Vic 4: Terror Incognita

Vic 4: Terror Incognita, Jerry Gill, CreateSpace, 2015

This is the fourth adventure of Victoria Custer, your average resident of the early 20th century. Using the pen name Vic Challenger, Victoria, and her friend, Lin Li, travel to exotic places and write about them for their hometown newspaper. The unique part is that inside Vic is the avatar of a 100,000-year old cavewoman  named Nat-ul (who is not afraid to call Vic an idiot when necessary). The two are engaged in a never-ending search for Nu, Nat-ul's lover from all those centuries ago. After all, Nat-ul is still alive (in a sense), so Nu must also be out there, somewhere.

In this volume, Vic and Lin Li plan to do some hiking and exploring in the Amazon rain forest. While in Brazil buying provisions, Vic meets Ech, and elderly woman who speaks the original language of the uprights; Nat-ul's language. Ech comes from the land of Goch, in an isolated area of the Amazon. Vic and Lin Li agree to go to Goch, if only to tell Ech's people that she has passed on.

After several days of traveling by boat upriver, and hacking through nearly solid vines and undergrowth, the two are taken prisoner and brought to a man, who speaks English, named Tis. They have found the land of Goch. Tis has a very effective means of keeping the people under control. Think of a cross between a large lizard and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, large enough to have a semi-human, but equally hideous looking, being riding it. They know how to deal with anyone who gets out of line. There are only two pairs at the moment, but Tis has hundreds of eggs ready to hatch, with which he will take over the world.

The two are separated for several days, but they make their escape. They are able to neutralize one of the dinosaur pairs, but even after reaching their boat, with the fuel line conveniently missing, the enters the river and comes after them. There is quite the pitched battle in the piranha-infested water, with some help from Nat-ul. Meantime, with Tis overthrown, do the people of Goch exact their revenge?

I really enjoyed this book. It has plenty of action, and exotic peoples and locations (exotic to the average American). I hope there are more tales of Vic/Nat-ul.