Adventure, humour and depth
591281
Leif Enger's Peace Like A River is an adventure with parallels to To Kill A Mockingbird.  Enger's rich vocabulary and humorous turns of phrase add to the great plot. Here, too, is faith in God's presence, subtly and beautifully expressed.  One of my students was surprised, after reading, to find out the story was fiction!
3501904
An amazing adventure that explores it's characters with fantastic depth.  I look finally having it on my bookshelf.
2791972
A journey filled with adventure, time travel, good and evil and some humorous talking creatures. At the end of each chapter I was hooked to read more. Reminded me of "The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. A great read aloud book for my grandkids too.
3043159
Paul Purnell has written an undersea adventure story that brings to mind Jules Vernes Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Although Purnells book may target a younger audience, there is much to be learned and enjoyed within these pages for readers of any age.
Marco, the protagonist, is a 12-year-old boy, rejected by all, loved by none. He lives alone in a cave by the sea. We first meet Marco as he runs from gunmen whom hes overheard plotting a robbery.
The true adventure begins when Marco meets a mermaid named Lois. The two hit it off, and Lois gives Marco the ability to spend hours underwater without needing air. The unlikely pair sets off on a mission that takes them through much of the Mediterranean Sea. Along the way, they encounter all manner of sea creatures, vividly described by Purnell. Some are friendly, some not so much. Lois and Marcos success on their mission means survival for all of these creatures. Their failure will bring death and ruination to the Mediterranean.
Purnells background as an advanced scuba diver, his childhood in a navy family that lived for three years on Malta, and extensive sea-creature research, all combine to give readers a most entertaining lesson in the Mediterranean Sea and its seemingly endless diversity of life. Add in Purnells wonderful imagination and sense of humor and Marco and the Pharaohs Curse becomes one of the most original and enjoyable tales of the sea Ive ever read.
213112
An excellent journey. The story is incredible, a concept so unique and terrifically executed. The best part of the book is its humor. multiple times I laughed out loud. Just be warned this book deals with intense themes, always with humor, but nonetheless, faint-hearted be warned. Michael Poore has done an excellent job!
211812
A delightful read that is equal parts poetry, philosophy, history, and science. Barbara Hurd takes us on a journey to the wet, dark, unstable places of the world - and our minds. The mysterious, sometimes inscrutable world of the swamps becomes a metaphor for our connections with the world around us and our selves. This is discovery and adventure all at once. Its a compact, quick read. I recommend it.
4255424
A multi-layered highbrow book with muscle and brawn. I got completely immersed in the world of Muzhduk the Ugli - his wit, his shoulders, and his quirky ways.  I wasn't expecting it to be so funny, but parts are Monty Python-esque. There are many layers to this story, and by the end of it I felt like Id achieved something great or climbed a mountain in Siberia. Wonderful read.
3397788
Black Mamba for Breakfast is certainly for the inquisitive, adventure-seeking type.
It offers up a unique perspective of the harsh, hilarious, and beautiful picture that is Africa. You immediately become immersed in the adventure, as if you're tagging along with your best mates. Its one of those books you just have to talk about with somebody, because every few pages something absurd, terrifying, or hilarious happens and its as if you're really there part of the action.
It also does a brilliant job of highlighting the constant and sometimes heart-wrenching struggle of conservation in the modern world through first-hand experience. Sometimes a book comes along that you just don't want to finish because it is so enthralling, and THIS is one of those books!
489088
A captivating read, serious, funny and entertaining. Krista Schlyer's "Almost Anywhere" is a probing journey book that combines the intensely personal (a journey through loss and grief) with the public - in this case, with a focus on natural history and the environment; the mapping is both internal/psychic and geographic, and a great reminder of the importance of the national park system. The book artfully balances reverence for nature and the seriousness of grief with absurdity, irreverence and laugh-aloud humor, as often as not aimed by the author at herself. Her very three-dimensional travel companions, Bill and Maggie, add enormously to the book's vitality. A wonderful new contribution by an important conservation photographer, writer, and speaker.
355198
What a wonderful adventure!  In the grand tradition of The Wizard of Oz and Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, delight in Nix and company's journey through time and space with the aid of maps both real and mythical.  Even the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway becomes a place of wonder (who knew?) in a world where everything is real.  The characters are clever and beautiful, their dialogue crackles, and the conflicts are engaging.  Enjoy!
4353048
This book has it all : adventure, romance, archaeology, history, puzzles to be solved, some mysticism, lightening-speed travel jaunts across Europe, faith lost and found, good versus evil--it is a fun, mostly light read that was exciting and absorbing.  I got a little lost in all the symbolism, and how the pieces of the puzzle all fit together, but I see this as my own short-coming, not that of the book.  Renee D'Arcadia is a great heroine, honest, direct, super strong both physically and emotionally.  It is great to see a male author create such a wonderful female character.  Her hero, and ours, David Arturo, is strong, gentle, an almost ideal man--(with a few of the flaws most men seem to struggle with).  The other characters contribute just the right tension and fullness to the story.  This is a great accomplishment for a debut novel.
2631144
I thoroughly enjoyed this quirky adventure tale. Fantasy, humour and subtle social commentary are blended with flair, as we are swept along on a fun-filled journey that offers multiple twists and turns. The satire is always gentle, allowing the highly imaginative story to entertain us at its own level.

