Phantom Express

Young Explorers #2

by S.T. Cameron

When eleven-year-old CJ Kask and his Young Explorer friends help their archaeologist parents find artifacts from a steam train that crashed off a bridge in the early 1880’s, they discover that the ghostly train continues to haunt the small town and crashes off the bridge again and again.

The key to unlocking the mystery of the Phantom Express involves a gold pocket watch and an unused ticket for the doomed train. Will they be able to solve the mystery and put the more than one hundred souls on the Phantom Express to rest?

164 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2013

About the author

I tell stories and have adventures.

I have two Young Explorers adventures, Inca Wraith and Phantom Express, as well as the first Grimm End novel in a series of five books.

Outside of writing, I have adventures with Kay, my wife and future author of her own books, my two wonderful daughters and their families including four grand-children and ten grand-kittens. I also let people know what is going on with my writing at stcameron.com.

Reviews

[Manik and Sayee |favbookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Phantom Express is a rejuvenating tale of thrill and adventure. Narrated simply yet elegantly, the series tells the story of eleven-year-old CJ Kask and his friends, dubbed "Young Explorers," in a mystery they find themselves in. The story is centered around the Phantom Train, an old train whose artifacts are found by CJ Kask and the explorers, through CJ's parents (who are archaeologists). This train haunts the town, and the final crash of it keeps happening again and again. With an unused ticket and a gold pocket watch tied to the mystery surrounding the train, the question remains whether our young heroes can solve the mystery.
It is a thrilling tale with an innate desire to explore and seek experience. True to its name, the Explorers do plenty of just that – exploring as they seek out the train's secrets. The main hero of the band, CJ Kask, is an easily identifiable and relatable lead, one that children will have no problem connecting. But he is not alone; his friends accompany him – the siblings Sadie and Scottie McGregor, Frederick Van Housen, and Laura Hall. Each character has unique quirks, making it fun to see them work together. There is plenty of guesswork and exploring (as the name would suggest!), and seeing the team go through the puzzle piece by piece is sure to enthrall. Simple and harmless fun, it will surely delight readers interested in thrill and adventure.

[Feliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phantom Express: A Young Explorers Adventure is a thrilling adventure that features an eleven-year-old CJ Kask and his friends on a quest to overcome obstacles and explore. The story takes place on a Phantom Train, discovered by archeologists who happen to be CJ’s parents. The train haunts a small town and CJ and his group of friends embark on a journey to unravel the mystery. Will the young team be able to solve the puzzle? Is a question that lingers early on in the story. Cameron makes the story interesting by using action, adventure, and super-natural elements in covering the events as the young explorers try to uncover what secrets the Phantom Express holds. The vocabulary is simple which makes the story easy to follow.
The story has twists and turns as the young explorers go through the dark tunnels and treacherous bridges. The vivid description of the journey adds flavor to the flow as readers are able to visualize the scenes. Readers will get entertained thanks to suspense and the unexpected twists in the plot. The story is easy to follow especially the protagonist CJ who to many is the hero; both children and adults will enjoy the themes and ideas Cameron puts across. Fans of adventure and mystery will be thrilled.

[Kathrin Spinnler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phantom Express by S. T. Cameron is the second installment of the Young Explorers series. It's a YA adventure book featuring a young boy named CJ and his friends. The story is set in a small town in 1917, where a terrible train crash occurred over 30 years ago.

CJ's father and the other explorers are looking for artifacts from the accident. During their stay, they find out that a young boy should have stopped the train, but he ran away instead. The whereabouts and identity of this boy, called Junior, are unknown.

Can CJ and the other Young Explorers figure out what happened three decades ago?

I really love S. T. Cameron's books. They are exciting, fast-paced, and well-written. I enjoy the historical context of the books as well as their supernatural elements. This adventure was particularly intriguing due to its mysterious setting and the vivid scenes.

There were a few typos in this novel, but nothing that one more round of editing can't fix. Overall, the quality of the book is excellent, and I would recommend it to young adventurers looking for a great story as well as older readers who want to dive into a fresh, fun story.

[Rachel Loveday · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ghost train, an adventure, and a mystery with a group of Young Explorers who are also heroes, is what you get with this book.

Cameron sets up the premise and mystery clearly and easily in the book’s first chapter and then moves the setting (time wise) forward thirty years. The rest of the novel operates at a digestible but fast-paced time setting of three days, a setting made clear at the beginning of each chapter.

