The Devil's Breath

October 1, 2008
Gr 6-9-Tom Gordon is missing and presumed dead. Now his 15-year-old son, Max, must leave England and go to the wilds of Namibia to search for him. His father is no stranger to danger because it is his job to seek out and expose corporations and governments that are damaging the environment. This time the bad guy has been polluting the water supply by dumping a pharmaceutical's excess drugs, thus saving the expense of properly disposing of them. Tom Gordon has uncovered the illegal activities and has been taken captive. Max is aided in his search by Sayid, his boarding-school friend and a computer whiz; a 17-year-old female pilot; and a Bushman boy. The characters are likable, and it is interesting to read about the clicking language of the Bushmen people, but the story alternates between two locations with sometimes abrupt transitions, which could make following it a bit frustrating for younger readers. However, the action starts on page one and it never lets up. Max faces swarms of monkeys, bad guys, poison arrows, extreme weather, and starvation; is forced to learn to fly a plane; and has the momentous shape-shifting experience of turning into an eagle. Students who are able to sort out the locations and intricate plot will be rewarded with a rip-roaring ride of an adventure."Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School Library, Loveland, CO"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2008
Grades 7-12 The boarding school that 15-year-old Max Gordon attends is already a bit mysteriousit seems every student is a budding 007 or Indiana Jonesbut the mystery kicks into higher gear when Max barely eludes an assassins bullet. In a setup worthy of Anthony Horowitzs Alex Rider, Max soon finds that his father, himself a globe-trotting adventurer, has gone missing in the Namibian desert. Max is instantly on the trail, teaming with a young Bushman named !Koga to survive the dangers of the wilderness and defeat ecological tragedy at the hand of the insidious Shaka Chang. The action is relentless: car chases spill over into hand-to-hand combat, cataclysmic weather breaks only to reveal killer scorpions (or baboons or crocodiles). Gilman has a flair for making the preposterous seem possible. It helps that he gives Max plenty of mental and physical bruises along the way, and keeps his adult characters every bit as sharp as his hero. This is the first in a planned series of Max Gordon books appearing under the moniker of Danger Zone.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)