Zero Gravity Beach – Fatale Planet

David Rowell Workman's Fatale Planet is a daft Zero Gravity Beach adventure for 7 year olds starring a lazy green space squid who only wants to surf.

What happens

Newton hitched a ride (his words) on a Hyperspace Ranger ship flown by two sisters, Sara and Darlene Diamond. On his first day on board he ate every bit of fish they had.

The Rangers tow broken-down ships and hand out speeding tickets. Newton, as far as he's concerned, is there to eat baloney and mustard sandwiches and dream about surfing.

So when he's meant to be watching the controls, he falls asleep. Of course he does!

The ship gets pulled through something called the Barrier Vortex and crash-lands on a gorgeous flowery planet. The sisters go off exploring and leave Newton to fix the ship. Then they find a sparkly crystal that plays music, and when they come back they're not quite themselves.

Newton is SO funny. He's lazy and greedy and not bothered in the slightest, even while the ship shakes to bits. When they're about to be sucked into the vortex, he asks if he can go back to sleep until it happens. The sisters bicker like real sisters too.

It's a short book in six quick chapters, and it's all about the jokes. The story moves fast, which makes it a nice one for a reader who's building up to longer books.

The spooky bit is two Rangers with droning robot voices and glowing eyes, but it's never really scary. Who wouldn't root for a squid clutching his surfboard?

If your reader likes silly aliens and heroes who get almost everything wrong, they'll have fun with this one.

What to read next

If they'd like another spaceship that crashes because someone wasn't paying attention, try Kell, the Alien. Kell's family crash-landed on Earth when Dad's space coffee floated onto the control panel, and now Kell is starting at an Earthling school.