Book Review: The Adventures of Dalton Quayle

The Adventures of Dalton Quayle

By:  Paul Kane

Publisher:  Mundania Press

Publish Date:  March 2011

Format:  Paperback 232pgs, trade size

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  Stand alone

Recommendation:  Fun short tales of detectives in an Urban Fantasy/Fantasy world; adventure and fighting and humor ~ can't go wrong.

Book Synopsis:
Re-join famous detectives, adventurers and general rum-goings-on putter-stopperers Dalton Quayle and his sidekick Dr Humphrey Pemberton as they embark on some of their best, and most loved, investigations from the past decade.  Thrill as they face giant carnivorous worms and fiercely vicious monster sheep; marvel as they visit far-off lands such as the Island of Haintithot and the sandy dunes of Egypt, coming across magical stones which can summon demons and a Mummy out to take over the world; gasp in disbelief as our heroes set sail to find the legendary lost city of Matalantis - by way of the fishy village of Outsmouth - and get saddle-sore in the Wild West as they attempt to put a stop to a devilish time traveling scheme; then witness the dead coming back to life as the pair tackle their most dangerous foes yet - ones which simply cannot be killed!  Villains, monsters, twisted conundrums, they're all in here: In the very finest Adventures of Dalton Quayle (as previously noted down on the memoirs of Dr Pemberton and subsequently published in Strump magazine).

My Thoughts and Summary:
We see Dalton Quayle and his adventures through his close colleague Dr. Pemberton's journal he keeps to document their adventures.  These stories are nothing short of fun!  Fun in the tale and fun in the play on words, puns on names, movies, songs, you name it.  And the literal meanings of words as well, to make fun and bring enjoyment.

The characters have a formal and proper feel with the way they carry themselves along with the language.  But then the names of the characters make you smile.  And the meanings they draw from words and happenings.  Pemberton always takes his many cherished guns with him everywhere, in the air and under the sea, but seems to never have one on him when the time comes (he forgets to grab one).  And the genius brave and masterful Quayle solves the cases with the help of he trusty friend Pemberton.


Each story grows and relates references back to the previous journeys along with hints of others we don't see here.  As you go through each story you feel closer to both, Quayle and Pemberton, looking forward to the adventures they seek.

I loved the talent of telling the stories and adding in lines or names from movies, songs, and such and adding a new meaning to it with the story.  But also adding more meaning to the story as well.  So many of these lines are easy to place the origination but they fit so well in the stories here.  And I'm sure there are lines I didn't place that you would.  So much here.  I could reread this book and probably come up with more that I missed the first time through.

I enjoy how at the end of each story Quayle summarizes the case and all the details pulled together in detail for us.  They all work out perfectly when I hear him work it out.  And I love the twists to the stories.

Each story has a different theme to it.  So I've listed each story separately with a short description on it.

Master of the White Worms
12 pgs
Mrs. Meadows is extremely worried as her husband has been missing for about a week now and had not told her, like normal, he was leaving for his fishing trips with his boss.  To top it off, his boss refuses to see or talk to her.  So she contacts her last hope, Mr. Quayle.  Quayle takes the case.  And as for the White Worms fitting in... you'll just have to read it.

Oh I enjoyed this little story, and smiled along the way.  The worm jokes and puns knowingly used where enjoyable.  I think one of my favorite comparisons is here in this story ~ "And our Inspector Le Strange is about as much use as thermal underwear in the Bahamas." lol.

Dalton Quayle and the Sheepshank Revelation
20 pgs
Quayle and Pemberton travel to help the Ayker family from a strange unknown beast attacking them and their farm.  The area they live in is known for strange occurrences.  And we come up with a were... well, you'll have to read to see what kind of were it is.

This was a nice little read as it has the feel of the werewolves and vampires theme.  But a cute twist to this one in the end as well.  And a touch of love here for the Ayker family.  And what is out there in those woods?

Dalton Quayle and the temple of Deadly Danger
41 pgs
Quayle is in quite a state of despair on the half year anniversary of passing of his arch-enemy, Siphilati, as a result of a battle between them. Quayle feels he doesn't have the challenge out there anymore or the thrill in the cases as when against Siphilati. Then Quayle reads of a theft at the Museum of Unnatural History in the newspaper and thinks this sounds just like Siphilati.

This one reminded me of a kind of Sherlock Holmes meets Indiana Jones with a twist of humor. We even meet the Wrong Brothers here; yes a play on the Wright brothers. We learn of different cases in the past here. And the end of the cases is the best part as they bring the case together and to a close. This one had a few nice twists to it.  I think this is one of my favorites in the book.

Dalton Quayle's Wet One
42 pgs
Pemberton won a cruise for 2. When he asks his best friend to go, Quayle suggests Mrs. Hudsucker to go with, whom Pemberton has a soft heart for yet always stumbles over the crazy words to her. After hypnotizing Mrs. Hudsucker to convince her to go, she agrees. Pemberton finds himself, with Mrs. Hudsucker, in a fish town when things go a little fishy.

I was afraid we weren't going to get much Quayle in this one as he was working on another case. But all things come together nicely and he appears. This tale takes us into the deep of the sea and so much fun play here.  Could we find a hidden city on this adventure?

Dalton Quayle Rides Out
36 pgs
Weeks after their last adventure at sea, Pemberton has not heard from Quayle.  And is concerned it is because he left him to tend to Mrs. Hudsucker's anger as Quayle brought her back to her rightful mind after what they did to her.  Pemberton feels he'll face the music and visit.  Mrs. Hudsucker's memory is... short?  Quayle has gone on a mission for Inspector Le Strange in Little China and not returned yet.  Pemberton decides to go looking for him taking the Inspector with him.

This one started out with me wanting to say, Big Trouble in Little China.  Don't ask me why, I just got it stuck in my head. lol.  But this tale makes a turn and we take our journey to the Wild West in the good ol' USA.  This one has soooo many western move references in it, you CAN NOT miss one.  I had to laugh!  I think this is a second favorite in the book.

And we get to meet the Inspector more here.

Dalton Quayle and the curse of King Tuti Fruiti
55 pgs
Dalton makes a rare visit to Pembertons' medical practice to announce his brother is coming to town to reveal an amazing archeological find at the Museum of Unnatural History.  Where the unveiling goes wrong, or comes to life...and takes our duo on an adventure into the sandy home of King Tuti Fruiti, Egypt.

This book reminded me some of The Mummy and The Scorpion King.  Really a fun read with new characters.  And more twists to be seen.  This adventure full of sand and family is a tie for the second favorite read in the book.  I enjoyed the Egyptian mystery here.

Dalton Quayle and the Teatime of the Evil Resident Living Dead
15 pgs
Visiting Quayle as it's their golf day, Pemberton finds they are not going as Quayle forgot the date and today is the 10th anniversary of Mrs. Hudsuckers lousy husband's death.  Since she is upset at the passing of her husband they go with her as moral support to Mr. Hudsuckers final resting spot.

This story has a surprise as we get to meet Mr. Hudsucker, and a few others as well.  Nice urban fantasy twist with this one and a few zombies make an appearance.  But in this story is where I wonder if there will be another journal to come to print to enjoy more tales of Quayle and Pemberton.

This book was pure fun and enjoyment.  If you are looking for a fun read with fantasy/urban fantasy twists in the tales, do pick this one up.  But you have to expect nothing but humor and smiles.  You need to be ready to enjoy the tales Quayle and Pemberton have to share.


I received this book for an honest review from the Publisher.


This book qualifies by my Speculative Fiction Challenge hosted by Floor to Ceiling books.