Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis and Clark

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 330 pages
• Published by: iUniverse Star July 13, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 158348485X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1583484852
• Book Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 13.6 ounces

Product Description
The line between history and legend can be deceptively thin—too thin, perhaps, to maintain the claim that one is exclusively fact and one fiction. Such may be the case with the history of Lewis and Clark—for the fact is that two hundred years after they were handpicked by Thomas Jefferson to lead an extraordinary expedition to the Pacific coast, legends still persist regarding unexplained gaps in the explorers’ field journals.

Call it legend, call it history, Cryptid tells the riveting story of conspiracy theorists who have new evidence of a centuries-old cover-up. When a cryptozoologist, a paleontologist, and a Jefferson descendant begin connecting the dots, they threaten to do more than unveil the well-guarded scientific discovery that lies at the heart of the ancient secret; they threaten to rewrite American history. That is, if they can survive a conspiracy that dates back to the Founding Fathers—the very same one that haunted Lewis to his grave. It may be that one of our nation’s first secrets is still being kept.

Cryptid illustrates how the act of seeking the truth can be the very element that destroys it. Two centuries in the making, Cryptid is the final chapter of the Lewis and Clark story. And, as with any good tale, the best secrets have been kept until the end.


Scientists race to discover the truth behind Gigantopithecus, aka Bigfoot, before a mysterious group eliminates all traces of its existence. Paleontologist Samantha Russell has spent most of her life searching for remains of a giant ape about which very little is known, due in large part to a paucity of fossils. After another disappointing dig, she receives a package containing a bone. The plot and writing provide genuine thrills… All of the ingredients of a taut thriller are here… -Kirkus Discoveries

About The Author
Eric Penz is a partner in an insurance and financial services agency. Between managing his clients’ portfolios and writing, he spends his spare time as an amateur adventure athlete. He and his wife and their two boys make their home in Sammamish, Washington.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis & Clark (Hardcover) This is a rollicking romp of an adventure novel with a science fiction skeleton -- or maybe it's the other way around. The action ranges from China to Washington, D.C. to the Olympic rain forest and points in between, and the story is told in several voices which are as distinct and characteristic as they are engaging. The characterization is strong, the pace is brisk without being rushed, the surprises are neither telegraphed or short-changed, and the whole thing is an absolute hoot from start to finish (in the sense of being great fun). Penz resists the temptation to tie everything up in too tidy a bundle at the end of the novel, so that the intrigue lives on when the last page is turned -- in other words, it delivers (grin). I particularly enjoyed the integration of long-dead voices into the living narrative, phonetic spelling and all. Recommended for a fun read, but maybe not to take camping with you if you're going to the woods!