Miles and Jones: The Curse of the Carnivorous Cactuses

In the third adventure of the 'Miles and Jones' series, the reader is thrown straight into a dangerous situation. Shackleton apologises for the lack of introduction and inability to recap and we’re straight into facing a field of carnivorous cactuses, as hinted at in the last few pages of book two. No boring descriptions or introductions; straight into the action.

They try insulting the cactuses, bowling them with a cage and tricking them into tying themselves into a tangle, but this has the effect of making the cactuses both hungrier and angrier. Readers can learn from Sam Jones how to plait with three strands. The illustrations are easy to follow. The strengthened vine aids in the use of a zipline. Astute readers will notice the addition of Whirlpool Caves on the map. Glam-Evil has not finished with Miles and Jones yet, and sends them into the whirlpool which dumps them back through time, into the era of dinosaurs.

Smith’s writing is succinct and he has a knack of ending the chapter on a cliff-hanger. He’s also done that with the end of the book here. Fans of 'Miles and Jones' will be looking forward to the publication of 'The Day of the Dinosaur Disaster'.