Uncharted

Anderson (Eternity’s Mind) and Hoyt (the Darkship series) join forces for this whimsical “muskets and magic” alternate history of Lewis and Clark’s voyage through an American West populated by an array of scary creatures and mystical beings. The 1759 appearance of Halley’s Comet created the Sundering in the Atlantic Ocean, a barrier separating Europe and America. Magic has resurfaced in the New World. In 1803, the great centenarian wizard, Benjamin Franklin, commissions herbalist Meriwether Lewis and Army Captain William Clark to travel west to the Pacific and find passage to the Old World. The expedition’s ambitious and resourceful men discover a resentful entity in the form of a fire-breathing dragon that is terrorizing Natives and white men alike by summoning zombies, a fire demon, a river serpent, and even a reanimated T. rex. Helping the expedition is courageous Shoshone teenager Sacagawea, who encourages Lewis to tap into his latent magical powers and joins him on a journey through the land of dead. History and mythology meld admirably, leading to a satisfying conclusion. This hardy adventure establishes a world ripe for many more rousing stories. (May)