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S.W. Lothian is a funny and cool guy from Australia. His kids call him ‘Phil Dunphy’, because he reminds them of the dad from Modern Family. He isn’t sure whether this is a compliment or not, but he takes it as a compliment.
As an imaginative kid he dreamed of creating exciting worlds and funky characters, and thought he’d be the most famous person to ever do this. He loved to draw and was dux of Art in High School. Top of his dream list was to be an animator. Along with his friend (who went on to be a semi-regular in an Aussie TV Soapie) they would make their own comic books – it kept them entertained and out of trouble (most of the time).
He loved watching all those classic cartoons on TV - Scooby Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Road Runner (surely, Coyote would win one day), Wacky Races, the list goes on and on. All he wanted to do was to create cool characters and stories by hand. He was sure his animation dream would happen - It was to be the perfect career.
BOOM! Then reality hit. As weird as it may seem there were not a lot of opportunities for world famous animators in his home city. The dreams were parked as reality and the corporate world beckoned.
Reviewed by Lee Ashford for Readers' Favorite
“The Golden Scarab: The Quest Series - Book 1” by S.W. Lothian shares the story of JJ, Linc, and Rani, as they are called back through time by Egyptian gods Anubis and Horus to recover a Golden Scarab containing the evil nature of the god Seth, and return it to the goddess Ma’at for protection so that Seth can never again become the evil being he once was, and longs to be again. Provided by Horus with a handful of magical items to help them on their quest, these three youngsters face countless obstacles as they attempt to retrieve the Golden Scarab from within an intricate labyrinth, while being pursued by an army of Uberdiles serving Seth. Will three children from the future be able to outwit an army of evil statues? Will they make it through the labyrinth unscathed? Will Seth be defeated in his efforts to regain his “evilness” so that he can take over control of Egypt?
This tale is a great adventure, intended for a middle-grade audience, but very much enjoyable for much older adults as well. I was enthralled by it and happily look forward to reading the next book in the series. The three children quickly learned to trust and depend upon one another, as their very lives truly did depend on being able to count on each other for help. I am not sure how this book would be classified, as it could be considered adventure, action, fantasy, Sci-Fi, or even historical fiction. One thing is certain: it can be classified as good entertainment. It reminded me in many ways of the Indiana Jones series of movies, and in my opinion would make a very decent movie itself. I strongly recommend this for any reluctant readers in the target age group, with the understanding that mom and dad will also want to read it.
