Second frame of third page:
Kim: That little creature! Let’s follow it! It will lead us there.
I was a bit dissatisfied with the previous couple of volumes in this series, which seemed to me to have a real middle-book syndrome feeling about them, but here we are moving satisfactorily towards a conclusion as Kim and fellow explorers, separated in their exploration of the lush planetary surface of Bételgeuse, endure deadly danger to eventually be led by the indigenous iums and the mysterious young human girl Mai Lin to the place where the secret of the planet can be found. At least, I hope so; I’ve bought the next book already and will report back.
Odd’s mother was kidnapped from Scotland as a girl by his father,
This, while repellent to modern mindsets, is a well documented Viking phenomenon. Genetic studies of Icelanders back it up.