Reviews for The thunder king

The average rating for The thunder king based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-04-29 00:00:00 Michael Mizell Set in an Andean village, young, inseparable Peruvian twins Tantay and Illanti are separated from one another one day for their chores - one tends the llamas, the other the crops. Tantay is whisked away by the Thunder King and Illanti travels high into the mountains and rescues him with the help of Condor. I feel that the narrative is lacking and seems rushed; in at least a couple places it says "at last they…" when very little has happened (I checked to see if I had skipped a page). The authenticity of the tale is also difficult to confirm because there is no foreword or afterward. The illustrations however are wonderful (4-5 stars). Beautiful watercolors capture the landscape, animals, and colors of Peru. Each spread has a patterned fringe; the illustrations are said to have been inspired by the "landscape and textiles of Peru." It is a shame that the artist didn't hire someone to write the text because her illustrations deserve a better written tale. Bonus points for the scene where Illanti crosses high above a river gorge in a basket hung from a rope. During a backpacking trip in Peru I made a similar crossing in a much larger and metal basket. But the sides seemed very low and the drop was a few hundred feet. The school children who I shared the basket with use it for their daily commute and got a laugh out of my reaction.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-02-27 00:00:00 Maritza Rodriguez This book was a disappointment. While the illustrations were colorful, the author seemed to have difficulty drawing human faces. The "twins" didn't look alike, except in the last picture. In one picture, the text describes a fat woman and "an even fatter man". However, in the picture, while the woman looks fat, the man doesn't. The story was told in a disjointed way, as if the author were condensing a much longer tale, and having to leave out parts. An ok read, but lacking in life.