This is a fun and exciting science fiction adventure for boys and girls. I'm one of four sisters who grew up in the 60s. We bought this book through scholastic books and we all read it many times over the years, it became a treasured family favorite. And now 50 plus years later, I'm hoping to find a copy to read to my 6 year old granddaughter. Having said that I don't really remember much about the plot beyond what follows. But please remember that it's been a very long time since I read it so I may not have details exactly right but here's what I remember of the premise....(no spoilers) While walking along a beach two children accidentally dislodge a boulder from the face of a cliff. The children climb on top of the boulder, which is now resting on the beach, and as they play they see what appears to be a small statue partially embedded in the boulder. As they try to remove it they realize that it is embedded in solid rock where the boulder used to be attached to the face of the cliff. From what they can see of it, the statue appears to be of some sort lizard man, and even stranger and more exciting, it looks like it was carved from solid diamond! The children tell a local geologist, who is a family friend of their discovery and take him to see it.. He carefully removes the little statue from the rock, examines it and then runs a series of tests to determind its age and what it is made of. The geologist then tells the children that because of where it was found, embedded in solid rock in what used to be part of the ancient seaside cliff, the geologist tells the children that the statue must be extremely old, so old in fact that it predates mankind! The rock it was embedded in wasn't just old, it was millions of years old!! Even more unbelievable, the statue was carved from some sort of synthetic diamond. He tells them that there is no known technology that can produce such a diamond OR even to carve it! This artifact is so unbelievably strange that it can't possibly exist, and yet it does! Who carved it, and when? How did it come to rest inside solid rock that is millions of years old? Who is this lizard man, did he ever really exist? The discovery of the statue is only the beginning of the amazing adventure the children embark upon, along with their geologist friend, as they try to solve the mystery of this impossible artifact.
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This was the first science fiction book I remember reading as a child, so I was delighted to share it with my seven-year old daughter. It is a Scholastic book and meant for young readers, so it is kid of hard to review on the typical aspects on which I'd judge a book.
I didn't remember many details from when I read it many decades ago, except for one specific situation that comes up on the penultimate chapter. It felt like exposition city as there were many instances of a character launching into exposition, but maybe that is normal for books written for younger readers. Maybe “show, don't tell” is too subtle for younger minds. I do know that every chapter that went on my daughter kept asking “when are they going to meet the character on the cover? Or is that the statue they found? Are they going to be able to talk?” And she really liked the joke about the Wizard of Ooze.
The science is gonzo, but imaginative and fun. It is a variation of the “hollow earth” theme like Pellucidar or Journey to the Center of the Earth. You've got some Matrix-like things, some advanced civilization stuff, and some kind of cliche good civ/bad civ stuff, and some kids who are just kind of along for the ride.
One thing I really enjoyed as I was reading it to my daughter was coming up with different voices for different characters, which my daughter says she likes. Dr. Shaw had a Maine accent. Professor Kincaid sounded like Peter Lorre. Saa sounded a bit like Data. Stan had a deep and manly voice. Gaanu and Krii had a typical villainous voice. The rest kind of all sounded the same.
So is it going to dethrone the Wizard of Oz or the Chronicles of Narnia? No. Is it going to continue to have a place as a nostalgic favorite that led me into reading Tarzan and comic books and enjoying fantasy and science fiction? Absolutely! And I'm very glad I got to enjoy it with my daughter.
