Archy the Flying
Dolphin and
the Vampire’s Curse
Alan Williams
Reviewed by A. E. Jaskiewicz
Archy the Flying Dolphin is a
book that starts out being set on a remote beach. It
is during summer vacation, or holiday, for
the kids, who are being left with their uncle, while their parents
vacation in Hawaii. The setting,
however changes rapidly throughout the book, leading to places like Sunshine Island and Sleepy Swamp. In fact, most
of the book is set in vary dark locations due to the curse that is
unleashed by
the hero and heroine of the book.
The story of Archy is told in
third person. The story centers around
Thomas Parkinson, and his older sister Suzy.
Thomas is portrayed as a typical, eleven year old boy. He is looking for adventure in his otherwise
boring and ordinary life. Suzy is also
portrayed as rather typical of an older sister.
She seems to be constantly whining about what’s happening. She also doesn’t want to be bothered by
Thomas and his silly fantasies. Most of
the other characters in the story are actually rather mean throughout. Uncle Fibber, who becomes Uncle Stinker after
the curse, starts out as a fun-loving older guy. Then,
after the curse is unleashed, Uncle
Stinker is just a just a mean, horrible person who makes the
kids do all sorts
of horrible, grueling chores.
The messages of Archy the
Flying Dolphin are good, and they come through loud and clear, without
being
too direct and preachy. The main themes
of the story are that you shouldn’t let curiosity get the better of
you, and
that true love and friendship are what’s really important.
Throughout the book, Thomas saves the life of
Archy the Dolphin more than once. Archy
is always there to return the favor, as well.
Thomas quite often refers to Archy as the best friend he has
ever had. And, together with Suzy, they
set out to
destroy the curse of Victoria Von Vampire, which Thomas has released
through
his curiosity.
There are many strong points
to Archy the Flying Dolphin. It does
have good messages for the intended age group.
It does offer a fun and exciting story.
But, I think the best points would be the vivid language and
fast-paced
action packed story that Alan Williams weaves for the readers. Whether describing the dilapidated cottage
that Uncle Stinker lives in after the curse, the crystal blue eyes that
Archy
has, or the bedroom window that’s roughly the size of Uncle Stinker’s
fist,
Williams does an excellent job of taking the reader to the far-off
worlds he
has created.
The book, however, is not
without weakness. I would say, there was
one thing that bothered me about the book.
It was that there almost seemed to be too many characters. Many characters were introduced early in the
book, and not seen again until almost the end.
This was true for Antarctic, the Polar Bear on Sunshine Island, and Uncle Fibber/Uncle Stinker. There were also characters, like Frankie Frog
Brain, who never showed up again after their introduction.
Even the title character seemed to be absent
from a good portion of the book, but he did show up more than many
others.
Overall, I would say that
Archy the Flying Dolphin is a fantastic book for middle grade kids. It is too much on the dark side for younger
kids, so I would not recommend it for kids younger than 10. But, I think that the message is good, and
the story is captivating. As I said, the
only problem that I could find was a minor one.
I think kids will enjoy this story.
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