Very well-written Crypto-fiction!

This book follows the adventures of anthropologist Ian McQuade, who had an experience with a Bigfoot as a child. The story revolves around his efforts to find the supposedly mythical creature, leading him to Ohio, where two strange discoveries are found-one, a videotape of a large, white-haired Bigfoot-type creature, the other of the famous "Minnesota Iceman", kept in a meat-packing plant. The search next leads him to Washington State, the Mt. Saint Helens area, where a colony of Bigfoot creatures is attacking a research group who have an old Bigfoot captive. The story climaxes in the caves in and around Mt. Saint Helens, specifically Ape Canyon and Ape Cave. I won't give away anymore details, but it comes to a satisfying conclusion and really leaves the reader satisfied. A highly-recommended book, especially if you are thinking of a Christmas gift.

The Iceman cometh....with the Wendigo!, October 20, 2004

It you're a Bigfoot fan and like rip-roaring, rollercoaster-ride adventure, this novel is definitely not to be missed. Ian McQuade is back, this time without Alma, and he's assigned by the Chimaera Foundation to go out and discover a Bigfoot. First, he has to retrieve the Minnesota Iceman from a meatpacking plant in Ohio where it has been stored all these years....and he winds up at Mt. St. Helens, encountering an eccentric and aged Bigfoot named Karloff and the even bigger--and meaner--mythical Wendigo, which turns out to be a relict population of the extinct Asian Gigantopithecus, the Ultimate Big Ape. Ian is forced to make major decisions for the expedition, a new experience for him, and he is aided by a new heroine named Billye Carlton, a bellicose and cranky young woman who beats Ian up a couple of times before she gets to like him. And the blockbuster ending is just what I've come to expect from D. L. in his novels.

D. L. has named several of his characters for his friends. Loren Coleman, probably the most celebrated cryptozoologist in the world, appears as himself, as a mentor to Ian. Billye Carlton is, of course, Billye McCarty of Oklahoma, our mutual great friend and D. L.'s relentless editor, who leaves no comma unturned and no misplaced hyphen excused. She does a bang-up job, whipping her author's creativity into its most readable form. Author Lee Murphy appears as a park ranger, and there is even a minor character named Ella Howard, for me! To say I was thrilled at that is a gross understatement.

In "Track", D. L. has not only lived up to my expections after reading "Shadow of the Thunderbird", but surpassed them. Now I'm eagerly awaitng his third novel in the trilogy, this time dealing with lake monsters. Water cryptids don't ring my bell, but I know the new novel will have my complete and extended attention.

Starts wrong, ends great

I began reading The Cryptids Trilogy just for this book. I liked the first book well enough but it could have been better. Here in Tanner's sophomore book, he has improved and I enjoyed it much more. However, I must give both sides of my thoughts.

The first 50 pages or so of the book are very sloppy. It seems like Tanner wrote several different beginnings and then opted to stick them all in. I found many annoying redundant items in these pages. 1. Everytime he used the word 'cryptid' he had to explain what it meant even though he already explained it 4 pages previously. 2. He did the same thing with "El Diablo Rojo, or The Red Devil", man that was bothering me like someone can't translate three simple Spanish words. 3. Most of all, in the first 50 pages, he constantly rehashes the first book (Shadow of the Thunderbird - SotT) and McQuade's camping trip as a boy. You can get away with it maybe twice but then it just got irritable. These are the only reasons why this book gets 4 instead of 5 stars.

Now on to the good, other than the beginning, I truly enjoyed this book. Once you get past the bogged down beginnings, the story is well written and entertaining. Tanner cut down the James Bondish parts of the Chimaera Foundation and focused more on developing McQuade as a character. Ranging from McQuade's despondence over not having Alma around to becoming a lead investigator and team leader facing his childhood fear, the character becomes much more connective than in 'SotT'. Starting off with a filmed sighting in Ohio to the involvement of the Minnesota Iceman, we get some background on Albert Myers, the conspiracy theorist, and are introduced to new character the spitfire Belinda 'Billye' Carlton. From there we moved to Mt St Helens for the rest of the mission.

