Aliens Made me do it
A review from Lancashire Post.
Age 7 plus:
Aliens Made Me Do It!
David Macphail and Rory Walker
Meet the aliens… it’s not every day a spaceship crash-lands in your garden! All the family – and that includes crusty old grandads! – will enjoy this wickedly funny aliens adventure which stars two scheming Galactic rulers, a boy called Hillman (after the car) and girl whose greatest wish is to pull off a bank heist.
Expect to wipe the tears from your eyes rather than the sweat of fear from your forehead with this madcap sci-fi fantasy – written by David Macphail, author of the Lollies-nominated Thorfinn the Nicest Viking series, and illustrated by Rory Walker – which has 21st century issues, like war and peace, jealousy and friendship, embedded deep within all the hilarious twists, mash-ups, disguises, plans and schemes.
Eleven-year-old Hillman thinks it’s a prank when a spaceship turns up in his garden… until a real alien steps out, followed by a homicidal maniac robot manservant armed with explosive custard. Princess Cassiopeia is in a fix. She shrank her entire space armada while making a smoothie (don’t ask!). She came to rally Earth’s leaders but instead landed in a nowhere town called Bilgeley and got Hillman Patel, aged eleven, and his crusty old grandad. Meanwhile, Perseus crash-lands on Bilgeley rubbish tip, intent on chasing down Cassiopeia, and gets Roz, age eleven, who is here to help but has got her eyes set on a bank heist. The galaxy’s most ridiculous war has landed on Earth, and things are about to get very, very messy. Can Cassiopeia defeat Prince Perseus? Luckily, Hillman has got one excuse: ‘Aliens made me do it.’
Brought to vibrant life by Walker’s fun-filled illustrations, Mcpahail’s brilliant satire will delight readers with its sheer exuberance, short, snappy chapters, sparkling dialogue and entertaining cliffhangers. Anarchy on steroids!
(Everything with Words, paperback, £8.99)
