Thistlethwaite keeps drawing readers back in

In Sir Seth Thistlethwaite and the Kingdom of the Caves (Book Two), 10-year old Seth and his best friend Ollie once again take on the personas of fearless knights.

In their imaginary kingdom of Thatchwych, these two are known as the Mighty Knights of Right and Honor, crusaders that save the downtrodden.

When Seth and Ollie go diving into Puddlewater Pond, they are mysteriously sucked under to the Queendom of Claire, ruled by Queen Beatrix.

But the once peaceful queendom is facing its greatest threat. The land’s only river has been blocked and water levels are dropping drastically.

Not only is Claire going bone-dry, but the evil ogre Ooz and his thick-headed dinosaur sidekick are trying to overthrow the queen and create the Kingdom of Ooztraulia.

Since Seth and Ollie are knights of a realm from the Beyond sworn to fight for justice, Queen Beatrix commands them to wipe out the land’s scourge.

Along the book’s 158 pages, the intrepid knights encounter assorted silly characters, such as a bored princess searching for high adventure, talking rocks that like knock-knock jokes and a snake-haired gorgon that doesn’t turn people to stone.

Writer Richard Thake, a retired advertising executive, wrote the Sir Seth series as a reflection of his childhood and the imaginary play young boys experience. In fact, the book is targeted to children from seven to 10.

He keeps the action moving along at a fast clip and throws in a hodgepodge of tongue twisters, word play, alliteration and rhymes that combine traditional mythology with pop culture references.

Although there are fresh plot twists with every chapter, occasionally they get tedious and you get lost in the rambling. But Thake has a knack for luring you back and putting you on the trail of fresh scent.

Kudos to Vincent Chui’s black-and-white illustrations. The cartoonish figures are angular and edgy providing the right balance to Thake’s fantasy setting.