ACHUKA Children's Books UK

children's & YA recommendations on the go

  • News
    • Reviews
  • Illustrated
    • Meet An Illustrator
  • Fiction
    • Humour
    • Classics/Reissues
    • YA
  • Non-Fiction
  • Poetry & Tales
  • Gift
  • Links
  • About
    • ACHUKAstudio
    • Contact me
You are here: Home / Archives for SF

Red Scare: A Graphic Novel by Liam Francis Walsh

June 21, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 22 Jun 2022

Amazon
Forbidden Planet

“Walsh’s breathtaking action sequences call to mind the crime comics of the great American duo Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, while his characters’ facial expressions and expressive body language will remind you of Hergé’s “The Adventures of Tintin.” The inking of the panels, with its dramatic play of light and shadows, is squarely within the tradition, but a singular creative decision sets Walsh above his influences: his use of color. Instead of adhering to naturalistic coloring, Walsh shifts his color palette within sequences according to the emotional state of his characters. The tension between realistic inking and symbolic coloring is not unlike the tension between text and subtext in well-written dialogue.”
New York Times
“As I paged through a book so thoroughly enmeshed in history and science fiction by turns, I marveled that something this accomplished is just so casually available to kids these days. When I was young you had your Carl Barks at the 7-11, if you were lucky, and the newspaper comic collections at the library. Now we get gripping, thoughtful, historical/science fiction hybrids for kids that have a lot to say to young readers today.” Fuse8

A page-turning sci-fi adventure set in 1953, featuring a clever girl who, against all odds, must outsmart bullies, the FBI, and alien invaders during the height of the communist Red Scare.

sample page

Peggy is scared: She’s struggling to recover from polio and needs crutches to walk, and she and her neighbors are worried about the rumors of Communist spies doing bad things. On top of all that, Peggy has a hard time at school, and gets taunted by her classmates. When she finds a mysterious artifact that gives her the ability to fly, she thinks it’s the solution to all her problems. But if Peggy wants to keep it, she’ll have to overcome bullies, outsmart FBI agents, and escape from some very strange spies!

Follow Liam Francis Walsh on Instagram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Liam Francis Walsh (@liamfranciswalsh)

Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, Illustrated Tagged With: 1950s, communists, FBI, graphic novel, scifi, SF

The Consequence Girl by Alastair Chisholm

June 6, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 7 Jun 2022

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

The world of Colony is in ruins. No one knows what caused society to begin tearing itself apart – but the secret may lie with Cora, a girl living on the mountainside far away from others. Cora possesses an extraordinary gift: the power to see back in time, from an event back to its causes. Even more incredibly, sometimes she can change events. But the present is looking for Cora, and she is forced on the run – and must decide who she is, what she can do… and how to fix the future.

With incredible twists and turns, and a hugely gripping story, The Consequence Girl is a brilliantly-imagined, ambitious and high-concept adventure from one of the most exciting new voices in children’s fantasy and science fiction.

Video from the ReadingZone

Follow the author on Instagram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alastair Chisholm (@alastairchisholm)

 

Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, Fiction Tagged With: MG, middle-grade, scifi, SF

Adam-2 by Alastair Chisholm

August 5, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 5 Aug 2021
Blackwell Children’s Book of the Month August 2021

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

“In Adam-2 Chisholm has given us an allegory which hits hard in the current climate and a thought-provoking solution to the ills of the world.” BfK 5-star review

An exciting and hugely gripping science fiction thriller—set in the author’s home city, Edinburgh—with incredible twists and turns.

The robot Adam-2 has been locked in the basement of a lost building for over two hundred years – until one day he is discovered by two children, and emerges into a world ruined by a civil war between humans and advanced intelligence. Hunted by both sides, Adam discovers that he holds the key to the war, and the power to end it – to destroy one side and save the other. But which side is right? Surrounded by enemies who want to use him, and allies who mistrust him, Adam must decide who – and what – he really is.

