Sea Djinn by Linda Davies
Sep. 19th, 2015 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
A Boy will come. A Boy will fight for my Kingdom and for his own. Finn, you are that Boy.
Finn Kennedy thinks he is a normal boy. Until, surfing off the Dubai coast, he meets Triton, the Sea Djinn, a supernatural being with spectacular powers. Finn soon discovers that he has powers of his own. When his parents are kidnapped by Hydrus, the evil Sea Djinn, he is forced to use those powers. Together with his cousin Georgina and his friend Fred, he steals a boat and sets sail for the Dark Kingdom …
Finn Kennedy has been staying with his aunt Camelia in Dubai while his marine biologist parents are off on an expedition. Unhappy at school thanks to bullying students and teachers, he only really enjoys surfing off Dubai’s beaches. It is there that he meets the Sea Djinn Triton who reveals that Finn’s parents have been kidnapped by the evil Sea Djinn Hydrus who needs them to create a cure for an illness that he’s contracted. Fortunately, Finn is a child of prophecy and gifted with special powers and Triton arranges for Finn, his cousin, Georgina, and his friend Fred to be taught the skills they need to defeat Hydrus by Mr Violet (a powerful magician). But Hydrus has minions of his own and is determined to stop them by any means necessary …
I took a copy of Linda Davies’s debut middle grade fantasy novel (the first in a series) because I was really excited to read a fantasy novel set in the middle east and using djinn mythology. Unfortunately, this book is rife with clichés, leaden dialogue and stereotypical characters. The opening chapter sets out the entire premise in a heavy-handed way and it doesn’t get any better from then on. Finn is a dull hero whose frustration quickly gives way to temper tantrums. His cousin Georgina is slightly more rounded given that she has to run the house for her mother, Camelia (who has fallen into depression since the disappearance of her husband) but it was depressing to see the first passages about her emphasising how she’s a good cook. Fred is a bit of a geek, bad at sport and bullied by his financier father who toadies to anyone with power and money. The villains are completely two-dimensional and for all the peril, the ending isn’t really in doubt. In fact the only interesting character was Mr Violet but he’s not on the page long enough to make a real impact. What really disappointed me though was the fact that the location is really incidental to this – the Dubai setting isn’t used effectively and really this adventure could have taken place in any coastal city. Davies does handle the action well but the plotting is predictable and the pacing erratic while the prophecy element adds nothing. Ultimately, there wasn’t enough here for me to continue with this series, although I may check out Davies’s other work.
The Verdict:
I took a copy of Linda Davies’s debut middle grade fantasy novel (the first in a series) because I was really excited to read a fantasy novel set in the middle east and using djinn mythology. Unfortunately, this book is rife with clichés, leaden dialogue and stereotypical characters. The opening chapter sets out the entire premise in a heavy-handed way and it doesn’t get any better from then on. Finn is a dull hero whose frustration quickly gives way to temper tantrums. His cousin Georgina is slightly more rounded given that she has to run the house for her mother, Camelia (who has fallen into depression since the disappearance of her husband) but it was depressing to see the first passages about her emphasising how she’s a good cook. Fred is a bit of a geek, bad at sport and bullied by his financier father who toadies to anyone with power and money. The villains are completely two-dimensional and for all the peril, the ending isn’t really in doubt. In fact the only interesting character was Mr Violet but he’s not on the page long enough to make a real impact. What really disappointed me though was the fact that the location is really incidental to this – the Dubai setting isn’t used effectively and really this adventure could have taken place in any coastal city. Davies does handle the action well but the plotting is predictable and the pacing erratic while the prophecy element adds nothing. Ultimately, there wasn’t enough here for me to continue with this series, although I may check out Davies’s other work.
Thanks to Jerboa Books for the review copy of this book.
Finn Kennedy thinks he is a normal boy. Until, surfing off the Dubai coast, he meets Triton, the Sea Djinn, a supernatural being with spectacular powers. Finn soon discovers that he has powers of his own. When his parents are kidnapped by Hydrus, the evil Sea Djinn, he is forced to use those powers. Together with his cousin Georgina and his friend Fred, he steals a boat and sets sail for the Dark Kingdom …
Finn Kennedy has been staying with his aunt Camelia in Dubai while his marine biologist parents are off on an expedition. Unhappy at school thanks to bullying students and teachers, he only really enjoys surfing off Dubai’s beaches. It is there that he meets the Sea Djinn Triton who reveals that Finn’s parents have been kidnapped by the evil Sea Djinn Hydrus who needs them to create a cure for an illness that he’s contracted. Fortunately, Finn is a child of prophecy and gifted with special powers and Triton arranges for Finn, his cousin, Georgina, and his friend Fred to be taught the skills they need to defeat Hydrus by Mr Violet (a powerful magician). But Hydrus has minions of his own and is determined to stop them by any means necessary …
I took a copy of Linda Davies’s debut middle grade fantasy novel (the first in a series) because I was really excited to read a fantasy novel set in the middle east and using djinn mythology. Unfortunately, this book is rife with clichés, leaden dialogue and stereotypical characters. The opening chapter sets out the entire premise in a heavy-handed way and it doesn’t get any better from then on. Finn is a dull hero whose frustration quickly gives way to temper tantrums. His cousin Georgina is slightly more rounded given that she has to run the house for her mother, Camelia (who has fallen into depression since the disappearance of her husband) but it was depressing to see the first passages about her emphasising how she’s a good cook. Fred is a bit of a geek, bad at sport and bullied by his financier father who toadies to anyone with power and money. The villains are completely two-dimensional and for all the peril, the ending isn’t really in doubt. In fact the only interesting character was Mr Violet but he’s not on the page long enough to make a real impact. What really disappointed me though was the fact that the location is really incidental to this – the Dubai setting isn’t used effectively and really this adventure could have taken place in any coastal city. Davies does handle the action well but the plotting is predictable and the pacing erratic while the prophecy element adds nothing. Ultimately, there wasn’t enough here for me to continue with this series, although I may check out Davies’s other work.
The Verdict:
I took a copy of Linda Davies’s debut middle grade fantasy novel (the first in a series) because I was really excited to read a fantasy novel set in the middle east and using djinn mythology. Unfortunately, this book is rife with clichés, leaden dialogue and stereotypical characters. The opening chapter sets out the entire premise in a heavy-handed way and it doesn’t get any better from then on. Finn is a dull hero whose frustration quickly gives way to temper tantrums. His cousin Georgina is slightly more rounded given that she has to run the house for her mother, Camelia (who has fallen into depression since the disappearance of her husband) but it was depressing to see the first passages about her emphasising how she’s a good cook. Fred is a bit of a geek, bad at sport and bullied by his financier father who toadies to anyone with power and money. The villains are completely two-dimensional and for all the peril, the ending isn’t really in doubt. In fact the only interesting character was Mr Violet but he’s not on the page long enough to make a real impact. What really disappointed me though was the fact that the location is really incidental to this – the Dubai setting isn’t used effectively and really this adventure could have taken place in any coastal city. Davies does handle the action well but the plotting is predictable and the pacing erratic while the prophecy element adds nothing. Ultimately, there wasn’t enough here for me to continue with this series, although I may check out Davies’s other work.
Thanks to Jerboa Books for the review copy of this book.
