Monstrous Devices

Product Information

I enjoyed everything about Damien Love's debut.' Anthony Horowitz, bestselling author of the Alex Rider series

‘Monstrous Devices’ book review: Damien Love’s debut is

What a heart-stopping adventure...With twists and turns, thrills, suspense and secrets, this is captivating.' * Harry, aged 13 *Families can talk about why "monsters" scare us, whether we're kids who think something is under the bed or we're watching a movie with a clearly fictional creature. What monster movies have you seen? It is hard to believe that this fantastic, mega-original novel is Love’s first book. The author speeds through his thrillingly ingenious tale with the confidence and creativity of a seasoned storyteller.’

Monstrous Devices: THE TIMES CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK

I am usually up for a multigenerational adventure, but the relationships between family members that holds those stories together was very much absent in this book. At no point did I really understand or relate to any of the characters, nor they to each other. The setting was mysterious and mostly enjoyable, but the plot, like the characterization, was disjointed and choppy. While the grandfather didn't grow on me, I liked Alex's character. He embodied the innocence of a twelve year old thrust into a world of magic and secrets that he was struggling to understand. I think Alex's youth and him still trying to grasp the truth about his broken family makes the events of the story much better. The story is very fast paced, and kept me engaged all throughout. The author's writing is very fresh and easy to glide through, with vivid imagery of the setting and robots and magic. He took magic and science and mixed them up together to create some dangerous tin monsters, human and mechanical assassins and a story filled with action.All I'm telling you, Alex, is that this is the story. It's a story. Stories all come from somewhere, and sometimes they get bent out of shape over the years. But this is the story." - Alex's grandfather