The Treacherous Seas

A Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem #2

by Christopher Healy

After saving New York by thwarting Ambrose Rector’s dastardly plot to control the minds of everyone at the 1883 World’s Fair, Molly Pepper and Emmett Lee thought they’d have it made. They were heroes, after all. But if someone saves the world and there’s no one around who remembers it, did it really happen?

Now Molly, Emmett, and Molly’s mother, Cassandra, are left to prove themselves once again. And they aim to do it with an achievement that no one could ignore or forget: winning the race that has captured the attention of the world, to be the first people to find the South Pole. But despite their one-of-a-kind ship, their can-do attitude, and the help of a determined young journalist named Nellie Bly, the path to the Pole is not without its challenges—or its terrors. It is the path Emmett’s father took when he led an expedition to Antarctica on behalf of Mr. Alexander Graham Bell—the expedition in which Mr. Lee and his entire crew were killed. Does death await our heroes on these treacherous seas?

Genres: Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Steampunk, Fiction, Childrens

371 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 2019

About the author

Christopher Healy is the author of the Hero's Guide trilogy (The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle, and The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw), the Perilous Journey of Danger & Mayhem trilogy (A Dastardly Plot, The Treacherous Seas, and The Final Gambit), and This Is Not That Kind of Book. His newest book, No One Leaves the Castle—a fantasy mystery standalone spinoff of the Hero's Guide novels—comes out in August 2023.

Chris lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children, and a dog named Winston Bean. Visit him at ChristopherHealy.com. And visit the Hero's Guide/No One Leaves the Castle universe at TheThirteenKingdoms.com.

Reviews

[Maren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This part two was just as much fun as the first book in the series.

[Gmr · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've read Mr. Healy's previous series, Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, and followed it up with either book in this current set, you may notice something about the characters. No, not the mix of backgrounds, ethnicity, intelligence, or even arguments made for arguments sake, but rather the fact that this author makes no qualms about writing strong female characters. I mean don't get me wrong, there are male counterparts too, but the limelight shines on the female set in such a way that although in BOTH series, the women haven't really had their moment in the sun, they truly get that from the reader side of things and more. The MORE comes into play with how the empowering messages carry right off the page. In the Perilous Journey series, for example, we've Molly and Cassandra Pepper (along with the MOI - Mother of Invention!). They all have made substantial contributions to the scientific community (whether fictitiously or in real life), and their never-say-die attitude, their can-do spirit, their unbridled confidence that one day they will indeed be invited to join the Guild without hesitation...well it does wonders for this adult reader, so I can only imagine the doors that are opening, the wheels that are turning in the minds of younger readers that maybe just need that extra push to follow their dreams and make them reality!

All in all, a wondrous adventure with characters one would consider family at this point (I know I do!), and lessons to learn that are best done so with friends. You can't go wrong with this lot, or at least if you do, they've a knack for not only getting into trouble but out as well!


**copy received for review; opinions are my own

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Molly Pepper is tired of others taking the credit for what she, her mother, and Emmett did to save the world. She knows she signed the nondisclosure agreement, but when her mother and other ladies are denied admission to the inventor's club after Bell promised to help them get in, Molly decides to leak their true story to the press in the form of Nellie Bly. Of course, that gets them in trouble so she decides if they can't get recognized for the past, why not something in the future? What if they can discover the South Pole before all those men? Going on a sea adventure will have the added benefit of getting them away from government agents upset about her telling Nellie certain things. But can a Pepper adventure ever go smoothly?

Molly rides this borderline for me. She sometimes comes off as annoying, and other times delightfully precocious. Thank goodness Emmett is there to ground her. Robot is also good for some laughs from time to time. This is one wild and zany adventure that has lots of twists and turns. The story does a good job of introducing readers to Nellie Bly with notes in the back of the book about her story and other historical details as to what is real and what is made up. Hand this to adventure fans, and possibly Verne fans (it reminds me a bit of some of Verne's lesser-known Arctic adventure stories).

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There are perilous situations that do result in some deaths that are only minimally described (the kids see one person frozen to death).

[Leeanne Grover · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has been a few months since Molly, Emmet, and Cassandra saved the world from the sinister Ambrose Rector. Life has settled into a routine, but when Ambrose discovers that he needs the rare meteorite Ambrosium to retain his high level of IQ, a race to Antarctica begins. Its every man and women for themselves. The famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell wants the meteorite to regain popularity and snuff out harmful rumors. Whereas Molly wants it for fame, glory, and better social standing for her family. Emmet and Cassandra follow Molly to ensure her spur of the moment ideas do not get her killed.

This is the second book of the “Perilous Journey of Danger Mayhem” series, but the author frequently provides a synopsis of the previous book throughout the story. Thus, you don’t have to bother reading the first book to understand what is going on. Nothing is memorable about this story. All the characters reflect current children’s literature. The heroine is a quirky girl who lives in a failing family business. She is spunky, rude, and does not listen to anyone. Her best friend Emmet acts like an adult with his overwhelming desire to think everything through before acting. Ambrose is your typical pathetic, stupid, and nonthreatening villain. All the other characters are created behind one principal and never deviate from it, making them a dull and uninteresting character. This book is 370 pages long and filled with over the top situations. It is a water down version of steampunk literature with strange contraptions, inventors are idolized, and takes place in the 1800s. There will be a third book coming out and it will be filled with predictable and stuffed to the gills with nonsense. He adds too much random concepts into the plot that the overall development of the characters is nonexisting. The author alternates between rushing through the story and moving along at a snail pace to fill his 370 pages. It also did not help that his characters go on long rants during important situations.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very descriptive and fantastical. I really liked how Healy elaborated on Ambrose Rector and the aftermath of the first book. It was a little drawn out and there were some gaps in the story line.

Plot:
Very good. I would give it a 9/10 because it was a little far-fetched and not that descriptive. There was a very interesting plot twist near the end of the story that definitely left the story on a cliffhanger almost.

Characters:
The characters were very well developed talked about in the story. Healy introduced some new characters in the story.

Overall:
4/5 because it was pretty long, some characters were over-developed and annoying, and the plot was a little far-fetched so I probably wouldn't recommend.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read but not quite as much fun as the first one in the series. Molly's 'act-before-thinking' routine gets a bit old. One would think she'd have learned at least a little something about cooperation now that she has a partner in Emmett, but that's not the case here. Probably the character with the biggest growth arc is Emmett, as none of the others seem to change their basic natures. Nonetheless, the humor and outlandish adventures are entertaining enough to entice me to read the third book as soon as it comes from the library.

[Andy Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a great plot and a great turning point but after the readers know who the real criminal is, the book does get a bit boring except for the fact that Emmett finds.....

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute. Molly got on my nerves a little but the writing was good.

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Death from a fall
Death of a father recounted
Physical assault

[Shaun Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Book 2 in the series, the Peppers and company head to the Antarctic, more crazy adventures and fun.

[James Mccabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't get to finish it. It is missing, or misplaced. I would like to read book 1 & re-read book 2

[Sierra Coombs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful

[Jen Atherton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun book to listen to with the kids. We still loved the first one best of all so far, but this was really enjoyable!

[Princess Cordelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adore Christopher Healy's books!😍😍 The things I love most about his books always stay the same, the epic journeys, the funny and well rounded characters, the HUMER(😂)! But he always finds something new to surprise you with, something to keep you on you're toes!

[Mary Ann Seidman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book in the series. I really am enjoying the storyline and I have become attached to the characters.

Merged review:

I reviewed this on another book. I had 2 copies.