Steampunk without much steam.
Talented young tinkerer Noah returns to the volcanic island of Singe seeking some defense against a second invasion of mysterious robots.
In a second episode that’s every bit as ponderous as the first and also leans heavily on familiarity with previous characters and events, the descent of clouds of Nothings (miniscule, midgelike machines programmed to fulfill every desire) drives Noah back aboard the ship the Abbreviated to flee the ungrateful residents of the battered town he recently saved. Having arrived at his missing father’s robot lab just as it’s being destroyed for unclear reasons by battleships from the Homeland Empire, he then narrowly escapes and returns home to save the town again—before immediately departing on further adventures. Along with picking up relations with previously met allies, Noah welcomes a surprise new friend in the form of Seven—one of the towering, multilimbed octochines that were repelled in the last volume—who switches loyalties and, proving to be a thorough scene-stealer, winds up wearing the ship like a hat while repeatedly saving the day. While Ferrell’s cautionary takes on the dangers of having wishes fulfilled—and, by implication, the hazards of nanotech—may be welcome, it’s Seven and some of the other colorful supporting characters who will keep readers engaged in this slow-moving tale. Figures in the angular, monochrome illustrations show some variations in skin tone.
Steampunk without much steam. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: 9781645951865
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Pixel+Ink
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay.
Castle “Ghost” Cranshaw feels like he’s been running ever since his dad pulled that gun on him and his mom—and used it.
His dad’s been in jail three years now, but Ghost still feels the trauma, which is probably at the root of the many “altercations” he gets into at middle school. When he inserts himself into a practice for a local elite track team, the Defenders, he’s fast enough that the hard-as-nails coach decides to put him on the team. Ghost is surprised to find himself caring enough about being on the team that he curbs his behavior to avoid “altercations.” But Ma doesn’t have money to spare on things like fancy running shoes, so Ghost shoplifts a pair that make his feet feel impossibly light—and his conscience correspondingly heavy. Ghost’s narration is candid and colloquial, reminiscent of such original voices as Bud Caldwell and Joey Pigza; his level of self-understanding is both believably childlike and disarming in its perception. He is self-focused enough that secondary characters initially feel one-dimensional, Coach in particular, but as he gets to know them better, so do readers, in a way that unfolds naturally and pleasingly. His three fellow “newbies” on the Defenders await their turns to star in subsequent series outings. Characters are black by default; those few white people in Ghost’s world are described as such.
An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5015-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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PROFILES
SEEN & HEARD
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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