R.K. Mortensen, Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle, reviewed

Landon Snow and the Auctor’s Riddle
R. K. Mortenson
Barbour Publishing
ISBN 1-59310-881-8
223 pages

Reviewed by Cindy Sproles

Book Description:

“Just ask Landon Snow. He could tell you all about being swallowed by a book, or falling from the sky on horseback, or fleeing a hail of arrows through an enchanted forest, or watching a gigantic gold coin flipping into the sky and wondering…could it be chance, mere circumstance?”

When Landon Snow and his family head to Button Up, Minnesota to visit his Grandpa Karl and Grandma Alice, he had no idea what would lie ahead. After Grandpa Karl suffers a slight injury in an accident while working on his old jalopy, Landon begins to wonder if life is an accident.

Grandpa Karl gives Landon a collectable Bible once owned by Bartholomew G. Benneford founder of the local library, and a “dream stone.” He begins an adventure which teaches him the word of God can be depended upon. When the adventure is over, you, like Landon Snow, will wonder if the adventure was real or a dream. Chance or circumstance?

This “tween” book is filled with extraordinary vocabulary and scripture cleverly tucked into its plot. The book is a great mixture of Alice and Wonderland type characters, books that are alive, and chess pieces which jump the board and become live characters. It’s sure to be a fun read for youth with a Christian content as the guiding force though not overbearing.

I was impressed with the author’s choice of vocabulary, using words such as “auctor”, “furtively”, and “precipice” to challenge young readers to read further and discover their meaning.

Landon Snow will intrigue readers from age 10 to 110. A fun way to see how scripture is given and fulfilled – imaginative and even silly at times, Landon Snow and The Auctor’s Riddle is sure to be a hit with both boys and girls in their tweens.