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Jump to navigationJump to searchThe Astronaut's Apprentice by Philip Threadneedle (view source)
Revision as of 18:08, 7 December 2010
, 18:08, 7 December 2010no edit summary
Bradley is as normal as any boy could be. He lives on a farm with his father and grandma and loves all sorts of boy things. But it's at this point that things begin to get a little bit, well, odd. His grandpa is an alien and his mother is in the attic, but she's dead. Grandma's not your normal cuddly version, either. She's of the opinion that childbirth is much over-rated, both from the point of view of the mother and the child and she's not above calling her husband a love rat and a womaniser. Still, even the best of families have their little oddities…
Being an alien Grandpa isn't a home body and his comings and goings are not entirely predictable, but they're always exciting. One night Grandad takes Bradley on a whirlwind tour of outer space in his flying saucer. If he'd read the manual he might have had better control of the craft but he assured Bradley that the drip from the roof was nothing to worry about as it would freeze over in space. Bradley's not exactly dressed for the journey either – pyjamas don't exactly cut the sartorial mustard – but that's soon rectified at the tailor's shop in the Asteroid Belt. Throw in exploding star pups, a girl with the pretty name of Headlice and a bottle of Gee Whiz Soda (don't ask) and you can imagine that this trip – and this book - is anything but boring.
It's laugh-out-loud funny in places. There's more tension that Star Trek in others, although you might find that the technology is a little more basic and entertaining. Don't be expecting ''education'' about space (it's far too much fun for that) as the number of planets is adjustable according to need and some of the inhabitants of space could easily give you nightmares if Grandpa and Bradley were not so good at despatching them.
