Customer Reviews

Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis & Clark

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a rollicking romp of an adventure novel with a science fiction skeleton -- or maybe it's the other way around. The action ranges from China to Washington, D.C. to the Olympic rain forest and points in between, and the story is told in several voices which are as distinct and characteristic as they are engaging. The characterization is strong, the pace is brisk without being rushed, the surprises are neither telegraphed or short-changed, and the whole thing is an absolute hoot from start to finish (in the sense of being great fun). Penz resists the temptation to tie everything up in too tidy a bundle at the end of the novel, so that the intrigue lives on when the last page is turned -- in other words, it delivers (grin). I particularly enjoyed the integration of long-dead voices into the living narrative, phonetic spelling and all. Recommended for a fun read, but maybe not to take camping with you if you're going to the woods!

Cryptid is much better than I expected, and much better than most novels with similar themes.
There's a lot to like in this thriller, beginning with the fact that Penz has clearly done his historical and scientific homework.
I am no scholar of the Lewis and Clark period, but Penz' descriptions of this era and the re-created correspondence of the explorers and President Jefferson are convincing.
Concerning the structure of the novel, it's pretty sound - the search for gigantopithecus remains and the search for sasquatch are neatly brought together in a well-plotted tale that involves a few coincidences, but nothing that feels too unlikely.
Penz' sasquatch (nine feet eight inches tall for a subadult male) is larger than sighting reports and footprints seem to indicate, and maybe too large for a workable bipedal primate, though the rest of the ape description works very well. Penz has tried hard to create a believable, scientifically founded tale of Giganto's evolution and migration, and he's done it well. He does make an odd error when he describes most known ape species as nocturnal, which they are not.
What is really outstanding in Penz' writing is his gift for description. Very few authors can completely immerse the reader in an environment, and I don't think it's reaching to compare Penz with naturalist Diane Ackerman or even novelist Barbara Kingsolver on this point. As the reader, you see, hear, and smell everything along with the characters.
The characters are good, from the dedicated scientist Dr. Ostman (a nice nod to sasquatch history in that name) to the lovers separated by professional ambitions. The Indian hunter feels a bit sterotypical, although he's very well-drawn.
I would have given this novel five stars, but it relies too much on the idea that a giant conspiracy stretching back 200 years could go undiscovered, that it has no problem finding ex-American soldiers willing to kill innocent Americans with no conscience, and that it's so powerful its agents can follow Cabinet officials around openly. While I understand the dramatic purpose, Penz could have written more limited villians and delivered a more believable novel.
Penz' writing style is sure-footed: he knows what's important, and he doesn't waste words. He puts in the scientific and historical background without slowing the story. Some strained metaphors and cliches creep in toward the end of the novel, but overall it's very well-written.
I greatly enjoyed this book, and I hope Penz has many more novels in him.

Matt Bille
Science writer
[...]

Everyone loves a good conspiracy, and Eric Penz presents an intriguing one in his debut novel regarding a cover-up of the Bigfoot legend led by--who else?--those two great, faceless evils: big business and the U.S. government. A bit of a stretch, at first glance, to imagine that one or both have found it in the best interests of the American people to hide the existence of Sasquatch from the common man. But with copious research and meticulous attention to historical detail, Penz raises some convincing arguments. As any conspiricist knows, it's not about proving your theory IS true, only raising the possibility that it COULD be.

But this story is not merely about telling us how evil Big Brother can be. It's an adventure, filled with all of the requisite chills, horrors, and romances one might expect. Think JURASSIC PARK rather than HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS. How would an eight-foot primate trained to hate man really react when encountered by him? The answer, very believably, is with a unique blend of animal savagery and human cunning, with the hunters quickly becoming the hunted.

The juxtaposition carries nicely throughout, as the story balances between scientific theory and heart-stopping thriller. There are some anticipated moments, and some jaw-dropping ones. Most importantly, the characters come across as real people with believable motives. If certain matters seem somewhat unresolved in the end, keep in mind, that's how life usually works. Besides, the moment a conspiracy theory is forced fully into the light, it ceases to become conspiracy.

If you're a fan of early American exploration, a Sasquatch aficionado, or if you simply enjoy modern-day adventure and edge-of-your-seat thrills, Eric Penz's "Cryptid" offers plenty for you to enjoy.

Cryptid: n. subject of Cryptozoological scrutiny; animals of unexplained form or size, or unexpected occurrence in time or space.

Opening with the alleged suicide of Meriwether Lewis, Cryptid takes the reader two hundred years into the past in order to set the stage for a page-turning, conspiracy theory thriller. The circumstances around Lewis' death, and the missing journals from the Lewis and Clark expedition, have enough unanswered questions to keep the speculation flying, and author Penz uses this to great advantage.