The story from here is not quite what I expected and therefore I enjoyed it more. He does a great job using a Foundation contact tracker in Bobby Dandridge to inform the lesser knowledgable members of the team about numerous bigfoot encounters (Ostman-kidnapping and Beck-Ape Canyon attack). Trying not to give away the ending, I was very sastisfied with the inclusion of the Wendigo mythos as well. Tanner manages to give a different view of this legend too. I was also grateful that the Ian-Alma-Amelia triangle was dropped to the background and was a bit concerned that Alma would show up to save Ian by the end, thankfully she remains absent. One minor miscue is there was no direct closure issue for Cyril Pritchard which is how the book opens the set-up.

Overall, kudos to you Tanner on an improvement over SotT, and now I am eagerly awaiting book 3, Wake of the Lake Monster. Just stay away from a jumbled beginning. I will definitely read this book again in the future.

Motion Picture Quality

Mr. Tanner has me hooked on this series. I really had no idea what cryptozoology was until I picked up his books. Now I cannot wait to read the third installment in the series.

Mr. Tanner does a nice job developing the characters, giving full explanations as to the reasons for their flaws and quirks. Ian McQuade, the primary character, is a unique individual that everyone can relate to as well as laugh at. The story is well thought out and the explanations for the creatures are very informative with in-depth research as to why they might exist.

This series is exciting and entertaining for even the uninformed in cryptozoology.

Another Coup For D. L. Tanner

After reading Tanner's first book, Shadow of the Thunderbird, I was anxious to get my hands on his new work. I was not disappointed.

Mr. Tanner is a great story teller. He has the ability to write novels in any genre'. I am thankful he has turned his attention to cryptozoology.

His unusual ability to tell a good story combined with his extensive and excellent research combine to make this book a great choice for anyone who just likes a good adventure novel. It is also a stealth textbook on the subject of unknown hominids, by whatever name you wish to call them. Readers who have studied the subject matter will quickly realize that Mr. Tanner is using this medium to cogently present a wonderful summary of a great deal that is known about his topic. In fact, his research has been so extensive and his style is so readable that one can't help but come away having been educated and entertained at the same time.

I highly recommend this book.

Any intellectually honest person who reads it and realizes what Tanner is doing comes away with a greater appreciation for cryptozoology and Mr. Tanner.

This is a great read. If you havn't done so, be sure to get Tanner's first novel mentioned above.

Sometime in the near future Mr. Tanner will also be coming out with the third book in this trilogy. Let's hope he doesn't stop there.

His top notch research and storytelling abilities make him uniquely qualified to help bring the science of cryptozoology more of the credibility it deserves.

Good work Mr. Tanner.

We look forward to the privilege of reading many many more of your books in the years to come.

FAS

Excitement, Thrilling & Informative!!

By	T. Christian (Southern, USA)

D.L.Tanner's "Track of the Bigfoot" is the one to get!
This book is one of the best buys in years for me. The character development is superb!

Cryptids are the beasts Cryptozoologist seek out, hidden animals we've all heard about, may fear, but still many of us wish to someday encounter.

I must thank Jerry D. Coleman's "Strange Highways" non-fiction Cryptozoology / Paranormal book for getting me hooked on this stuff and so glad I then picked up "Track of the Bigfoot"!

Great book Mr. Tanner, a roller coaster read of excitement!

Preliminary Rating

If this book is half as good as Tanner's first work, "Shadow of the Thunderbird," it will be a knockout.

In his first work he displayed an uncanny ability to take volumes of research and meld them into a riveting story.

My guess is that this will be another great book for those who enjoy a good novel and especially for those who enjoy good scholarship.

I only just received my copy by mail from Amazon yesterday afternoon, so I havn't yet finished it. However, when I do, I will write another review as a follow-up.

FIVE STARS-- and deservedly so., December 14, 2003

This is a great book. An adventure novel about the legend of the Sasquatch-- a favorite topic for writers of many genres. This one is far and above the vast majority of others, clearly one of the best.

Track of the Bigfoot is the sequel to Tanner's Shadow of the Thunderbird. While it is a terrific follow-up to that story, told with the same dedication to detail and documentation regarding that particular cryptid, this book also stands on its own and can be read separate from the previous volume.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. The writing is sharp and creates a mental motion picture. The characters are all crisply drawn and highly believable (another DL Tanner trademark). His ideas regarding the Sasquatch are exceptional, digging deep into the current research and knowledge regarding these mysterious creatures. I did not know what to expect one page from the next, and was amazed by what followed.

This is a book for EVERYONE. You can come to this novel with little or no knowledge about Bigfoot. Mr. Tanner goes to great lengths to fill his readers in on all the pertinent data without losing the strong pace of an amazing adventure.

Buy this book.