Author: Dan Krokos
Book Obtained: From publisher for honest review
The Planet Thieves is the first thrilling installment of a new middle-grade series by Dan Krokos.
Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded theSS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required spacetime for summer quarter.
But routine goes out the airlock when they’re attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.
With the captain and crew dead, injured, or taken prisoner, Mason and the cadets are all that’s left to warn the ESC. And soon they find out exactly why the Tremist chose this ship to attack: the Egypt is carrying a weapon that could change the war forever.
Now Mason will have to lead the cadets in a daring assault to take back the ship, rescue the survivors, and recover the weapon. Before there isn’t a war left to fight.
My Thoughts
I'll admit it. I'm not a huge sci fi fan at all. Well that's a bit of a lie. I LOVE all the Star Wars movies. Love them! But when it comes to reading science fiction is not something I run to. BUT I'm always wanting to try something new, and I'm always looking for books that will hook the boys I teach into reading. This book fit both of those needs. And, in the end, I enjoyed the book.
I'm so use to pointing out the awesomeness of strong girl characters that sometimes I forget I need to make sure to find books with strong, courageous GOOD boys. This book has that. Mason is a fantastic character. He's strong, smart, full of courage and just a great kid. In the risk of sounding cheesy - he's a great role model for boys reading the book. And what I really like, he's not perfect. He messes up, teases his sister and doesn't know all the answers. What's great is none of that slows him down. If something goes wrong, he pushes past it and keeps working. I liked that.
As for the plot, I enjoyed it. Lots of tension and lots of action. It doesn't slow down much and that was good. It was especially good for someone like me that doesn't love sci fi. The action pulled me along any time I got hung up trying to keep all the new lingo and aliens straight. As I reader I'm not good at learning new stuff like that. Thankfully I found it pretty easy in this book! I wasn't overly slowed down or distracted by having to figure out this futuristic world. The plot contained enough description to keep it pictured in my head without over doing it.
Oh did I mention that there's plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing and thinking and wonderful right up until the very last page??? Well there is. Love that.
Final thought: Great book even for people who are in to sci fi!
Best stick-with-you image: The first description of what the Tremist. They sounded creepy!
Best for readers who: Like actions mixed with twists and turns
Best for ages: 9-12
For the Guys? For sure!!!
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Middle Grade sci fi is so thin on the ground--it's great to hear this is a fun one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review and the giveaway. I hadn't heard of the book but am always looking for boy-friendly books.
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