Previous Finalists

Stats:
Illustrations: 10/10
Story/Plot: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Editing: 8/10

‘A fantastically fun space adventure packed full of SoloCopter Lifts, Noot the Tall and Terrible, and a big robot called Cantobor.’ A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review

REVIEW
I must begin by saying that, nowadays, I spend a lot of my time enjoying modern thrillers; and even the odd YA novel full of weeping teenagers finding love and then discovering it wasn’t. But I don’t spend so much time curled up with a comic-style space opera for 7 – 11 year olds. Well, no longer. I’m now a big fan!
Space Cop Zack: The Lost Treasure of Zandor follows Zack and his robot, GARG, as they attempt to stop Menace and his evil pals from nabbing a lost treasure. This very pacey stuff. Every page is filled with a new challenge for the hero to overcome, whether it be Jeweled Cave Clingers that bite or a molten mudslide. Now, I’m no longer a ten year old boy, but I still remember what I enjoyed back then. And, trust me, I would have enjoyed this. It reminded me of the old 1960s space comics: Buck Rogers and Lost in Space, with a strong hero to rally behind and a host of evil monsters that were, simply put, evil – in every way. No greys. Just good and bad. And kids love it when then know who to cheer for and who to boo. Well, there’s plenty to cheer for in this visually stunning, battle-filled adventure.
Just a note on the drawings: WOW! They are soooooo cool! I loved them. All of them. The story’s good but the pics blew me away.
Now for the negative bits. I’m happy to say I didn’t find many. But, if I was to suggest any improvements to the story, I might suggest the author offer the reader a little ‘down time’. i.e. a short pause from the adventure and a chance for the characters to interact; a little comedy perhaps to lighten the mood. Also, and this is a stronger suggestion, at present approx. 50% of the speech ends in an exclamation mark. Now, being an exciting battle involving robots and Noot the Tall and Terrible, there’s going to be a lot of shouting. But, when the exclamation mark is put in this often, much of its power is lost. Finally, just a note to the editor, check out this sentence in the book: “Sir, alert! My sensors detect movement below.” GARG says. There should be a comma, not a full stop after the word ‘below’.
To sum up, this is a fun adventure that 99.9% of 7 – 11 year old boys are going to love. Not only is it superbly illustrated, but the plot is so fast-paced, I almost needed a sleep after reading it. I can just see a bunch of boys enjoying this and then discussing at length who’d win in a fight between Jeweled Cave Clinger and sleeping Ultracompact Land Fish .
Wonderful stuff!
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk