Jungle of Stone by William Carlsen Book Review

Jungle of Stone is an intriguing adventure of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in the deep jungles of what is now Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras for the search of the lost civilization of the Mayans. Dripping with grave details of the adventures of Stephens and Catherwood, you will easily feel as if you are discovering the ancient ruins yourself.

Jungle of Stone is put together extremely well and is based off of research from Stephen’s well detailed journals and Catherwood’s amazing illustrations of the journey as well. The simple concept of wondering into an aggressive jungle in the mid 1800’s to look for a lost civilization is either mad or brave. William Carlsen does an excellent job of surrounding you in the depths of the jungle. Carlsen quickly has you feeling every emotion that the adventurers felt and you can’t help but feel inspired by their determination.

Paul Michael Garcia does a wonderful job as the narrator. Garcia quickly sets the tone of the adventure and also changes it up to have you feel every emotion that Carlsen is attempting to portray. Again, Garcia does a wonderful job of separating each and every character and is flawless with giving the appropriate accents.

If you’re a fan of adventures, lost civilizations or even South America in general, get this book! You will not be disappointed. The only complaint I have is towards the end of the book. I understand what the author was attempting to do by giving a sense of closure and updates about Stephens and Catherwood’s life after the jungle discoveries. However, the closure drags on way too long in my honest opinion.

Story: 4/5

Narration: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

Pros: Great detail of the environment and of the adventures.

Cons: The ending drags on too long.

You can obtain the audiobook from downpour.com by clicking here.