The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos: reviewed by Gillian Philip

I have been a sucker for space adventure ever since Star Wars caught me at an impressionable age. (I mean the first three. Let us never speak of the prequels.*) How we marvelled at the groundbreaking special effects of 1977. Some of them look a teeny bit ropey now (really, they’ve held up remarkably well), but the movies endure, because, well - it wasn’t about the special effects. Not entirely, anyway. The first Star Wars, an unexpected hit, was a mash-up of westerns, Robin Hood and Saturday morning serials. The story was the thing, and the thrills and the adventure and the romance and the cliffhangers...

Which is where Dan Krokos comes in. The Planet Thieves is the first in a middle grade series following the adventures of Mason Stark, his bitter frenemy Tom Renner and the violet-haired, eerily beautiful but mysterious Merrin Solace. I liked that Mason from the get-go: when we first meet him, hiding behind the pilot console of the SS Egypt, he’s just played a prank on his sister, a Lieutenant Commander of the fleet, by removing all the bolts from her chair. Well, he’s bored; he’s only a thirteen-year-old cadet logging space time, and he and the other cadets have done nothing but kick their heels, squabble and get in the way of the crew. (I couldn’t help picturing a much younger James T Kirk from the rebooted Star Trek movies.) 

Anyway, he knows how to pick his moments, does Mason. Earth is at war with the Tremist (a war sparked ‘because two races were really bad at taking care of what they had’) and the SS Egypt comes under enemy attack just as Mason’s removing the last bolt. 

See, that’s what I like in a book. Straight in at the deep and dangerous end, and then let’s see how much worse it can get.

Of course, it’s the irritating ‘cargo’ of cadets who escape notice and capture when the crew and senior officers are overwhelmed, and it’s down to them to save the day. There follows a properly action-packed thrill-ride, full of swashbuckles and narrow escapes, but it’s not all smash-bang-wallop; with Mason, Tom, Merrin and their fellow cadets forced into the role of heroes, all their faults and foibles are exposed. They all have histories and they all have secrets. and things are going to get hairy on the personal as well as the combat front. And the stakes are higher even than they thought, because the Egypt turns out to be carrying a weapon that could change the course of the war...

I mentioned movies because that’s how the book feels in your head. It’s kinetic and very visual, and any kid who loves science fiction or superheroes is going to adore it. Mason and his friends are heroes to root for, and the Tremist are magnificent villains, sinister but complex - not least because despite 60 years of war, nobody knows what they are. 

Oh, and the special effects are fabulous.

The Planet Thieves is published on May 21st in the States; this side of the Atlantic it’s currently available only as an audiobook, but keep your goggles peeled because I’m certain it’ll cross over here at warp speed - not least because there is word of an ACTUAL Warner Brothers movie.  

The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos; published 21st May by Starscape Books

www.gillianphilip.com

*PS Nor shall we ever speak of the Ewoks. 

Dan Krokos has a bit of a Matt Smith look going on, doesn't he?
This had no bearing on my review but I thought I'd mention it.

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The Sons of Rissouli by Matt Cartney; reviewed by Gillian Philip

Matt Cartney and I share a publisher, so I'm well aware that I'm running behind and that Book Two of Danny Lansing's adventures was published in July. That one - Red, White & Black - is the one I should be reviewing. But as usual, I'm playing catch-up – and not being a tenth as adventurous as Danny, I wanted to read his first escapade before striking off into new territory. I think, on the basis of this one, I can safely recommend them both.

I picked up The Sons of Rissouli partly because of the cover; as well as a publisher, Matt Cartney and I share a cover artist in the talented Lawrence Mann. This one – strikingly kinetic – looked like exactly the kind of book I'd have loved to read as a child. When I was ten, there weren't nearly enough children's contemporary thrillers involving desert chases, gun runners, exploding warehouses, narrow escapes from vicious criminals, and wily kids saving the rumps of more responsible adults.

Not that Danny's Uncle Angus is especially responsible: in loco parentis after the death of Danny's mother and father, he's a risk-taking investigative journalist who isn't keen on giving up his adrenalin-fuelled lifestyle. Since Danny has always considered Angus impossibly cool, he is more than willing to fall straight into that lifestyle when the summer holidays coincide with a tip-off about a criminal gang of arms smugglers in North Africa.

In a hackneyed but useful term, this is a Boys' Own adventure, though I see no reason why it shouldn't appeal equally to girls. There were moments when I wanted to kick Angus solidly in that imperilled rump of his, but that was just a mother's perspective. I've no doubt that children will relish the notion of an uncle like this, every bit as much as Danny does. (I just wouldn't want him looking after my kids.)

Luckily Danny proves himself resourceful at an early stage, and very courageous later on. The first part of the book involves a lot of travelling, and rather a weight of detail about the countries Angus and Danny drive through on their way to Morocco – but there's some lovely description and an evocative sense of place(s). You can feel and smell each country vividly, and watching the landscape change through Danny's eyes does give you a sense of his dislocation – and his swiftly widening horizons.

When they arrive in the Sahara, though, the pace doesn't half pick up. As soon as Angus and Danny collide with the savage and ruthless Sons of Rissouli (sometimes literally), the story becomes a race against time, with our heroes facing bullets, car chases, kidnapping, torture and some spectacular explosions. The climax is proper James Bond stuff, and I loved it.

The Sons of Rissouli is that delicious mixture: a terrific old-fashioned yarn set firmly in the contemporary world. The villains are properly villainous, the heroes courageous and clever, and the supporting cast nicely drawn (I confess I fell harder for the gruff Chief Inspector Newby than I did for Angus; who couldn't love a man who still uses the expression 'hush-hush'?). Danny himself is a great young hero, with a dry interior voice, and he can be beautifully sarcastic – but despite his insolence and his doubts, he's got a strong moral core. His loyalty to his not-quite-bulletproof uncle extends to risking his life for him.

He's a boy who takes on a brutal gang of gun runners with "little more than a Swiss Army knife and an exhaustive knowledge of The Simpsons." I'm looking forward enormously to his next adventure.

The Sons of Rissouli by Matt Cartney; Strident Publishing, April 2011
Red, White and Black by Matt Cartney; Strident Publishing, July 2012
www.gillianphilip.com

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