Review of Treasure Hunter

Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses and Deadly Showdowns

By WC Jameson

Published by Seven Oaks Publishing Company

E-book edition, 263 pages

ASIN: B005NCV8YM

Non-fiction

Movies like pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, and the Indiana Jones franchise awakens a deeply held idea: adventure will break the monotony of life and you never know when you may find treasure beyond your wildest dreams. The search for discovery forces young and old to travel the world in search of elusive treasure, or even just dig in your parents’ backyard. For some, the search for adventure is insatiable.

Such is the case of WC Jameson, a self-described adventurer and treasure hunter, whose Treasure hunter tells stories of wanderings around the Sierra Madres and various frontiers of the Sonoran and Chihuahua deserts of Mexico. This furry dog ​​tale amplifies the adventures he endures as his motley crew of fellow treasure hunters cast caution to the wind in search of dark treasure.

It is perhaps too difficult to portray the treasure hunt differently in the dozen stories Jameson describes. After reading the first few adventures, the plot became disappointingly predictable: one of the members is an expert on Mexican lore and has discovered a map, or the allusion to the location of some treasure. Below is a brief historical narrative to enhance the drama of the buried treasure, and then without fail the crew rediscover the treasure that has been forgotten for years. Inevitably, calamity strikes, and usually the treasure remains unrecoverable.

Jameson’s insinuation is that it probably still exists right where his team left it, and while he’s too old to go back and claim the treasure in question, you, the reader, could probably uncover these treasures with the necessary research.

Although somewhat predictable in some places, the book is powerfully written. The reader is drawn to the drama and can really feel what it must have been like to crawl through impassable cave spaces or even navigate dangerous excursions with a den of rattlesnakes. Given that Jameson has made the appropriate initial warnings that the names and places have been changed to protect the identities of everyone involved, one has to wonder how much of the story has been embellished to achieve dramatic effect.

The movie Three Kings, popularized by actors George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg in 1999, provides a close parallel to the plot as Jameson unfolds. Three Kings describes the story of four soldiers who originally set out to steal “stolen” Kuwaiti gold after the Persian Gulf War. Putting aside their original desire for vile behavior, they abandon their lust for treasure when they discover people who desperately need their help. In contrast, Jameson says with speculative arrogance: Treasure hunting should not be outlawed: “It is important to understand that almost everything that treasure recovery professionals like myself do is illegal. Hence, the strange and irrational laws related to with the recovery of treasures they have become honest, dedicated fortune hunters and workers in outlaws. “

An African proverb states: “Until the lions have their historians, the tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” Treasure hunter is a series of evocative missions that will make you want to put on some hiking boots and set off in search of the wealth that has been buried for hundreds of years. Who knows? Perhaps you will usurp the odds and win a fortune beyond your wildest dreams.

Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd