My reaction to Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure, is that it was a pretty good book, one I would probably read once or twice again, but not up there with my all time favorites. But a pretty solid ranking, so, you know, pretty good book. I think part of the reason I didn't give it a higher ranking may be because I have never read the author, P.B. Kerr, before. Since I generally read by author (by series, usually), I think I may be more biased against a new author than one I've read before, like Gary Paulsen, who I have read many books by him. But I really do think that other people might like this book.
I think I would recommend this book more towards the type of people who seem to like the more sort of realistic fantasy. I'm not saying that djinn are real, I'm just saying it's more realistic (at least to me), then say, something like The Chronicles of Narnia. I just mean that djinn seem more real than some magical kingdom hidden in some wardrobe. So I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who hates fantasy or wants a scientific answer to every little thing he or she reads. But to almost anyone else, I think that they might like this book. And this can sort of be a change of pace from some high flying action adventure book, just in the fact that it seems just to move a little slower. All in all, a pretty universal book, something everybody could like.
As for reading more books by the author, P.B. Kerr, I think it's entirely possible that I might. Like I said earlier, I usually tend to read series', so this falls right in that category. (If you can't tell, the series is Children of the Lamp. It confused me at first, too.) And this was his first childrens' book, too, so I think that he'll just get better as the series goes on.
But for reading other books about djinn and/or genies, that's entirely possible. I'm not saying I'm going to run out and read all however many pages there are of Arabian Nights, but if some other book caught my eye, I'm not going to skip over it just because it's about djinn and/or genies, whatever the book decides to call them. To summarize, I thought it was a pretty good book, and I think that almost anyone could enjoy it.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
January Book Report, Pt. 5
There are a lot of conflicts in Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure. I mean, duh, there's going to be. Think about it: book with the balance of the world somebody's hands, there's got to be some huge conflicts. Most of the conflicts in this story were external.
We'll start with the most glaringly obvious conflict ever: good versus evil with control of the world as the victor's prize. One of the biggest conflicts possible, short of universal dominance in the balance. This conflict is pretty basically explained, mostly by Nimrod simply telling the twins this, after showing them the homeostasis. I mean, it's basically, 'Hey, you want to know why we have to go Egypt? Because if we don't, evil might rule the world.' I don't really think you can be much more blunt than that, short of renting a huge billboard and proclaiming it to anyone who drives by. Back to the conflict, the twins and Nimrod attack the conflict by flying to Egypt, where they eventually find out that the "seventy lost djinn of Akhenaten," (yep, that's where the title comes in), are actually contained in one of the royal scepters that Akhenaten, a former ruler of ancient Egypt in the Eighteenth Dynasty, used. This is a problem, because there are at least four scepters from the Eighteenth Dynasty known to be in existence, housed around the world in various museums, most importantly (to the story), the Cairo Museum and the British Museum, in London, which is conveniently where Nimrod lives. Moving on, since the one in the Cairo Museum had already been broken, that was a dead end.
So, the small group flies back from London, where they eventually free the 'lost djinn,' bind them to the side of good, and trap Akhenaten's ghost into a canopic jar. The only problem is, they trap Nimrod in there, too. This is where the next external conflict comes in: how to get Nimrod out, while still trapping the ghost in? John eventually comes up with the idea of going to the North Pole (since djinn powers weaken with cold), and helping Nimrod out and leaving the ghost in. They eventually succeed, not without a lot of luck, but they still succeed. This is pretty much the last conflict in the story.
In my mind, I think that I would've handled the conflicts the same way. Since Nimrod basically leads the investigation, I wouldn't have had to do much in Egypt. But I'm not sure I would've been able to think of going to the North Pole to release Nimrod. However, I think that if someone else would come up with the idea I would probably have handled it the same.
