Now that I’m back at work, I am listening to audiobooks again! I’m currently listening to The Boy Who Hatched Monsters which I’m really enjoying. Sam is a wonderful character with some great friends – especially the gargoyles and shapeshifters. There’s plenty of peril in this one and I’m really looking forward to finding out the final outcome. I’m reading Explorers at Stardust City and am loving following Ursula and her friends on a very unusual expedition to rescue Stella.

I’ve finished reading Tapper Watson and the Quest for the Nemo Machine which is a really quirky, fun read. I have posted my review.

I’m hoping to read The Secret of the Blood-Red Key next.

What are you reading? Have you read any of these?

Tapper Watson and the Quest for the Nemo Machine is a blast of an adventure:  a perfect blend of Greek mythology and science-fiction written with such warmth and wit.  Oh, and it’s brilliantly bizarre, and wonderfully weird and wacky – and I absolutely loved it! 

13-year-old Erisean boy, Tapper Watson, loves adventure stories but is not so keen on real life adventure which is a little unfortunate as he has found himself aboard an interworld submarine with two smugglers who have been employed by his Uncle Five to make delivery of some expensive cargo to another world.    

When the submarine is damaged, they make an unscheduled visit to Earth where he meets Fern Shakespeare and her talking plant, Morse, who communicates using morse code (just adorable).  Fern’s father is a submarine mechanic and just who is needed to repair the Boldly Goes. He is also the inventor of the missing Nemo Machine, a machine which can restore memories lost by drinking water from the river Lethe.  When disaster strikes, Fern needs to find the Nemo Machine …

And so begins a thrilling, action-packed adventure as Fern and Tapper find themselves diving away from trouble aboard the Boldly Goes to escape Earth as they race through worlds to find the missing Nemo Machine before it is too late.  But they are not the only ones seeking the Machine, and soon they find themselves being chased by lobster mobsters (I know – brilliant!) with Medusa blasters.  Can they outrun their pursuers and complete their quest?  Who else could want the Machine so badly that they are prepared to do anything to get it?

Oh my goodness!  I loved this adventure so much!  The blend of Greek mythology and science-fiction works so well and feels really fresh and inventive.  I really enjoyed the playfulness with changing well-known phrases which made me giggle as did lots of the interactions which makes this a brilliant read for both adults and children.  I also really loved that this felt like a Greek myth quest, but with a science-fiction setting and references.  I loved the fast-paced action and wit, the wackiness and wonder of the world-building, the absolutely fantastic characters, the sense of peril and the unexpected twists and turns that kept me turning pages.

What if heroes are ordinary people who don’t give up when things get dangerous?

I adored both Tapper and Fern who come from very different worlds which often makes them argue as they adjust to each other’s beliefs and personalities rather than bonding in friendship quickly. Tapper is the youngest of 68 cousins whilst Fern is an only child; they are each a little jealous of the other.  I think that there is a lot of change for most characters in this story (there is one who is deliciously evil and doesn’t change, but I won’t say anything further!).  Tapper wants to find his adventures through his story heroes safely at home, but finds the courage to face dangerous situations and become the hero of his own story. 

This is a wonderfully witty, action-packed and unmissable adventure, perfect for those of 9+. It’s certainly one I can’t wait to share with my class at the start of the new year.

Thank you for the Publisher, Firefly Press, for providing me with a proof copy which has not affected my honest review of the book.

It’s my stop on the Blog Tour for Tapper Watson and the Quest for the Nemo Machine, a brilliantly exciting and fun blend of Greek mythology and science-fiction – a real blast of an adventure!

Today, I’ve got a wonderful guest post from Claire Fayers in which she shares her top five sci-fi adventures.

Guest Author Post: My top five sci-fi adventures

Tapper Watson comes out of a long line of science fiction books, movies, radio and TV. If I mentioned them all, this blog post could go on forever, so here are my top five picks.

Guardians of the Galaxy

I blow hot and cold when it comes to Marvel movies. Some I love, others bore me into a coma. Guardians of the Galaxy falls somewhere in between – not as good as Iron Man, but a hundred times better than the latest Thor, which I failed to finish.

I’m including it because Tapper Watson has been pitched as Guardians of the Galaxy meets Dr Who, and I kept the movie soundtrack on my playlist while I was writing. (You can see the full playlist on another stop in this blog tour.) What I like about the film is the chaotic feel of a group of misfits thrown together into situations they can’t handle. And of course there is a talking plant – though Groot was not the inspiration for Morse. Morse, my talking danger plant, has a much bigger vocabulary, though it only ‘talks’ in Morse code.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Nothing beats the original radio show, but the books are terrific fun and the TV series has its moments.

I love everything about it – the improbability drive, Vogon poetry, the importance of towels, and Arthur Dent stuck in the middle of it, trying to make sense of what’s going on. Most of all, I love the sense that Douglas Adams was making the story up as he went along and he was permanently half a page away from everything imploding, and yet he kept it all going.

