Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Operation Typhoon Shore: The Guild of Specialists Book Two
Illustrator: Niroot Puttapipat , Julek Heller
Fiction Series
For ages 12 and up
Candlewick Press, 2006 ISBN: 978-0763631222
Becca and Doug had thought that they were in dire straits when they were in the clutches of the evil warlord Sheng-Fat. Now, even though Sheng-Fat is dead, they really are not much better off. The ship they are on is badly damaged and the hammering it is getting from the typhoon is not helping the situation. Just when they think that the ship is going to fall apart, they find refuge in a secret cove on South Island, not far from Wenzi Island where Sheng-Fat gasped his last breath.
While Captain McKenzie and his crew do their best to patch up the ship, Becca and Doug try to understand what has happened to them and what might have happened to their missing parents. Can they trust the members of the secretive Honorable Guild of Specialists or should they look for answers on their own?
The party soon discovers that they are sharing their island with Klaax warriors, fierce fighters who take no prisoners. They also discover that there is a large mining operation on Sulphur Island and they are pretty sure that their other enemy from Wenzi Island, Pembleton-Crozier, is somewhere about overseeing the mining of zoridium and planning some new diabolical scheme.
Unfortunately, they are quite right. Pembleton-Crozier is resurrecting a truly terrible machine which could have a catastrophic effect on the balance of power in the world. Not only that but he has acquired some priceless Honorable Guild of Specialists artifacts, items which, among other things, might help Doug and Becca find their parents.
Once again, in this second Guild of Specialists title, Joshua Mowll has created a thrilling story. Peppered with both real and fictional pieces of histor,y and liberally illustrated with maps, photographs, beautifully detailed diagrams, and Doug’s artwork, the story is told using Becca’s journal entries and third person narratives. Readers will quickly find themselves getting caught up in the continuing story of these two enterprising and brave young people who, as yet, are not sure where their future or their destiny lies.
