Review: Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley by David Breitenbeck

A childhood dream. A torn manuscript. Terrors and wonders that lie hidden in the Amazon….

As a boy, Perseus Corbett was sent from London to Sangral House in the English countryside for his health. There he was apprenticed to his uncle, a gardener on the estate, whereafter he met the young Elizabeth Alban, daughter of Baron Darrow. While the two became fast friends and spent their summers together in happiness, Elizabeth’s mother was disturbed at how attached her daughter had become to the gardener’s nephew

Lady Darrow decided that her daughter should come on family a trip to American, convincing Perseus’ father to call the lad back home to London. But she did not prevent the two youths from spending one last day together. During that day, Elizabeth seizes the opportunity to give Perseus a gift, and the two share their first kiss….

The Story

Having been forced to part from Elizabeth, Perseus has dreamt of only one thing: Finding or earning enough wealth to marry her. This desire leads him to travel the world, fight in the War to End All Wars, and adventure Indiana Jones-style around the globe, following every hint of treasure or lost riches that he can find. One such escapade ends with him earning Martin Halritter, valet to a now deceased Austrian count, as his traveling companion.

The two find themselves in Istanbul, in need of funds and with no new destination in mind. Where can they go to try and make Perseus’ fortune now that Russia, which has just witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution, is closed to them?

The answer arrives when he and Martin rush to a dying old man’s aid. Too late to save his life, Corbett is surprised when the old man pushes a tattered manuscript into his hands. Muttering about hidden treasure in the Amazon, the man gives up the ghost before Perseus can learn more. Reading the manuscript later offers no further clues, as it cuts off halfway through. He and Martin must wonder whether the treasure – and the monster said to guard it – mentioned in the book is real or not.

When a man holds Corbett at gunpoint on the boat headed to England, however, all thoughts that the book may be a fake are dispelled. No one threatens someone with death for an item that is worthless, which means the diary is legitimate. All that needs to be done now is to find funding to go to the Amazon. Luckily there happens to be a gala at the Natural History Museum – perfect for coaxing one or more of the professors and perhaps some rich patrons to put up the liquid capital needed to purchase supplies and hire a crew help to “study the rare wildlife” in a tributary of the Amazon River.

While at the gala, Perseus discovers Martin set him up: One of the rich patrons is Elizabeth. Having avoided England and news therefrom for years, lest he find her married to someone else, Perseus is stunned by her adult beauty but succeeds in winning the unwed Elizabeth’s financial support for the expedition. She also helps to convince one of the professors to have the museum fund the trip. There is only one little snag in this otherwise flawless evening – she wants to join the expedition.

In desperate need of the money, Perseus cannot tell Elizabeth that he isn’t going to the Amazon on a scientific expedition but a treasure hunt. All attempts short of the truth to convince her not to join fail, and he ends up knowing the love of his life will be accompanying him on a journey filled with danger from more than one source. Someone still wants that diary and is ready to kill for it, and then there are the warnings about a mysterious creature that protects the treasure. A beast – or a god? – out of myth and legend that may be more real than anyone wants to believe….

The Characters

Perseus Corbett is every inch the gentleman he does not consider or realize himself to be. An adventurer full of courage and personal integrity, while Perseus is not above lying, he remains an honest and very likeable character. Unafraid to act when the situation calls for it and a capable leader, he is an excellent homage to the pulp heroes of old, struggling against titanic odds to win the girl and the treasure.

Baroness Elizabeth Darrow is a lady of class and character able to disarm the witless at the same time she is quite likely to need a little rescuing herself. Yet even when captured and held at gunpoint she proves to have mettle, doing whatever she can to help Perseus during the adventure. Full of spirit and fire, she recalls the best of the pulp heroines at the same time she is her own unique person and a worthy protagonist for a fun adventure.

Martin Halritter is solid as a rock and has the patience of a saint. He needs all of it to handle not only what the Amazon throws at the expedition, but Perseus’ lack of self-confidence in his ability to win Elizabeth’s hand. A stouthearted companion and the near-equal of his master in a fight, Martin recalls all that is best about the stoic righthand man archetype and the ferociously loyal manservant without being stiff – or the least bit predictable.

The World

Put Indiana Jones in King Kong, then add in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and stir thoroughly. Throw in a dash of H.P. Lovecraft and a smidgeon of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and you have the world of Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley. It is the real world and the real past but with all the twists and surprises which pulp era writers included in their adventures, meaning there is a pleasant – or unpleasant, for the heroes at least! – surprise around every corner.

Politics

There are no politics in the story that have anything to do with present-day matters.

Content Warning

None. The book is very clean and readable by anyone of any age group.

Who is it for?

Boys looking for a clear-cut action story they cannot find anywhere else, with the hero fighting monsters – human and otherwise – for the hand of the girl he loves. Fans of pulp era stories, Indians Jones, King Kong, and The Lost World will absolutely LOVE this red-blooded action story as well, since it hits all the right notes that these tales did. Anyone trying to find a novel that will have one biting one’s nails in suspense before cheering the heroes or booing the villains will also enjoy this tale. Hollywood would learn a lot from studying – and adapting – this book, so if that is not recommendation enough for it, I do not know what is!

Why buy it?

This is pure fun reading. Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley is pretty much guaranteed to hit all the high notes for those looking for a good adventure. How can anyone turn down the chance to have fun these days?