Ethan Sparks & Friends
Ethan Sparks
Ethan Sparks is an investigative reporter for The Young Explorer Magazine. He travels to foreign lands to cover his famous father's archaeological digs. During these expeditions he also uncovers mysteries. Using his spy-guy skills and as many spy tools as his cargo pants can hold, he solves them.
Ethan's Father
Dr. Sparks is a famous, world-traveling archaeologist. He is also a professor at the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. To Ethan, his dad is a geek -- so different than Indiana Jones.
Carter Sparks
Carter is Ethan's 16-year-old older brother. He's a jock -- a track star actually headed for the Olympics. Girls follow Carter around. To other teens, he's a role model -- but not to Ethan.
Mrs. Sparks
Ethan's mom is a best-selling cookbook author, and has her own TV show on the Cooking Network. Despite her demanding career, she always finds the time to micro-manage her two teenage sons' lives -- especially Ethan's, because he refuses to conform.
Rolf
Rolf is the official photographer on Dr. Sparks's archaeologyl team, and he travels around the world documenting archaeological digs. He is 30 years old, 6'3" tall, thin enough for a stiff wind to blow him over, and a hippie. His hair usually only meets a comb once a week, but he's always tugging on the three straggly hairs on his bony chin.
Murphy
Murphy is an ex-CIA agent who now works for Dr. Sparks as his bodyguard and security adviser. And he's good at what he does. He's a big guy -- strong, agile and powerfully built. He sees everything and is always on guard. Yet Ethan is good at flying just under his radar.
Chen Jun
In Book One, Escape of the Terra-Cotta Soldiers, Chen Jun is Ethan's friend in China. He helps Ethan crack a dangerous artifact theft ring. Chen Jun is a quick learner, very wise, and is highly perceptive. He keeps Ethan well on track and proves to be a valuable spy-guy partner.
Nico
In Book Two, Revenge of Poseidon's Trident, Nico is Ethan's spy-guy partner in Greece. Like Ethan, Nico is 13-years-old. When Ethan meets Nico, he immediately likes him. To be honest, what's not to like? Nico is smart, perceptive, great at surveillance, and knows the island of Santorini like the back of his hand.
Evangalia
Both smart and very pretty, Evangalia is Ethan's first love interest in Book Two, Revenge of Poseidon's Trident. She is 13-years-old with long black hair, big brown eyes, and very cute expressions. Ethan likes her right away. He admires her wit, strength and strong opinions.
Mandras
In Book Two, Revenge of Poseidon's Trident, Mandras lives in a cave on the beach near Red Beach on the Greek island of Santorini. He sells ice-cold Fantas and oranges to the college kids who sunbathe in front of his cave. Mandras is a huge bear of a man with enormous hands and thick eyebrows that climb his forehead like woolly caterpillars.
Drew
Drew has been Ethan's best friend throughout his childhood. When all the other kids they knew wanted to be firemen or astronauts, Drew and Ethan wanted to be spies. When they were as young as 8-years-old, the two boys went on covert missions -- Drew cracking codes and Ethan navigating with maps.