Cairo Jim and the Secret Sepulchre of the Sphinx

The Cairo Jim Chronicles #6

by Geoffrey McSkimming

When that well-known archaeologist and little-known poet, Cairo Jim, and his friends Doris the Macaw, Brenda the Wonder Camel and Jocelyn Osgood make the 'find of the century', a new enemy on the scene sets out to discredit Jim and destroy his hard-won reputation...

Genres: Adventure, Childrens

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Geoffrey McSkimming is the author of both the Cairo Jim and Joscelyn Osgood series, featuring an archaeologist and his flight attendant friend. Geoffrey's verse has been published in the NSW and Victorian School Magazines. He is currently working on a stage adaptation of Cairo Jim on the Trail to ChaCha Muchos (in conjunction with St Martins: THe Victorian Centre for Youth Arts), and a new Jocelyn Osgood adventure.

He has travelled widely in order to research for his books, including Egypt, Peru, Tanzania (including Zanzibar), Greece, Mexico, Turkey, Italy, Singapore and other locations.

Reviews

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore]

This was a chance find on the shop-soiled table in my local bookshop. The cover grabbed me because of the title—an Egyptian setting obviously, the Sphinx, and the ‘hero’—a Tintin-like character hanging onto the Sphinx’s nose. This is the sixth of a series of eighteen books (though according to some listings it’s the ninth) by Australian writer Geoffrey McSkimming, and features archaeologist–poet Cairo Jim who along with his ‘assistants’ Doris the Macaw and Brenda the Wonder Camel works at various dig sites and makes exciting discoveries. His patron is Gerald Perry of the Old Relics Society, and he also has a ‘good friend’, Joselyn Osgood, a flight-attendant with Valkyrian Airways, who appears occasionally (including in this one) helping him on his digs. Attempting to thwart his plans all the time is the arch-villain Captain Neptune Flannelbottom Bone. In this one, Jim patron, Mr Perry has left him instructions to dig at a site near the pyramid of Chephern at Giza but with no information on what he is supposed to be looking for. They later find that he has put them on the trail of clues left behind by Bathsheba Snugg, a founding member of the Old Relics Society, who had disappeared over forty years ago, and who was a translator of the writings of Herodotitis. Meanwhile it emerges that their nemesis Bone is dead and proof has been found. But of course, he isn’t really and when Jim makes an exciting discovery—a huge limestone floor which links to Pharaoh Amehetnehet—Bone puts into action his dastardly plans to discredit Jim’s findings, driving him underground (or rather into the Sphinx), and resurrect himself and his reputation.

When I started this book, I found it somewhat silly but soon enough I realised that this was probably to do with the way I was looking at it or expecting it to be—rather than only an adventure story this was also somewhat on the lines of a comic (as in a comic book/programme—like may be Scooby Doo or Penelope Pitstop), and when I began to look at it like that, I began to enjoy it far more. The book definitely has the feel of a parody or spoof though it isn’t wholly that either. The characters are pretty quirky—we have a macaw who reads, often quotes, Shakespeare, and can seemingly magically tell the time, and a Camel who reads Westerns and communicates with them telepathically, something neither Doris not Jim realises is happening, often thinking that the other has said something. The villain Bone is yet another of these, in fact much more than ‘yet another’—he is the classic comic book villain, all the way down to the ‘ha ha ha ha ha’ (I described him as such in my mind before he went ahead and actually did that) and the customary ‘arrrrhs’ as a Captain, thinking up dastardly plans. He also quite often speaks in alliteration, especially to his sidekick, a raven named Desdemona (for instance, ‘You blithering bundle of bunglingness!’).

The book has a fair few literary references/allusions which I enjoy in books but unlike say, the Lemony Snickett set (A Series of Unfortunate Events), many of the literary allusions/references in the book are more direct (mostly the Shakespeare ones). But then we do also have Desdemona the raven, who exclaims more subtly ‘Nevermore Nevermore Nevermore’.

But really apart from these, it wasn’t that I wasn’t having fun with the book initially because it isn’t often that one comes across a children’s book in an archaeological setting—this is probably the only one I’ve read—and with digs and such described quite genuinely (perhaps the comparisons with Agatha Christie that Wikipedia mentions are on this account) even if the clues etc., may sometimes again enter comic book/ parody territory. The discovery they make I thought was pretty interesting and a little more properly archaeological than comic (I could even see that kind appearing in a book for ‘grown ups’, though the latter would have much more explaining to do about the physics of it) That was something I quite enjoyed plus the fact that this was set in Egypt, and I’ll probably read anything in that setting.

