Joshua Mowll: Prepare for Adventure!

Why read grown-up books when you can read something fun? About a year and a half ago, a friend and I stumbled upon a book called Operation Red Jericho in a discount bookstore. It looked neat and only cost four dollars, so we both snatched up a copy. That was the best four dollars I’ve ever spent.

I should explain what attracted us to Operation Red Jericho in the first place. It was the illustrations. The book is an adventure novel, but it is full of fold-out illustrations: maps, diagrams, “The Weaponry, History, and Fighting Techniques of the Sujing Quantou,” and more. Better still, much of this material is marked “confidential.” This excites me.

My friend and I immediately contacted our inner twelve-year-olds and started reading. Soon we had both acquired the second book in the series, Operation Typhoon Shore. We also formed a secret club. I can’t even tell you what it’s called—it’s that secret. I can tell you that we have saved the world numerous times by meeting at our favorite Indian restaurant and consuming large quantities of butter chicken. The food was the only thing that got us through many agonizing months of waiting for the final book, Operation Storm City. We’re not sure how we’ll entertain ourselves now that the story is finished.

You’ll be wondering what that story is all about. A young brother and sister, Rebecca (handy with a sword) and Douglas (brilliant thinker with lucky socks), search for their parents in China in 1920. They end up on a ship belonging to their uncle, Captain Fitzroy MacKenzie (owns a pet tiger), and adventure ensues. The books are full of secrets, plots, ne’er-do-wells, sword fights, explosions … I could go on and on. Let’s just say the world needs saving from some serious bad guys, and soon it’s up to Becky, Doug, and their friends to do the saving.

If you’re looking for serious literature, this is not it. But if you want a little fun, or perhaps an excuse to wake up your inner twelve-year-old and form a secret club …

Tags: Joshua Mowll