Operation Storm City by Joshua Mowll
Walker Books, 2008.
ISBN: 9781844286478.
(Age: 10-14) Book Three of the Guild
of Specialists trilogy; books one
and two were Operation Red Jericho and Operation Typhoon
Shore. This handsome hardback looks appealing; photographs,
documents,
water colours, diary extracts and pencil sketches capture exotic India
in the
1920s with its maharajan palaces, temples and characters. Fold out
pages describe intricate devices and
mechanisms created by long lost civilizations involved in the good v
evil world
domination struggle, as well as the interiors of the Zeppelin and the
maharaja's personal luxury train. History and fantasy blend in this
'Alex Rider
meets the da Vinci Code' swashbuckling adventure which has it all -
secret
societies, codes, flame throwing Cossacks on horseback, tsarist
plotters,
swordfights, tattooed lips, not to mention mysterious Chinese warrior
sects.
Teenage superheroes Becca and Doug Mackenzie return to
their old family home in Lucknow, India, searching for clues to their
missing
parents' expedition route and the fabled city of Ur Can, known as Storm
City,
in remote Sinkiang. They embark on a journey to the Takla Makan desert,
racing
against the enemy by steam train, riverboat and Zeppelin airship across
the
Himalayas! They often escape death by a hair's breadth, as when Liberty
pilots
an aircraft out of a doomed airship. Becca and Doug possess amazing
skills such
as navigation and sword fighting and whilst they act like modern
children they
are fantastic creations.
It would have helped to have read the first two books in
the series as the siblings meet up again with a bewildering array of
characters
from the first books and prior knowledge of the sects and societies
involved
would have made it less confusing. It's action all the way and one for
the fans
of this genre. The presentation and packaging make it a keepsake and
are the
distinguishing features of the book. One thing seemed strange to me was
how
reticent the children were on meeting their long-lost-given-up-for-dead
parents
- no joyous reunion to find them alive! Perhaps it's a British thing!
Kevyna Gardner