Doyle Dalton's Debut
Time by Einstein, available May 2024, will feature some returning characters. It will also feature characters you have only read about so far. Like Doyle Dalton!
Why does he matter?
For starters, we've followed members of his family through the entire series, but we have yet to hear directly from Doyle, except for his diary. As to his diary, it's questionable in its truth. It reads like bloated fairy tales. Why did he write his diary like this? To this point we can only speculate.
From The Isle of Osiris:
The carnie continued, “And that’s not all you’ll see in the world famous Cabinet of Curiosities. The Cabinet of Curiosities belonging to world-renowned soldier of fortune, Doyle Dalton! Why this here cabinet has been all over the world from Nova Sco-tia to New Mex-i-co, From Zim-bob-way to Zin-za-bar, and San Fran-cisco to Scot-land. Like thousands before you, you will see the three headed child from the darkest African jungles. A unicorn’s horn! That’s right, folks, sci-en-tific proof—including photographs—that such creatures exist and right here in the U. S. of A!” He punctuated his words with taps on the microphone. “The skeletal remains of an elephant three times the size of modern ones. Doyle Dalton was unable to bring back an entire carcass, so he stripped it bare with his own hands and dragged it out of the jungle, almost losing his life. Also, you’ll see the footprint of the abominable snowman frozen in ice.”
A younger Jamie and her cousin first meet Burt Dalton, one of Doyle's descendants who is flogging the Cabinet of Curiosities at the local fair. Then Brett Poole gets involved. He wants to buy the alabaster statue:
Burt Dalton wiped sweat from his brow. “My great-granddad was an archaeologist. Found this statue in a pyramid in Egypt.”
“Highly unlikely,” Dad fired back. “While your great-granddad may have been a soldier—of fortune—I doubt he
was any kind of archaeologist. Maybe a tomb robber,” he sneered toothily.
Mr. Dalton stepped back. “How dare you speak of my family like that!”
The more Dad spoke, the more I wondered if he were a police interrogator instead of an archaeologist. His skills were exceptional. I didn’t have to see Mr. Dalton’s face to know he was rattled by the unexpected barrage of questions. He scanned the tent. Probably mapping the quickest escape route.
“All right, mate. I give. My great-granddad found it in a hidden burial chamber. I can’t tell you where. Family secret. One day, when I make enough money selling tickets to customers like you, I plan to go to Egypt and dig it up. You can watch it on CNN.” He swaggered. I’m sure Mr. Dalton attempted to convince Dad with some sort of facial expression that he held all the cards, trying to gain the upper hand.
Brett walks away with the forged copy of the star map instead.
Then, in Tome of Tubal-Cain, Doyle Dalton's diary is uncovered in a robbery that leaves Burt Dalton in the hospital. Dalton's son, Peter, is now a university mate of Jamie's:
I snorted, but said nothing. Peter grinned at me. “I know, I know. He was no Lawrence of Arabia. Don’t you love the way he speaks with humility? I don’t idolize Great-great-granddad the way Dad does. He’d insist our ancestor was akin to Lawrence of Arabia in all but his enduring celebrity but, you must admit, he never did anything blatantly illegal. He never stole or cheated anyone outright. He is a fantastic liar! His adventures made awesome bedtime stories. Even if they weren’t true. I used to re-enact his tales with my mates.”
Doyle Dalton has established himself to his family as a liar and a braggart. His stories are so outrageous that they cannot be believed. However, the cabinet of curiosities that still bears his name is still being displayed by his descendent, Burt. Where did he find the alabaster statue in Eliyana's image? And what is the truth about the star map? Brett Poole figured out some of it, and it led him to the Isle of Osiris. What other secrets does it hold?
In the same conversation, Lenore, Jamie's roommate makes one last discovery:
I looked sadly at the diary as I flipped pages to see several pages in Arabic. There was little left once he shifted back to English. I had read to the end only to find the climax was unreadable. I almost cried. But I didn’t. Not in front of my friends.
Lenore saw my disappointment and suggested, “You could show it to Jumeela. She could translate it. I’m sure she trustworthy.”
Toward the end of Dalton's diary, he shifted to an unreadable text. It looked like Arabic, but it was not. Jumeela could not read it. Neither could Dr. Mary Sutherland. Mary specialized in ancient and lost languages. She could not translate it.
Jamie has tried her hardest to figure out details in this cryptic script while Mary has had the original and is trying the same. "Something" will happen in Time by Einstein. I don't wish to spoil the plot entirely, but I think it's time that Doyle Dalton got some screen time. He's been lurking in the background with his unreadable diary. The part that can be read seems to be bloated stories that belong in a children's book. Who is this man really? If we meet him, will the truth finally be understood?
You'll have to meet the man and make your own decisions. Doyle Dalton debuts in this book, but I can assure you, this won't be the last you see of him. Like his diary, he will keep popping up.
Time by Einstein and The Wild Hunt available in May 2024.
While you wait for Time by Einstein and The Wild Hunt, you can purchase any of the Jamie Poole Books directly from the author. Arrangements can be made by emailing: JamiePooleBooks@gmail.com.
Additionally Dartmouth Book Exchange is a preferred vendor who can assist you in getting the books any time of year. In fact our first event this year will be with Dartmouth Book Exchange. Here are DETAILS.
