The Eye of the Forest
| Industry | Book series, Fantasy literature |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Products | The Eye of the Forest (fifth book) |
The Eye of the Forest represents the fifth book in the Children of the Lamp collection.
Summary
Mrs. Gaunt travels to Brazil to consult Dr. Kowalski, a plastic surgeon djinn, seeking to recover her previous looks. Due to the effects of global warming, djinn are no longer able to safely travel via whirlwinds and have switched to airplane transportation. At the same time, John and Philippa participate in a Djinnverso Tournament hosted at Mr. Vodyannoy's Nightshakes residence.
During Mrs. Gaunt's absence, Mr. Gaunt is abducted near Stonehenge by three black druids. John and Philippa encounter Bo, a butler whose sister Grace is missing within the haunted eastern wing where djinn abilities are ineffective. John's effort to reach a spirit inadvertently awakens an ancient Incan figure named Manco Cápac. After recovering Manco Cápac’s mummy from a museum, John successfully reunites Grace with her brother.
Reports emerge detailing the theft of sacred Incan relics, such as gold disks and a staff, alongside images of an enigmatic eye-shaped gateway in the Peruvian jungle—known as the Eye of the Forest—which Nimrod warns could provoke worldwide disaster. Seeking guidance from Faustina, the Blue Djinn, they acquire the only existing map and journey to Peru accompanied by Zadie Eloko and their guide "Sicky," who bears a Medusa-like tattoo and has a small head due to an injury.
Their expedition is met with assaults from abnormally large animals influenced by Zadie’s hypnosis under Virgil Macreeby’s control. Upon reaching the true Eye—a rectangular portal bound with human hair—they enter and confront mummified Indians, awakening Inca rulers who engage Pizarro’s forces in battle. Macreeby, Dybbuk, and Zadie arrive intent on obtaining stolen disks to perform a counterfeit ritual aimed at restoring Dybbuk’s powers and transforming lead into gold.
The disks turn out to be composed of polonium, lithium, and steel; combined with a uranium staff, they possess the potential to trigger a nuclear explosion capable of devastating global consequences. After dispatching a message to Layla via djinnternal mail, they pursue Macreeby.
Layla intervenes in America to rescue Mr. Gaunt and neutralize the druids but chooses to relinquish her powers out of fear. Meanwhile, Macreeby abandons Zadie stranded on a hair bridge; John rescues her while Nimrod breaks her hypnotic state. Macreeby suffers a concussion while crossing vampire plants guarding Paititi but manages to recover a lost disk.
Philippa uses her "gestalt" slippers to teleport and confronts Macreeby's divided good and evil personalities but is devastated when the evil half kills the good one. Returning to reality, Philippa buries the powerful slippers for security reasons. Zadie decides to remain in the forest to found a school for indigenous communities.
The antagonistic druids lose their leader to Pizarro’s forces and reorganize under Sicky’s command. Macreeby is sentenced to remain behind assisting Zadie. Nimrod plants fast-growing lupuna trees near the Eye—cultivated invisibly to shield them from loggers—aiming to restore safe whirlwind travel within several years.
The group returns home to New York with their family reunited.