We'll start with the most glaringly obvious conflict ever: good versus evil with control of the world as the victor's prize. One of the biggest conflicts possible, short of universal dominance in the balance. This conflict is pretty basically explained, mostly by Nimrod simply telling the twins this, after showing them the homeostasis. I mean, it's basically, 'Hey, you want to know why we have to go Egypt? Because if we don't, evil might rule the world.' I don't really think you can be much more blunt than that, short of renting a huge billboard and proclaiming it to anyone who drives by. Back to the conflict, the twins and Nimrod attack the conflict by flying to Egypt, where they eventually find out that the "seventy lost djinn of Akhenaten," (yep, that's where the title comes in), are actually contained in one of the royal scepters that Akhenaten, a former ruler of ancient Egypt in the Eighteenth Dynasty, used. This is a problem, because there are at least four scepters from the Eighteenth Dynasty known to be in existence, housed around the world in various museums, most importantly (to the story), the Cairo Museum and the British Museum, in London, which is conveniently where Nimrod lives. Moving on, since the one in the Cairo Museum had already been broken, that was a dead end.
So, the small group flies back from London, where they eventually free the 'lost djinn,' bind them to the side of good, and trap Akhenaten's ghost into a canopic jar. The only problem is, they trap Nimrod in there, too. This is where the next external conflict comes in: how to get Nimrod out, while still trapping the ghost in? John eventually comes up with the idea of going to the North Pole (since djinn powers weaken with cold), and helping Nimrod out and leaving the ghost in. They eventually succeed, not without a lot of luck, but they still succeed. This is pretty much the last conflict in the story.
In my mind, I think that I would've handled the conflicts the same way. Since Nimrod basically leads the investigation, I wouldn't have had to do much in Egypt. But I'm not sure I would've been able to think of going to the North Pole to release Nimrod. However, I think that if someone else would come up with the idea I would probably have handled it the same.
January Book Report, Pt. 4
Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure has a few different themes, at least that I saw. Some were the kind that were glaringly obvious, but some were a little bit harder to see. The biggest one theme, I think, has to be that there are things that are more important in this world than just one person.
The reason I thought that this was such a big one is the fact that, throughout the entire book, the twins are still just 12 years old. If going on a cross-continent adventure with plenty of danger to possibly save the world is hard for somebody who's done it before, just imagine how hard it is to do it at 12 years old. I mean, in this entire school, how many people have even been off this continent? Probably a good chunk, but it was probably for vacation, hey, no pressure there. Anyways, if I had to go on this trip, I probably would've quit after the first part of the journey, right after a king cobra is found on John's suitcase handle. But even if I somehow stuck it out after that, I definitely would've quit after Nimrod is captured and imprisoned by Iblis. That's just too much for me. But somewhere along the line, I think John and Phillipa figured out that this adventure was bigger than just the two of them being scared, it was about protecting the world from all of the bad luck that could happen if they simply got scared and just quit.
I think this book sort of reminds me of a lot of others, theme-wise, in the fact that people learn some things are bigger than themselves. But this is the first one that I have read that has done it with djinn. Sure, there are books about wizards, normal kids with no powers whatsoever, talking animals, but I have never read about djinn before this. I mean, Arabian Nights, which is mentioned several times in the book, obviously has some genies, but I personally have never read it, and I don't think too many other middle schoolers have, either.
One of the smaller themes I noticed is almost the same as the first one I mentioned, but not quite: learning to face your fears. For instance, like I noted earlier, Nimrod was trapped in an ancient tomb, and since djinn are claustrophobic, you can see the issues. But he manages to stick it out, and it works out. Another time, Phillipa is scared of mice, but when she tests the headband in the French person's hair (which is really a snake), she has to conjure up one to trick it into revealing itself.
The reason I thought that this was such a big one is the fact that, throughout the entire book, the twins are still just 12 years old. If going on a cross-continent adventure with plenty of danger to possibly save the world is hard for somebody who's done it before, just imagine how hard it is to do it at 12 years old. I mean, in this entire school, how many people have even been off this continent? Probably a good chunk, but it was probably for vacation, hey, no pressure there. Anyways, if I had to go on this trip, I probably would've quit after the first part of the journey, right after a king cobra is found on John's suitcase handle. But even if I somehow stuck it out after that, I definitely would've quit after Nimrod is captured and imprisoned by Iblis. That's just too much for me. But somewhere along the line, I think John and Phillipa figured out that this adventure was bigger than just the two of them being scared, it was about protecting the world from all of the bad luck that could happen if they simply got scared and just quit.
