My rating: 4 of 5 stars
While I found the fast moving story interesting and quirky enough to engage the children in the 6 to 10 years age group, I also had one or two misgivings as an ex-teacher. Most of the science fiction bits are acceptable, amusing at times and even educational – information about volcanoes and lasers etc that a caring adult could help a youngster pursue later (at the appropriate ability level of course). And one has to remember throughout the story that we are reading about superheroes so anything may be possible at all times! However, educationists and/or science geeks might be uncomfortable about the mixing of metric and imperial measurements, ie. metres and feet, or using the now defunct system of Fahrenheit for measuring temperature in a book aimed at young minds, who are always new learners. Some of the text came across as too simplistic, perhaps even amateurish occasionally, notwithstanding its intended reading age. The use of the words ‘all of a sudden’ rather than ‘suddenly’ is one example of the naïve feel to parts of the book. I’m still not sure about the use of the author’s own illustrations because, while it may be intended to convey a more child-friendly aura, this reader thought it a mistake, having personally gone down a similar road in the past. A professional illustrator could make a lot of difference to what is a very clever tale that will appeal to all children, not just those who like horses and superheroes. This book is the fourth in the series and does need to be read in sequence. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
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