Cruz is focused on figuring out a cryptic message left by
his deceased mother that will lead him to the seventh piece of a stone cipher. The
completed cipher will reveal the recipe for a serum that will change the future
of medicine and health all over the world. Cruz’s mother had an accident while
she was pregnant, and the serum has given him amazing healing powers; he may be
immortal. Nebula is determined to stop Cruz from finding the cipher, and it’s
willing to go to any lengths to stop him. Cruz tries to make wise and just
decisions, but maneuvering through confusion and suspicions is difficult. Plus,
he has feelings for Bryndis, and everyone else on the ship knows they’re a couple.
His various friendships in the Explorer Academy are complicated by the fact that
he doesn’t know who to trust.
The plot includes a number of mysteries and uncertainties to
keep readers wondering. Obviously, the clues to finding pieces of the cipher are
cryptic, so the explorers are never totally certain they’re on the right track
to finding them. The most interesting problem concerns Nebula’s spies within
the academy and aboard the Orion, the ship acting as a mobile school for the students.
Cruz and his friends know two spies are on board, code-named Zebra and Jaguar, but
that only makes them suspicious of everyone not in their group. Cruz even
suspects his own aunt might be Zebra. Every few chapters, the setting focuses
on Nebula, so readers gain some insight into their plans. These pages also reveal
distrust and sabotage among the antagonists, as the players position for power.
Each book in the series focuses on an ecological mission,
and this one deals with finding a marsupial scientists assume is extinct. However,
a video surfaced one year ago that seems to show a thylacine wandering through
the forests in Tasmania. This book includes information about other rare
animals, along with colorful photographs, as well as geographical and
historical facts regarding Borneo, China, and Tasmania. Specifically in China, the
book displays knowledge of the thousands of statues in the Terra-Cotta Army, the
Xi’an City Wall, and the lantern festival. The facts shared throughout the plot
don’t interrupt the flow of the story, and some of it’s important to how events
progress.
What didn’t work as well:
This book is the sixth in the series, and a lot has
happened. References are made to past events, but many holes are left for
readers to figure out. Nebula is the evil organization trying to locate pieces
of a cipher, while Cruz and his friends follow the clues left by his mother to
find them first. Details surrounding Nebula and the Explorer Academy are
missing, but reading the previous books will solve those problems. Readers
probably won’t miss the information, but it’s helpful in understanding the
overall situation.
The Final Verdict:
The search for the cipher nears its end. It’s recommended readers begin with the first book in the series, The Nebula Secret, to appreciate the full story. The science-based adventure is full of mystery and intrigue, as Cruz tries to fulfill his mother’s quest. The Dragon’s Blood should appeal to all middle-grade readers, especially lovers of nature, ecology, and science fiction.
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