2 out of 4 stars
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Tommy, of the novel The Mysterious Adventures of Tommy Nowhere & Roscoe, by James Stilton, could be said as a circumstantial hero. In this plot, subtitled: Spirit of the Trees, Tommy’s exploits were favored opportunely by his having a Mathematics teacher, Professor Inka, who happens to be an inventor; and to some degree by having a friend and neighbor, Daniel, a kid wizard who fashioned a tracking and listening device. Tommy has two other friends and classmates, namely, Steve and Roger, who went with him in his adventures. And last but also the least, in size that is, Roscoe, a furry spider monkey of the professor, accompanied him.
This story involves time travel. It tells of how Tommy and his teenage friends, Daniel, Steve, and Roger, plus the monkey, Roscoe, managed to be transported to a place and time specified in a library book that they had borrowed. They were sucked in by an energy vortex when the contraption of Professor Inca got activated, and then funneled into a place called Gaia, a place of gigantic animals and diverse tribes, divided by a wall of fog, which separates the forces of evil from the good, which forces are now poised for an imminent war.
Until this time, Tommy is just a daydreamer, at best, fighting make-believe dragons and foes while being an imaginary knight of some legendary kingdom in his imagination. Now, his help is solicited by a beleaguered land, to help free its leader, the Spirit of Gaia, Nerthus, being held captive by a wicked Queen Kalma and a henpecked King Ludwig, all with magical powers, and an army to boot. Will Tommy and his group measure up to this challenge?
James Stilton awesomely crafted a primitive and magical world in Gaia, populated by the Muranchoos, Fawklores, and a cursed horde of water-dwellers called the Reliks, all interacting in a fascinating manner. Among the fauna of the place are strange animals of awesome sizes marshaled into the battlefield by both warring parties. One thing good to note, however, is that although the place is in turmoil, with villains all having the upper hand in combat, Stilton harnessed to delightful effect the inherent goodness of humans and near-human creatures to provide the readers with that nice and good feeling of having their sense of justice satisfied.
I think it was one of oversight that the companions of Tommy, except Roscoe, were suddenly made to produce walkie-talkies with them in Gaia, never mentioned before anywhere in the text. Tommy was once called by his mother on a cell phone, back in school, but cell phones will not work in places where there are no transmission towers or service providers. Only two-way radios can, but it seems unrealistic that the teens will still have these outmoded devices, not to mention bringing these with them.
The narrative comes on as dragging at first, depicting the humdrum existence of ordinary family life, presumably, to show the humanity of Tommy and his team, but it picked up speed and excitement by the time the scenes shifted to Gaia. The battle sequences may be said as done by someone versed in the art of warfare, and so overall, a 4-star rating may be most likely, but the editing issues clouded the bright prospects. After noting down the first ten errors, I stopped updating my list upon realizing I have not gone past forty pages yet, thereby, I advise a thorough going-over of the manuscript. That said, my rating for this novel would sadly go down to 2 out of 4 stars. In spite of this, I may still recommend this novel to lovers of adventure stories with the caveat that editing is still in progress.
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The Mysterious Adventures of Tommy Nowhere & Roscoe
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