Cameron’s Young Explorers are relatable and intelligent characters that his target audience will be able to identify with, and I appreciated that the adult characters experienced understandable scepticism towards their kids’ claims but didn’t patronise or belittle them either.

The mystery element was well-written with both an appropriate red herring and culprit. The redemption arc towards the end was a nice surprise and projects a valuable life lesson to its target audience without being preachy.

There were some flaws, there were some jarring spelling and grammatical errors, and the writing of one character in particular was inconsistent and left some loose ends. However, despite these flaws, I found this book a captivating read.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phantom Express is the second installment of Cameron's Young Explorers Adventures series. 11-year-old CJ Kask and his group of friends, the "Young Explorers" accompany their archeologist parents on a dig to Danford, North Dakota in the summer of 1917. Their parents are tasked with searching for artifacts from a deadly train crash that occurred in the area 30 years earlier. The small town of Danford is still haunted by the incident as the ghostly train is still seen crashing off a bridge again and again. While exploring the dig site, CJ and his friends come across a gold pocket watch and an unused train ticket both believed to be clues to help them with their investigation. Through mysterious tunnels and treacherous bridges, the Young Explorers dig deeper into the mystery of the phantom express to save the ghostly souls of its lost passengers. This quick read is a fun mystery with supernatural elements that is sure to keep young readers entertained. With an easy to follow plot and a quirky group of main characters, old and new fans of the series are in for a treat.

[Aditya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these kinds of books which have an adventure and mystery entailed on every page. I loved this book and here are some things I liked. There will be no spoilers of any kind.

The plot was interesting and very dynamic. There were very few boring parts to the book. The story had a very good pace to it. Almost nothing felt rushed and every event was very well written. The plot also complimented the characters very well.

The characters were one of my favorite things about this book. Their personalities and their interests were well-written. To some extent, almost every character was relatable to some extent. Since this is the second book by the author, I already had some expectations in mind and this book does not let me down.

I love this book and will recommend it to anyone who loves a little mystery and thrill here and there. Lastly, mush gratitude to the author for writing such a wonderful book for us readers.

Thank you
Happy Reading

[Jolene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Phantom Express is an exciting and entertaining book!

It's a quick, easy read geared toward kids probably around 4th or 5th grade but as an adult I really enjoyed the story as well. It's perfect for a light read. I have 2 nephews that are the right demographic for this book and I can't wait to share it with them.

I appreciated the world building and the authors ability to set the scene without being too complicated. I really felt immersed in the adventure. A couple small typos but not enough to totally put me off the story. CJ is our protagonist and while mostly likeable I found him frustrating at times. But overall I was engaged and wanted to keep following him.

I didn't read the first book in this series but I was still able to jump right in. I'll be going back to start the series at the beginning.

[Hiren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that there is neither any term which would be hard to grasp for children, nor is it necessary to read other books in the series in order to enjoy this one. The climax is predictable yet has its own set of twists which add to the fun.

Most chapters end with a revealing twist that encourages the reader to keep reading to end the suspense. The plot develops quickly at a brisk pace and is well-suited to short attention spans. The story has elements of both non-fiction history as well as paranormal fantasy.

I would have liked it better if the story was set in more locations. Most of the story is set around one location which can make it monotonous for some readers. Also, the character arc of one of the protagonists takes on a rather eerie turn that is hard to believe. If the same could have been made less dramatic, it would seem interesting to more readers.

[Ed Malaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phantom Express is a great book that was fun to read. Though obviously geared toward children, I enjoyed it as an adult and wish I had found more books like this as a kid. It feels like a real mystery that keeps you turning the pages and is even a little scary. The clues are all really fun, the story is action-packed, and the dialogue between characters is perfect. It also never drags on, and I was even a little surprised it was over so fast.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good short mystery, especially children or young adults.

[Misty Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phantom Express is book 2 in the Young Explorers Adventures series and takes us on an adventure with CJ Kask and his friends. Their parents are archaeologists, who are on a current dig, looking for artifacts from a train that crashed more than 30 years ago.

Finding 2 important artifacts, a gold pocket watch and an unused ticket from the time period causes immense excitement for the kids, their parents, and the town. Can CJ and his friends stop a phantom train from repeatedly crashing? Can they help put 100 souls to rest? What happened to the boy called Junior? Is he still alive? Join CJ and his friends on a fast-paced story to find out what happens.

You will want to buy the series and join the mailing list for other releases by S.T. Cameron.