A review by reader44ever
Secrets of the Dragon Tomb by Patrick Samphire
4.0
This was a fun adventure story and I really enjoyed it. Sure, it's marketed to the middle-grade kid and I'm an over-40 adult, but I still had fun reading it. :-)
The story is told by Edward Sullivan, a 12-year-old boy with three sisters. Two are older (Jane and Olivia/Livvy), and one is younger (Parthenia/Putty). They live on Mars (!!!), where Edward dreams of one day becoming a spy. But when his parents and eldest sister are kidnapped, Edward learns that being a spy is rather more complicated and dangerous than his stories in Thrilling Martian Tales made it seem. ;-)
I enjoyed seeing Edward work with his two younger-than-Jane sisters and his "cousin" Freddie. I was at first not inclined to like Freddie, as his I also didn't like Edward's mama, who seems like a social-climber of the worst sort. I was all set to like Putty, who seemed like she'd be a great comic sidekick,
So why did I like this book so much, given how much I disliked certain primary characters? Well, Edward was pretty great, the illustrations were fantastic (if scant), and the story-line was full of excitement and adventure. :-)
Plus, Freddie redeemed himself to me, and I enjoyed the ending, when he says he has :-) I had a big smile after finishing this story, and that ending was a big reason for it. :-)
I'm rather disappointed that the only dragons in this story were embalmed. I had been hoping to meet a live one, but apparently they're extinct. . . . Or are they? I need to read book two when it's released. I still have hopes that they'll be found to still exist. :-)
(Note that my hope that the dragons do still exist is purely mine; no hints were given in this book. On the contrary, we were explicitly told that all the dragons are dead and gone.)
The story is told by Edward Sullivan, a 12-year-old boy with three sisters. Two are older (Jane and Olivia/Livvy), and one is younger (Parthenia/Putty). They live on Mars (!!!), where Edward dreams of one day becoming a spy. But when his parents and eldest sister are kidnapped, Edward learns that being a spy is rather more complicated and dangerous than his stories in Thrilling Martian Tales made it seem. ;-)
I enjoyed seeing Edward work with his two younger-than-Jane sisters and his "cousin" Freddie. I was at first not inclined to like Freddie, as his
Spoiler
behavior towards Edward was not very nice, giving him that stickleberry juice. :-(Spoiler
Sadly, she was still a social-climber at the end of the story, after her kidnapping/rescue, but I have hopes that in book two we'll see a kinder, more nicely-motherly Mama.Spoiler
but then she annoyed me by running off and doing dumb things, like ignoring Edward and turning off the water abacus, stealing Edward's Thrilling Martian Tales, and the like.So why did I like this book so much, given how much I disliked certain primary characters? Well, Edward was pretty great, the illustrations were fantastic (if scant), and the story-line was full of excitement and adventure. :-)
Plus, Freddie redeemed himself to me, and I enjoyed the ending, when he says he has
Spoiler
something to ask Olivia, but can't...And Olivia smiles and says, "Yes." Then, "they took each other's hands and grinned like idiots." Edward was clueless as to what they were talking about, lol, but I think (though I'm not 100% sure) that Freddie proposed! And Livvy said yes!I'm rather disappointed that the only dragons in this story were embalmed. I had been hoping to meet a live one, but apparently they're extinct. . . . Or are they? I need to read book two when it's released. I still have hopes that they'll be found to still exist. :-)
(Note that my hope that the dragons do still exist is purely mine; no hints were given in this book. On the contrary, we were explicitly told that all the dragons are dead and gone.)