Beatnik Rutabagas From Beyond The Stars [Hardcover]

Quentin Dodd (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

A hilarious sci-fi comedy.

Walter Nutria, bored with high school in East Weston, is only too happy to enter the spaceship that descends from the sky one afternoon. Once inside, he learns he has been specifically sought out by the Lirgonians, a race of aliens who look like middle-aged men in footie pajamas, to act as their commander in their long-enduring feud with the Wotwots, who look like rutabagas with goatees and tentacles. Why Walter? Because of his meritorious sci-fi video rental record. But the Wotwots had the same idea and have recruited his friend Yselle Meridien, who has lately been renting on Walter's card, as their commander. Once the battle begins, things go absolutely haywire, and the two enemy races find themselves having to team up in search of their spaceships when they're stolen by the elusive Space Mice from Galaxy Four.

The jokes come fast and furious in this clever novel, which will have appeal for both devotees of the science-fiction genre and those with only a casual interest in distant planets and giant talking thumbs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the spirit of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker series comes a spunky debut novel about teenage science-fiction fans recruited by feuding alien races to serve as commanders in a major battle. Everyboy Walter Nutria agrees to help the Lirgonians, who look "like chubby middle-aged men... [in] too-tight pajamas with built-in feet, mittens, and hoods." His almost-girlfriend Yselle ("It's not like we've been out on dates or anything, but we watch movies together all the time," says Walter) is strategizing for their enemy, the Wotwots, who look like giant rutabagas. It's a wild ride, especially since the spaceships break, mysterious mice keep stealing everything in sight, and neither group of aliens has any military skill or even common sense. They're especially given to kvetching about each other: "I don't have to take this from the culture that plays kazoos at its weddings!" screams the Wotwot captain. Eventually, the teenagers convince the aliens to unite in persecution of the havoc-wreaking Space Mice, and they all wind up saving the universe from a power-mad villain named Doctoral Candidate X. This is not for readers who like their characters rational: people risk their lives out of boredom and believe unbelievable lies. But Dodd's agenda is laughs, and his extravagant imagination matches well with his flippant writing style. A lighter-than-air read that opts for wit over logic. Ages 10-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-A silly science-fiction tale. Walter Nutria and Yselle Meridian love to watch B-rated sci-fi flicks. One day while skipping school, Walter is picked up by some aliens and asked to head up the Lirgonian fleet (which consists of a single spaceship) and to help them defeat their mortal enemies, the Wotwots. Unbeknownst to Walter, the Wotwots have recruited Yselle to take charge of their spaceship. The two "generals" attempt to organize a truce between the warring parties, but they have no luck until both ships are stolen by the Space Mice. Then it's up to Yselle and Walter to find the vessels, save the Earth from the evil Doctoral Candidate X and his Terror Fleet, and to negotiate a truce between the Lirgonians and the Wotwots. Sadly, Dodd tries too hard to be funny and neglects character and plot development, resulting in two-dimensional figures and a flimsy story. There are too many characters thrown in for color, or just to make it "funnier and weirder" so that the entire novel seems obvious and overdone.

Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (September 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374305153
• ISBN-13: 978-0374305154
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #643,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eleanor Cameron Award Winner (Golden Duck), June 12, 2002

By 

Lindalee Stuckey (Glen Ellyn, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beatnik Rutabagas From Beyond The Stars (Hardcover)

Our committee liked this book so well that we are giving it the Eleanor Cameron Award for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction.

It is very much like a younger version of Hitchhiker's Guide and should excite many readers.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was awesome!, June 17, 2007

By 

Deadhead Monkey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beatnik Rutabagas From Beyond The Stars (Hardcover)

I have read this book three times and I love it. It's really random and the aliens aren't as menacing as in a lot of science-fiction books. They actually kind of seem like kids, because they have almost no common sense. It flows along really well, too, and it seems like the kids in it are smarter than the aliens (they've been fighting a war for three hundred years and don't really know the actual reason). Almost anyone that likes science-fiction and has a sense of humor would like this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, July 16, 2003

By 

Ribald "kr11048" (Palm Harbor, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beatnik Rutabagas From Beyond The Stars (Hardcover)

This is a very funny, very fun book. It's not as bizarre as the Hitchhiker's series, but just as, maybe more, funny. My class is going to love this book!