Customer Reviews

Nic Nelson & the Diamonds of Denmark

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

 

 

Since the surprise of unknown writer JK Rowling's phenomenal success with the Harry Potter series of books based on children's adventures with fantasy, the market has been flooded with similar 'first episode' novels that purport to be followed by the further adventures of that original plot plan. In order to compete with Rowling's concept (and the similar masterworks of Tolkien's Ring Series and Lewis' Narnia series) a first novel falls under cruel scrutiny by the public: will the characters established merit further development; is the writing style engrossing enough to plead the case for more follow-up; is the presentation of the book sufficiently exciting and professional to enter that league of perpetual series directed toward cinematic exposure?

Unfortunately NIC NELSON & THE DIAMONDS OF DENMARK does not meet those tough standards: it comes closer to the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew Mystery series of long ago. The story introduces a nice young chap recently transplanted to New Bonn, CT with his mother after his father has died in an 'accident', a warmly engaging sixth grader who first must meet new friends, bond with them, encounter friction from a hostile fellow student, discover a secret of buried treasure, engage in games that carry heavy philosophical lessons incited by a Chinese vendor, and ultimately confront the adult Evil with the nurtured coming of age Good, all with the parental support that defines good parenting. And while these pieces of the pie of the book are sound, they fail to engage the imagination of the reader, remaining instead grounded in the author's apparent fascination with such things as paintball games, Halloween, and the ordinary conversations that pose as theater among sixth graders.

Added to the disadvantage of a weak story is the design of the book: a garish, mediocre painting fills the front and back of the outside, while each clumsily type faced chapter is introduced with amateur drawings that unfortunately set the stage for the equality of writing that follows. This is the first book by dentist Derrick Richard (who breaks with literary form by using the 'Dr.' before his name in a book that has nothing to do with his credentials as a dentist) and the writing style is variable at best: some scenes are well set only to be broken with consistently poor grammar that does not seem to be attached to 'kid's English' and rapidly becomes a distraction. Sadly at the end of this less than interesting story (yet one filled with warmth and pleas for understanding between kids and the adult world) the author promises the next installment! Will there be an audience for it? Grady Harp, April 06

In a new town with no friends, sixth-grader Nic Nelson runs into the town bully and his gang. Which turns into a good thing because the bully has made a lot of enemies and some of those enemies are willing to take Nic under their wing. The bully won't stop his campaign of intimidation, but Nic learns to give as good as he gets. Meanwhile, Nic and his friends learn of a diamond theft--the famous diamonds of Denmark. The diamonds had been stolen twenty years earlier and the thief arrested at the house next door to Nic's, but the diamonds had never been recovered. Now someone is snooping around, asking questions--and Nic wonders if the thief or his friends are back.

Finding diamonds fills only a small part of Nic's life, though (perhaps too small a part, considering the threat that the peculiar men hunting the diamonds represent). He's still adjusting to the death of his father, his mother's move to a new town, and his gradual transformation from child to a more responsible youth. Guided by wise council from the neighbor's butler, a former British Captain, a college student, and a mysterious Asian toy-store-owner, Nic learns that revenge calls only for more revenge, and that the 5 "C's"--cool, calm, collected, confident, and in control can help overcome any problems.

Author Dr. Derrik Richard's light touch creates an adventure that will be approachable for young readers but that still has entertainment value for adults. He stresses the key role of friendship as children age and does an excellent job explaining the thought process behind many of the things kids do. Although Richard's sentence construction (and especially character attribution) is occasionally clunky, overall the story is engaging and approachable.

The prospect of young boys solving a mystery always conjures up memories of the Three Investigators books that were such an important part of my childhood, so I was quite interested to see just what kind of adventure Nic Nelson and the Diamonds of Denmark would deliver. It's always a little difficult, as an adult, to judge a book aimed at younger readers, especially in terms of the writing. For me, an ability to identify with the characters and the interest level generated by the story supersede, to some degree, the technical quality of the writing. That being said, there are a noticeable number of spelling and grammatical problems in the pages of this novel, but I really enjoyed the story being told and had a lot of fun reading it. The author, Derrik Richard, also succeeded in making me feel like a kid again, and that counts for a lot with me.

Nic Nelson is the new guy in New Bonn, having moved there with his mother several months after the death of his father. Like any new kid in town, he's anxious to make friends, especially after his first encounter with the neighborhood bully and his gang of lackeys. Fortunately, he does make friends, moving rather easily into a circle with five lively young boys and a headstrong girl. This friendship is cemented in a local dodge ball tournament and a shared work experience raking Nic's eccentric neighbors' yard. It is there that he first learns of the story of the Diamonds of Denmark - the man who stole them twenty years ago supposedly hid them somewhere in that very yard. Nic and the guys (and girl) decide to pursue the mystery on their own, keeping to themselves their encounter with a couple of men obviously still searching for the stolen loot, feeling that no adults would believe them or take them seriously. This decision to keep this a secret eventually puts Nic in a couple of morally thorny situations and introduces a level of danger to the story - and it is wholly in line with the way most kids would feel about confiding in an adult.

The mystery aspect of the story is not as prominent as I expected, but that didn't really bother me all that much because I enjoyed Nic's regular adventures so much. The biggest event is really the local paintball tournament, which has the potential of pitting Nic's friends against the local bully and his arrogant, "unbeatable" team. I loved the camaraderie, mutual support, and determination of the kids to do their best against all odds. When the mystery does reemerge as the primary focus, the adventure of it plays out with a fair share of excitement.

This is as much a story of kids being kids as it is a mystery, and that is why I think children, especially boys, will enjoy getting to know Nic Nelson and his friends. Nic finds himself in several sticky situations which any kid will recognize and identify with, and there is an element of fun running throughout the story. I would have liked the mystery of the Diamonds of Denmark to have played out a little more than it did, and there's no getting away from the fact that the book is unfortunately plagued with numerous spelling and grammatical errors, but I enjoyed this story and would certainly be interested in tagging along for Nic's next adventure. The author has set the stage for at least one sequel, and it appears as if Nic's days of excitement and danger are just beginning.

In my youth, I was an avid reader of the Hardy Boys series of mystery novels. Since this book is in part a mystery involving teenagers, in some ways it reminded me of that series. However, when compared to the action of the Hardy Boys, it doesn't reach the level of great interest. The mystery itself could have been covered in less than half the pages that appear in this book.
Nic Nelson is a boy whose father died in an accident and now his mother has taken a job in another city. Therefore, he is the new boy in town and is trying to make new friends. This is difficult at first because he runs afoul of a gang of petty hoods that hound him throughout the book. Outside of the mystery, the remainder of the story involves the life of a teenager, how he relates to his mother now that his father is dead and his relationships with other people his age.
While this aspect of the story does have some interesting aspects, it doesn't consistently grab you and hold your attention. The action is often dull and routine and the criminals and their activity don't receive enough ink to keep the search for the diamonds foremost in your mind. There is a blurb at the end announcing that a sequel is in the works. Throughout the book, it is clear that the author is setting the stage for subsequent books. He finds some classified papers among his father's things and one of the criminals hints that his father's death was no accident. The last paragraphs allude to the presence of a criminal mastermind who is already plotting additional evil deeds.
While there are many aspects of this book that are interesting, the idea that was foremost in my mind was that it should have been shorter. The hunt for the criminals is secondary to the life of Nic and some of the characters could have been reduced. Had some pruning been done, this could have been a much tighter, more dynamic adventure novel.