Book review: "The Day of the Djinn Warriors" by P.B. Kerr

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

The twins have to save their mother from becoming the blue djinn of babylon. But to do that they need to get a replacement, which leads them on a quest to find her. Meanwhile, Dybbuk has become world famous by becoming a television illusionist. But his mentor may not be what he seems.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS-SPOILERS

John mainly resides inside Finlay in this story. Knowing everything about each other makes them uncomfortable, but only for a second. His personality is the same as the last books, not too distinct, but more so than Phillipa, and more likable than her too.

Phillipa still feels unrealistic. Oddly enough, when a character wants to end his life, she doesn't' argue, become anxious, and freak out like most of us would. She just leaves him and is described as crying. It felt so unemotional. And instead of being scarred after witnessing this, she soon forgets it and moves on. It isn't really brought back up again. Also, she stupidly reveals she is a djinn to a random stranger who saves her life and grants him three wishes. Isn't she supposed to be the smart one? He could wish for awful things, but she doesn't even stop to think. Felt uncharacteristic for her. And later we learn it was done to simply result in a plot point with her mother.

Dybbuk is too dimensionally selfish and stupid throughout this book. He starts with some desire to meet his father, and yet this never goes anywhere. Instead we seem his stay his course, without ever hesitating. Which makes it quite hard to feel any sympathy for him when he finally faces consequences.

NEW CHARACTERS

Faustina, Dybbuk's sister is confident and smart. Maybe to the point of being unrealistic. However, she is only in book for half of it, so she has no arc. She fell flat to me and I would have liked her to make another appearance. I thought she would be a love interest for John, but this goes nowhere.

Finlay, who you may remember as the boy who John turned into a bird from book two, is back and is now a friend of Johns. Since he had such a terrible relationship with his father, I expected him to be rather screwed up. But other than one scene where he gets revenge, he seems no different than John. He just never took on his own personality and was a poor replacement for Dybbuk.

IBLIS THE VILLAIN-SPOILERS

Iblis is still rather two-dimensional. I really wanted something between him and his son, but he was just too cartoonish to develop anything. Even villains care for their children. Instead he comes across as stupid and selfish, almost like a child.

RAKSHASAS' DRAMTIC EXIT-SPOILERS

There is a scene where Rakshasas gets absorbed by a djinn warrior. I didn't feel it was dramatic enough. Seeing how Kerr has previously portrayed John in traumatic moments in book two, I was surprised to find that the old djinn wasn't returning. I was like, oh, is that it?

FATHER & SON

I think the story would have been better if Dybbuk had met his father, learned to trust him, and then have been betrayed. As it was, it really had no impact, not that the reader gets to see. Kerr merely states that Dybbyk will discover what has happened to him much later. What should be a dramatic reveal isn't even shown. I wanted to see the shock and disbelief that Dybbyk felt. Maybe he even blamed himself? That would at least have shown some character development.

PACING

The story goes back and forth, giving Dybbyk a few chapters of his own. I have no problem with this format. Kerr was doing what he does best, working a piece of the story into the rest. Unfortunately Dybbuk doesn't develop a relationship with anyone that affects him. He basically just has his manager, who lets him do whatever he wants.

ANGELS WITH CHAUVINSTIC SOULS

Phillipa and Groanin meet an angel, and apparently he is a chauvinist. This just felt weird. I think Kerr was trying to be funny. But really, like the idea of a wrestling match with an angel wasn't goofy enough? We already went over how I felt about the angels being portrayed as less than wise but now they are sexist too. Just a small annoyance. This probably wont annoy most people though.

REVENGE

Finlay gets revenge on his dad for the abuse he has had to endure. But it's supposed to be comical and no seems to care. I expected at least Phillipa to protest, since Kerr is always stating how moral she is. This bothered me. These are the stories' heroes and it crosses no ones mind that revenge might not be a good thing? It certainly isn't closure for Finlay, if anything it may increase his hatred for his father.

MOTHER

There is a side story involving there mother after the leaves for home. I wasn't too interested but it wasn't that long. I assumed it would an important bearing on a future book since I didn't see the point of it in this book rather then a desire to further her character. She didn't really grow so, I don't know what was intended. Its claimed to be a result of Phillipa stupidly granting a wish, but no one ever knows it was her fault, so...there really isn't a point.

EXPLICIT CONTENT

A minor character ends his own life. Nothing graphic is shown.

CLIMAX

Kerr incorporates both John and Phillipa, allowing each to play their own crucial parts. But I felt that Iblis was too cartoony to take seriously and was seriously disappointed by a lack of a climactic scene between him and Dybbuk. Also, the fact that no one seems disturbed by his gruesome end made the twins feel two dimensional. Phillipa is supposed to be horrified, but we're merely told and not shown, by Kerr saying that “she wasn't made of as tough of stuff as John”. There should have been horror and shock on both their parts.

