Des Hunt is one of my favourite New Zealand authors because he writes action-packed adventure stories set in New Zealand. The setting is always so important in his stories and Des has introduced Kiwi kids to parts our beautiful country that are both familiar and unexplored territory for them. In his latest book, Phantom of Terawhiti, Des takes us to Wellington’s wild southwest coast and introduces us to Zac, who stumbles on an interesting discovery.
It’s the school holidays and Zac thinks he might go crazy with boredom. He’s living in exile with his disgraced father on the remote Terawhiti Station on Wellington’s wild southwest coast. Then Zac and his dad witness a boat sink during a storm. Investigating further, Zac finds a set of unusual animal prints on the beach. Whose boat is it? And what creature could have made the prints? Soon armed men are prowling the coast, and threatening Zac, his friends and his family. He must do all he can to protect the Phantom of Terawhiti from those intent on hunting it down.
Phantom of Terawhiti is an action-packed adventure story, packed with mystery, armed and angry Russians, brainless hunters, wild weather, a car chase, and a race against time. Des Hunt is a gifted storyteller who never fails to write a story that grips readers and makes you keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. In Phantom of Terawhiti there are plenty of heart-stopping moments, especially when Zac and Jess clash with the Russians. The mystery of the ‘Phantom of Terawhiti’ draws you in and, even when the creature is revealed, you wonder how it will survive in the wild with the hunters trying to track it down.
Like the main characters in his other books, Zac and Jess are just normal Kiwi kids, who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (or maybe the right place at the right time). Zac gets dragged by his dad to come and live on the remote Terawhiti Station, and it’s while he’s here that he discovers the wreck of the yacht and the paw prints in the sand. When they discover the Phantom of Terawhiti, Zac and Jess know that they must do everything they can to protect it. Kiwi kids will relate to Zac and Jess and will imagine themselves in their shoes.
Phantom of Terawhiti is one of Des Hunt’s best books so far and I can’t wait to see where in the country he will take us to next.
4 out of 5 stars
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Reblogged this on 100 great books before lunch and commented:
Zac Harding introduced me to the work of New Zealand author Des Hunt in this post. I bought the book on his recommendation and read it in an afternoon – it was really exciting, well paced and beautifully written and really was one of those stories I couldn’t put down until finished. I have a selection of books by Des Hunt in my library and had not read any of them – so I am really grateful to Zac for having introduced me to his books. Now that I have read this one, I will be offering these titles to the Year 5/6 students who prefer realistic, adventurous fiction over fantasy. It seems only fitting that I reblog Zac’s original post! Zac is interviewing a wonderful selection of New Zealand authors and Illustrators during NZ Book Month so hop over to his blog to read more!