City of the Beasts
(An Alexander Cold book, 1 of 3)
Isabel Allende
Rayo (HarperTrophy)
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: Alexander Cold, who thinks of himself as a typical fifteen-year-old California kid, finds his life turned inside-out when his mother falls sick with cancer. Normally easygoing, suddenly his temper is getting the better of him, and the whole family seems on the verge of falling apart. When his dad takes his mom to Texas for special treatments that may or may not help her survive, the kids must live elsewhere. Alex's two sisters go to live with one set of relatives while he is shipped to New York to live with Kate, his outspoken and tenacious grandmother who writes for the famous International Geographic magazine. The idea of living for any length of time with Kate, the woman who taught him how to swim by dropping him in the pool to learn or drown trying, hardly appeals to him, but it's worse than he thinks. Kate's latest assignment takes her to the Amazon jungle with a research team searching of a legendary hairy biped known as the Beast, responsible, so they say, for several gruesome deaths. Naturally, Alex has no choice but to accompany her. Also with them are a number of other characters, many with possibly suspect motives; the jungle is riddled with unscrupulous and greedy types who depend on isolation to promote their own selfish and often violent agendas, as destructive of the native peoples as they are of the land. The Amazon is one of the last great frontiers in the world, and soon Alex and Nadia, the daughter of the expedition's guide who is spiritually wise beyond her own young years, find themselves on a journey into deepest darkness, greatest wilderness, and into their own hearts to discover wonders and terrors beyond imagining and powers they never knew they had.
REVIEW: This book was translated from Spanish, which may account for the somewhat shaky early chapters, but as the expedition moves into the Amazon the story picks up nicely. Alex goes through a dramatic transformation in the book, from skeptic to believer in the more mysterious aspects of the world, and even his theoretically more enlightened friend Nadia finds she has much to learn about herself and the jungle she has grown up in. Much of the vivid and magical imagery comes not from magic in the conventional sense, but from the mere reality of the wonders of the rainforest, wonders which are even now being destroyed in the name of greed before anyone sees them for what they are. It is sad that, for all the talk of ghosts and demons and spirit guides, perhaps the biggest fantasy written is the hope that some corner of the world may somehow be protected from civilization's short-sighted destruction of all things it doesn't care to understand. There is a second book in this universe, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, and I confess that I only bought this one because I was intrigued by the second title and hate coming in partway through a series. I may not have normally thought to try this book, and I’m glad I did.
You might also enjoy:
Animal-Speak (Ted Andrews, Nonfiction - An extensive look at animals as totems, messengers, and spirit guides)
The Jaguar Princess (Clare Bell, Fiction - A slave girl in Aztec times is descended from Mayan jaguar gods)
Animal Magick (D.J. Conway, Nonfiction - How to attract, understand, and use animal guides)
The Encyclopedia of the Ancient Americas (Jim Green, Fiona Macdonald, Philip Steele, and Michael Stotter, Nonfiction - An overview of the peoples of ancient North, Central, and South America)
The Maya: Life, Myth and Art (Timothy Laughton, Nonfiction - A look at an ancient South American culture)
Wolf Brother (Michelle Paver, YA Fiction - A boy in prehistoric times faces a demon bear with his companion, a special wolf)
Living Wisdom: Animal Spirits (Nicholas J. Saunders, Nonfiction - An examination of what different animals mean to different cultures, and why)
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Kingdom of the Golden Dragon
(An Alexander Cold book, 2 of 3)
Isabel Allende
Rayo (HarperTrophy)
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: Kate Cold has been assigned by her employer, International Geographic magazine, to go to a remote country in the Himalayas known as the Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, or the Forbidden Kingdom as it is better known, for it is very well and deliberately isolated from most outside influences by a long line of kings. The name comes from the legendary Golden Dragon statue, said to be made of precious stones and solid gold and to possess the powers of prophecy, consulted by generations of monarchs for wisdom. Her grandson Alex, now 16, asks to come along, and after their adventures in the Amazon he certainly has proven himself capable of handling most anything the world can throw at him. As a surprise, Kate also convinces Nadia's father to let her leave South America for the first time ever to accompany them. As soon as they arrive in India to take the weekly plane to the Forbidden Kingdom, Alex and Nadia sense trouble. A plot to steal the Golden Dragon is under way, and the peaceful isolation of the kingdom is about to be horribly shattered.
