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 Boyhood of Burglar Bill, by Allan Ahlberg, reviewed by John Dougherty.

Allan Ahlberg, in my view, is a national treasure. No: a National Treasure, the honorific capitals fully and unequivocally deserved; let me, as a declaration of interest, make that clear right from the start. Burglar Bill, Happy Families, Each Peach Pear Plum, The Jolly Postman, Peepo, Woof, Please Mrs Butler… the list of his work goes on and on, each book a unique jewel in the rich treasury of British children’s literature. He’s just fab.

The Boyhood of Burglar Bill is likewise fab, but in many ways almost entirely unlike any other Ahlberg book I know. It’s a memoir, for one thing, not about Burglar Bill at all but about Ahlberg’s own childhood, or one particular part of it. The part, to be precise, when he formed a football team.

Before half of you sigh disappointedly and move on, let me say that this is not a book about football, any more than Animal Farm is a book about agriculture or The Diary of Anne Frank a book about attic-rooms.

In 1953, when an under-twelves tournament, the Coronation Cup, is organised, Ahlberg and his friends - clever, loyal, sickly Spencer, and Ronnie, the “Frankenstein of Frogs” - are not chosen for the official school teams, and decide to enter their own. The story of how they do it - the recruitment process, the unexpected hurdles, their progress against the odds - forms the backdrop for a much bigger story which manages to be funny, engaging, exciting, enthralling, entertaining, and ultimately moving. It’s a story of true friendship and brief alliances, authority and rebellion, love and betrayal; and a marvellously real depiction of childhood, told in a voice that’s warm and wise.

Above all, it’s heartbreakingly honest. Or is it? For it may not be a memoir at all. It reads like one; it should be one; and yet the publishers describe it as a work of fiction - but a work of fiction “in which Allan Ahlberg explores his own childhood”. I suspect it’s truer than that, an unreliable memoir at most; if it’s a fake, then Ahlberg is even more of a genius than I already believe.

Whatever the truth, you’ll love this story. And when you reach the end, and suddenly discover what the story was really about, it will stay with you for days.

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'A Voice in the Distance' by Tabitha Suzuma - reviewed by Rosalie Warren

 

 A few months ago, I asked my fellow authors on 'An Awfully Big Blog Adventure' what novels they had read featuring characters with bipolar disorder and which ones had best stuck in their minds. I was looking for books for adults as well as ones for younger readers, and was delighted to be introduced to several I hadn't previously known about, right across the age-range.

One of these was A Voice in the Distance by Tabitha Suzuma. This book says on the back cover: 'Not suitable for younger readers', but I would be happy to give it to anyone of about 13-14 upwards, though of course it's difficult to generalise. It's written in a very responsible way, but some of the content may be upsetting to some younger readers, or simply 'beyond their ken'.

Flynn Laukonen, the main protagonist, is a brilliant young pianist with a a wonderful career ahead of him. His girlfriend Jennah is a musician, too. Both are students at the Royal College of Music and share a flat. But Flynn is bipolar and relies on his daily medication to keep him from the wild excesses of mania and the depths of depression. Early in the book, he is hospitalised when his medication suddenly stops working, and Jennah is called upon to support him through this horribly difficult time. As the story progresses, tensions develop between Flynn's need of medication and his ability as a performer. His new pills cause his hands to shake, which is out of the question for a concert-level pianist. And, without them, Flynn believes he can attain heights of brilliance that are blocked by the medication.

The resulting chaos strains Flynn's and Jennah's relationship to the limit, and the book ends with some incredibly difficult decisions on both their parts. I found it impossible to predict how the story would end, and the conclusion left me in tears. It was all beautifully done, and I felt that the way alternating chapters were narrated by Flynn and Jennah worked very well indeed (after, I have to say, some initial scepticism on my part about this technique). I was given deep insights into both their personalities and the difficulties faced not only by people with bipolar but their friends and loved-ones too.

I also throughly enjoyed being immersed in the world of music students. The one thing I found a little hard to believe was their apparent lack of money worries, but apart from this, the scenes of student life, lectures, practice and so on were very convincing. The characters were all well-drawn, including the supporting ones, with plenty of mention of family as well as friends, which made a pleasant change from many books for this age-group.

Flynn's love of music shone from every page, as did his terrible struggles with his mental demons. I particularly liked the description on p.179 of how it feels to have depression. I am a sufferer from this condition myself and am not sure I have ever read a better account (and I include in this the US writer William Styron, whose Darkness Visible is my depression bible).

Any young person with a mental health problem would benefit, I'm sure, from the honesty that pervades this book. But the story is for anyone - the characters are alive, real and at times very funny. The narrative swings along at a good pace and keeps you hooked. In these days when many of us are clamouring for more novels (for all ages) that feature mental health - this is a joy to read. Suzuma does not hold back from confronting some of the toughest issues many of us will ever have to face.

Very highly recommended.


Book Details:
Title: A Voice in the Distance
Author: Tabitha Suzuma
Publisher: Definitions (Random House)
Publication Date: May 2008


This book is a sequel to A Note of Madness (2007).

All best wishes,
Ros

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