By setting his story in the near future, the author locates it in a context that is similar to today's reality and likely to resonate with readers. Against this all too familiar backdrop of institutional venality, a sequence of hilarious events plays out. John Hope's sympathetic treatment of his very human characters ensures that we find them as likeable as he does. He is never judgemental, exhibiting instead an attitude of tolerance and fond amusement towards his creations that indicates he is a keen observer of human behaviour.

If you are a fan of Vonnegut's style of writing, you'll love this zany story too.
2145042
This is a very amusing, entertaining and well written book, with a rich vocabulary, about a series of hilarious, bizarre adventures that are so unlikely and unexpected that one can never anticipate what will happen next. As Brutus goes through these adventures the reader gains an insight into his unique view of life. He befriends some rather eccentric people but treats them as one would any normal people and sees nothing strange about them. In his mind, his stint of living with a drunkard under a bridge, he regards as a perfectly normal way of life. In a way this tale is a metaphor to remind one how people can interpret life and events in completely different ways. Through it all, even in the most absurd situations, Brutus remains unphased, calmly accepting everything that happens as normal, and viewing it all with a charming, rather naive optimistic positive outlook. The Brutus saga has a delightful and unexpected ending.

Stan Kaplan
3885577
Such a fantastic adventure. I recommend this to anyone and everyone. The depth of knowledge, both of whales and humankind, paint an in-depth picture of the human experience.
3088450
A delightful book with much insight into our human nature, mixed with humour and a mystery that continues until the very end (and beyond).
3272181
The Path to the Sun is a thrilling tale of adventure, a fun and engaging tale that is sure to entertain and challenge the youth or mature adult. It's extremely well written with a dazzling array of descriptive dramas, relationships and natural wonders sure to keep you on the edge of your seat in anticipation and curiosity as the story unfolds. It's definitely a story that you want to keep reading as it delights the senses, engages your imagination, and challenges your worldview and ways of thinking. In that sense, it's not just another adventure tale - this story has depth and will cause you to think deeper about what you believe about your world, even your faith, and perhaps even question why you believe what you believe. It's a great exercise of introspection and accountability to own your beliefs and understand why you hold them.

The Path to the Sun is sure to garner much interest and create quite a stir in the world of adventure tales and epic novels. Move over Tolkien and Rowling, you may have company...
2336564
Neil has the penchant for writing thoughtful,graceful, and with great depth and humor as he treks through the rugged terrain of West Africa. Between the heat, steep hills, natures indelicate calls, and rice with junk  in it- he takes us there. Get on your bikes and read.