Customer Reviews

Where Legends Roam (The Kodiak Books)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was a great book and I enjoyed every minute of it. The action sequences were great and I liked the way he slipped scientific information about Gigantopithecus into the book. Lee Murphy clearly has alot of talent and I look forward to reading Naitaka. Some people say Sasquatch, I say Sas-watch this author, cause he's going places!

what an adventure!
this book scared me and creeped me out! not for the faint of heart is right! i'm looking forward to reading more kodiak adventures!

A few months back I came across Lee Murphy and his book at a Bigfoot conference I was attending.Without even picking it up I dismissed it as a book more suited to the R.L. Stine crowd.A few weeks ago a friend of mine gave me a copy.I politely thanked him for the book and unceremoniously tossed it in the back seat of my truck,where it stayed until I began to look for something to read the other day.I took it out with the intention of scanning the first couple of pages,bookmarking it,and throwing it up on the top shelf of my bookcase.I had no idea that my quiet evening at home was about to turn into a life and death adventure played out in the wilds of Washington State's Olympic National Forest.Murphy has taken a subject most people smirk about and has carved a very serious edge on it.Kodiak is a two fisted hero who comes across as a flesh and blood guy who isn't a super hero,just very capable.The villians are the kind you love to hate.Murphy weaves the various theories regarding the sasquatch into the story with great attention to detail and realism.I was NOT going to read this book...but I'll remember the night I did for a very long time!Don't miss this one folks!

With cryptozoologist George Kodiak (great name!) as a modern Byronic hero, this is a roller coaster ride of a book, laden with fascinating and eclectic characters - some dark and some not-so-dark. A fast and fascinating read for anyone with even a passing interest in cryptozoology (the study of unknown animals), or for anyone who likes dark, angst-ridden thrillers.

With Bigfoot as the quarry, our hero leads an expedition deep into Washington's Olympic National Park. But who, or what, is the real monster here?

Note of caution: plenty of violence in this one.

This book is a great read for fans of cryptozoology especially and for the general public as well. A taut thriller to the last page. Highly recommended for young and old alike. I'm looking forward to the next chapter in the Kodiak books, Naikata, about the creatures in Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, Ogopogo. Thank you Lee Murphy for opening up your imagination and sharing it with the world!

Well, a Sasquatch or more commonly known as Bigfoot. She was scared and reported it. This didn't work out so well for Millie, worked out worse for the young Sasquatch. Seems there are powerful forces who don't want it known that these great apes exist. Imagine what it would do to the timber industry. Remember the grey spotted owl? Now just try and imagine how much of America's forests would be off limits to logging if Sasquatch were proved to be real, because the government would naturally want to protect Bigfoot's habitat. Official men show up at Mildred's door, tell her she didn't see what she saw. They frighten her. Then she sort of makes friends with the young Sasquatch, putting food out for it at night.

Meanwhile, wealthy Emory Pittman, has decided the perfect thing to cap of his private animal reserve would be his very own Bigfoot. To this end he hires George Kodiak to track down and capture one. Kodiak had been about to head out to Vietnam to look for the bones of this elusive creature when Pittman hires him to go up to Washington State and search or the real, living, breathing deal. Kodiak, at first, doesn't want to go, but Pittman offers him five million dollars if he doesn't find it, ten million if he does. Kodiak agrees, figuring he can pocket some big bucks, while at the same time keeping the creature save from Pittman. Yep, his goal on the expedition is to keep Sasquatch free from the evil Pittman.

However, the others, except for one lady fair, are not so inclined. They see a whole gang of money in their future if the capture a live Sasquatch and not much less if they come up with a dead one. These men are ruthless, evil and will stop at nothing to get what they want. And right from the get go they decide they are going to have their way with the lady fair and that George Kodiak is going to have to go.

Remember Millie? Well, those guys who showed up at her door do and they've passed the information onto Pittman's henchmen. Kodiak and a couple of them go to her wilderness cabin and ask questions. However, now Millie wants to protect the beast, so she says she was mistaken, that it had only been a bear. Kodiak realizes she is lying and tries his best to convince the others that she is telling the truth, but they see through her and in no time this group of seven are camped out at her place. This is bad for Mildred, bad for the Sasquatch, particularly bad for Mildred's cat and it is the beginning of an adventure story I couldn't put down.

When it comes to the study of these wonderful animals Lee Murphy has no equal. He knows what he's writing about and just the truth, the facts about Sasquatch, make for fascinating reading, but turn it into a story of fiction by an accomplished writer, add a woman in trouble, some very bad men, a true hero who every woman can admire, pile on the problems for the hero, make the danger for the woman more real at every turn, then you have a story that will chill you to the bone. I couldn't put it down.

