Review: A fresh and exuberant fantasy adventure for Pre-teens
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 13, 2014
Elias Zapple is such a fresh voice in literature for young adults that repeating his own biography gives the reader of this book a taste of what to expect in this highly successful tale: `Elias Zapple was not born in 1922, as some would have you believe. His date of birth is not really relevant anyway. What is relevant is that he arose out of a tulip that was growing in some old granny's garden in Camberwell. How he got to be in a tulip is not really clear, nor is it clear how he got out of the tulip, and years later wrote the smash hit musical, 'Love, be a Stranger', which was an international flop. After that success, he went on to work as a 19th century Victorian chimney sweep, when he was inspired to write the acclaimed series of books entitled 'Duke & Michel'. It is believed the fumes from the chimneys did so much damage to Elias, that it was a miracle he ever ate a cupcake again. Later, he traveled back in time to the present, and went on a series of trips to many foreign and distant lands. During these travels, Elias met and listened to many interesting people, choosing to ignore all of them. He did, however, learn a couple of things: i) the earth is flat; and ii) you should never eat a banana when it's not ripe. Many questions are often asked by his adoring public. Are you human? How many chimpanzees can fit inside a fridge? What is that thing growing on the side of your head? To which Mr Zapple has always smiled, turned away and swam off into the sunset; having only once been bitten by an unfriendly shark. Elias Zapple continues to work towards the unification of Korea, and writing children's stories that parents will spend huge sums of money on. He wishes you all to know that every penny made from the books will go straight into his bank account, which he will then spend on a lavish, new tent.'After reading that bit of top drawer comedic writing it is nearly impossible to avoid reading his books (they number four at the present time). His writing is funny, witty, immersed in fantasy, and with a fine sense of literary style that the intended audience of pre-teens should be elevated into loving literature after reading the DUKE & MICHEL series.The story is well condensed into the few sentences offered by the author: `Skateboarder Michel is freaking out as his cousin Romain has gone missing. Michel sticks his head through a hole in the garden fence and is sucked into a giant vortex. He ends up in a mysterious corridor, with doors leading to strange worlds. He also meets Duke, a food-obsessed, sarcastic Basset Hound dog, who is searching for his brothers. Together they hunt for their missing relatives, unaware that they are also being hunted by the Master, a villain with a dandruff problem.' And that is enough of the gist of the tale to seduce. Where Zapple shines is his edgy, crusty, tinged with dark humor writing style that makes the story of a possibly frightening situation a combination of contemporary trends, an anthropomorphic dog, a step or bow toward sci-fi, and all of this is peppered with some clever insertions of illustrations by Elliott Beavan.  I'd wager adults won't be able to resist this zany little story. Grady Harp, June 14