Last week we finished up Door in the Dragon\u2019s Throat. Generally, after finishing one book I\u2019ve gone on to another, unrelated book. Several readers have asked me to keep going with the Cooper Kids Adventure Series, however, and it just so happens that I have a copy of book 2: Escape from the Island of Aquarius. I skimmed it last week, the first time I\u2019d read it since I was a teen. I found it sufficiently different from book 1 to be interesting without being boring, while also hitting on many of the same ridiculous sort of themes we all commented on and loved in the first book.<\/p>\n
My plan is to power through this quickly with more description and less quoting if it ends sup getting boring. This book is about the hippies, by the way. In Polynesia.\u00a0Cult hippies. Oh yes! Buckle up!<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the book begins:<\/p>\n
It was a hot, clear day on the South Pacific, and the ocean had that slow, lazy feel that could rock you to sleep with its gently rolling swells. The captain of the chugging trawler was bored and playing checkers with his first mate while another crewman stayed at the ship\u2019s wheel. There wasn\u2019t much to talk about, so nobody did much talking. They had hauled their catch and were headed for port, and that was all that really mattered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Um, okay.<\/p>\n
Who is this captain? Who captains fishing boats on the south pacific? Does playing checkers mean they\u2019re Americans, or do Polynesian fishermen play checkers? If they\u2019re Americans, though, they\u2019re\u00a0pirate<\/em> Americans.<\/p>\n
The crewman at the wheel calls out that he sees something off the port bow, and for everyone to come see. The captain says he\u2019s already seen everything, so he\u2019s not coming. Oh, no no no, they insist! You haven\u2019t seen this!<\/em><\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll wager I have,\u201d said the captain, getting up from the checker game, \u201cand now I\u2019ll see it one more time, and you\u2019ll not be at any advantage for being away from our game, mark my words! I\u2019ve\u2014\u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I mean really,<\/em> what is that?<\/p>\n
They see a hobbled together raft with a man tied to the mast, in case you\u2019re wondering.<\/p>\n
A ladder was lowered over the side, and two crewmen clambered down it. They dangled from the ladder by one hand and one leg and let the blue-green, foaming water pass slowly under them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I mean \u2026 okay.<\/p>\n
They get onto the raft and find that the man is dead\u2014and that he\u2019s wearing a heavy copper medallion.<\/p>\n
It bore a symbol of the zodiac.<\/p>\n
\u201cAquarius,\u201d said the capitan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This is local lore, apparently, and it doesn\u2019t make any sense. Aquarius is a place, and the captain says he \u201cwagers\u201d it wasn\u2019t the sea that killed this man\u2014\u201cit could have been a curse \u2026 or a spirit \u2026 something dark, and altogether unkind.\u201d Okay<\/em> then. This is part of why I wish we knew more about this fishing boat and its crew. Where have they heard these stories from? How widespread are these stories, and for how long have they been going around?<\/p>\n
Nothing about this story of a curse makes any sense.<\/p>\n
They check the man\u2019 pockets and find a letter. They make out the words \u201cInternational Missionary Alliance\u201d and \u201cAdam MacKenzie\u201d and decide they\u2019ll take the man to Samoa and \u201clet the the powers-that-be have their talk with these missionary people.\u201d And that\u2019s that. The end of our nice little introduction.<\/p>\n
Scene change! Enter Dr. Cooper and kids!<\/p>\n
Dr. Jake Cooper sat in the back of the little cruiser as it putt-putted across the blue water, his sharp eyes constantly checking the horizon and then referring to the map laid out in front of him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Did he have a first name in the first book? I actually don\u2019t think he did.<\/p>\n
His fourteen-year-old son, Jay, kept a strong and steady hand not eh helm and his eyes on the boat\u2019s compass.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Having characters named Jay and Jake sounds like a great idea. Maybe it\u2019s a good thing Peretti always refers to him as Dr. Cooper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Dad,\u201d he said, looking again to be sure, \u201cI still don\u2019t see any island out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jay\u2019s sister, Lila, thirteen, sat on a cushion to one side, her head hanging over the rail, her blond hair hanging over her glazed eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cLand \u2026 land \u2026\u201d she pleaded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh FFS.<\/p>\n
Several readers noted in the last book that Jay is the active, bold, adventurous one while Lila is frequently portrayed as being scared or worried. They were not imagining that, and we\u2019re already seeing it here. Lila is seasick<\/em>. For those who were curious, there\u2019s no way this is accidental. Or rather, it may be<\/em> unintentional, but everything Peretti writes in these books is filtered through his evangelical Christian beliefs about people\u2014and about gender\u2014so it\u2019s not accidental<\/em>.<\/p>\n
As we listen in on the conversation between the three we learn that they\u2019ve been island hopping, looking for Aquarius.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been to twenty different islands now and nobody we\u2019ve talked to has even heard of an island called Aquarius.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot by the name, no,\u201d Dr. Cooper answered, peering across the water through the binoculars. \u201cBut all the natives and tribes around here seem to know the rumors about some island that is taboo, or cursed, or evil. The very fact that they refuse to talk about it is strong evidence for its existence.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Whaaaat<\/em>.<\/p>\n
This is like the satanic panic, when the fact that a child didn\u2019t<\/em> allege horrible things about their daycare teacher could be viewed as evidence that their daycare teacher did horrible things\u2014because why else would the child be too scared to talk about it?! Also, did they actually refuse to talk about it, or did they tell him about rumors about a cursed island? Either they didn\u2019t talk about it, or they told him about rumors they\u2019d heard. I don\u2019t see how it can be both.<\/p>\n
Also, does Dr. Cooper know the local languages? He\u2019s not traveling with a guide. Actually, that may be the weirdest thing here\u2014it\u2019s literally just the three of them, out in the pacific in some kind of boat, completely and totally alone. How are they sure they won\u2019t get lost? How does Dr. Cooper know how to pilot a boat? From what we\u2019ve heard, he typically does archeological digs in places like Egypt or mythical countries in the Middle East. Biblical archeology\u2014which is what he does\u2014doesn\u2019t exactly involve a whole lot of boating experience.<\/p>\n
