Customer Reviews

Tentacles

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tentacles, the sequel to Cryptid Hunters, is the book I always wished I had to read as a child. Adventure, suspense, good verses evil, sibling rivalry, lots of fun James Bond- like gadgets and cryptids, (animals that are thought to exist, but have not yet been proven to exist) all jam packed into a fast paced thriller. Mr. Smith continues to spark young audiences with an exciting race against the evil Noah Blackwood to catch a giant squid in the waters of New Zealand, hatch eggs found in the jungles of the Amazon believed to belong to the mysterious cryptid, Mokele-mbembe and protect Grace (one of the main characters) from her grandfather, Noah Blackwood collecting her too. True to his style, his characters, Marty, Grace, Luther and Wolfe continue to show an acute awareness of right and wrong, moral decision making and love of their family. Tentacles appeals to 9-15 year olds, but really captures a very tough audience, boys of that age group along with adults who still appreciate a good adventure novel. Adventure seekers of all ages will enjoy the ride.

Fans of Roland Smith's action adventure stories will cheer for this page-turner. The dramatic sequel to Cryptid Hunters will please even the most reluctant reader. Smith's format of short, cliff-hanger chapters keeps the reader engaged and beggin for more. Surprise characters from other novels will thrill avid Smith fans, as well. Readers may want to re-visit Cryptid Hunters if it has been awhile since your last reading for character refreshment, but it's certainly not necessary. It's another hit for Smith!

TENTACLES is the sequel to Roland Smith's CRYPTID HUNTERS. He continues the excitement begun in the Congo as Marty and Grace join Dr. Travis Wolfe in a new adventure to find a giant squid in the waters off New Zealand.

After Marty found out Grace was actually his cousin and not the twin sister he thought she was, their new life took them to the island of Cryptos to live with Grace's father, Travis Wolfe. This new adventure begins as their boarding school friend, Luther, arrives on the island.

The action starts off with a frantic chase to catch a chimpanzee named Bo as he terrorizes the island on a four-wheeler. Using Luther's wild and crazy flaming red hair as bait, they are able to not only catch the chimp, but also get him aboard the newly renovated ship called the Coelacanth bound for New Zealand to capture a giant squid.

At the same time that Travis Wolfe and his crew are preparing for their journey, the famous and evil Noah Blackwood is preparing his ships to intercept the Coelacanth in an effort to kidnap Grace, his granddaughter, and steal two priceless dinosaur eggs or whatever may have already hatched from those valuable eggs.

TENTACLES is filled with fast-paced action, high-tech gadgets, disguises, and double agents. Teens looking for adventure and intrigue are sure to like this one. There is excellent back-story information provided, so even those who haven't yet read CRYPTID HUNTERS can enjoy the story.

Readers who are already fans of the first book will also be pleased to discover that TENTACLES will probably not be the last adventure for Marty and Grace.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

Tentacles is the sequel to the book "Cryptid Hunters". I am a 4th grade teacher who read both books this year aloud to my 4th grade students. Tentacles was action packed, full of suspense, and full of new inventions and ideas never known to man. My students really enjoyed this book. A student that never read much was stimulated by this mystery. Every day he would ask me if I was going to read another chapter. He was eager to share his thoughts during this read aloud time block. Being a shy boy, he usually never talks to me or anyone in the class. This book opened up his mind and his desire to share ideas with the class.

I recommend this book for the reluctant reader. It is full of surprises and has elements of love, honesty, and duty while the characters battle the forces of evil. It teaches about how to overcome fears and how to have confidence in yourself. Each chapter is action packed and full of adventure.

Brenda Jones (Author of "Standing Up"[[ASIN:1608136248 Standing Up]

I ordered this for my daughter after she read the first book, Cryptid Hunters. She liked this series so much, she insisted on reading the first one to me. I really enjoyed them both as well. Good reads.

Grace and Marty return for another awesome book! This time, Marty's friend Luther Smyth enters the story to make things livelier. And, instead of touring the Congo, they're squid-fishing in New Zealand! Travis Wolfe's business, eWolfe, paired up with the Northwest Zoo and Aquarium to catch a giant squid. But of course, Noah Blackwood isn't about to let that happen. He also wants to kidnap Grace and the dinosaurs the two kids picked up in the Congo. But Wolfe brought a security team (consisting of three men, Al,Joe, and Roy)because he doesn't want that to happen.
After the dinosaurs hatched, Marty and Ted Bronson (who is a scientist/inventor who uses a disguise and a fake name, Theo Sonborn, to move around without being recognized)are elected to go in Ted's nuclear sub, called the Orb, to bait the giant squid onto the ship.
As soon as Marty and Ted are launched into the water, they lose contact with the Coelacanth, the ship Wolfe owns.
The reason the lost contact was Blackwood. He had Butch McCall on the ship, and he had paid pirates to attack the Coelacanth. Butch was putting C4 on different places around the ship when he found Grace and the dinosaurs. He brought them to the top of the deck as Al was shooting down the pirates.
Just then, Marty and Ted got back with a giant squid.
On deck, holding everyone at bay with a gun, Butch put Grace and the dinosaurs on Blackwoods helicopter, which had landed on the Coelacanth.
Marty and Ted had taken out all the C4, but when they got up on deck, Grace, the dinosaurs, Butch, and Blackwood were gone.

