Track of the Bigfoot (Cryptids Trilogy, Book 2) (Paperback)

by D. L. Tanner (Author)
Key Phrases: spotted owl, ops center, icebound creature, Minnesota Iceman, Albert Myers, Chimaera Foundation (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In the U.S. Geological Survey, there are over 100 tribal words and 2300 locations named, in the United States alone, for a creature that many say was nothing more than the final hoax of an infamous prankster. Yet, since 1811, tales of hairy forest giants, seven to eight feet in height, have filled the accounts of native legends, historical records and eyewitness reports.

Called Bigfoot by the press in the 1960’s, this nocturnal, bipedal primate changed the life of nine-year-old Ian McQuade, forever. Twenty years following an encounter while on a camping trip with his parents in the Pacific Northwest, Ian, now a Ph.D. anthropologist in his own right, is called upon to go in search of these elusive creatures.

Six months have passed since the events of "Shadow of the Thunderbird", Book I of "The Cryptids Trilogy". Ian and his partner, Alma Del Nephites of the Chimaera Foundation, return to the museum from which he was fired for conducting a self-funded expedition into the Brazilian rainforest. The giant spider he went to discover is proved to be all too real to those that terminated him.

Dr. McQuade must decide to resume a career with the museum or stay with the Foundation. Either way, he knows that he could lose Alma. Returning to New York without her, Ian is asked to confront his greatest fear alone and find out the truth behind Bigfoot. Ian is unprepared for his role as senior agent, and his assignment of replacement partners goes from bad to worse.

From the heartland of the Ohio River Valley to the devastated slopes of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State, Ian will uncover mysteries that surround Bigfoot, as well as others of its kind. In a desperate race against time, one secret about the creatures must be kept at all costs, while another must be revealed before it is too late….

From the Author
"The Cryptids Trilogy" is a labor of love, meticulously researched and yet full of the mythology and science of Native American culture and the studies surrounding them.

Relying on native legend, historical records and eyewitness accounts, every effort has been made to ensure the accurate depiction of the people and the fossil record explanation for the monsters of their oral traditions.

The extrapolation of both into a three volume set of cryptofiction novels began in 2002 with "Shadow of the Thunderbird", continued in 2003 with "Track of the Bigfoot" and concludes in 2004 with "Wake of the Lake Monster".

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 409 pages
• Publisher: Booklocker.com (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591133890
• ISBN-13: 978-1591133896
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,368,523 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Motion Picture Quality, April 21, 2004

By A Customer

Mr. Tanner has me hooked on this series. I really had no idea what cryptozoology was until I picked up his books. Now I cannot wait to read the third installment in the series.

Mr. Tanner does a nice job developing the characters, giving full explanations as to the reasons for their flaws and quirks. Ian McQuade, the primary character, is a unique individual that everyone can relate to as well as laugh at. The story is well thought out and the explanations for the creatures are very informative with in-depth research as to why they might exist.

This series is exciting and entertaining for even the uninformed in cryptozoology.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Starts wrong, ends great, August 19, 2004

By	R. Howell "boriskhan" (Medford, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I began reading The Cryptids Trilogy just for this book. I liked the first book well enough but it could have been better. Here in Tanner's sophomore book, he has improved and I enjoyed it much more. However, I must give both sides of my thoughts.

The first 50 pages or so of the book are very sloppy. It seems like Tanner wrote several different beginnings and then opted to stick them all in. I found many annoying redundant items in these pages. 1. Everytime he used the word 'cryptid' he had to explain what it meant even though he already explained it 4 pages previously. 2. He did the same thing with "El Diablo Rojo, or The Red Devil", man that was bothering me like someone can't translate three simple Spanish words. 3. Most of all, in the first 50 pages, he constantly rehashes the first book (Shadow of the Thunderbird - SotT) and McQuade's camping trip as a boy. You can get away with it maybe twice but then it just got irritable. These are the only reasons why this book gets 4 instead of 5 stars.

Now on to the good, other than the beginning, I truly enjoyed this book. Once you get past the bogged down beginnings, the story is well written and entertaining. Tanner cut down the James Bondish parts of the Chimaera Foundation and focused more on developing McQuade as a character. Ranging from McQuade's despondence over not having Alma around to becoming a lead investigator and team leader facing his childhood fear, the character becomes much more connective than in 'SotT'. Starting off with a filmed sighting in Ohio to the involvement of the Minnesota Iceman, we get some background on Albert Myers, the conspiracy theorist, and are introduced to new character the spitfire Belinda 'Billye' Carlton. From there we moved to Mt St Helens for the rest of the mission.

The story from here is not quite what I expected and therefore I enjoyed it more. He does a great job using a Foundation contact tracker in Bobby Dandridge to inform the lesser knowledgable members of the team about numerous bigfoot encounters (Ostman-kidnapping and Beck-Ape Canyon attack). Trying not to give away the ending, I was very sastisfied with the inclusion of the Wendigo mythos as well. Tanner manages to give a different view of this legend too. I was also grateful that the Ian-Alma-Amelia triangle was dropped to the background and was a bit concerned that Alma would show up to save Ian by the end, thankfully she remains absent. One minor miscue is there was no direct closure issue for Cyril Pritchard which is how the book opens the set-up.

Overall, kudos to you Tanner on an improvement over SotT, and now I am eagerly awaiting book 3, Wake of the Lake Monster. Just stay away from a jumbled beginning. I will definitely read this book again in the future.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Iceman cometh....with the Wendigo!, October 20, 2004

By	Ella "Reese Ella Howard" (Wharton County, Texas) - See all my reviews

It you're a Bigfoot fan and like rip-roaring, rollercoaster-ride adventure, this novel is definitely not to be missed. Ian McQuade is back, this time without Alma, and he's assigned by the Chimaera Foundation to go out and discover a Bigfoot. First, he has to retrieve the Minnesota Iceman from a meatpacking plant in Ohio where it has been stored all these years....and he winds up at Mt. St. Helens, encountering an eccentric and aged Bigfoot named Karloff and the even bigger--and meaner--mythical Wendigo, which turns out to be a relict population of the extinct Asian Gigantopithecus, the Ultimate Big Ape. Ian is forced to make major decisions for the expedition, a new experience for him, and he is aided by a new heroine named Billye Carlton, a bellicose and cranky young woman who beats Ian up a couple of times before she gets to like him. And the blockbuster ending is just what I've come to expect from D. L. in his novels.

D. L. has named several of his characters for his friends. Loren Coleman, probably the most celebrated cryptozoologist in the world, appears as himself, as a mentor to Ian. Billye Carlton is, of course, Billye McCarty of Oklahoma, our mutual great friend and D. L.'s relentless editor, who leaves no comma unturned and no misplaced hyphen excused. She does a bang-up job, whipping her author's creativity into its most readable form. Author Lee Murphy appears as a park ranger, and there is even a minor character named Ella Howard, for me! To say I was thrilled at that is a gross understatement.

In "Track", D. L. has not only lived up to my expections after reading "Shadow of the Thunderbird", but surpassed them. Now I'm eagerly awaitng his third novel in the trilogy, this time dealing with lake monsters. Water cryptids don't ring my bell, but I know the new novel will have my complete and extended attention.