Follow the cover designers, Dan Mumford, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danmumforddraws/

 

Filed Under: Blog, BookOfTheDay, Books, Fiction Tagged With: adventure, Edinburgh, science fiction, SF, thriller

Sticky Pines: The Thing At Black Hole Lake by Dashe Roberts

March 9, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 Mar 2021

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

The sequel to The Bigwoof Conspiracy takes us back to Sticky Pines, a small US town where weird things happen. Milo, loyal to his double-crossing, business-mogul father, has taken a trip to Black Hole Lake, leaving Lucy to continue her search into alien life and the Truth that she knows is out there. Milo’s discovery of a sinister, dark creature in the Lake will put them both in terrible danger and also – if they survive their adventure – make them friends again. Perfect for younger siblings of Stranger Things’ fans, The Thing at Black Hole Lake is laugh-out-loud, hair-raising sci-fi that will raise more questions about extraterrestrial life on earth than it answers…

Take a look inside…

Filed Under: Blog, BookOfTheDay, Books, Fiction Tagged With: MG, mystery, sci-fi, SF, sinister

City Of Rust by Gemma Fowler

March 8, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

In this sci-fi adventure, Railey dreams of winning the drone races with her bio-robotic gecko friend, Atti. But when a bounty hunter crashes their biggest race yet, the pair are forced to flee to the feared Junker clans who mine the rubbish orbiting the Earth. Rescued by a couple of Junker kids, they discover a danger bigger than anything they’d imagined – but can three kids, a gecko and an ancient computer save the world against the huge trash bomb (and its power-crazed creator) threatening to destroy the world?

This original and thrilling adrenaline-powered middle-grade debut from Gemma Fowler is an ecologically-themed mystery adventure. Railey and Atti are a great double act.

Follow the author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gem_fowler/

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: adventure, double-act, sci-fi, SF

The Infinity Files by S. M. Wilson

March 5, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

Escape into space with the star-spangled new series from the author of The Extinction Trials.

Get in. Get out. Keep to the task. Leave no trace. Ash Yang dreamed of being a starfighter pilot. But when she crashes out of her final test – literally – she somehow lands the most powerful job in the universe. As Guardian of the Infinity Files she must secretly planet-hop through the galaxies, stealing or returning treasures that have the power to stop wars…or start them. But when her home planet is the one at war, can she use her new skills to save it?

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: adventure, SF, space

The Glow of Fallen Stars: Book 2 – Ventura Saga by Kate Ling

August 31, 2017 By achuka Leave a Comment

The follow-up to The Loneliness of Distant Beings, Kate Ling’s second sci-fi book takes us on an incredible journey through love, loss and the strength of the human spirit.

Waterstones

Filed Under: YA Tagged With: sci-fi, SF

Chasing The Stars by Malorie Blackman

May 4, 2016 By achuka Leave a Comment

9780857531414

 

We’ve been waiting a long time for a new Calorie Blackman novel and here it is!
“I have wanted to write a story inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello for quite some time – it is my favourite of his plays, full of twists and turns – but, of course, I wanted to do it my way. I’ve always been a huge fan of all types of science fiction and I loved the idea of Othello set in outer space, with Othello as a teenage girl!”

Chasing the Stars goes boldly where few YA titles have gone before: never before have I come across a book that’s a combination of Star Trek, Ten Things I Hate About You and a murder mystery. What’s not to like? TONY BRADMAN, GUARDIAN

Waterstones

Filed Under: YA Tagged With: Othello, scifi, SF, Shakespeare

Guardian Review: Railhead by Philip Reeve reviewed by SF Said

October 17, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

Railhead by Philip Reeve reviewed by SF Said:

guardiansmall

Its greatest pleasures are its details, which are as richly imagined as in the best adult science fiction. But like much of the new wave of children’s SF – and perhaps precisely because of his audience – Reeve also does many other things very well. There’s a lot of humour here, as when a list of old Earth languages is thought to include Klingon and “Ancient Geek”. Above all, he delivers an unflaggingly propulsive narrative that is never derailed by world-building. Rather, it rattles along like an interstellar express, leaving you eager for the next thrilling ride.

Full review via Railhead by Philip Reeve review – all aboard the space train | Books | The Guardian.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: review, sci-fi, science fiction, SF

Guardian Review – Lost On Mars

June 15, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

Lost on Mars by Paul Magrs, reviewed by SF Said

At the heart of this novel is a deep love of stories. Library books are Lora’s greatest pleasure; spaceships are named after Victorian authors, as are pets. The book is studded with playful intertextual references: an Emerald City recalls The Wizard Of Oz, while the name “Robinson” evokes the Swiss family.

While it will certainly appeal to Doctor Who fans, it has much to offer all readers of children’s and YA literature, as well as adult science fiction.

via Lost on Mars by Paul Magrs review – a coming-of-age tale set in space | Books | The Guardian.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: review, reviews, sci-fi, SF

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Copyright ACHUKA © 2022 · designed on Genesis Framework

 

Loading Comments...