Operation Red Jericho
Author: Joshua Mowll
Illustrator: Niroot Puttapipat
Illustrator: Julek Heller
Illustrator: Benjamin Mowll
Book 1 in the Guild of Specialists series
Pages: 288
Published: 2005
Age: 11+
A mysterious guild... An ancient secret... An astonishing adventure...
Fifteen-year-old Rebecca and her younger brother, Doug, embark on a thrilling and dangerous adventure in the wake of their parents' mysterious disappearance in the deserts of China. The siblings' tale begins aboard the Expedient, their uncle's enigmatic research ship, and moves at a breathless pace through the streets of Shanghai and on to a terrifying island fortress. Along the way, Doug and Becca encounter an ancient order of Chinese mercenaries, a brutal pirate warlord, a feisty Texan heiress, and a stolen cache of a volatile explosive called zoridium.
Interspersed are archival elements such as elaborate diagrams and maps, vintage photos and illustrations, documents with stamps, seals, and color fold-outs. Painstakingly researched and packed with authentic detail, Operation Red Jericho is a nonstop-action tale of intrigue and historical fiction, centered in 1920s Shanghai.
British Book Trade Awards, Poppy Red Award for Innovation in Children's Books (2005)
About the Guild of Specialists Series
Books in series order
- 1.Operation Red Jericho(2005)
- 2.Operation Typhoon Shore(2006)
- 3.Operation Storm City(2009)
Reading age: 11+ years
This series should be read in order.
The Guild of Specialists trilogy follows the lives of Rebecca and Douglas MacKenzie in their quest to find their parents who have gone missing on an expedition to the Sinkiang desert in China. The brother and sister meet up with their uncle, Captain Fitzroy MacKenzie, and he welcomes them onto his boat, the Expedient. As they embark on their journey, the pair stumble upon the Guild of Specialists, a secret society of which their uncle is a part. Gradually they start to uncover the secrets of the Guild, and begin to wonder what it was their parents had been looking for in the Sinkiang desert.
This innovative series includes a host of detailed illustrations, side-bar biographies, vintage newspaper clippings, photographs and sketches that augment the action. The novels are full stories and complete on their own, however, these intricate and thoughtful graphics provide an intriguing element that will fascinate many readers.