’m not sure how I feel about that? The practices of keeping saints’ relics in Italy and the wide diet of the Chinese are both treated as very weird things; then again, they’re not treated as *bad*. In the case of different things eaten in China, neither Nimrod nor John act like it’s a bad thing, just different from what they’re used to, and the one with the most visceral reaction is Groanin, a stick-in-the-mud stuffy type (it’s in his NAME) who dislikes any food that isn’t English.
It’s worth noting that probably for a lot of readers, who are children, this is probably the first exposure they get to these cultures, so I’m not sure how they’ll come away from that? Will they pick up the subtleties, or just say, “The people in China eat what?? EW!”
In terms of story, this installment is mostly solid. There is what I think is a pretty wild coincidence which is not completely out there in the series, but still stretches credulity and makes me think: “Wow, Kerr just really wanted this thing to happen, Plot be damned, huh?” Because really? A granted food wish leads to a volcano erupting and vaporizing someone? That’s a bit out there.
I liked this one better than the last installment, which felt a bit more like filler. I’m not thrilled with every Plot development, but I am glad that Kerr wants to take risks and show real danger, while trying out new things. So I shall see where this series goes!
December 31, 2020
This review is actually 4.9 stars.
I like the book. It gets you interested, and has great plots. The only thing - I wish they didn't kill off that character. He wasn't one of the most important main characters (John and Philippa) but he was to some degree a main character. Otherwise, it is great.
I like the book. It gets you interested, and has great plots. The only thing - I wish they didn't kill off that character. He wasn't one of the most important main characters (John and Philippa) but he was to some degree a main character. Otherwise, it is great.
August 22, 2018
John and Philippa Gaunt have to outwit the wicked Iblis and they attempt to rescue their mother from her fate as the Blue Djinn of Babylon (a djinn that is beyond good and evil, who has powers over all.) There is only one way to ensure that their mother doesn't succumb to this fate, and that is to find the true successor to the last Blue Djinn of Babylon, the sister of their friend, Dybbuk Sachertorte, Faustina. They 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 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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2013
1st Reactions: This book is different from Tamora Pierce which I just finished reading. In fact in the past few months, I've read 22 books by Tamora Pierce and P. B. Kerr has a different style then she does.
P. B. Kerr's books (the ones that I've read so far) are targeted to a younger audience I think I'd say. The words are more simple and there isn't as much detail as in Twilight or New Moon, but the books are still entertaining.
There is a sorta slow humor and this book is the forth in a series I've read as they've been published because it's nice to remember that you can still be a kid where there is such thing as magic and 3 wishes.
The characters are lovable and believable as well as the fact that they end up travelling the world is quite entertaining.
All in all I enjoyed this book.
P. B. Kerr's books (the ones that I've read so far) are targeted to a younger audience I think I'd say. The words are more simple and there isn't as much detail as in Twilight or New Moon, but the books are still entertaining.
There is a sorta slow humor and this book is the forth in a series I've read as they've been published because it's nice to remember that you can still be a kid where there is such thing as magic and 3 wishes.
The characters are lovable and believable as well as the fact that they end up travelling the world is quite entertaining.
All in all I enjoyed this book.
January 28, 2009
Not as good as the others, or perhaps i just missed listening to the narrator!
Twins Philippa and John have only recently found out they have djinn power. A discovery that has lead to many adventures with their Uncle Nimrod. In this fourth book, in the bestselling series, the twins are up against new challenges as they race against time to save their mother from become the cold-hearted Blue Djinn of Babylon, stop the aging curse on their father and find out why museums in different countries are reporting hauntings and robberies.
Follow John and Philippa as a new globe-trotting escapade begins, taking them from America to England, Venice and finally China in their attempt to avert disaster.
Twins Philippa and John have only recently found out they have djinn power. A discovery that has lead to many adventures with their Uncle Nimrod. In this fourth book, in the bestselling series, the twins are up against new challenges as they race against time to save their mother from become the cold-hearted Blue Djinn of Babylon, stop the aging curse on their father and find out why museums in different countries are reporting hauntings and robberies.
Follow John and Philippa as a new globe-trotting escapade begins, taking them from America to England, Venice and finally China in their attempt to avert disaster.
June 26, 2009
This was an exciting, and well-written adventure following the Gaunt twins, two Djinn living in current day New York. As in the first three novels, we are taken on a whirlwind tour of the world and are exposed to some great geography lessons and cultural information.
What sets this one apart from the first three is that Kerr seems to have found his stride with his writing. There were times, the first three felt a little awkward, but that has disappeared in this novel. It's as though he stopped struggling with what he thought a young-person's novel should sound like and just wrote what he wanted to write.
This book makes if fully worth your time to read the first three to obtain the history of the twins, their family and friends.
What sets this one apart from the first three is that Kerr seems to have found his stride with his writing. There were times, the first three felt a little awkward, but that has disappeared in this novel. It's as though he stopped struggling with what he thought a young-person's novel should sound like and just wrote what he wanted to write.
This book makes if fully worth your time to read the first three to obtain the history of the twins, their family and friends.
July 13, 2009
I don't know what to say besides I love this YA series! I guess that it's fantasy. In this book, #4 of the Children of the Lamp, djinn twins John and Philippa race to save their mother from becoming the Blue Djinn of Babylon and forever being beyond their lives. On the way other things are happening, though. Who is stealing jade from museums all over the world? Why are ghosts being reported in museums all over the world? It ends up being another break-neck race for the twins and their Uncle Nimrod to save the mundane (uh, that's human) world from an evil plot masterminded by the evilist djinn of all. I love how the author takes things that we all know and take for granted and applies a magical reason for their being!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews