The El Dorado Adventure

Vesper Holly #2

by Lloyd Alexander

Traveling to Central America to inspect her real estate holdings, seventeen-year-old Vesper tries to stop a villain from building a canal which would destroy an Indian tribe's homeland. Reissue.

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Childrens, Mystery

164 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 1987

About the author

Lloyd Chudley Alexander was an influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books. His most famous contribution to the field of children's literature is the fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. The concluding book of the series, The High King , was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1969. Alexander's other books have also won the National Book Award and the American Book Award. He was also one of the creators of Cricket Magazine.

Reviews

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Miss Vesper Holly is the only Philadelphian of my acquaintance to own a volcano. I can think of no one better suited to deal with explosive real estate. Despite her accomplishments in languages, art, music, science, and mathematics, the dear girl finds eruptions and other nerve-shattering events irresistibly magnetic."

Vesper Holly and her delightful guardian/lapdog Brinnie are back at it, about a year after their adventures in The Illyrian Adventure - based on plot descriptions I've read of the next few Vesper books, she seems to age one year in each installment, so it's nice to know Lloyd Alexander won't force his heroine to remain a preternaturally-gifted sixteen-year-old forever. Anyway, the action kicks off when Vesper, still sorting through the mess of papers her father left after his death, finds that she is the owner of a large parcel of land in El Dorado, a made-up country in Central America. Her father won the land in a poker game, and it includes a volcano that everyone assures each other is extinct and most certainly won't explode at the climax of the plot. Vesper and Brinnie are invited to El Dorado by Alain de Rochefort, a man with mysterious motives. Once they arrive, Vesper and Brinnie learn two important things: first, de Rochefort plans to build a canal through the El Dorado jungle, right through Vesper's land; and there's a local tribe, the Chiricas, who will be displaced by the construction of the canal and are fighting it. The conflict is similar to the one we saw in The Illyrian Adventure: Vesper is thrown into a conflict between a country's native people and the foreign interlopers, and everything has to be resolved very neatly and with minimal bloodshed because this is a book for ten-year-olds. Vesper continues to delight in this book, maintaining a healthy skepticism of the plan to industrialize El Dorado at the expense of the native tribes, and continuing to be the most capable person in the book. Her best moment, when she snaps at an opponent, "Don't quote Rosseau at me. When it comes to women, he's full of beans," is fantastic and excuses every bit of her improbably wealth of knowledge. More these moments in later books, please.

The book also brings back Vesper's personal Moriarty, Dr. Helvitius. We have three more books to go, and Helvitius is already presenting a problem. He wants Vesper dead, but Lloyd Alexander can't let someone put a gun to his heroine's head and pull the trigger, even though Helvitius has plenty of opportunities to do so. So instead, Helvitius spends a good portion of this book putting Vesper and Brinnie in life-threatening situations, which they escape, and Alexander's justification for this good luck is that Helvitius is actually toying with our heroine, and wants her to escape multiple times so he can draw things out. This is fine for one book, but with Helvitius poised to become a recurring villain, I worry that soon Alexander will have to answer why his villain doesn't just shoot Vesper already, and that he won't be able to come up with a satisfying solution. Hopefully Helvitius sits the next few books out.

Another concern surrounding the Vesper books: there's a weird blend of anti- and pro-colonialism messages that are constantly at war here. In two books now, we've seen Vesper jet into a country on the brink of civil war, and solve everything forever with a simple solution. It's very white-savior-ish, and the solutions she presents are so simplistic I can't believe they'd be successful for more than six months. I understand that this book is aimed at children, but maybe shrink the conflict down a little? Vesper doesn't need to breeze in and avert cultural genocide in every single story. This time it's particularly uncomfortable, first because while Vesper is exploring the jungle near the Chirican village, she finds an oil reserve. Like, an entire fucking lake of oil, and she's just like, that's interesting! Onward with our adventure, Brinnie!

Yeah, good luck keeping the indigenous tribes safe when there's oil on their land, dear. You thought it was bad that someone wanted to build a canal through the jungle? Those tribes are going to be wiped out as soon as someone realizes there are a bunch of poor brown people sitting on a gold mine.

And Vesper continues her proud tradition of smashing her way into a culture she has never interacted with before - she hasn't been around the Chiricans for longer than fifteen minutes before she starts demanding that they change their laws and traditions, particularly where women are concerned. Look, I'm all in favor of opening a can of feminist whoop-ass on some fools, but some tact might be nice. Also there's a supremely uncomfortable moment at the end, when Vesper is outlining all the ways she's going to save this tribe of people she met three fucking days ago, and Vesper tells the Chiricans, "You have a new custom, that's all. ...After a little while, it will be an old custom. You'll even start to like it." Which, frankly, might as well be the official slogan of colonialism.

The Vesper Holly books aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Vesper is a complicated and often problematic heroine, but I'm still enjoying her adventures immensely. She's the hero that little girls deserve, but not the one they need right now. She's a loud guardian. A careless protector. A dark knight.

(confession: that last bit might have been the wine talking. the point is: Vesper Holly, fuck yeah.)

[Marty Reeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I meant to reread this at a different time under different circumstances. I intended on starting the series with the first of the six, The Illyrian Adventure. I figured I would read it during breaks at school and on the walk home.

Instead, while waiting for my wife to brush her teeth before going to bed, a matter of only a couple of minutes, I lightly grabbed The El Dorado Adventure sitting innocently with our bedstand books, and read a page ... you know, just to pass the time. The next night I did the same, and the next and the next. Before I knew it, I was too deep into Vesper Holly's Adventures to back out. So, any time the kids' bedroom door needed guarding past their bedtime, or any time I beat Bonnie upstairs, The El Dorado Adventure filled the dead time.

I tell you this because I don't know that any other book can be read a page at a time--or even a paragraph or a sentence at a time (which is what I was literally doing for the last month--either Bonnie is brushing her teeth a lot faster or I am dawdling in going upstairs a lot more)--and still manage to be engaging and satisfying, one page, one paragraph, one sentence at a time.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Lloyd Alexander is one of the most efficient writers out there. There is not a wasted word, and the reader can clip through his adventure writing fully expecting to have his or her time thoroughly respected by the narrative. At the same time, this doesn't come at a sacrifice to characters, since Vesper Holly is one of the most intriguing female protagonists to grace an action story for quite some time.

One the whole, The El Dorado Adventure is not one of Alexander's most impacting tales. There is not a depth or richness of themes found with his other writing, some of the lessons being taught are pounded into you mercilessly, even as you roll your eyes at their safe, universally acknowledged obviousness, and some scenes strain the credibility of this, already generous, reader. In spite of these things, Mr. Alexander seems to know all these quirks in advance, smiles at us, shrugs and responds, "Yeah, yeah ... but isn't it kind of fun anyway?"

Yes. Yes, it is quite a bit of fun after all.

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Vesper Holly book, The Illyrian Adventure, was a bit of a mixed bag for me, but it seems like Lloyd Alexander started to hit his stride with this second book. Vesper feels a bit more like a real and fallible character here, but retains her intelligence, courage, and charm. Doctor Helvitius is a competent and formidable villain, and Brinnie is still great! The fictional country here seemed like more of a fleshed-out setting than Illyria, and there were plenty of cliff-hangers and twists.

I would like to see more character development for Aunt Mary, Smiler, and Slider, but hopefully that will come in the next couple of books. The El Dorado Adventure is not an amazing book, but it's a clear improvement over the first one, and makes me look forward to the others!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was funnier than the first one. Both of my teenage girls enjoyed it.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first impression of the book was that it was written by a really intelligent person, almost too intelligent, especially for a teen’s novel. It was a lot to keep up with and follow the train of thought, especially with the big words being thrown out frequently, such as fractionating, hydrocarbons, esophagus of galvanized iron, versifiers, laconic and calumniating. I know that if I had read this when I was a young teen I wouldn’t have had any idea what was being said and would have been just lost. It was a vocabulary no kid would understand or even be able to pronounce. I’m 21 and I’m actually having trouble at several spots. That shouldn’t happen. I never understand why authors so intelligent, and who fully intend to show off that intelligence, write for children and young adults, because young people can’t even understand it. You have to write with your intended audience in mind. I felt like I was reading an intellectual’s view on the world, not a novel for teens or children. There was a prim and proper way of speaking that was stiff and at most times boring to read.

