City of the Beasts
| Company type | Young adult novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Isabel Allende |
| Products | Novel |
City of the Beasts () represents the debut young adult novel authored by Chilean-American writer Isabel Allende. Released in 2002, its narrative unfolds within the Amazon rainforest. The English version was translated from Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden. In 2006, Walden Media secured the film adaptation rights, although no movie has been produced to date.
Beginning
The story centers on Alexander Cold, a 15-year-old boy confronting a familial crisis. When his parents travel to Texas seeking medical care for his mother’s cancer, Alex and his sisters are placed under their grandmothers’ care. Despite his objections, Alex is sent to New York to live with his unconventional grandmother, Kate Cold, an adventurer and journalist for International Geographic Magazine. Upon arrival, Alex finds that Kate did not plan to pick him up at the airport, compelling him to navigate to her apartment alone. During this journey, he encounters Morgana, a homeless woman who steals his backpack containing clothes, money, and a treasured family heirloom—his grandfather Joseph Cold’s flute. Later, Kate replaces the lost flute with another from their family collection.
Soon after settling in, Kate reveals their plan to embark on an expedition into the Amazon rainforest in search of a mysterious creature known as “the Beast.” They quickly prepare and set off on their adventure.
Arrival at the Amazon
Once in the jungle, Alex and Kate join an expedition team comprising International Geographic photographers Timothy Bruce and Joel Gonzalez; anthropologist Ludovic Leblanc; Venezuelan doctor Omayra Torres, who vaccinates indigenous people; Brazilian guide Cesar Santos; the enigmatic Karakawe; entrepreneur and expedition co-sponsor Mauro Carías; and Captain Ariosto, the military leader of the local village.
Alex forms a friendship with Nadia Santos, Cesar’s daughter, through whom he meets shaman Walimai. The shaman issues a warning about impending dangers and gives Nadia a protective necklace. The group uncovers a secret alliance between Carías and Ariosto. When they encounter a captive black jaguar, it becomes clear that this animal is Alex’s spiritual totem.
The Expedition
Traveling upriver by boat, the team senses hidden perils. One soldier succumbs to a poisoned dart; Joel Gonzalez suffers an attack by an anaconda and is left traumatized. Following another death attributed to the Beast, some expedition members decide to return with Gonzalez.
To calm tensions, Alex plays his grandfather’s flute. Subsequently, he and Nadia are captured by the “People of the Mist” tribe and taken to their village called the “Eye of the World,” perched atop a waterfall. Alex uses his rock climbing expertise to aid their ascent while helping Nadia confront her acrophobia.
During the climb, Alex rescues Mokarita, the tribe’s chief, who is fatally injured. They reach Eye of the World—a rainforest refuge encircled by waterfalls and tepui formations.
The People of the Mist
Received warmly by the tribe, Alex and Nadia witness Mokarita’s funeral ceremony featuring hallucinogenic rites. Both undergo initiation ceremonies; Alex experiences a coming-of-age ritual involving transformation into his jaguar totem and receives a vision of his hospitalized mother. Nadia’s totem emerges as the eagle, empowering her to surmount her fear and ascend a tepui summit where she discovers two crystal eggs.
Now bearing the names “Jaguar and Eagle,” Alex and Nadia are led by shaman Walimai and his spirit wife toward an encounter with the Beasts—venerated beings residing in a hidden city deep within the forest. Jaguar identifies this place as El Dorado, constructed from fool’s gold inside an extinct volcano, accessible solely through lava tunnels inhabited by mystical creatures such as blind white cats and ancient dragon-like birds.
The Beasts of the Amazon
Upon reaching their destination, Alex and Nadia encounter the Beasts—enormous creatures resembling sloths that function as the tribe’s oral historians by reciting legendary poems. Concerned about potential capture by Western researchers, the protagonists caution the Beasts to remain vigilant against outsiders, including members of their own expedition. In return for their safety, the Beasts ask for offerings: Nadia’s crystal eggs, which are revealed to be large diamonds, and Alex’s life-giving water intended to heal his mother. They succeed in securing these items but must part with their most treasured possessions—Nadia’s protective necklace from Walimai and a flute belonging to Alex’s grandfather.
When they arrive back at the village, it has been seized by an expedition led by Marau Carías and Captain Ariosto. Nadia convinces the indigenous people to accept vaccinations; however, she and Alex soon uncover that these injections contain deadly doses of measles virus, a sinister element of Carias’s plot to annihilate the Amazonian tribes.
They manage to halt the vaccinations just before they are administered. During ensuing events, Karakawe, an expedition member and official from the Department for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples, is fatally shot by Ariosto. The natives flee amid a brief gunfight. Ariosto and his soldiers detain all members of the expedition; some are escorted back alongside the injured Carias and Dr. Torres. Under cover of darkness, Nadia and Alex escape captivity. With assistance from Walimai, two Beasts emit a potent scent that incapacitates the others and kill Ariosto. The tribe ensures the safety of the expedition members. Following negotiations that secure a commitment to protect the region through every available resource, influence, and funding, the People of the Mist depart.
Last part
In closing, Eagle and Jaguar separate paths. She entrusts Alex with three "crystal eggs," whose proceeds are intended to support a foundation dedicated to safeguarding the World's Eye. Reflecting on their journey, Alex considers meeting her as its most valuable outcome, and they pledge enduring friendship.
Literary significance and reception
Critical response was varied; while some reviewers lauded it as an engaging debut in children’s literature, others found fault with its sluggish beginning and unconvincing translated dialogue.
City of the Beasts has been rendered into more than 40 languages worldwide.
Awards and nominations
- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review (Nov. 17, 2002): listed among the best Young Adult Science Fiction novels of 2002
- Included in Book Magazine’s Best of 2002 list for Young Adults
- Featured in Time magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time
Sequels
Eagle and Jaguar reappear in subsequent novels, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon and Forest of the Pygmies.