November 17, 2003
Fresh from his first adventure, Hermux Tantamoq, watchmaker mouse and amateur sleuth, finds himself drawn into another intrigue when his artist friend's exhibit of cat paintings incites a riot. "The galloping plot, evocative descriptions and exuberantly sophisticated wit keep the pages turning rapidly," wrote PW
in a starred review. Ages 10-up.
February 1, 2003
Gr 5-8-The sand sifts slowly through the hourglass while listening to this audio rendition of this Hermux Tantamoq Adventure by Michael Hoeye (Putnam, 2002). The major portion of the adventure focuses on the discussion of the mythical cat civilization and tedious, on-going descriptions of scenes and settings. This, coupled with character's names, such as Tucka Mertslin, Linka Perflinger, and more, can leave unfamiliar listeners befuddled. While trying to understand who the characters are, listeners can easily lose the thread of the story as the narrator's reading moves along steadily, leaving no time to make the necessary connections. The narration by Campell Scott, an experienced film and TV drama actor, is less than stellar. His vocalizations add little to bring this verbose and belabored novel alive. Scott's voices for the multitude of characters is nondescript. Even in the instances where characters are said to "squeal" or "chirp," Scott's voice remains unvarying and lifeless. Birch is the only character whose voice is discernable due to a slight raspiness. Without voice changes, the characters remain one-dimensional, which only serves to emphasize the linear predictability of the story line.-Tina Hudak, St. Bernard's School, Riverdale, MD
Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from September 10, 2001
Fresh from his first adventure (Time Stops for No Mouse), Hermux Tantamoq, watchmaker, amateur sleuth and intrepid mouse about town, finds himself drawn into another intrigue when his artist friend Mirrin Stentrill's exhibit of cat paintings incites a riot. Long presumed to be mythical creatures by the urbane small rodent population of Pinchester, cats are a taboo subject. No one knows that better than Mirrin's old chipmunk flame, Birch Tentintrotter, who was run out of town decades ago when he deciphered an ancient map to the kingdom of cats. He reappears unexpectedly with another old scroll, and mouse history may never be the same. "We're going to discover once and for all if cats actually existed or this has just been a horrible hoax," Mirrin determines. Soon they are off, with the odious playboy scholar (and revisionist historian) Hinkum Stepfitchler III and his fiancée, hilariously self-serving cosmetics millionaire Tucka Mertslin, on their collective tails. Birch, Hermux and the mouse of his dreams—the lovely aviatrix Linka Perflinger—race to find the ancient tomb of Ka-Narsh-Pah, and its cat-and-mouse secrets. Hoeye's galloping plot, evocative descriptions ("The papyrus was the bleached yellow of September hay") and exuberantly sophisticated wit ("Tucka was happy. She loved rich people. They were so much fun. They were so full of life. And they had so much money!") keep the pages rapidly turning. Ages 12-up.
September 16, 2002
Michael Hoeye's Hermux Tantamoq Adventure series is now being published by Putnam. The first title, Time Stops for No Mouse, introduced the watchmaking mouse, Hermux Tantamoq, his pet ladybug, Terfle, and his crush, aviatrix Ms. Linka Perflinger. In the second episode, The Sands of Time, Mayor Hooster Pinkwiggin vows to close Mirrin Stentrill's art exhibit when he learns it features felines-a taboo subject in the rodent town of Pinchester. PW said the author's "galloping plot, evocative descriptions and exuberantly sophisticated wit keep the pages rapidly turning."