The Snare (Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space) by Cavan Scott
| The Snare (Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space) by Cavan Scott | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: Even if you didn't catch the World Book Day opener to this series, the first episode proper is well worth reading. Let's face it, we've all jumped in to Star Wars stories at places other than episode one… | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 160 | Date: February 2016 |
| Publisher: Egmont | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781405279932 | |
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Milo and Lina are used to haring around the universe, but never quite like this… They have seen their parents kidnapped by the Empire, in need of the adults' knowledge from exploring as scientists in the Wild Space area. They are hastening to the watery planet Thune to seek help, but unknown to them, they may be heading not so much away from the fire but towards a right frying-pan…
This is pretty much a must-buy for those who want books for the young to read set in the Star Wars Universe. Yes, the Wild Space area of it seems entirely new – that's probably one more reason for it to be appealing. No, hardly any known characters seem to be appearing – again, with the instant success of those new ones in the Force Awakens movie that can't be held against the series. What's more, it gets an instant launch with a World Book Day title entry being the introduction to everything, although there is very little here that anyone will fail to understand. Milo and Lina aren't given an age – she is a year ahead of him – but they and their adventures are perfectly pitched for primary school audiences.
The first full-length book in the series, then, has to set out the stall and prove itself a valid contender for the full-cost purchase. And this pretty much does that. It's plain to see that not a lot happens in the over-arching scheme of things, as befits an episode in a longer-form story, although I have read that there will only be 'four and a half' volumes in total. But what the plot is allowed to do in these capable hands is to surprise with the call-back, bringing the detail from early on to clear significance later on. The cleverness with which this, that or the other comes back to be relevant in a completely different fashion is most impressive.
Add that to a most kinetic page-turning quality, and you have a really commendable book, if just a little generic. One in fact I would well consider giving four stars to, and I'm being generous in sticking with that, as some people were less than commendable. I mean the people who have allowed several printers' errors in, from repeated or jumbled word order to a character's name being spelt wrongly. I don't think it's heinous enough to cross marks off, but my new rule is half a dozen bodges get a mention, especially where the word count is insignificant for being small and the audience is much more important for the very same reason. Young audiences deserve, if anything, more care than us adults. The author has taken great attention in wrapping up an episode in flair, style and drive perfect for the under-tens, and I’d much prefer to praise his achievements rather than the faults from the Dark Side.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
Star Wars Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown is perhaps an evil finer book for the fan's children to be given.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Snare (Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space) by Cavan Scott at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Snare (Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space) by Cavan Scott at Amazon.com.
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