I think this book sort of reminds me of a lot of others, theme-wise, in the fact that people learn some things are bigger than themselves. But this is the first one that I have read that has done it with djinn. Sure, there are books about wizards, normal kids with no powers whatsoever, talking animals, but I have never read about djinn before this. I mean, Arabian Nights, which is mentioned several times in the book, obviously has some genies, but I personally have never read it, and I don't think too many other middle schoolers have, either.
One of the smaller themes I noticed is almost the same as the first one I mentioned, but not quite: learning to face your fears. For instance, like I noted earlier, Nimrod was trapped in an ancient tomb, and since djinn are claustrophobic, you can see the issues. But he manages to stick it out, and it works out. Another time, Phillipa is scared of mice, but when she tests the headband in the French person's hair (which is really a snake), she has to conjure up one to trick it into revealing itself.
January Book Report, Pt. 3
The setting of this book, Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure, is very important to the story. It takes place in the present, probably a few years ago, like 2005. There are three main settings, and a fourth sort of important one, but it was a short time frame so I didn't consider it main. The first setting is in New York City. The second main setting is Egypt, and the last significant one is the United Kingdom. And finally the fourth setting is the Arctic Circle.
I'll go in order, starting with New York City. This setting isn't nearly as important as Egypt or the United Kingdom, but is more important than the Arctic Circle. The reasons are that NYC wouldn't be important unless the twins had their wisdom teeth removed there (djinn powers start after removal of the wisdom teeth). So that in itself is important enough to mention New York City, because without them being djinn, none of this story could happen.
Next is Egypt, more specifically Cairo and the surrounding areas and desert. This is easily the most important setting of the story, by far. There are many reasons Egypt was so important, with the big one being that the Egyptian stele, the object that could change the balance of good and bad luck throughout the world is there, which is half the reason that Nimrod, (the twins' uncle, also a djinn) took them there. The other half is that Egypt is the best place to train djinn, because of the very hot temperatures, which all djinn love because heat strengthens their powers. So Egypt is doubly important. If the stele was in, say, someplace like Russia, that would not be good, since the cold would not only not let the twins train, it would also virtually sap their and Nimrod's powers.
The United Kingdom is important as well, because that's where the stele led the group, to find the scepter, which contained the seventy 'lost djinn,' which ultimately tipped the homeostasis towards good, so without that, evil wins, no point to story, no more books after this, but now there is a point, more books after this one. It is also where Nimrod lives, and where the twins learned they were djinn.
Last is somewhere in the Arctic Circle, which is necessary to mention because that's where they pull Nimrod out of the jar while imprisoning Akhenaten's ghost forever in the Arctic Ocean. But that's it all they do there.
So basically the setting is very important to the book, including the time, because since the time frame is recent they can use planes and modern technology. Without it, the trips would be a lot harder to carry out.
I'll go in order, starting with New York City. This setting isn't nearly as important as Egypt or the United Kingdom, but is more important than the Arctic Circle. The reasons are that NYC wouldn't be important unless the twins had their wisdom teeth removed there (djinn powers start after removal of the wisdom teeth). So that in itself is important enough to mention New York City, because without them being djinn, none of this story could happen.
Next is Egypt, more specifically Cairo and the surrounding areas and desert. This is easily the most important setting of the story, by far. There are many reasons Egypt was so important, with the big one being that the Egyptian stele, the object that could change the balance of good and bad luck throughout the world is there, which is half the reason that Nimrod, (the twins' uncle, also a djinn) took them there. The other half is that Egypt is the best place to train djinn, because of the very hot temperatures, which all djinn love because heat strengthens their powers. So Egypt is doubly important. If the stele was in, say, someplace like Russia, that would not be good, since the cold would not only not let the twins train, it would also virtually sap their and Nimrod's powers.
The United Kingdom is important as well, because that's where the stele led the group, to find the scepter, which contained the seventy 'lost djinn,' which ultimately tipped the homeostasis towards good, so without that, evil wins, no point to story, no more books after this, but now there is a point, more books after this one. It is also where Nimrod lives, and where the twins learned they were djinn.
Last is somewhere in the Arctic Circle, which is necessary to mention because that's where they pull Nimrod out of the jar while imprisoning Akhenaten's ghost forever in the Arctic Ocean. But that's it all they do there.
So basically the setting is very important to the book, including the time, because since the time frame is recent they can use planes and modern technology. Without it, the trips would be a lot harder to carry out.
January Book Report, Pt. 2
Now I have finished the book Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure. At the end, John and Phillipa have changed a lot. Like a ton. The biggest difference is that they actually know they're djinn, and can use their powers now, but there's some other changes I noticed too.
This time we'll start with Phillipa, since we started with John last time. Her other noticeable change has been from being the shy little braniac nerd girl into being, for lack of better words, more normal. She's still smart (nothing wrong with that), but she is now more outgoing, which (in books) generally seems to happen after a cross-continent adventure, dealing with evil. She also has a better understanding of the world of good and bad luck, and good and evil. Smart as she is, she deals with the temptation to create bad luck, which causes evil, and handles the temptation with ease, not even giving it a second thought.
John isn't quite as firm on the last point, dealing with good and evil, but he still realizes that good is the better side to be on, after wavering a little bit when Iblis, one of the most evil djinn of the time, tries to convince him otherwise. Another change for John is to start seeing the big picture a little more clearly. In the beginning, his world is mostly concerned with what makes him happy. But towards the end, he starts to think more about how actions have consequences on not just him, but also the world, and the homeostasis, the balance of good and bad luck, which is the central thing they try to protect during the entire book.
A change that isn't quite as noticeable is how they see djinn and wishes in the world. When John and Phillipa first learn they're both djinn, (yes, djinn is both singular and plural) they both are excited and think of all the things they can do, like granting wishes, erasing zits, and so on. But when they come towards the end of the book, being djinn doesn't sound as glamorous. A big reason is that every time you use power, your life force lowers a little, which basically means every time you use powers shortens your life slightly. But the big thing they learn about wishes is the power of them and the disastrous results they can cause. Mr. Groanin, who has only one arm and has one wish of his three left, mutters and never uses the word "wish" lest he would actually wish. He uses the last one to save Nimrod, and says, "Whew, that was a huge burden." So this man went his whole life with a wish, and it almost ruined his life, the worry he might accidently waste it. A very depressing thought.
This time we'll start with Phillipa, since we started with John last time. Her other noticeable change has been from being the shy little braniac nerd girl into being, for lack of better words, more normal. She's still smart (nothing wrong with that), but she is now more outgoing, which (in books) generally seems to happen after a cross-continent adventure, dealing with evil. She also has a better understanding of the world of good and bad luck, and good and evil. Smart as she is, she deals with the temptation to create bad luck, which causes evil, and handles the temptation with ease, not even giving it a second thought.
John isn't quite as firm on the last point, dealing with good and evil, but he still realizes that good is the better side to be on, after wavering a little bit when Iblis, one of the most evil djinn of the time, tries to convince him otherwise. Another change for John is to start seeing the big picture a little more clearly. In the beginning, his world is mostly concerned with what makes him happy. But towards the end, he starts to think more about how actions have consequences on not just him, but also the world, and the homeostasis, the balance of good and bad luck, which is the central thing they try to protect during the entire book.