I didn’t like Vesper or her name. She was a total know it all, and no one likes one of those. She just charges full steam ahead into every action she makes, commanding people, telling them what to do, amidst calling them childish names like pelican and jellyfish, which doesn’t go along with how “smart” she is. She knows about hydraulics, hydrocarbons, pistons, etc., chemistry, physics, geology, and every other subject under the sun. She knows exactly which decisions to make, when experienced men in that field decades older than her don’t. She fixes the engine on their boat when the captain himself didn’t know what it was. Okay, this is just stretching the limit here and it’s just unrealistic that a 17 year old girl would know these things.

I didn’t like that it was in the professor’s perspective at all. It was strange for him to say what she was feeling and thinking, instead of her getting to say it. I would’ve rather heard it from her. It was really weird having him say “what Vesper was curious about was the design on the cloth” and “Vesper said Acharro’s name with what sounded like fondness, but was obviously simple curiosity.” He would speak for her, relating how she acted, why she acted that way, and what she was thinking. I’ve never read a book set up like this so it was really odd.

I liked how Acharro studied Vesper for long moments when the first saw her. Their relationship, bickering back and forth, disagreeing, and getting upset with each other, was entertaining and interesting. I liked how when Vesper got out on the tar lake he hurried over to her, moving faster than the professor had ever seen a man move, lifted her underneath her arms and carried her away. I also liked when the 3 of them are attacked and Acharro tries to get to her, hitting people with his gun and calling out her name.

The author had the confusing tendency of having the same person speak on several different lines, so I’d naturally think another person was talking, but it would be the same person talking, the same conversation, just on a new line. It was really confusing and annoying. For ex:

“It won’t erupt,” said Vesper. “De Rochefort’s going to think it will. That’s what counts.
“I started thinking about it when Brinnie and I were in the jungle. The chameleons change color to match wherever they are; on a leaf, they’re green, on a piece of wood, brown. Some of the insects—you can’t tell them from twigs or mushrooms. It’s only a disguise, but good enough to fool their enemies. No, Ocotalpa won’t erupt. It’ll look as if it’s going to.
“First, I thought we could use gunpowder. You have plenty of that. But we don’t need to. Put your people to work, women, children, Caymans, Jaguars, the lot, and we’ll do it in no time. Soak them in tar from the lake. Chop out big lumps of it. Line the crater with them, fill it up, then—”

He also had the habit of having someone comment out loud to a thought that someone had not said out loud. For example:

Even before succumbing to thirst and hunger, we would be picked to the bone.
“Not right away, anyhow,” said Vesper.

I don’t know if he did it for expediency’s sake, or what. That’s the only conclusion I could draw, because the characters kept commenting to another character’s thoughts when the person hadn’t spoken aloud, and they had no way of knowing what they had been thinking. I guess the author just didn’t want to take the time to turn their thoughts into a conversation. So the whole time Vesper is responding to the Professor’s thoughts, and he’s responding to her thoughts like they’re telepathic.

I assumed that this was a series, and the book made it clear that there were novels in the series before this one and that there would be more after it. At one point they alluded to a past encounter with Dr. H—I can’t remember the name—briefly, and I did feel like I was missing out on what had made them hate the other so bad to where this man was willing to commit coldblooded murder. And I felt like I was missing out with Mary, or whatever her name was. I can’t remember if it was someone related to Vesper, like an aunt, or a friend of the professors, but I assume it’s a theme where she appears at the end and is left out on the dangerous adventures.

I was extremely disappointed with the end, so much so that I was regretting buying the book, even though I only paid $1. The description had hinted at romance, I thought anyway. It may have just been me, because I always want love in a novel. I knew buying a book written by a male author was a gamble, because I’ve yet to read a novel written by a man that had love, or if it did it ended badly and was just all wrong. It mentioned de Rochefort, which turned out to be young, around Vesper’s age, and the “handsome chief,” who was also young, in his early twenties. I thought that was a perfect setup for a little romance between Vesper and Acharro, but nope. Not even a smidgen. I didn’t realize the person thinking Acharro was handsome was the professor, because we never got to hear Vesper’s thoughts of Acharro. What a total waste. I expected them to get together and her stay there on the island, but I guess that comes from me knowing nothing about this series. I see these grand adventures happen quickly and end just as quickly as they begin, with the two of them returning to their beloved Philadelphia as if it never happened at all. And it leads me right back to the entire novel being in the professor’s perspective.

Vesper Holly, I just wasn’t impressed at all with her. She had traits that I would normally have found likable in other characters, but her attitude and personality just ruined it for me. She wasn’t compassionate, kind, or humble. When she was supposed to care, like the author tried to make her seem caring by immediately sticking up for the natives, it was in a high-handed manner that wasn’t caring at all. She just threw in with Blazer, and Slider and Smiler, immediately. She didn’t know anything about them; they could’ve been criminals for all she knew, but she instantly decided that de Rochefort was bad and the others were good. She instantly thinks she can solve every problem, again, in a high-handed manner, and just plows her way into the jungle to do so. She decides she wants to see Acharro’s village, goads him into letting them stay, and then bosses him around, saying she wants a meeting and he has to let her speak and attend the male’s meeting, and then later says all of the women have to come to another one, because they’re part of the village too. She literally spells out how his village will work, and what all of the villagers will do, telling the men they have to perform women’s work like making pottery. And women now get to attend all of the meetings. Vesper’s ideas were laid out in a “there you have it, I’m brilliant” sort of way, like follow my advice and be successful or else you’re an idiot. I didn’t like the girl at all, mostly because she knew way more than any 16, 17 year old girl could or would even want to know.

Her ideas were simplistic, but whatever, it’s just a children’s book so they were acceptable.

Another fault I had was that this 16, 17 year old girl bossed people around and gave out advice that was obvious and so simple it was actually an insult to everyone else. I found myself doubting the intelligence of Blazer, Smiler, Slider, the professor and Acharro, because the author had this young girl know things that they didn’t, do things that they couldn’t, and suggest solutions they hadn’t. It was insulting to every one of them and made them look unintelligent and just not capable. The professor was really irritating how he couldn’t do anything and just followed Vesper around while she broke them out of capture, found food, and led them to safety. Then Vesper lays down the law with Acharro, saying something along the lines of you’ll get used to the new customs, and then it won’t be old. Totally high-handed, unsympathetic, know it all, bossy manner. Then her and the professor skip out of town, go back to their grand Philadelphia which was mentioned way too many times for my patience to withstand, and that’s the end of it. No mention of Acharro, missing him, thinking of him, or anything. It’s just over. What a disappointment. I just wasn’t impressed with this at all. The only good thing was the suspense, because there were several parts where I didn’t want to put it down because the pace was fast and the action was pretty good.

[Marc Jentzsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vesper Holly series is hard to beat for a clean and smart story and this second installment is no deviation. Vesper is true to form here, almost completely unflappable and nearly always the smartest person in the room...or on the boat, or...well, you get the idea.

Yes, there is a bit of the white savior here, with a dash of colonialism and American (re: Philadelphian, haha) exceptionalism to boot, so if that will upset you, avoid it. But if you do take a pass over those incidentally minor elements, you may still miss out on a story you'd otherwise enjoy. Those elements are almost entirely subservient to the greater narrative that puts a smart, resourceful girl into a situation that would stump most anyone, and lets you watch as she outmaneuvers and adapts to every single thing that gets thrown at her. And make no mistake, the natives included in the story are no pushovers willing to put their fate into the hands of strangers. Even some of the villains are more than they seem at first.

Vesper's ethical code and her unrelenting moral view give her strength of character. Her ability to empathize is finely honed, though perhaps she assumes Brinnie is sturdier than he appears. It is this core of her character that saves the story from wallowing in its more hegemonic cultural roots, giving it a sense of place and time that transcends the context of both writer and character.

Normally we need Doc Savage or John Carter or Professor Challenger or some other square-jawed and flint-eyed hero with different plumbing for this sort of adventure, but Vesper steps up and does what she does and never allows anyone to talk her down. She cannot be dissuaded. I wish more girls read these. I really wish more [i]people[/i] read these, but they are not exactly easy to source, I know.

As the hyper-competent and karma-blessed protagonist goes, Vesper is right there with the best.

[Kay Iscah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess Vesper and Brinnie are growing on me, but this one felt more fun. The feminism at the end felt a little forced... I like the basic idea of the tribe evolving, but I have a hard time believing the men of tribe did nothing but play sports. And I kind of hate when they wedge in feminism by making the men seem dumb or useless.

I feel like the books still overplay Vesper a bit, bringing her down a notch would help chill the Mary Sue element. But she's likable.

I don't think that spoiled anything. Most of this book was a fun ride. Onto the next...

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in the Vesper Holly Adventure series, by Lloyd Alexander, is a fine continuation from the first. Cleverly constructed and delightfully written, it moves along at a brisk pace, yet develops the plot and characters with suitable and interesting details. Very engaging and entertaining, and even to a certain extent educational. Well worth reading, and so glad to have "discovered" this series so long after the fact!

[Nurani K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the kind of book I'd typically be too invested in, but I enjoyed it.

Had trouble deciding between a 3 or 4-star rating. A solid 3.5, I'd say.
The book only started to become engaging from the 13th chapter in, when the failed council meeting had ensued. Only then did the story start to pick up the pace a little. It was way too slow in the beginning to keep focused.

Aside from that, I enjoyed the second half of the book and felt it was quite worth the read.

[Kate H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lloyd Alexander is an author I have always enjoyed. This is one of his lesser known books and while it is not my favorite of his it is still quite good. His writing style is such that it definitely stands up to the test of time.

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased the first three novels in this series to earn free shipping. I rated the first novel 2.5; this one gets the same rating. I know they are YA novels, but both of them are somewhat silly. They aren’t awful, but I don’t find anything much original.

[Heather Culley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong teen girl. Adventures in foreign lands. Also I like that Lloyd Alexander.

[Hessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever plot line with a satisfying ending. Another good Indiana Jones tale with a female heroine. Writing is excellent but some references may be lost on the intended audience.

[Beorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another fun Vesper Holly adventure!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more fun than the first in the series.

[Phoebe Salomon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vesper Holly recently found out that she owned a volcano. She and her guardian, Brinnie, went off to the Central American country of El Dorado, where her volcano is.

Vesper makes two friends there, Smiley and Slider. Then, she and Brinnie went with a man, named Alain de Rochefort, to her volcano. Instead, he kidnapped them, because he knew that Vesper didn't officially own the volcano yet. He locked them in a room, on a train.

De Rochefort wants to illegally build a canal on Vesper's land, which is also home to a tribe of Indians. He knoews that if he kills her, he can build the canal. De Rochefort works for Dr. Helvitius, who was the villain in the previous.

Vesper and Brinnie jumped out of the train window and were lucky to find Smiley and Slider. Smiley and Slider were just getting ready to get on a boat called The Liberator, which was a cargo ship. While they were sleeping, de Rochefort kidnapped them again.

