Twelve Angels Weeping

Twelve Angels Weeping by Dave Rudden, illustrated by Alexis Snell (Penguin Random House) HB RRP $29.99 ISBN: 9781405938273

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

‘Every light casts a shadow. And every story needs a villain.’ During the Doctor’s travels to the limits of time and space in the TARDIS – a time machine that is ‘bright and blue and shining in the grim darkness’ – the renegade Time Lord has encountered a slew of adversaries. From the reptilian Silurians and Ice Warriors to the rhino-like Judoon, each race proudly displays its unique brand of brutality like a badge of honour.

Teen fans of the long-running television show Doctor Who will enjoy sinking their teeth into this collection of twelve thrilling tales. In a refreshing twist, each story focuses on a classic villain (rather than the Doctor) and expertly augments the expanded universe of the franchise. While it is helpful to be aware of the characters and the various guises of the Doctor when reading the stories, it is not essential – sci-fi buffs with no prior knowledge of the show will quickly become engrossed in the futuristic action.

Dave Rudden immerses himself brilliantly into the vast world of Doctor Who, intriguing readers with a Cyberman who sees a ghost girl; the origin of Strax the Sontaran, who later works alongside the Doctor; and a Zygon plan to turn a glorious glass city into shards that will grind ‘into the meat of the universe’. Humour and horror drip from the pages in equal measure, surprisingly tempered with a lot of heart. With a dozen battles between light and dark to savour, this is one book that teenagers won’t want to ‘Exterminate!’

The Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel

The Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel by Melissa De La Cruz (Paper Rocket) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781474857994

Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel by Melissa De La Cruz (Paper Rocket) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781474857062

Reviewed by Kate Simpson

In the United States of Auradon the heroes of countless Disney fairy tales live (mostly) in peace and happiness. Across the way, on the Isle of the Lost things are not so rosy. Here the fairy tale villains live in exile, fed on the scraps from the privileged tables of Auradon. Their children are raised to be wicked: to steal, to lie and to dominate. But when Maleficent sends her daughter Mal on a quest to retrieve the Dragon’s Eye, will the villains’ children prove themselves to be as evil as their parents believe them to be?

The Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel is a comedy-adventure novel for 10 to 14-year-olds that forms the prequel to the television movie Descendants. In spite of the quest element to this tale, it is a book more likely to appeal to girls than boys, due to its Disney princess references and the dusting of romance that is heavier than usual for books targeted at this age range. It is also aimed squarely at Disney fans, with scores of in-jokes and references to a large number of Disney films dating right back to Cinderella (1950).

Children in the target audience will find this to be a fun and fast-paced read. The emotional conflict between the children and their parents, which could have been quite dark, is dealt with in a fairly superficial way, in keeping with the Disney stable and the tone of the book. If considered a standalone book, the ending is a somewhat unsatisfying; however Isle of the Lost is not intended to be read alone. Parents buying this book for their children should also expect to invest in the Descendents movie, as readers who haven’t already seen the film will almost certainly want to see it when they are finished reading.

Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel picks up the story line following the events of the movie. The events of the film are not covered in either book, so I would strongly recommend that readers take the time to see the film before picking up this sequel. 

In Return to the Isle of the Lost, Maleficent’s daughter Mal, Cruella De Vil’s son Carlos, Jafar’s son Jay and Evil Queen’s daughter Evie have been living happily in the United States of Auradon for some time and attending Auradon Prep with the children and grandchildren of a gaggle of fairy tale heroes. When they receive a mysterious invitation to return to the Isle; however, another quest is not far away.

Return to the Isle of the Lost is a fitting sequel to Isle of the Lost, with the same Disney in-jokes and fairy-tale mash-up setting. By the time of Return to the Isle of the Lost, our heroes have lost all trace of their evil ways, which makes for a more straightforward story line and a very enjoyable read. Readers of Isle of the Lost may even find they prefer this sequel to its predecessor.

The Monster Within

The Monster Within by Darrell Pitt (Text Publishing)

PB RRP $16.99

ISBN 9781922182876

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

The Monster Within is the fourth book in Melbourne author Darrell Pitt’s popular Jack Mason detective series.

Once again, we are immersed in a magical world of heroes, villains, steam driven transport, mysteries, rescues and adventures. The sharp-eyed detective Ignatius Doyle is on another mission to solve crimes with the help of his two daring young apprentices, Jack Mason and Scarlet Bell.