CONCLUSION

The new characters of Finlay and Faustina feel dull, but the story is still interesting and the world intricate. There are more than a few amusing moments and interesting places to see. Kerr takes each part of the story and works it all together in his usual fashion. I give “The Day of the Djinn Warriors” three and a half stars.

Book Review: "The Cobra King of Kathmandu" by P.B. Kerr

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

Why Dybbuk gets in trouble, he asks for the twins help. They in turn, head to London for Nimrod's help. But he's gone, so with Groanin along, they head to India, to uncover a secret about an old cult.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Phillipa comes off as annoying. For example, when she visits a djinn girl named Uma, she asks who will look after the djinn girl, and once in her thoughts, she thinks Uma's ideas are naive and she knows how to fix the problem herself. There is also a scene where she should be terrified of someone, but instead she has to resist the desire to make a biting comment.

John is still the more likable of the two. He even goes forward when he is caught, so the others can escape. He very much takes the role of a brother, seriously. And it was nice to see him protecting Phillipa. Also, even when Dybbuk had previously done nothing but manipulate them, he still wants to rush out and help him. Phillipa, on the other hand, protests helping him.

NEW CHARACTERS

Guru Mahasamjara isn't presented until chapter twelve, that's more than halfway through the book (unless you count the prologue). So we don't necessarily spend a lot of time getting to know him. But it's clear that he is insanely selfish and willing to go to any ends to achieve his goals.

Dybbuk is finally a main character. Although he is from a wealthy djinn family as well, he acts nothing like the twins. He enjoys playing jokes on people and seems rather sullen and resentful at times. But from the get-go we know there is more to him then being a selfish, rich kid. He cries openly when he talks about those who had died. Also, its established early on that he loves animals. The mystery of Faustina, his sister is set up in this book.

PACING

We get some chapters to set up the story before its set in motion. Before then though, it's important that a character is introduced, as she knows someone who will help the twins. We switch back and forth a bit, from the twins point of view, to Nimrods. But again, this doesn't really speed things up. But that's not really necessary. Kerr takes his time weaving all of the puzzle pieces together as he usually does. This is one of his greatest strengths.

EXPANDING THE WORLD-SPOILERS

Probably my favorite aspects of these books is the world that Kerr presents. We get to meet an angel, although it had already been established that they existed. I know that he has a sense of humor, but I would have kind of liked some reverence given to the angels, as they are far more powerful than any other creatures. I mean, there are angels and demons, so most likely there is a God too. So wouldn't that make the angels his messengers?

Also, we learn that djinn can posses animals, not just controlling their bodies, but seeing their memories as well as talismans that can be used to control djinn. Plenty of details are given on other matters, such as soul mirrors. Kerr really shines in this aspect, making up for other shortcomings.

COMEDIC RELIEF-SPOILERS

Iblis returns, but its clear that he poses not threat, as his bumbling servant is a main part of this side story. I found it rather unnecessary, although Kerr was setting up Iblis to make a return for the next book. I almost feel he should have simply made a note in book four slipping in info about Iblis' previous host body being destroyed. Or maybe not even at all.

KERR'S HUMOR

You may think from what I said about the angels, that I don't like Kerr's sense of humor but I do. In fact, there were multiple moments in the book where I was laughing. Groanin is hilarious as usual, and even Dybbuk made me laugh.

But when everyone and everything is funny, it makes a story feel less realistic (hence my criticism of the angels and Iblis). In a magical world like Kerr's, that can easily destroy the suspension of disbelief. But I still managed to enjoy the book and overlooking these small parts.

UNLIKELY KNOWLEDGE

Kerr has the habit of inserting himself into the book. I didn't mention it, but in book two, he makes John know a language he is suddenly speaking is Sioux. Because he watched a documentary, he just happens to know this. It makes no sense, since John is not into learning about history. Kerr could have easily stepped in as a narrator. Instead, it just comes off as taking over the character.

He does it again, making John know how to build a sweat lodge. What thirteen year old knows how to do this? It could have worked, if it had previously been established that John was a history buff or something, but it hadn't. Thus, it just feels unbelievable.

Also, it's John again who points to a book he supposedly read, “Sherlock Holmes”, to help them out. But it has already been established that he hates reading.

SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS

Like I mentioned, John offers to sacrifice himself getting captured so his sister can get away. He shows his love for her. Phillipa notes a few times on how courageous her brother is.

John comes off as more likable and real, as he isn't just saying, but doing. Any attempt to show how moral Phillipa is comes off more as telling than showing.

CLIMAX

Kerr does a good job of not painting the adults as idiots, even though the kids are the ones who have to save them. Phillipa and John still make big mistakes, and happen to be presented with ways to escape, that have to do more with the circumstances than their brilliance.