He put them in an underground cage, that happened to be under Vesper's volcano. The next day, they woke up and Vesper found a crowbar to pry the bars apart, so they could get out. When they ot out, they realized that her volcano was erupting. De Rochefort and anyone who worked with Dr. Helvitius, was put in jail, but Dr. Helvitius got away. When Vesper and Brinnie got home that told his wife all about the adventure.

[pdarnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vesper Holly and Brennie are at it again. They head to South America in response to a mysterious letter pertaining to Vespers ownership of land, which contains a volcano. Again, Vesper is ever wise and has the detective skills of someone beyond her years. De Rochefort is a man wanting to talk with Vesper about her ownership and his plans for a canal. Much adventure, mystery and deception abound. I liked this better than the first book of this series, perhaps because I knew what to expect from the style of story telling.

Ocotalpa volcano, the Culebra river, native Chirican tribe, canals, swindles, river boating, danger, adventure, murder, government greed, friendship, womens rights, lost cities, kidnapping and a parrot named Adelita.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the setting in this second book in the Vesper Holly series -- a fictional Central American country with a greedy developer trying to push through a canal. The natives were a bit unbelievable (totally unrealistic) as was the influence Vesper had on the women in such a short time, but I can chalk that up to literary license. Brinnie's continued use of "my dear girl" is annoying. I'm moving on to re-read book #3, The Drackenberg Adventure which I previously read in 1988.

[Joshua Van Dereck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just two books into this series, and Alexander begins to flounder in The El Dorado Adventure. Sharply begun as a sort of souped-up rewrite of the first novel, The El Dorado Adventure was well seen and amusingly constructed for about half or two-thirds of the narrative, and then it completely unwound. Stuck in a sort of Groundhog Day misery of endless sketches of the protagonists escaping and being recaptured by the villain, who explains all of his notions and never actually kills them, the novel even began to skimp on the basic technical writing. In sum, I'd say The El Dorado Adventure is a poor novel--at times amusing, otherwise tedious. Not worth the effort.

[Prudence (aka - Lizzy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay... so what if I did change my favorite doll's name to Vesper? (Her name now runs so: Vesper Anastasia Romanov Brown of Clan Lamont... just for those interested... so much with conventional names! ;))

You all know me as a fan of Lloyd Alexanders beautiful work of literary art, and this book is no exception in my estimation! its a wonderful story, with the Lloyd Alexander-isms abounding!

A must read! Period... no buts about it! :)
*Lizzy smiles- "Vesper Rules!"*

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is like Indiana Jones, girl style. When the heione's parents die, she goes to live with her father's co-partner/gardian. She has many adventures in excotic lands which usually end up in life and death situations.

Ratings (out of 10):
Plot: 9 {little hard to follow if you are younger than 12}
Characters: 9
Writing Style: 9
Adventure: 10
Originality: 10
Total: 49/50 (A)

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danielle, I can tell why you like these! It's unusual to find such a capable, confident, intelligent, and strong-willed female character in children's/youth literature. Vesper never questions herself, which is refreshing, even if it does make her a bit larger than life (but don't girls deserve to have an Indiana-Jones-like heroine?). I'll have to see if I can track more of these down.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vesper Holly is at it again! And with a predictable, yet still perfect, reappearance of Helvetius, these are the books I call delicious. He's the worst kind of villain: smart, handsome, culturally savvy, and absolutely barbaric as well.

[Tiffany Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy how Lloyd Alexander manages to write at such a high intellectual level, but still make it a (readable!) children's book. Not for the average kid, but perfect for those Nancy Drew readers who are a little ahead of the pack...

[Laura Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh goodness. Vesper Holly deserves her own thrilling television show. BBC? But as for the book, Lloyd Alexander never ceases to write a bad book--and the Vesper Holly series is among his most exciting.

[Parsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coool one!!!!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of my summer reading from the library, I think - the year I was on the huge Lloyd Alexander kick.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in an enjoyable series. It is a very easy read and I really like the character Vesper.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

bouncy, fun adventure story

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even if this is a childrens book, the plots are fun and characters pleasing.