With Dr. Roy Mackal's Foreward to LEE MURPHY's Thriller, "Where Legends Roam. His character development was superb. Fast paced and enlightening. Not only for us Cryptozoology buff's but any who love adventure and hope for an exciting ride, "Where Legends Roam" filled the bill!! Gotta say I'm glad you got your justice Mr. Pittman!

Okay, even if you can't pronounce Gigantopithecus you will have no problem relating to the Big Foot Legend. Where Legends Roam kept me intrigued with it's fast paced storyline. Mr. Murphy's character descriptions were quite easy to imagine. In fact, one of his bad characters, in particular, gave me the creeps for weeks after finishing the book.

Because of man's inevitable, curious, destructive behavior, I hope that The Sasquotch theory remains a mystery, as this story could quiclkly become a reality. In that case we would need to wish for our Kodiak hero to truly exist.

Where Legends Roam by Lee Murphy


This book is much more than most readers will be expecting.

It is, to begin with, an interesting work by one of the few writers in the emerging genre of Cryptozoological fiction. If that sounds like a mouthful, it is. And if it sounds like it might be worthwhile reading, you are right again.

By drawing together information from many diverse sources Lee Murphy has managed to give us a long list of interesting things to contemplate in regard to the nature of the Sasquatch. He skillfully weaves in theories from the fields of paleontology and anthropology to help us understand what may indeed be the morphology of this mysterious animal. However, he goes beyond that to identify these hidden creatures as possibly being relict examples of the ancient ape, Gigantopithecus. The case he puts forward is a good one, and may someday prove to be exactly what has been reported on so many continents for so many years.

If reading a textbook on this theory sounds dry or boring, there is no need to worry. Mr. Murphy has woven a story around a list of characters that would be hard to duplicate in any one book. His villains, and they abound, are believable and revolting. His heroes, while fewer in number, are likeable and exhibit extreme strength of character as they fight to thwart the plans of their evil protagonists. The end result is that one does not want to put the book down. The reader feels compelled to turn the pages to see if the revolting characters are overcome by those determined to set things aright. The story is told in such a way that one is not sure what the outcome will be until the very end. Even then, there is fodder for speculation and future adventures.

This is not, however, a simple story of good and evil set in the field of Cryptozoology. Mr. Murphy's use of detail and adjectives creates word pictures that are unbelievably vivid. He draws the reader into the novel one sentence at a time. And, we should note, that if one takes the time to stand back and observe, many of the sentences are a delight to read in and of themselves. We have before us a true craftsman of the English Language who yields it as skillfully as a master swordsman yields his weapon. You will not be disappointed. In fact, you will be mesmerized by his skill even as you read the first chapter; "Hong Kong, 1935."

There is no reason to give away the conclusion of this book. However, the reader cannot help but be impressed by the bar fight near the end. This is a scene that would make any action writer or action filmmaker proud.

We send our best to Mr. Murphy. It seems inevitable that we will see more from him over the coming months and years. That is an eventuality to which we look forward with great anticipation.

Lee Murphy is one of my favorite authors of cryptofiction, and this particular novel is my favorite. There are a few shocking scenes that made me shudder...and it was not the giant Bigfoot who did the frightful action, but rather, renegade humans! As for the Bigfoot, Lee uses Gigantopithecus as the unknown creature, which I adamantly don't believe is correct, but that incredible furry hulk works wonders in this action-packed, non-stop, suspenseful novel.

Most of all, I've fallen in love my (and Lee's) hero, George Kodiak. But sorry ladies--George is slicker than tar on asphalt, in south Texas in August, as far as evading romantic entanglements is concerned. His avoidance skills are even more sharply honed than a Bigfoot's! If he were a real-life rather than fictional hero, he'd leave a long string of broken hearts in his wake, including my own. He's an older (and younger!) lady's dream--brilliant, dedicated, gentle, compassionate and extremely intuitive. But in the next novel, "Naitaka", the lady he seemed to take a shine to and literally walked into the sunrise with, hand in hand, is nowhere to be found.

However, there may be hope. Lee is currently at work on this third novel, "Heretofore: Unknown", and maybe she will reappear in it, or perhaps the elusive George Kodiak will meet his match at last. I'm holding my breath, and I hope Lee won't be slothful in getting it the publisher STAT.

"Where Legends Roam" is indeed a unique story, and Lee Murphy is a unique novelist. I recommend it to cryto lovers, and to adventure lovers, without reservation.