On a beautiful Caribbean island, dark magic is at work. This evil threatens to destroy the island animals’ way of life forever.
A grumpy and arrogant iguana, who enjoys his own company, and a shy, young manicou, searching for courage, find themselves at the very centre of the evil. Their lives become entwined as they set out on their separate quests. But to save the island’s inhabitants, they must work together, facing dangers they could never have imagined.
This book based on my own experiences living in the Antilles and coming up close and personal with some of the most strange, beautiful, and sometimes scary inhabitants of these islands. An arventure story for 12yrs and up mixing fact with folklore from the people and creatures I’ve met.
I was once attacked by a giant centipede, I have also had a vey close encounter with a Manchineel tree and I have a scar to prove it. I have however, never seen the Gumby.
I have also included a glossary in the Back of the book as a fun explanation to children who have never been to these islands the facts behind some of the fiction, and a little insight by myself.
On a beautiful Caribbean island, dark magic is at work. This evil threatens to destroy the island animals’ way of life forever.
A grumpy and arrogant iguana, who enjoys his own company, and a shy, young manicou, searching for courage, find themselves at the very centre of the evil. Their lives become entwined as they set out on their separate quests. But to save the island’s inhabitants, they must work together, facing dangers they could never have imagined.
This book based on my own experiences living in the Antilles and coming up close and personal with some of the most strange, beautiful, and sometimes scary inhabitants of these islands. An arventure story for 12yrs and up mixing fact with folklore from the people and creatures I’ve met.
I was once attacked by a giant centipede, I have also had a vey close encounter with a Manchineel tree and I have a scar to prove it. I have however, never seen the Gumby.
I have also included a glossary in the Back of the book as a fun explanation to children who have never been to these islands the facts behind some of the fiction, and a little insight by myself.
The wind screamed and the thunder roared on top of Koko Kapu Wypy. The rain pounded against this volcano, demanding admittance to the hot and damp cave inside. Lightning seared the sky and lanced the earth. The greatest blood moon the island had ever seen dominated the sky.
Far below, giant waves crashed against the coastline and started gouging chunks out of the rugged cliff face. Further out at sea, great plumes of acrid smoke lunged upwards with a forward motion (not unlike the giant sea creatures who populated these oceans), belching lava into the surrounding waters with a mighty hiss. These waters were boiling and spitting and bursting. Exploding bubbles of molten rock were being launched into the sky by a powerful force, some of which came down with giant thuds onto the island itself.
The entire island shuddered with fear. It appeared empty of its inhabitants. The animals of the forest cowered in their homes, hearts beating loudly, as Dark Obeah wrapped them together in fear.
Obeah was a kind of ancient magic, and when the island was young, the Gods had filled it to the brim with plenty of this powerful force. The creator Gods had blessed all the islands in bountiful measure, which helped the plants to grow and give life and shelter to the forest, desert and mountain creatures. It also ensured the waters surrounding the shores teemed with life. It had kept the balance between darkness and light on this island and its sister islands. It had always been here, since the time that the magnificent underwater volcanoes wanted to look above the sea and never went back beneath again.
Tonight, unfortunately, the balance had shifted. The size of the blood moon signified that the Obeah was at its highest level for centuries. The boiling and spitting sea signified it would unleash a great evil.
High up on the mountainside, the wind whipped at the entrance to the cave at Koko Kapu Wypy’s summit. Cobwebs formed a great plug from one side of the opening to the other. They hung like great swathes of thick, sticky, tangled hair. Leaves and branches caught in the snare only acted to strengthen this makeshift door. The only question left was whether this barrier was to stop things from entering the cave or leaving it.
Inside the hot and steamy cave was a dark form, mainly hidden by shadow. It crouched in the farthest corner from the entrance. Emanating from this shape was a clicking, rasping purr. Long, spiny legs stroked and coaxed a large cocoon hanging from the ceiling in the corner of the chamber. Eight red eyes blazed in the darkness as they reflected off tiny streams of lava dripping down the walls, the only source of light in this dank cavern.
Beside the creature, on the floor, was the desiccated remains of some wretched soul. Mostly bones now, the skull of this unfortunate animal had rolled away from its body and only come to rest when one of its large curled horns had got stuck in a crack in the floor.
The cocoon, made of the same threads as the ones covering the entrance to the cavern, pulsated and twitched. An ancient language was being used to wake whatever was inside it and was willing it to be born.
Back down below, the sea was awash with light. The water appeared to be on fire in places and a bright orange serpent-like crack slithered and grew along the seabed.
Suddenly there was a mighty explosion heard for miles around. The anger that had been simmering beneath the surface of the earth had finally erupted. The sound was so loud it was deafening. Angry plumes of smoke erupted violently and were so large they obscured the view of the blood-red moon. The heat from the magma being forced into the cooler sea created exploding bubbles of molten rock, sending shards of it into the air. These shards fell like swords being thrown by the Gods themselves, piercing the island below. The sea glowed as the molten lava flowed across the seabed, leaving hundreds of dead fish floating on the surface in its broiling wake.
