The Doom Stone is one of a series of thrillers that Zindel has recently been writing. The others are Loch (1994; see separate entry, Vol. 9) and Reef of Death (1998; see separate entry, Vol. 9) which, like The Doom Stone, both feature frightful monsters. Just as the plot of The Doom Stone turns on the fate of its monsters so does the plot of Loch turn on the destiny of its plesiosaurs. In Reef of Death the monster fills a secondary role as one among several sources of chills. In Loch, three young people take on a rapacious research expedition bent on capturing the plesiosaurs dead or alive—more likely dead. In Reef of Death, two young adults and an elderly man take on an illegal mining operation that is disguised as a research ship. The bloody scenes in these novels surpass those in The Doom Stone, providing...