Kate Cold, an International Geographic reporter, is on
safari in Kenya with her grandson Alex and his friend Nadia. They soon meet
Angie Ninderera, a bold and seductive pilot, and Brother Fernando, a Catholic
missionary who needs to reach a jungle-girt village called Ngoubé; its people
are tended to by his friars. In a recent letter his friars described him their
toil and the dangers they were facing due to the chiefs’ disesteem for their
presence. Some time ago these chiefs—King Kosongo, commandant Mbembelé and
sorcerer Sombe—seized Ngoubé, toppled its queen, and subjected its people to
ceaseless attrition. Kate and her friends agree to help despite Fernando’s and
Angie’s rows.
Once in the village, they masquerade as reporters who wish
to interview the king on his “famed power and wisdom,” but Kosongo has them
locked in a sentineled, empty hut. Nadia slinks out to the village’s women, who
have been living in jail while the males have become cruel spies. She and Alex
flee to find the queen and the pygmies, who all vow to mutiny.
A fleet-footed pygmy duels and tires the commandant, who is
chased off by Alex in his jaguar form. Sombe appears to quell the revolt, but
Nadia appears along with the queen and a group of powerful friends. The foe is
vanquished, and when Angie removes his mask, it turns out that he, Mbembelé and
Kosongo are one. The man is tossed to the crocodiles.
Fernando says he will help the locals rebuild their lives,
and Angie succeeds in phoning a friend of hers, who agrees to pick up her and
the others.
Two years later: Alexander is a medical student at Berkeley,
and Nadia is at last willing to go to college, too. He lands in New York, where
Nadia and Kate share a flat, to take his friend to a ceremony. It turns out
that Kate has written three books on their adventures.
The above taken from Wikipedia.
After speed reading through, slowed down at the last few
chapters where the actual adventure began. I felt like I was reading a magical
Dora and the Explorer. Perhaps the translation wasn't as smooth but the
storyline was predictable at some point.
This is actually book 3 of a trilogy. Book 1 is City of the Beasts and book 2 is Kingdom of the Golden Dragon. Unfortunately, it is not my cup of tea.
Lost in translation, perhaps?
Goodreads rating: 3.7/5
My rating: 2/5
Author: Isabel Allende
Genre: Fantasy novel
Original language: Spanish
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