CONCLUSION

Kerr is rather inconsistent with his portrayal of John, and lacking in charm when it comes to Phillipa. But once again takes us on travels all over the globe, and expands on the unique world of the djinn. As well as portraying Groanin and Nimrod as charmingly eccentric, Dybbuk makes a worthy edition to the well of characters. He is more relatable than the twins and promises to be more complex and develop in the future. I give “The Cobra King of Kathmandu” four stars.

Book Review: "The Blue Djinn of Babylon" by P.B. Kerr

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

When the twins and Nimrod learn that Solomon's Grimoire has been stolen from Ayesha, the blue djinn, they learn only they can help. But this turns out to be more trouble than they expected, and soon it becomes a rescue mission. And this time, John has to go it alone.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS-SPOILERS

Phillipa is the twin that I still feel slight indifferent too. There were two moments in the book that made her come off as actually unlikable. Once, where she thinks she is perfectly innocent of anything and pure hearted, and another where she looks down on the maid of Ayesha. Phillipa begins a change in the book that she cannot control, but it was up to her to explain how nice she usually was. I wish we could have actually seen her kind personality and her strong moral convictions in action.

John felt the more likable than his sister. He has two scenes in the book where he witnesses deaths that move him to tears. These were written well. Not enough detail to be gorey, and no flowery writing that made John seem unreal. These scenes made him very sympathetic. It is also mentioned that John has been bullied at school, making him seem more three dimensional.

Nimrod is actually in this story slightly less. But he remains the same character. I thought it was odd that John never took him aside and became angry with him for being kept in the dark about many djinn matters.

Groanin again, has most of the amusing lines. Although Nimrod had his share. I still favor him and Nimrod over the twins, for their charisma and odd behavior.

NEW CHARACTERS

Dybbuk is a much needed character, a similar aged character who knows all about djinns because he is one. Although he comes off as snobby and selfish at first, its obvious there is more to him than meets the eye.

Darius is the young driver who helps Groanin and John get to their destination. He is charming, and has a love for racecar drivers.

The Blue Djinn of Babylon, Ayesha is emotionless and unfeeling. She allows only facts to affect her judgment.

PACING

The pacing isn't really fast, just like the last book. Before we even get to the astaralagi tournament, where the story seems to get started, we meet Dybbuk and help Mrs. Trump with a problem. This may seem to have nothing to do with the story, but events occur that affect the story later.

Although about half way through the story, Phillipa and John are split up and we get a few chapters from her perspective, and some from his. This doesn't make the book feel faster, as there are a few chapters between John's before we even get to Phillipa's.

ALAN & NEIL

The Gaunts' pet dogs come with John and Groanin for protection this time around. I quite liked seeing how they were so protective of John. But I wish there had been a few scenes in this book, or the last one, that had mentioned how close John was with him. Perhaps mentioning they went on regular walks, played fetch, or they laid at the end of his bed. I understand that they are not normal dogs, but even so, a bond that people form with animals is easy to relate to and would have made John and Phillipa more relatable.

EXPOSITION

There were the usual bits of exposition, same as last time. But for the most part, again, the information was interesting and necessary. Although some of it was silly (the book of moans?). Although I admit, I was bored when details of astralagi were given.

EXPANDING THE WORLD-SPOILERS

Kerr does much to expand the world, partly through Dybbuk and partly through the plot. For instance, we learn about Elementals, creatures created of an element that can be summoned to to a djinn's bidding. Also, we learn that Djinn can travel by hurricane.

SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS

When Phillipa vanishes, John thinks about how he feels a part of him is missing. Its a sweet sentiment, but again, I wish Kerr would have showed us how close they are, and have always been. Do they have the same classes at school? Same friends? Do they have interests in common? Is it just being the same age that has made them close? Most of us have siblings, but only some of us call them friends. I just wish Kerr had expanded on this as it's an important aspect of their characters.

FORESHADOWING

There are few instances where foreshadowing occurs. Once with Dybbuk, and another when John learns about a king. Also an incident with a bird comes back to help John.

CLIMAX

It is set up where John has to go on alone, with only Neil and Alan with him, to rescue Phillipa. It definitely felt like his book, even though the twins were together until halfway through. The Iravotum is vast underground world that seemed so creepy, I wanted to see more. It was interesting how the Blue Djinn herself was not the the one thing keeping the twins from escaping.

CONCLUSION

Although Phillipa still seems to lack depth, I find myself drawn to the wonderfully detailed world of the djinn. We travel all over, witnessing new monsters, and places of myth and legend. And John does show some of his inner feelings. Groanin and Nimrod still prove to be unique and entertaining characters while future events are set in motion. I give “The Blue Djinn of Babylon” four stars.