By pro football standards, 14 year veteran DE Trevor Pryce is something of a renaissance man, one whose independent label exploits and television production initiatives suggest he’s not the sort of person reluctant to express himself freely. That said, I’m not sure anyone could’ve been prepared to learn that Pryce’s hardcover fiction debut would be titled, “An Army Of Frogs : A Kuliari Novel”. From publicist Adam Riefenberek :
His fear comes from that ugly greenish-brown color and the fact that they are filled with pus…or so he thought as a kid. So why did he write this book? Was it a way to tackle his fear head-on? God, no. He wrote it because of the color blue. His favorite color is blue, and the first time he saw a bright blue poison dart frog on TV, at age twelve, he was enthralled. For some reason, he wasn’t scared of the frog that could actually kill him, and Pryce immediately wanted one as a pet.
Fast-forward a few decades. He was getting ready to retire from football and focus on his writing. He was looking for ideas for a book and kept coming back to that first time he saw a poison dart frog. Pryce figured that if he’d reacted to them the way he did when he was twelve, other twelve-year-olds were going to feel the same. So the Kulipari were born.
On the edge of the Australian outback, two young frogs—Darel and Gurnugan—are given the opportunity to show just how courageous and strong they can be. Lord Marmoo, the leader of the scorpion army, and Jarrah, the spider queen, are planning an attack on the frogs’ home—the lush Amphibilands—and it will be up Darel and Gurnugan and the brave and loyal nation of frogs to stop them. The Kulipari warriors who had come to their rescue in battles past seem to have faded from existence. And the turtle king, who has protected the Amphibilands for one hundred years “behind the veil” is now old and may not be able to withstand the blood lust and revenge sought by the scorpion army and Queen Jarrah. The Amphibilands are in grave danger.
Readers are effortlessly drawn in to this foreign, yet familiar land where wizened turtles ride crocodiles and young frogs dream of joining the ranks of the heroic Kulipari warriors. Pryce’s prose is full of life and energy as tree frogs, wood frogs, lizards, skinks, spiders and scorpions populate this memorable and magical chapter book, which has wonderful imagery, vivid illustrations and more action and adventure than a Monday Night game at Mile High.