A change that isn't quite as noticeable is how they see djinn and wishes in the world. When John and Phillipa first learn they're both djinn, (yes, djinn is both singular and plural) they both are excited and think of all the things they can do, like granting wishes, erasing zits, and so on. But when they come towards the end of the book, being djinn doesn't sound as glamorous. A big reason is that every time you use power, your life force lowers a little, which basically means every time you use powers shortens your life slightly. But the big thing they learn about wishes is the power of them and the disastrous results they can cause. Mr. Groanin, who has only one arm and has one wish of his three left, mutters and never uses the word "wish" lest he would actually wish. He uses the last one to save Nimrod, and says, "Whew, that was a huge burden." So this man went his whole life with a wish, and it almost ruined his life, the worry he might accidently waste it. A very depressing thought.
January Book Report, Pt. 1
The book I read for this month is Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure, by P.B. Kerr. The two main characters are John and Phillipa, who are twins.
In the beginning of the book, the twins are in New York City, and have just had their wisdom teeth removed at the tender old age of 12. The reason they're so young is that they are 'djinn,' which is basically genies but the "politically correct" way of saying genies.
We'll start with John, the boy (obviously). He is 12 years old, like I said earlier. And, also like I said earlier, he is a djinn. But he doesn't know that yet. His face is covered in zits, and he has dark hair. The zits really, really bother him, especially when they "occasionally erupt quite horribly." Yuck. That's pretty gross. Anyways, he is also the older of the twins, which sometimes makes Phillipa really mad at him. But, also, on the flip side, he is a very protective older brother to her, which she likes.
On to Phillipa, the younger twin. She is 12 too, which makes sense (you know, twins). Her hair is a bright red/orangish color, and she has funny looking glasses. She likes to annoy her brother sometimes by calling him "zit boy," which bothers him a lot. When John is protective, she feels very safe and says he seems like "the best big brother in the world."
Both of the main characters are very physically fit, and both pretty smart, too, with Phillipa edging John out a tiny bit in the smarts category. The reason that they're so fit is that they are both claustrophobic and hate elevators. And since they live in New York City, this creates a problem. So they always run up the stairs, which makes them both extremely fit, but also makes them "notoriously late" to everything. As twins, they sometimes seem to possess and unnatural ability to telepathically communicate, not like mind readers, but like they sometimes seem to think the same thing at the same time, or form a plan at the same time without actually telling each other out loud.
Overall, they seem like they might be someone I might like, or someone I didn't really care about, one way or the other, depending on my mood. To me, they seem nice enough, but since their mom is "perfect," and they're considered virtually perfect too, and I think I might be jealous of them.
In the beginning of the book, the twins are in New York City, and have just had their wisdom teeth removed at the tender old age of 12. The reason they're so young is that they are 'djinn,' which is basically genies but the "politically correct" way of saying genies.
We'll start with John, the boy (obviously). He is 12 years old, like I said earlier. And, also like I said earlier, he is a djinn. But he doesn't know that yet. His face is covered in zits, and he has dark hair. The zits really, really bother him, especially when they "occasionally erupt quite horribly." Yuck. That's pretty gross. Anyways, he is also the older of the twins, which sometimes makes Phillipa really mad at him. But, also, on the flip side, he is a very protective older brother to her, which she likes.
On to Phillipa, the younger twin. She is 12 too, which makes sense (you know, twins). Her hair is a bright red/orangish color, and she has funny looking glasses. She likes to annoy her brother sometimes by calling him "zit boy," which bothers him a lot. When John is protective, she feels very safe and says he seems like "the best big brother in the world."
Both of the main characters are very physically fit, and both pretty smart, too, with Phillipa edging John out a tiny bit in the smarts category. The reason that they're so fit is that they are both claustrophobic and hate elevators. And since they live in New York City, this creates a problem. So they always run up the stairs, which makes them both extremely fit, but also makes them "notoriously late" to everything. As twins, they sometimes seem to possess and unnatural ability to telepathically communicate, not like mind readers, but like they sometimes seem to think the same thing at the same time, or form a plan at the same time without actually telling each other out loud.
Overall, they seem like they might be someone I might like, or someone I didn't really care about, one way or the other, depending on my mood. To me, they seem nice enough, but since their mom is "perfect," and they're considered virtually perfect too, and I think I might be jealous of them.
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