'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Friday 15 January 2021

Review: Monstrous Devices

Looking for the perfect story to escape from everyday life? Then Damien Love’s debut novel is a spellbinding, roller coaster of a ride . . .

Alex is your normal, everyday 12 year old; whose world is filled with friends, bullies demanding money and unrelenting homework. Nothing ever happens in his world, that is until a package arrives from Prague.

His grandfather has sent him an old tin robot along with a cryptic message that ‘this one is special’.

Alex disregards the note, but then strange things start to happen. His English essay finishes writing itself and then the school bully Kenzie Mitchell is put in his place mid-sentence without lifting a finger. The only connection is the old tin robot.

Just when the world starts to tilt back towards being balanced, his grandfather arrives. Setting off a chain of events that Alex could never have anticipated.

Woken by a strange whirring clicking noise, Alex realises the robot has joined forces with several other robots which are now trying to kill him.

Saved by his grandfather, Alex is plunged into a bizarre world of magic and an ancient family feud. Racing across Europe, they flee and hope they can unravel the riddle of the old tin robot. All the while danger and assassins, both human and mechanical lurk at every corner.

This action packed story provides thrills and chills and gives readers plenty of spine tingling moments as Alex and his grandfather unveil family secrets in the race for the truth.

Title: Monstrous Devices
Author: Damien Love
Publisher: Bloomsbury, $14.99  
Publication Date: 19 May 2020
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781796078575
For ages: 8 - 12
Type: Junior Fiction