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Bookmark on DeliciousPublished: Aug. 12, 2011
Words: 55981 (approximate)
Language: English
Ebook short description
It was supposed to be a walk in the woods. Abduction by a UFO was certainly not supposed to happen. Especially not a UFO made in England... From Dominic Green, Hugo-award-nominated science fiction author, comes a story of two British teenagers catapulted into an interstellar conflict.Extended description
Flying saucers do not land in country parks. They are not piloted by Englishmen. They do not bear nameplates saying "HAWKER SIDDELEY AVIATION." And they are never, ever filled with smuggled catering packs of Monster Munch.Britain has had a top secret colony in space for decades. Unfortunately, the colony has grown tired of being run by the mother country - and the mother country has decided it's time to send in the troops. Between these two sides are Anthony Stevens and Cleopatra Shakespeare, abducted from England and hurled into a war between Britain, America, and the newly, fiercely independent United States of the Zodiac.
Where is the mysterious hidden colony of Gondolin? How did the United States of America come to have interstellar spacecraft in the 1950s? And who or what is Truman J. Slughound the Third? Find out in a story guaranteed to contain colour-changing aliens, Godless communists from Altair, rednecks from Barnard's Star, space fighters, rocket pistols, death b... (Read more)
Tags
adventure, fantasy, young adult, childrens, science fiction, outer space, sf, ant and cleoAvailable ebook reading formats
Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.| Format | Full Book | Sample First 20% |
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Reviews
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Review by:
Maria Violante
on Dec. 12, 2011 :
What kind of novel is it? Well it's sort of satire science fiction ... erm ... it's political commentar... er, that's not really right either ... how about this: there are aliens, and the book is an absolute riot. The dialogue is great, the descriptions are droll and witty. Here's an example:
There's only two sorts of people who wear jumpers, coats and ties," said Ant under his breath.
"Racetrack tic tac men and policemen. Leg it."
They legged it.
Unfortunately, he legged it after them.
There are one or two places where it wears a bit thin, but I found myself chuckling on pretty much every "page." The two main characters, Ant and Cleo, are well developed, heartwarming, cocky teenagers that somehow manage to stow away on an Alien craft (even getting their chance to vomit in zero gravity!) Their shenanigans get them involved in an interplanetary cold-war type conflict.
A few notes. One, the book is by a British author. There were a few slang passages that I had to really think through, but it isn't incomprehensible by any means. Two, being British, it sometimes pokes fun at Americans. If you are militantly patriotic and can't take a joke, perhaps you should, you know, not read it. If you can take a joke and enjoy a discworld type humor, only from a sci-fi angle, you should definitely grab this one.
Overall Rating: Four Stars. If you are into campy, quirky dry humor - or if you have a secret desire to send all of the rednecks to the moon - I recommend this book as an excellent read.
(reviewed the day of purchase)