Hola, intrepid reader(s), it's been waaay to long since I've dropped some literary knowledge on your tender brains, and for that, please accept my most humble and sincere apologies.Sir Readalot's life has been a bit hectic over the last couple of months, but I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things. I also have a sneaking suspicion that we will soon be visited by a whole new batch of special guest bloggers, so stay tuned for that...
For my triumphant return, I chose Cryptid Hunters, by Roland Smith. Those of you who know me in real life know my love of cryptozoology knows no bounds,
from the back cover:
"cryptozoology- noun. The study of animals such as the Sasquatch, the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, the Chupacabra and others, whose existence has not yet been proved scientifically. There are thought to be more than 200 cryptids in existence today.
so I would have read this book based on the title alone- but as it happens, I read Smith's Sasquatch several years ago, and found it to be well written and engaging.
Anyway, The Cryptid Hunters tells the story of Grace and Marty, two twin siblings who attend an exclusive boarding school in Switzerland while their parents travel around the world as documentary wildlife photographers. Marty is brave, athletic, nearly fearless, and a budding comic book artist. Grace is the smart one, but she's is hesitant, shy, and scared of nearly everything. She is also plagued by a recurring nightmare whose details she can never remember upon waking.
Early on in the book, news of a horrible helicopter crash reaches the twins, and they are sent to live with their Uncle Wolfe, a relative they have never met, or even known existed. He lives on a private island off the coast of Washington state. As it turns out, Wolfe is a Cryptozoologist, a scientist specializing in the study of previously undiscovered animals such as the Loch Ness Monster and Sasquatch. The twins arrive just as Wolfe recieves word (from the beautiful and only slightly cliched Anthropologist Dr. Laurel Lee) about a siting of Mokele-Mbembe [Mo-Kee-Lee-Em-Bem-Bee], a dinosaur-like cryptid that lives in the Congolese rain forest.
Both Dr. Wolfe and the twins have an unrevealed history with Mokele-Mbembe, and as the story unfolds, the reader is presented with more and more of the back story. Along the way, we also meet Dr. Noah Blackwood, Wolfe's nemesis, and the kind of evil, vastly powerful and wealthy villain that stories like this need. Blackwood runs a series of "Arks" around the world where he displays rare and endangered animal specimens. He is less than scrupulous when it comes to the laws protecting these animals, and has a series of poachers, mercenaries, and henchmen to procure them for him by any means necessary. He has less than pure intentions for the Mokele-Mbembe, and also has a hidden history with both Wolfe and the twins.
Soon enough, the twins are lost in the middle of the Congo while Wolfe and Lee rush to rescue them. Along the way, Grace and Marty must outwit poachers and hunters, survive the hazards of the rainforest, and find the nest of the Mokele-Mbembe before Blackwood and his minions can. Wolfe and Lee are rushing to rescue them, but until then, Grace and Marty must rely only on their instincts, and the help of a Bonobo named Bo, a raven named Vid, and a pocket poodle named P.D.
Will they reach the Mokele-Mbembe in time? What is the mysterious tie between the family and the Mokele-Mbembe? For the answer to these and other questions, you'll have to read The Cryptid Hunters to find out.
In Grace and Marty, Smith has created two likable, if not entirely original (just once, I'd like the girl to be the athletic one, and the boy to be the smart one. I'm sure there are plenty of sibling tandems like that in the world of children's literature, so please remind me of those pairings in the comments.) protagonists. I loved the subject matter and the pro-conservation message of the story's heroes, but I wanted a bit more from it overall. The sequel, Tentacles, is about the search for the giant squid, so of course I'll read it, but based on The Cryptid Hunters alone, I doubt I'd be seeking out additional entries to the series.
