Reading Level: Young Adult

When the initial PR on a book is about how much the publisher is going to spend on marketing the book, I feel it's fair game to factor this information into the review. Orchard Books ( a division of Scholastic) is positioning a British import, CHILDREN OF THE  LAMP: THE AKHENATEN ADVENTURE, as the first installment of another flagship franchise. Two more books have been contracted and Dreamworks has purchased the film rights. Could it be another Harry Potter? Well...no. But CHILDREN OF THE LAMP is filled with potential.

THE AKHENATEN ADVENTURE has the scope of an epic adventure, moving rapidly from New York, to London, to Cairo, to Russia, and even to the polar ice cap. Its opening earthquake sequence in the Egyptian desert with a native artifact hunter and his son is evocative of an Indiana Jones adventure. Its London museum crime caper calls images of Thomas Crown or maybe Artemis Fowl.

The book is also populated by interesting characters including twins who are unaware of their destiny, an adventurous uncle, a one armed butler, and two dogs with a past. Like Harry, twelve-year-old John and Philippa Gaunt discover that they are not ordinary. When both have an early arrival of wisdom teeth, the truth of their heritage starts to emerge - they are part of a powerful clan of Djinn. Unlike Harry, however, the reader may find it hard to empathize with the twins who live in Manhattan, in an extremely privileged family, and seem to be spoiled beyond reason. Also like the boy wizard, the twins find themselves to be central characters in a great battle of good and evil - or more accurately, good luck and bad luck. You see, Djinn control all the luck in the world, and a population balance between the "good" and "bad" Djinn clans is essential to a smoothly functioning world.

There is also great potential in the magical world P. B. Kerr creates. The Djinn world is refreshingly different from the now overworked world of wizards and witches. Interesting ideas like what is life like inside a bottle? It is perhaps the set up of this world, however, that most directly keeps THE AKHENATEN ADVENTURE from our RECOMMENDED list. Kerr spends so much time having Uncle Nimrod explain the rules the Djinn world, and it takes so long for the twins to become the active agents in the action, that the book feels like a very long prologue to a potentially excellent story.

On a more personal note: I am not a stickler for political correctness, but I had a problem with the part smoking plays in the story. I can understand its presence in principle, but it really is not crucial (at least in this book), particularly to the detail of naming brands. And this brings up another "what were the editors thinking" aspect of this book.  It is filled with product placements. Do corporations now pay publishers for placements like they do film producers? Or is this a concession to the film deal already in place?

— KB SHAW, Publisher, Spectrum - Member SCBWI