SuperPizzaBoy and I just finished Book Two of the Children of the Lamp Series "The Blue Djinn of Babylon."

Its a great story about two preteen djinn John and Philppa Gaunt (genies to you "mundanes" out there) who this time travel the world looking for a lost a lost of book of djinn secrets, the "Solomon Grimoire." John and Philippa have all sorts of adventures and misadventures. We learn all about djinns in the meantime. ( )

I just could not make myself finsih it. It was slow moving and filled with tongue in cheek references to all of the mysteries of life, which it relegated to the workings of the Djinn. I like fantasy but this one couldn't hold my attention. ( )

I am always afraid of reading "part two" of anything because I don't want it to spoil part one but P B Kerr has done a pretty good job of following up on the lives and adeventures of Phillipa, John and their "djinn" friends.

The boss of the Djinns, "The Blue Djinn of Babylon" is dying after 250 years on earth. She wants a successor to replace her but the only candidates volunteering themselves are the wrong kind. So in desperation, she snatches Phillipa, takes her to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in modern-day Iraq and tells her to claim her destiny as the next Blue Djinn. Phillipa resists and at the same time, her brother John, aided by Nimrod, Groanin and their two dogs (Alan and Neil) begin a rescue mission.

But this is Iraq, currently one of the most dangerous countries on earth and there's the not-so-small matter of the US military roaming around. What makes things even more difficult is that John can't use his djinn power as that would make the Blue Djinn realise that John is there and is coming to get his sister.

Aided only by an ancient map and his two dogs, John finds the ancient city of Babylon to reclaim his kidnapped sister. While this is going on, Nimrod starts looking for a suitable candidate to replace the Blue Djinn...

The action moves from Berlin to Istanbul to Iraq and then back over the Atlantic to South America and North America. For 12 years old, John and Phillipa are two well-travelled kids!

Quite an enjoyable book but part one is so much better in my opinion. ( )

SO, I think P.B.Kerr either reads my blog or Djinn and Tonic was just too obvious. The next book in the Children of the Lamp series, the Blue Djinn of Babylon, was a good read. I think I missed a bit at the end because we never find out if that one boy's pimples clear up. Oh, well. I'm sure it will be covered in the third installment. Not a bad adventure, though if you couldn't see the plot device with the mother coming, you wouldn't notice the Mack truck bearing down on you, either. Ah, the joys of reading a children's book as an adult. This one is sure to be as much of a hit as the previous. A great time was had by all!
Originally posted November 18, 2005

http://ginasblogging.blogspot.com/200... ( )