REVIEW: This was marginally less interesting than the previous book. The radical transformation of Alex in City of the Beasts can't really be duplicated, though he finds he still has many things to learn. I also started getting irked by Kate's stubborn refusal to accept Alex's and Nadia's growing spiritual gifts, when she herself supposedly had seen enough of the world not to automatically discredit things she didn't immediately understand. Much like the previous book, most of the vividness comes from the natural surroundings, in this case the Himalayas. Again, much like the previous book, it reminded me that there are wonders in this world beyond knowing that are being destroyed without a thought. This is supposed to be a trilogy; I'm looking forward to the release of the last book, Forest of the Pygmies, in paperback.
You might also enjoy:
Animal-Speak (Ted Andrews, Nonfiction - An extensive look at animals as totems, messengers, and spirit guides)
Dragon Rider (Cornelia Funke, YA Fiction - Fantasy adventure)
Dragon Keeper (Carole Wilkinson, YA Fiction - Ancient China fantasy)
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Forest of the Pygmies
(An Alexander Cold book, 3 of 3)
Isabel Allende
Rayo (HarperTrophy)
Fiction, YA Fantasy
****
DESCRIPTION: Kate Cold's latest assignment for International Geographic magazine takes her to Africa, along with her usual team of photographers, her grandson Alex, and his friend Nadia, where they cover a new venture featuring elephant-back safaris. The day they are scheduled to leave, a disheveled missionary stumbles in from the wilderness, begging help to seek two missing colleagues. They vanished in one of the most remote jungles of the continent, a place where law is just a word and poaching, slavery, and cruelty are commonplace. Alexander and Nadia thought they had learned much about the spiritual aspects of the world, but Africa has many new lessons for the pair, lessons that may well kill them.
REVIEW: I was going to wait until it came out in paperback, but a relative got hooked on the series and sprung for the hardcover book, and I could hardly pass up the chance to read it. This is supposed to be the last book in the Alexander Cold trilogy, and certainly wraps up like one, but there is plenty of room for sequels should the writer choose to pursue the characters and concepts. Again, it is the magic of the natural world that truly captivates here, though some profound moments of spirituality and magic do occur, moreso, perhaps than in the second book.
You might also enjoy:
Animal-Speak (Ted Andrews, Nonfiction - An extensive look at animals as totems, messengers, and spirit guides)
Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow (James Rollins, YA Fiction - Fantasy adventure)
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Zorro
Isabel Allende
HarperCollins
Fiction
****
DESCRIPTION: As Diego de la Vega, he is a foppish aristocrat. As Zorro, he is a legend in the Spanish New World, a defender of justice, enemy of oppressors, and favorite of ladies. This book tells the story of Diego, from the fateful meeting of his parents – a Spanish war hero and a half-Indian warrior woman – through his childhood in California and adolescence in Spain, up to his return to his family home, when the mark of Zorro is cemented on his destiny.
REVIEW: Allende brings many characters to life in this retelling of Zorro’s formative years, though occasionally I grew impatient with the ventures into politics and history, for all that much of it was never covered in my education. (Here in the Pacific Northwest, we only touched on the Spanish in the Southwest, and Napoleon's occupation of Spain was merely mentioned in passing.) Her Zorro draws on Spanish colonial history, Native American ancestry and mysticism, Gypsy acquaintances, pirate encounters, and secret societies in French-occupied Spain to become the flamboyant masked bandit of legend. My knowledge of Zorro comes mainly from cultural osmosis (old Saturday morning cartoons and a few Hollywood renderings) so I have no idea how closely the author adhered to the roots of the tale. On the whole, it’s a fairly lively and imaginative take on the legendary figure. (I see there is at least one "Young Zorro" book based on this novel - not by Allende, but using her established universe - so I suppose she is no stranger to marketing.)
You might also enjoy:
Outlander (Diana Gabaldon, Fiction - A war nurse falls back in time through a ring of stones in Scotland)
Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen, Fiction - A 90-year-old man reminisces about his youth as a vet with a train circus during the Great Depression)
Bloody Jack adventures (L. A. Meyer, YA Fiction - Historical adventure tales of an 18th century London girl)
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