It doesn't take long for Penz to move his story into the present time and almost immediately after that he introduces the key player, Gigantopithecus. Long known to be extinct, fossilized remnants of this Giant Ape are concentrated mainly in China, where the natives grind them up to use in various health-giving potions.

Paleontologist Samantha Russell has spent her career seeking the truth about Gigantopithecus, excavating tiny fossilized bits and pieces out of the ground. When a packing crate arrives at her dig site only moments before Chinese government officials escort her out of the country, she barely has time to register that the specimens inside the box are bone, not stone. This discovery prompts her to seek out the sender, cryptozoologist Dr. Jon Ostman, a man virtually excommunicated from the scientific community for his interest in subjects such as the American Sasquatch.

A specimen so recently deceased would be a gold mine and a feather in the cap of whomever published the proof. It would also be an environmental nightmare for the forestry industry, as logging would have to be stopped in the fertile Olympic forests of Washington while an impact study is done. Herein lies the controversy: Big Business and the US Government are teaming up to stop the scientists while other private industries attempt to push forth the exact same discovery.

The story brilliantly balances between scientific theory and heart-pounding thrill. Cryptid mingles science fact with history into a story that equals the best historical mysteries. Some of the best and most plausible information is entirely fictitious, but is handed out in such a manner that the reader will ingest it just as easily as the real thing.

You have got to love a novel that blends history, science, para-science, and pure fiction so smoothly that it sometimes sends you back to your encyclopedias to see if information it has fed you is true. As it turns out, some of the best things in this novel were entirely untrue and presented so skillfully that you swallow them just as easily as the real stuff.

Cryptid begins with the suicide/murder o Meriwether Lewis. Like the assassination of President Kennedy, the Lewis suicide has enough unanswered questions to keep conspiracy theorists spinning, and Penz takes full advantage of the situation. But the book does not meander in the past for long-that suicide is just the James Bond opener that thrusts you into modern-day researchers uncovering a mystery that would send Robert Langdon asking for hints.

Pretty soon you are dealing with Sasquatch, government cover ups, and more. Buried in all of this, is a storyline that picks up loose ends from history and lovingly ties them into a pretzel.

I got this book on my desk as an uncorrected proof. The title and cover didn't grab me, but the book is set in the Pacific Northwest close to where I live. The memoirs of Lewis interested me, as did references to Thomas Jefferson. Political intrigue. And then there's archeology, Sasquatch... well I decided to read it.
I really enjoyed the book for all the reasons it got my attention. I could hardly put it down. It's not great literature, but definitely an interesting tale.
I loaned the book to a friend who loaned it a friend and it disappeared. I wanted to loan it to a few more friends so I bought a copy. And I'll maybe buy another copy or two to give as gifts.

When I got this book I had ordered two other Non-fiction books about Bigfoot. Of the three this is the one I enjoyed the most. The other two were ok but nothing to loose sleep over ( which is what a scary book is supposed to do ).

The book was good. It was not what I thought it was going to be. I thought it was more of a scientific discovery, history type book. I didn't realize it was a novel. Although it did keep me interested.

Reviewed by Audrey Hauser for Reader Views (11/06)

While health problems took me away from this book for awhile I did finally get back to it. The story was not what I had expected it to be. It was difficult for me to get into the plot because the time span jumped back and forth. The characterization was well done, but I did feel it was a slow process in connecting the characters. Samantha was the character who caught my attention the most, probably because we are both women. She had a very interesting background and a great thirst for more knowledge of the Gigantopithecus americanus. She also had a struggle as to whom she should place her trust in. The fact that her father was dying of cancer at this time added drama. I was glad she was able to reach his bedside before he passed away.

The author gave us a picture of greed and the total disregard for human life with the events that played out in the Olympic National Park. While it is no news to most that big business use many soiled tactics to grow and make more millions, it still was a shock at the lengths the logging industry went to, to keep the scientists from discovering the Gigantopithecus. Added to that was the greed of Dr. Prescott to find a cancer cure and gain international attention and the riches it would bring.

I found myself drawn in to the plight of the Gigantopithecus to remain alive and the cold calculations of those who wanted him dead. It was a surprise to learn that there were two of them.

When Secretary Mason discovered the lost journals of Lewis and though dying himself, took some steps to publicize them, it added a new twist to the story. I found the many murders conducted by those wanting to covers the discovery and line their pockets to be sickening. The story ending left it to the reader to decide what they want to happen. Perhaps that is a good thing because the legend of the Sasquatch is not done.

My feeling about the story in "Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis & Clark" is that the plot moved much too slowly and took too long to connect the characters. I would have preferred to have had this written in regular story form rather than as journals (by several people). Being a woman I was happiest that Ian did not die and he and Samantha came together again with some mystery still remaining.

Received book free of charge.

Arguably the best novel to date on cryptozoology, Cryptid mingles science fact with history and conspiracy theories into a story that rivals the best historical mysteries by Max Alan Collins.