covediver
Contributor
I was scanning the offerings on scuba fiction at Amazon recently and came across Demon's Treasure by Shane Barker. The blurb, like most blurbs, is designed to catch your attention; this one did that
"A fortune in gold and silver lies buried in the wreckage of a lost treasure galleon. Fourteen-year-old Jansen is the key to finding it. Hungry sharks, menacing demons, and a massive hurricane block the way, but they're the least of Jansen's worries. He's facing dangers more deadly, and more terrifying, than anything he can possibly imagine."
It being October and close to Halloween, I figured I would give it a try. While technically a Young Adult novel, I have been finding out since I was one decades ago, that YA is not just for youngsters, it can be enjoyed by many readers of all ages.
The plot is pretty straight forward, Jansen is on a research vessel for the summer with his father. The expedition is about to be cut short by a brewing hurricane. Even though outside the Devil's Triangle, the vessel in plagued by a number of strange equipment failures and glitches. On what is slated to be one of the last dives, Jansen discovers the wreckage of a very old ship and a gold cross and chain. The discovery sets into motion a series of increasingly catastrophic events, culminating in the vessel being taken over by a treasure hunter who has been searching for the gold laden wreck. Jansen is pressed into helping salvage the treasure, which he does with excitedly with a touch of remorse as the storm moves closer....
I liked the novel. It reminded me of the kind of action adventure novel that I discovered as a teen and have enjoyed ever since. It has a few exaggerations probably more suited to a 1950s adventure story or Sea Hunt episode related to moray eels, the rupture of a first stage tank valve o-ring, and so on, but nothing that won't cause more than a momentary roll of the eyes by experienced divers. The character, Jansen, is very believable with other protagonists and antagonists less so, but the main characters do exhibit a complexity that makes this more than a children's story. Jansen has a sense of wonder, imagination, and sarcasm that anyone who has been a 14-year-old teen will recognize. The story is fast pace and never really bogs down.
"A fortune in gold and silver lies buried in the wreckage of a lost treasure galleon. Fourteen-year-old Jansen is the key to finding it. Hungry sharks, menacing demons, and a massive hurricane block the way, but they're the least of Jansen's worries. He's facing dangers more deadly, and more terrifying, than anything he can possibly imagine."
It being October and close to Halloween, I figured I would give it a try. While technically a Young Adult novel, I have been finding out since I was one decades ago, that YA is not just for youngsters, it can be enjoyed by many readers of all ages.
The plot is pretty straight forward, Jansen is on a research vessel for the summer with his father. The expedition is about to be cut short by a brewing hurricane. Even though outside the Devil's Triangle, the vessel in plagued by a number of strange equipment failures and glitches. On what is slated to be one of the last dives, Jansen discovers the wreckage of a very old ship and a gold cross and chain. The discovery sets into motion a series of increasingly catastrophic events, culminating in the vessel being taken over by a treasure hunter who has been searching for the gold laden wreck. Jansen is pressed into helping salvage the treasure, which he does with excitedly with a touch of remorse as the storm moves closer....
I liked the novel. It reminded me of the kind of action adventure novel that I discovered as a teen and have enjoyed ever since. It has a few exaggerations probably more suited to a 1950s adventure story or Sea Hunt episode related to moray eels, the rupture of a first stage tank valve o-ring, and so on, but nothing that won't cause more than a momentary roll of the eyes by experienced divers. The character, Jansen, is very believable with other protagonists and antagonists less so, but the main characters do exhibit a complexity that makes this more than a children's story. Jansen has a sense of wonder, imagination, and sarcasm that anyone who has been a 14-year-old teen will recognize. The story is fast pace and never really bogs down.