So this turned out to be a rather fun read after all, albeit slightly on the silly side (but then, it is meant for children). And of course, it fit perfectly with my theme of Light-hearted and fun reads, and as a bonus, also threw up a quite nice little quote which will appear as my Bookquote next week. Good fun! Three and a half stars.

This review is also on my blog here: https://potpourri2015.wordpress.com/2...

[Talie · Rating 3 out of 5]

True rating: 3.5/5

I'm gonna be honest, I gave half a star just for nostalgia value - re-reading it felt like catching up with old friends.

Cairo Jim and his animal sidekicks Doris (a macaw) and Brenda (a telepathic Wonder Camel) are tasked with uncovering a mysterious artefact near the pyramids in Egypt, but discovering the ancient secret under the sands becomes more challenging when an enemy's scheming leads to the gang being accused of fraud...They must regroup and find out the truth before history is rewritten, and their reputations utterly destroyed.

Reading this is a delight, like eating a slice of pavlova - light, fresh, and with very little substance. But who needs substance when you can have a scroll hidden in a statue of Anubis containing a clue that leads to a riddle which was left by an enigmatic archeologist called Bathsheba Snugg who went missing in her search for an ancient and unknown wonder? Is it obvious that I loved all things Ancient Egypt when I was kid?

The characters were the real joy for me though. Doris is sassy and obsessed with Shakespeare, Jim is an earnest man with a penchant for poetry, and Brenda (my favourite) is a quietly intelligent and sweet camel who expresses her thoughts by vibrating them into a companion's brain, who then says the thoughts out loud on her behalf. She's also a big fan of a western adventure book series called Melodious Tex. What's not to love about that?!

I do have a few criticisms. The main antagonist is constantly fat-shamed, which is disappointing and honestly unnecessary. He's a thoroughly contemptible buffoon, so the persistent derogatory comments from the narrator about his 'disgusting' larger body are out of place; as if his weight and his lack of moral code are somehow conflated. The final drawback was the ending, although considering how light-hearted the writing style is I shouldn't be too harsh.

To sum up, it was SO MUCH FUN getting back into the world of Cairo Jim, and I'm not ashamed to admit that as a fully grown adult I am 100% keen to read more from the series.

[Nira Ramachandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. It's like Tintin come to life! Archaeologist Cairo Jim, his pet Macaw Doris, and Brenda, the Wonder Camel follow a clue left by the vanished archaeologist Bathsheba Snugg, and venture into the sands around the Sphinx to look for "a structure that is more marvelous, more astonishing, more breathtakingly, ambitiously and stunningly built than the Seven Wonders of the World put together." Find it they do, but they run up against a mysterious enemy, who sabotages their find, and puts them into disgrace. Undaunted the three friends, backed by their patron Gerald Perry, a founding member of the Old Relics Society, continue with their mission and make the discovery of a lifetime.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a cute little book about archaeology! Cairo Jim and his friends go on an adventure and are almost thwarted by their old villain Bone. Definitely a children's book, but fun to read while on excavation :)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cairo Jim And The Secret Sepulchre Of The Sphinx, follows Cairo Jim, Doris and Brenda once again on the dig for an historical wonder. However they know not what they are looking for. And just when they thought their lives were forever at peace due to the demise of the evil Neptune Bone, Mr Impluvium, an evil and conniving man, turns up on the scene.

The story was again a silly yet well written children’s story. I do find that after awhile some of the silliness gets to me however I have to remember that it’s not written with my age group in mind. I loved these books as a kid and didn’t find the silliness over the top at all back then.

I really liked the storyline and the mystery throughout. Although some of it was obvious, not all of it was and there were some parts that really kept me guessing.

Again, the main characters are extremely likeable – Cairo Jim, Doris and Brenda – and Mr Impluvium the slimy villain everyone loves to hate. What he did in the book was pretty mean and nasty and you really feel for Cairo Jim and his friends.

Overall it was an enjoyable and light read that I would recommend for children and adults who like a silly adventure/mystery with a bit of history thrown in.

www.readingforthemasses.wordpress.com

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This month the library staff is exploring audiobooks and I picked a children's title. Cairo Jim, Doris, and Brenda are digging in Egypt in this adventure. They run into trouble with their arch nemesis Neptune Bone "disguised" as Mr. Impluvium who tries to ruin Jim's reputation. The author takes a strong dig at the media by showing their rabid running to a new story without fact checking or thought. Ultimately the good guys win, bad guy and his raven escape, and we're open for another adventure. These books are rollicking good fun for the 9-12 year old set; slightly annoying, yet still entertaining for adults. The author did a good job with the narration; however I was quite sick of Doris's "braaaaacks" and Brenda's "hmmmmms."