You’ll spot a couple of references to the Guide in Tapper Watson. Fern Shakespeare would agree that towels are very useful items of equipment.

Galaxy Quest

At the risk of turning this into my top five sci-fi adventures with ‘galaxy’ in the title, I cannot leave out Galaxy Quest. It has everything – adventure, humour, romance, danger, a terrific villain, great music, and some moments of real poignancy. I love everything about it.

The Galaxy Quest crew are looking for the mysterious Omega Device. My crew of smugglers and petty criminals are on the trail of the mysterious Nemo Machine. It’s always good for your characters to have a goal.  As Captain Jason Nesmith would say, “Never give up. Never surrender.”

Or, in the words of Tapper Watson, “What if heroes are ordinary people who don’t give up when things get dangerous?”

Blake’s Seven

Leaving the Galaxy theme, here’s a TV show I really wish they’d bring back. I might even admit in a whisper that I prefer it to Dr Who. I love characters who don’t fit into neat boxes and Blake’s Seven was full of them. Ignore the wobbly sets, the stilted dialogue and the atrocious final series. Blake’s Seven introduced me to Avon, the anti-hero; Servalan with her capacity for cunning; the cowardly Vila, doing whatever it takes to survive.

Many of my characters have mixed motives and none of them are completely good or completely bad (with possibly the exception of Tapper’s Cousin Twenty-Three. He is delightfully horrible and was great fun to write.)

The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare by Zillah Bethell

I thought long and hard about which children’s sci-fi adventure book to include on this list before plumping for this one.

A boy who can’t see colours, a war brought about by water shortages, a robot called Paragon who quotes Emily Dickenson poetry. The various pieces sound like they don’t belong in the same story, but Zillah is such a skilful storyteller and weaves the disparate elements together into something really special.

Thoughtful and moving, this book is the opposite of Tapper Watson, except maybe that, like Auden Dare, Tapper Watson feels out of place in his world, but he never gives up battling through the many problems that are thrown at him.

So that is my five. There are many others I’ve left out. Look out for the subtle and not-so-subtle nods to Star Wars, Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings (I know that one isn’t sci-fi, but I hope you’ll let me get away with it) and others. And please tell me your own top five selections. What would you include?

Thank you to Claire for this wonderful post.

I’ve had a think about my top five selections which I’ve included below, but there are so many others I could include!

Firefly

Stargate SG1

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Orion Lost by Alistair Chisholm

The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day by Christopher Edge.

Thank you to Firefly Press for inviting me to be part of the Blog Tour and to Claire Fayers for the fantastic post.

Do check out the other stops on the Blog Tour:

I loved The Wondrous Prune when I read it last year so I was very excited to discover that there was another book in this series about children from the same neighbourhood who develop incredible abilities.  The Stupendous Sonny is a heartfelt, exciting adventure that completely captured me, making it an unputdownable, one-sitting read.

12-year-old Sonny loves superhero films and comics so it probably isn’t surprising that he dreams of having superpowers of his own.  Imagine his surprise and excitement when he discovers that he has developed telekinetic abilities and can fly and teleport.  He tells his best friend, Elliot, who is intrigued but doesn’t believe him until Sonny begins to get his powers under control and proves his abilities.  Can Sonny use his powers to help himself and others, or will he find that he puts himself and others in danger?

Sonny wants to share his abilities with his dad but, before he can, his dad is involved in a serious road accident.  His mother is working away from home and is unable to get home quickly, so his Aunt Cleo, who has been estranged from the family, moves in to look after him and his younger brother and sister.  Can Sonny trust her enough to tell her about his superpowers, or does she already know more than she should?  Does she have his best interests at heart, or does she have darker motives?

This is both a wonderfully exciting, action-packed adventure and a heartfelt story of family and friendship with some wonderfully humorous moments.  I really enjoyed learning more about the Delmere Magic which I found so intriguing, and loved spotting Prune’s cameo appearance.  I would absolutely love to read the story of another character in this book who I won’t mention, but I think anyone who reads this brilliant story will know who I mean! 

I adored Sonny who has to deal with some difficult issues, including being bullied; his feelings towards his mother; and, the uncertainty around his father’s health after his serious accident.  Sonny is braver than he thinks and faces situations which he finds difficult with courage.  He is determined to learn how to control his powers and wants to use them to help others, but he is also fallible and makes some impulsive decisions which makes him all the more likeable.  Elliot is a wonderful friend who he trusts with his secrets and who supports him – and teases him as good friends do!

This is a fantastically exciting, heartwarming adventure, perfect for readers of 9+ and is one I would highly recommend. 

Thank you to the author, Ellie Clements, for sending me a copy.  My review is my honest opinion.