Look, all I\u2019m saying is that if I<\/em> went to the South Pacific, I\u2019d sure as heck go with a guide, someone who knew the area and the language and the weather and boats and tides and all the other things that\u2019d quickly get me into trouble.<\/p>\n
So, here\u2019s the thing about Lila. She\u2019s the one who\u2019s always scared or nervous or sick, but she\u2019s also the only one who even remotely has her head on her shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll this over a little note,\u201d she muttered sickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, said Dr. Cooper, the International Missionary Alliance seemed to think that little note was a vital link too MacKenzie. He disappeared in this area and was assumed dead over two years ago, rememberers,r but now this note turns up in the pocket of a dead man, and the handwriting is definitely MacKenzie\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich means he could still be alive somewhere,\u201d said Jay.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut why did the Alliance hire us to find him?\u201d Lila wondered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
See what I mean? She\u2019s asking the hard<\/em> questions!<\/p>\n
Dr. Cooper immediately starts insisting that they\u2019ve been hired for very good reasons\u2014because no one else wanted to do it, and because the man\u2019s death was definitely not normal\u2014that kind of thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to the authorities in Samoa, but all they could give me was guesses about poisons and rumors about Aquarius, and that medallion around his neck. I\u2019m afraid we\u2019ll have to find out everything for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we were archaeologists,\u201d Lila said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ding ding ding! I thought so too!<\/p>\n
Only Jay says anything in response: \u201cWe\u2019re also very good at snooping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, I am not an expert on the zodiac\u2014I really know nothing at all\u2014but I did some googling just now and I what I learned suggests that it definitely doesn\u2019t have anything to do with the South Pacific. This makes no sense.<\/p>\n
Finally, they spot an island. Aquarius!<\/p>\n
\u201cAre there any rumors about this island eating boats?\u201d Lila asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, just people,\u201d said her father. \u201cThey say that no one ever returns from here.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I just. I can\u2019t with this.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll go ahead and spoil something\u2014this island is inhabited by hippies. They\u2019re mostly Americans, but they\u2019ve absorbed the local native population. When did these rumors start? In the past couple of years, after the hippies arrived and started their weird cult? Or earlier, when it was just natives living on the island? And why?<\/em><\/p>\n
This curse is never, ever explained.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t worry\u2014this isn\u2019t the only curses. There will be other curses, too, some of which will<\/em> be explained. Just not this one.<\/p>\n
As they approach the island they notice something weird.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess everything\u2019s normal enough,\u201d Lila said very softly.<\/p>\n
She felt Dr. Cooper\u2019s gentle hand on her shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe not,\u201d he said quietly, pointing. \u201cLook at those palms over there, that whole grove.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three looked. Over to one side of the cove, now silhouetted against the red sky, a very large grove of palm trees grew out of the ocean, as if swamped by a very high tide. But there was no high tide.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
How do they know there\u2019s no high tide? Dr. Cooper is not an expert on the South Pacific. This is one reason bringing a guide along might have been helpful\u2014a guide could have told them whether this was normal.\u00a0I\u2019ll go ahead and spoil it for you, though: as it will turn out, the island is sinking. The whole damn island. Awesome!<\/p>\n
Is the sinking island the curse? Do people know this is going on, or there are rumors? What about the statement that no one ever comes back from the island? Where does that<\/em> story come from? Is that recent, or is that something that was also going on before the hippie cult arrived at the island? (I\u2019m assuming the cult is behind the story of no one returning from the island? If it is, that would definitely make this story\u2019s origin recent.)<\/p>\n
Anyway, as the Coopers watch the island they notice something odd\u2014a rustling and cracking and movement on the island. Finally a person pokes a head out from among the leaves.<\/p>\n
A face!<\/p>\n
It was like a fight mask in some carnival fun house; with wide and wild eyes, a gray, straggling beard, and jagged teeth that glistened in the beam of the spotlight.<\/p>\n
The thing, or creature, or person, jumped out of the bushes and began to wave its skinny arms, hollering, \u201cNo! Go away! Go away,<\/em> you!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
They call out to the figure, but with that he\u2019s gone\u2014and then they see something else.<\/p>\n
A light was moving through the jungle, coming their way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What could it be?<\/p>\n
The light bobbed steadily toward them, blinking behind the trees, branches, and bushes. Finally it broke into the open and moved along the shore, floating about seven feet above the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs \u2026 is that\u2014\u201d Jay began to ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d said Dr. Cooper, peering into the darkness. \u201cI believe it\u2019s exactly what it looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow does he do that?\u201d Lila asked.<\/p>\n
The light was from some kind of torch, which rested on, or rather was stuck to, the top of a very tall Polynesian\u2019s bald head. The man stood on the shore looking at them, a scowl on his dark face, his arms at his sides, his body straight and clothed in skins, bones and grass. He looked like a tall, muscular candle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What.<\/p>\n
I googled \u201cPolynesian torch on head\u201d and the only relevant image I found was this<\/a>. And that image is only relevant because it\u2019s a picture of a Polynesian man dressed in western style clothing, not skins, bones, and grass, wearing on his head not a literal torch but a helmet with a flashlight mounted on top. The image credits say he\u2019s night fishing.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/c8.alamy.com\/comp\/AHHD0A\/night-fishing-with-head-torch-for-flying-fish-beyond-the-reef-atiu-AHHD0A.jpg\")
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