Grace and Marty return for another awesome book! This time, Marty's friend Luther Smyth enters the story to make things livelier. And, instead of touring the Congo, they're squid-fishing in New Zealand! Travis Wolfe's business, eWolfe, paired up with the Northwest Zoo and Aquarium to catch a giant squid. But of course, Noah Blackwood isn't about to let that happen. He also wants to kidnap Grace and the dinosaurs the two kids picked up in the Congo. But Wolfe brought a security team (consisting of three men, Al,Joe, and Roy)because he doesn't want that to happen.
After the dinosaurs hatched, Marty and Ted Bronson (who is a scientist/inventor who uses a disguise and a fake name, Theo Sonborn, to move around without being recognized)are elected to go in Ted's nuclear sub, called the Orb, to bait the giant squid onto the ship.
As soon as Marty and Ted are launched into the water, they lose contact with the Coelacanth, the ship Wolfe owns.
The reason the lost contact was Blackwood. He had Butch McCall on the ship, and he had paid pirates to attack the Coelacanth. Butch was putting C4 on different places around the ship when he found Grace and the dinosaurs. He brought them to the top of the deck as Al was shooting down the pirates.
Just then, Marty and Ted got back with a giant squid.
On deck, holding everyone at bay with a gun, Butch put Grace and the dinosaurs on Blackwoods helicopter, which had landed on the Coelacanth.
Marty and Ted had taken out all the C4, but when they got up on deck, Grace, the dinosaurs, Butch, and Blackwood were gone.

Since the moment they learned their parents had gone missing in the Amazon, twins Mary and Grace O'Hara have seen their lives change dramatically. For one thing, they discovered they aren't twins, in fact, Grace isn't even an O'Hara. Wolfe, the crazy cryptozoologist uncle who is now their guardian, is actually Grace's father and she and Marty are cousins, not siblings. The reason behind the deception is Dr. Noah Blackwood, Grace's maternal grandfather. Blackwood is wealthy, world-famous and very, very dangerous. Before Grace's real mother died (back when Grace was just a toddler), she made Wolfe promise to keep Grace hidden from Blackwood. He was successful until his sister and brother-in-law (Marty's parents and the people Grace always though were HER parents) disappeared in the Amazon. Now Marty and Grace are living with Wolfe, her previously unknown father, and Blackwood is very aware that she exists. He intends to take her away from Wolfe - by force, if necessary - and raise her himself.

Barely settled on their island home after returning from the Congolese jungle with a pair of dinosaur eggs, Wolfe, Marty and Grace are preparing for a new adventure, a hunt for giant squid in the South Pacific. On board the Coelacanth, the giant cargo ship Wolfe converted into a research vessel, Wolfe, Marty and Grace are accompanied by Luther P. Smyth IV (Marty's boarding school roommate and best friend), the soon- to-hatch dinosaur eggs, a bonobo chimpanzee, a teacup poodle, two birds, a host of scientists and some very serious security specialists. Unfortunately, it appears there is at least one unplanned passenger aboard the Coelacanth as well. The rumor is that the ship is haunted and a series of accidents on board seem to support that theory. Wolfe, however, suspects something more sinister: a saboteur hidden aboard the ship and following Blackwood's orders. Between the dinosaur hatchlings, the giant squid and Blackwood, Marty, Grace and Luther will have their hands full trying to help Wolfe.

Tentacles, the follow up to Cryptid Hunters, is classic Roland Smith. There's danger, villains, the wonders of science and nature, and trio of resourceful teens with enough cool gadgets and gewgaws to make James Bond green with jealousy. While Blackwood may be a bit over the top as an enemy (there seems to be no limit to his power, his wealth, or his callous indifference to human life), this story is a adventure thriller in the classic mode, so over-the-top is acceptable, even expected (think Ian Fleming, Michael Crichton or Clive Cussler). What's important here is that the story is interesting, the dialogue is crisp and the plot thunders along at a wicked pace. As he often does, Mr. Smith manages to impart a sense of environmental resposibility to his heroes and heroines, but he does so very subtly and the conservationist message adds to the story, rather than detracting from it. Be warned, the ending is a bit of a cliff-hanger and, with the number of books Mr. Smith currently has in the works, it might take a little time for the next installment of Grace and Marty's story to appear in print.

Third St Books, downtown Marysville WA
TENTACLES
By Roland Smith

This is a JUVENILE book which totally reminded me of a simplified Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt storyline which is good for readers needing a lot of excitement and gadgets.
Yeah I'm guessing the author was aiming at those 9-15 year old boys (and girls) who want adventure and mystery.

The action just doesn't stop for the 13 year old hero (in-training), Marty, his sister/cousin, Grace, and his best friend, Luther. They are aboard a ship on its way to capture a giant squid off the coast of New Zealand. There's an evil stow-a-way, an even eviler mastermind, a mystery man in disguise, missing parents, and hatching cryptids.

The bad guys are bad bad bad and wealthy and manipulative and the good guys are smart and clever and loyal. Kinda like predator vs. the boy scouts .

There is a reward for following rules and for caring about friends and doing good work. Bad and greedy guys get their own rewards.

I wish there was more scientific base for the gadgets. I didn't always enjoy Asmov because he spent too much time on the reason why things worked but I will always appreciate the introduction to science. Roland Smith does define two words and gives a long list of characters at the start of the book...

This book is the sequel to Cryptid Hunters.

Awesome adventure book, a good adult, vs a evil old rich man, who will win?
Travis Wolfe (adult) is on a adventure to capture a giant squid, something that nobody has accomplished, if he succeeds he will make history, actually not 1 but 2 histories!! Read it yourself to find the second history, and Noah Blackwood, is trying to get all the fame of Wolfe, of the second history, and maybe even the giant squid.
On the way there is Marty, and Grace Wolfe, and Luther, that helps and tries to stop Noah from harming the ship.
But Noah has spies too, all over the ship, and trying to see how they are going to catch the squid, and find the second history. Grace is Noah's granddaughter, her mother or Wolfe's wife was killed, Noah blames Wolfe for the death of her daughter and want's his granddaughter back... can he do all those tasks?? READ to find out!
You will not want the book to end!