Synopsis: The story starts off with Joe finding himself in the middle of a desert. The last thing he remembers is being in the YMCA Swimming Pool swimming with Sam and Fred and playing Marco Polo with them. He doesn't recall how he suddenly appeared in the middle of a desert, and feels like this is the end for him, when who other than Marco Polo arrives to save him. Marco Polo thinks Joe is an astrologer and takes him to meet his father Niccolo Polo and his uncle Maffeo Polo. They tell him that they have seen the book Joe is looking for, at Kublai Khan's court, and that they are on their way to meet Kublai Khan. Will Joe find his friends, and get the book, especially since it turns out to be in the hands of Ding Dong, the astrologer for Kublai Khan who hates the Trio and wants them
Review: I must say this was definitely an exciting Time Warp Trio book to read. Firstly, I liked it because it was the first time (at least for me), to read the Time Warp Trio separated from one another in the time period. This kept me wondering as to how they would find one another. Secondly, I liked how the author added humor into this book by creating names such as "Ding Dong" and getting Marco Polo to play "Marco Polo". Even though this is the first book of the series I read that had Adam McCauley as the illustrator, I enjoyed the illustrations in this book, and thought they fit well with the story.
Overall, this is another nice addition to the series, and I can't wait to read more!
NOTE: The reviewer previous to mine had a complaint that pages 29-30 were missing from the book. I am pretty sure this is not a misprint and the author intended to have those pages blank. I was also a little surprised when I saw it in the beginning in my version, but after reading the chapter, I am sure they were intended to be written that way.