Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom-Tim Byrd

Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom
Tim Byrd
Putnam, May 14 2009, $15.99
ISBN: 9780399247835

Grandpa Pat informs her son Dr. Spartacus Wilde his nonagenarian father vanished after giving a talk at a forum at Harvard. The widower accompanied by his twelve year old son Brian, his ten year old daughter, associate Phineas Bartlett and driver Declan mac Coul plan to search for the missing Wilde. However, before they can begin, they are attacked by mutant frogs in their family abode in the Empire State Building.

Next stop for the intrepid warriors is Harvard, which soon leads them to Hidalgo in South America. From there they enter the jungle heading to a remote region with mutant frogs of all sorts attacking them until they reach a cave whose opening is shaped like the mouth of a giant frog. Inside they continue the quest learning that the dark God Frogon, who destroyed his universe, is seeking entrance to this one to destroy it too. As Mac is turned into a Man-frog, the Wildes battle saber-tooth frogs and other species of mutated frog while Frogon begins the ritual to enter the Wilde universe.

DOC WILDE AND THE FROGS OF DOOM is a fun pulp adventure that pays homage to Doc Savage while targeting the tweener crowd. The story line is fast and lighthearted as the heroes battle mutant fogs. With literary quotes ranging from Seuss to Lovecraft and beyond, Tim Byrd avoids dumbing down his novel. Young readers will relish the escapades of the Wilde family and friends as they struggle to save the world one croak at a time.

Harriet Klausner