[.ca] Where Legends Roam (ISBN 0966770447)

Gigantopithecus....If you can pronounce this, a must read!:
Okay, even if you can't pronounce Gigantopithecus you will have no problem relating to the Big Foot Legend. Where Legends Roam kept me intrigued with it's fast paced storyline. Mr. Murphy's character descriptions were quite easy to imagine. In fact, one of his bad characters, in particular, gave me the creeps for weeks after finishing the book. Because of man's inevitable, curious, destructive behavior, I hope that The Sasquotch theory remains a mystery, as this story could quiclkly become a reality. In that case we would need to wish for our Kodiak hero to truly exist.

A exciting journey for the capture of bigfoot:
I have an interest in unknown animals like bigfoot and the lochness monster, and was very impressed how Mr. Murphy took on this subject. First when I read the foward by Dr. Mackal I had a feeling that there was promise in the story. I like the way Murphy described Bigfoot as a real animal not the typical tabloid garbage where Bigfoot is a space alien or a blood thirsty monster that goes around killing people. Murphy seems to have a great knowledge on the subject of Bigfoot and bases the animal on what some scientist believe this animal to be. The action and characters in this story are non-stop. You think things are calm and something or someone comes out of left field and throws you for a loop. I enjoyed this book fully and look foward to future novels featuring George Kodiak. It's nice to see a good action adventure novel on this subject taken seriously.

A Rollercoaster of Excitement:
With Dr. Roy Mackal's Foreward to LEE MURPHY's Thriller, "Where Legends Roam. His character development was superb. Fast paced and enlightening. Not only for us Cryptozoology buff's but any who love adventure and hope for an exciting ride, "Where Legends Roam" filled the bill!! Gotta say I'm glad you got your justice Mr. Pittman!

Stay away!:
When I bought this book, I had no expectations, since I'd never heard of the author before. Yet the book still managed to disappoint me -- more than that, it left me disgusted. First, the author starts by describing Hell, Michigan, incorrectly and in a disdainful tone. Apparently, Murphy believes everyone who lives outside a big city is a dumb hick. Since I'm from Michigan, I immediately recognized the fallacy in his descriptions of that area. Strike one. Next, Murphy indulges in ever more outlandish ideas as the book progresses. We're to believe that a billionaire has a private zoo in Arizona that, from the description, must take up all of that state and most of the neighboring ones. Murphy then describes how this billionaire has recreated climates from around the world, including a polar landscape -- in Arizona! -- and not even in a cave, but outdoors. Sheesh. Murphy also uses every stupid, juvenile joke about bodily excretions and genitalia. He has one character constantly fantasizing about how he'll rape a woman. If this weren't enough to turn my stomach, then there's the violence, which is needlessly graphic. I don't buy the excuse that "the world is brutal so we must show the brutality to expose it for what it is." Describing such brutal violence in exquisite detail only serves to glamorize brutality. Finally, there are the items that Murphy apparently thinks will convince the reader his hero knows about wilderness survival -- using the heads of ants to suture a wound, for one. Gimme a break! Meanwhile, his hero Kodiak leaves enough footprints for every villain in Washington State to track him! As for the hero, he's not heroic at all. Among other things, he purposely provokes the bad guys into a shootout in a crowded building, which causes innocent people to get hurt. I'm sorely disappointed that Roy Mackal opted to write a glowing preface to this book. My advice to anyone considering buying this book is -- don't!

Kodiak arrest:
Where to begin... in a nutshell, this is just an average book with average characters and a not-so-heroic hero. George Kodiak is more of an anti-hero, he's violent and has social issues. The romantic interest between Kodiak and Cyrena is poor and is reminiscent of an elementary school crush on Cyrena's part, Kodiak could care less. The 'bad guys' Norm, Dave, and Montagna are over the top with Dave's obsessing of raping Cyrena, Norm's hygiene, and Montagna's greed and his implied government involvment is lackluster. The money man behind the whole hunt is simply so far fetched it is completely unbelievable what with his zoo and all. The only truly decent characters are Mrs. Hunnicutt, her development and involvement with the bigfoots was more interesting than the Bigfoot Hunter's group of the above mentioned characters. The most intriguing character is Ruth and there is a hint of a good possible story behind her origins but the author doesn't pursue the hints Montagna talks about earlier in the book. Murphy begins laying out a possible decent story with the Hunnicutt character but then turns his focus on showing how despicable a person can be when he begins to push the bad-guys storyline. After this point, Murphy turns the book into a B-rated movie plot. There's no real speculation or development for the sasquatch, he makes them very uninteresting. The beneficial point he makes is that they are just animals with animal instincts and some higher brain functions, not horror monsters out to kill. As a story, it's certainly readable and holds your interest enough to get through it. "The Kodiak books" will easily fall into a routine mystery formula that is so common throughout the literary mystery genre.