Readers of the series will remember that the main character, 14 year old Jack Mason grew up in a circus family. After a tragic accident Jack is orphaned and sent to live in Sunnyside Orphanage in London. The orphanage is anything but ‘sunny’ and Jack is relieved when he is offered an apprenticeship with the very eccentric detective called Ignatius Doyle.

Enter feisty, red headed, strong-willed 15 year old Scarlett Bell- who originally comes to ask Ignatius Doyle to find her missing father. She ends up becoming a second apprentice detective. Together Jack and Scarlett make a formidable team. 

In The Monster Within a lawless organisation is carrying out terrorist attacks on the streets of London. Their chief suspect is The Valkyrie Circle- a world wide suffragette society who is apparently headed by someone called Lady Death.

At the same time there are sightings of a dangerous monster living in the sewers, terrifying people and eating cats.

Are these sinister events connected?

Pitt is very good at creating intriguing plots with excellent endings. I enjoy the way he pulls everything together in clever and surprising ways.

I recommend this series kids 9 years and over who like to read stories packed with action, mystery and adventure.

I think fans of Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Foul, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series and Lemony Snickett’s Series of Unfortunate Events will also enjoy Pitt’s breathtaking stories. 

The Firebird Mystery, The Secret Abyss and the Broken Sun are Pitt’s first three books in this series. Stay tuned for book five, The Lost Sword, which will be published later in 2015.

  

Space Mash: Wheelnuts! Craziest Race on Earth #3

Space Mash: Wheelnuts! Craziest Race on Earth #3 by Knife & Packer (Scholastic Australia)

PB RRP $12.99

ISBN 978-1-74362-724-2

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Buckle up! In Space Mash, the latest book in the Wheelnuts! series, readers - and racers - must be able to handle zero gravity racing, showers of meteorites and hungry aliens. Warren 'Wheelie' Wheelnut has taken his third challenge out into space and this race is about to blast off! 

The now familiar teams have transformed their cars into rockets and are ready to tackle even the most unexpected challenges such as zero gravity playing havoc with Campbell's moustache, making it float and covering his eyes. Rust Bucket 30000 has the greatest advantage as these robots are used to flying around in space and they have just purchased the perfect weapon for cheating. It’s hard to see how any other team is going to beat them.

Wipeout and Dipstick the two villains are hanging around as usual in their disguises  trying to disrupt the racers and the mid-race challenge - Hey Dude There Are Robot Ants In My Space Underpants - will have most racers yelling "I'm a Wheelnut, get me out of here!"

The wacky, slapstick  humour, the vibrant colourful illustrations and the action packed racing crammed with crazy, cheating, dirty scoundrels continues in this series and is a fun and entertaining read for seven-year-olds and older.

At the end of the book is a Space Mash board game which can be detached and played. Choose your team and get driving!

Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot 3: Vs. The Voodoo Vultures From Venus

Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot 3: Vs. The Voodoo Vultures From Venus by Dav Pilkey, Illustrated by Dan Santat (Scholastic Inc)

PB RRP $10.99

ISBN 978-0-545-63011-5

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Ricky Ricotta and Mighty Robot are not allowed to watch television. They have arrived late for dinner for the third time in a week and Ricky's parents have decided to ban TV until the two friends can learn to be a little more responsible. Little do they know it is a very good thing not to be watching television this particular evening.

On Venus, an evil vulture has been hatching a plan to get off the horribly hot planet and make a permanent move to earth. And when his Voodoo Ray was beamed down and picked up by the TV signals, everyone on earth was hypnotised by Victor Von Vulture – all except our two heroes who could not watch television.

And so his evil plan to get earth's population to bring food to him and his Voodoo Vulture army appears to be a smashing success! Only two people stand in his way: Ricky Ricotta and Mighty Robot, who must hatch a plan of their own to stop the vile vulture.

This is the third book in the action-packed, funny Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot series for young readers. The alliteration and imaginative silly humour is entertaining to read and the bright glossy illustrations enhance the frenetic pace of events while mini-comics and flip-o-rama's add to the craziness of the book's plot.

Towards the end is a great illustration of the jail which is starting to fill with all the villainous masterminds from previous books that Ricky and his robot have thwarted.

I'm sure there will be plenty more.