Robert Steven Mack's Book Review of the Week: Project-00 by Dow Kump

Fame and Fortune – so they say – go hand in hand. Still talent and a good script, albeit necessary, are not sufficient ingredients for making a bestseller. Publicity and marketing are essential tools to “spread the word.” Project-00 by Dow Kump is an example of a great story with insufficient publicity. I was lucky enough to fetch one of the few copies in circulation…

It was Saturday when I decided to go to the weekly Library book sale and find some good deals to spend my three dollars with. I bought a total of three books and three movies for 50 cents each, and all of them were extremely good deals. One of the books I acquired was Project-00 by Dow Kump (www.dowkump.com). Although the story is not unusual and there have been hundreds similar to this story, Project-00 is an exciting, absorbing page-turner. The story is about an intelligent 13-year-old boy who goes on a quest to save the family business in a most unusual manner. Through his adventures, the young man learns the meaning of honesty, loyalty, and the power of keeping your promise. In the end he is forced to choose between is own personal happiness or the endangered lives of others.

It is a shame that this book has not been better well known for it is excellent. In fact, it seems that this book had been out of print for some time, and hence I was lucky to acquire it for a few dimes. What was even more amazing is that I found some writing on the front pages of the book. It said "To J. T. R…, follow your dreams!'' and was signed by the author. What treasure! The book was published by Endeavor Publishing Huntington Beach, California. This serves as further evidence that this book was probably written by a local author without a powerful publicity apparatus behind him.

You can tell that the author Dow Kump enjoyed writing this book from the way in which his vivid imagination carried the story in the most delightful way. As the author enjoyed writing it, I am sure that if only it were in stores and if only it had had the proper publicity others would have enjoyed it too!

Copyright 2010 by Robert Steven Mack (all rights reserved!)