Legend of the Anaconda King

this story is a part of the talisman series, but you don't have to be a reader for prequals to enjoy this. i wouldn't say i had expected much. i thought it would be a print/girl version of Indiana Jones. Yes, it is. The lead character is cute and brave and intelligent. She loves advantures. Taking risks. The events move fast enough even for me who have a very short length of patience. I like the scenes where she reminds herself of what an Inca descendent told her about the Amulet at the decisive moments along the tunnel and where she and her friend decide not to punish the evil man who stole the opportunity to find the treasure, which show how considerate and mature they are. Is it too naive to be nice? Well, I would choose this for my children. ps the other review mentioned that the ages of Jonathan were totally confused in each book of the series. I think s/he might have been confused about the order of the series.

While the series is good it screams for more development near the end of each book. The author spends half of the book setting up the story, the next third on some plot, and then just wraps the book up like a half hour tv program that needs to be finished immediately. I was very disappointed to find several that the editor did not catch. The character Jonathan starts out 24 years old in the first two books, but in the third book he is 22. While my school children have enjoyed the books, they were disappointed in the lack of consistancy within the books.