At that moment, a glittering greenish-blue light rose from the orange crack and, with a pain-filled snarl, it streaked across the surface of the sea, causing a train of blistering steam in its wake. It lunged forwards and upwards at a tremendous speed – a force of life being crushed and cooled as it struggled to escape its fiery prison. A towering mountain under the ocean’s surface tried to emerge, sending up plumes of billowing water and belching up angry red streams of lava that turned to dust in the air. Yeli Topu gave out a desperate last blood curdling cry as he made a bid for freedom, before silence returned to the sea once more. The huge orange fissure under the seabed suddenly snapped shut, and the sea calmed. It had released something into the inky blackness, something that would ultimately change the course of history for these tiny islands, but not just yet. Thirty miles away, the island of Sawtooth was born.
Back in the cave, life was being given to the occupant in the insulated sheath. The magically charged lightning had now localised itself above the volcano and was piercing it repeatedly as the Gods roared in the thunder, trying to stop the event. The air was fizzing all across the island and a pressure had been building for some time.
The creature who had been tending the shell-like casing sang a terrible song as she defied the Gods on the very land they had created. Her name was Ipiitopa Turupo and she was filled with anger. Her chanting rose in volume and as it did, the lava on the walls ran faster and thicker to match it. She was a magical creature and once a favourite of the Gods, but was now shunned, banished from their good graces. She no longer resembled the beautiful creature she once was, but was twisted and spiteful and savage. The creature in the cocoon was her revenge on her creators, and together they would wreak havoc upon the world. The magic she was using was taking a toll on her body, but it would be worth it, so she kept going. She did not care that the force of the chant she was using was draining her; she did not notice that she was physically shrinking in size. She was so consumed by the deepest magic that she was unaware of her surroundings.
Suddenly a bright green flash of light leapt across both the sky and the roof of the cave. The creature heard tearing as the fabric of the sheath fell away. She took one step back and then another. She was giddy with power and overwhelmed at her achievement.
A single long and spiny leg uncurled from the sac. It was completely white and had a row of spikes running down its entire length. She stared in awe as the leg waved around uncertainly, trying to get some purchase on something solid. She raised her front legs as if to embrace the new child, she willed it to be born and to finally meet her, its mother. Unfortunately for her, it did and, before she realised what had happened, she was dead. The long spiny leg had pierced her straight through her heart. The creature then shook its mother’s body off, reacting like it had stood in something nasty – well, in fact it had.
The next morning, the island was in complete devastation; the forest lay decimated and most of its animals were dead or injured. The sea had thrown up boulders, which crushed homes and destroyed entire communities. The mighty winds had blown down magnificent trees, and the ruthless lightning had torn them from the ground. Brush had burned, and the fish in the sea had boiled to death.
Now in the forest stood manchineel trees. These were trees of Dark Obeah and the animals of the forest had never seen them; they had never been on the island before this day. These trees could move when magical conditions were strong. They uprooted and replaced the fruit trees that were originally growing and took their place. These trees dripped poison from their low-hanging tentacle-like branches and leaves. They possessed an apple-like fruit, which contained a powerful acid that could easily burn through the throat of any animal that chanced upon it and mistook it for a tasty snack. They were terrifying.
But amongst all of this devastation and misery there was, in the centre of the forest, a new sapling, a ray of hope in the gloom. This tree would grow big and strong over the years; it would become known as the “Tree of Life”. Its roots would grow big and strong too, and they would suck the residual evil from the earth. It would be a symbol of hope and of goodness. It would stop an overload of magical energy forming and so prevent a disaster like this ever happening again.
This was one last fresh life created by the Gods as their parting gift to the islands. They could not undo what the Obeah had done, but they could try to stop it happening again. The Gods had decided by themselves that the world was better off without their interference. It was time for the creatures of these islands to find the balance themselves. In a shower of bluish gold, they vanished. No inhabitants on the island ever saw them again. Well, not as they were before.
A large green iguana is always an amazing sight on a Caribbean island. They are such amazing creatures to observe and the babies are so cute. I love watching an iguana in its natural habitat and the older iguanas are much more interesting. So when this book appeared on my list, I immediately snapped it up. The description itself was quite intriguing with the author's experiences shaping the ideas for this book.
The island has been abandoned by the gods. A dark magic, a dark obeah, is wreaking havoc on the island. The product of this dark obeah is a monster known as the Gumby and extremely poisonous manchineel trees. Most creatures are afraid of the Gumby and his hench-animal, an evil centipede. One day, the dark magic causes the home of the iguana, Wajamaka, to disappear and an evil manchineel tree put in its place. Wajamaka is highly distressed as this was his favourite tree to sleep in. This occurrence sets of a series of emotions in Wajamaka and he sets off to put a stop to this evil. On the way, he teams up with a shy manicou who has resolved to prove his courage. Together, Wajamaka, the manicou, and the island's inhabitants must work together to get back their beautiful island.
This story was inspired by Caribbean folklore and is a thrilling tale for everyone. It may seem a little bit scary in the beginning, but that's only the first few pages. In fact, when I read the beginning I thought it would be something along the lines of Moana, but this turned out quite differently. As someone living in the Caribbean, I chuckled at parts of the story. For example, Wajamaka's favourite fruit is the plum rose. That fruit is also one of my favourites. I never imagined I would have something in common with an iguana! But the setting, the inhabitants of the islands, and the manchineel trees were all so familiar that this book was an absolute joy to read. The author's writing style is one that is easy to read. I found myself completely wrapped up in the creature's lives and sympathizing with them throughout the story. Each creature had their own unique quirks that it was so easy to picture their lives on an island.
I highly recommend this book to everyone and I would love to read more tales like this!