Customer Reviews

Robot Santa: The Further Adventures of Santa's Twin

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
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The sequel to Dean Koontz's sensational picture book Santa's Twin although entertaining in its own right, like most sequels is no where near the groundbreaking quality of the original masterpiece. Koontz has however again accomplished what other usual writers of adult thrillers such as James Patterson have tired and failed at, by writing a great children's picture book whose quality would sell the book alone without needing to rely on the author's famous name to put it on the best seller lists.

In Robot Santa a year has passed since Charlotte and Emily saved Santa and Christmas from Santa's evil brother Bob. Now reformed and leaving his evil past behind him Bob has decided to redeem himself by training a gorilla to drive a sleigh manned by a robot Santa he built to ease the workload of Christmas Eve. Of course the gorilla gets bored and Robot Santa malfunctions and it is up to Charlotte and Emily to save Christmas once again.

Robot Santa again has the rhyming style and great artwork that the original contained. Some of the rhymes don't flow as easily as the first book though and the quality of the story wasn't quite up there with the original classic. Fans of Dean Koontz or the original Santa's Twin will definitely want to check this out though.

A year ago, Emmy and Lottie, two tough little sisters, did the impossible--they defeated Bob Claus, Santa's evil twin brother, in his dastardly scheme to take over Christmas. This year, they're understandably expecting some peace and quiet (although their new puppy, who started life as a cow, is still on the lookout).

Bob Claus has seen the error of his ways; but let's face it, he's still an idiot. In an effort to lighten Santa's load, he constructs Super Santa One--a robot Santa Claus that has a few screws loose. Along with a gorilla named Keith and a herd of robotic raindeer, Super Santa One has a new goal in mind...eat ceramics.

Ok, so not quite. And "Robot Santa" has quite a few flaws. There are the frequent changes in rhyme scheme, the pointless division of the storyline, and the occasionally forced rhymes. But there's also heart--heart and wit that borders on wisdom. Koontz is not at his best at prose, that much is obvious, but he's not too bad at it. And with Phil Parks doing some superb illustrations once more, "Robot Santa" is a sequal that, though it doesn't live up to it's predecessor, will be a delight to read for the holidays.

Those of us who read and enjoyed Santa's Twin know that sisters, Emily and Charlotte had to save Christmas last year (the events in this story take place a year later) by rescuing the real Santa Claus after his deranged twin brother, Bob, stuffed poor Santa in a sack, dropped him into the basement, then hijacked the sleigh and reindeer. Oh, the awful things crazy Bob left in unsuspecting kids' Christmas stockings! This time around, Bob is repentent and tries to make amends by building a robot Santa that will take some of the burden off his jolly brother, Nicholas. But, of course, the robot malfunctions on its first stop on Christmas Eve, Emily and Charlotte's house, and winds up TAKING instead of giving. It's one calamity after another as Emily and Charlotte try to prevent Robot Santa from destroying their house without awakening their parents. Their dog, Woofer, loyal pooch that he is, tries to help but is sidetracked by a trained gorilla named Keith who is supposed to be piloting the sleigh but instead goes into the girls' kitchen to whip up a tasty treat. Woofer is undone by his stomach, and follows the gorilla. All seems lost! Will Emily and Charlotte manage to get a message to Santa before Robot Santa turns their house into a disaster area? This was a funny follow-up to Santa's Twin. I wonder what's going to happen to the put-upon sisters next year. Hopefully Bob will get some therapy. After all, it isn't easy being the brother of someone as perfect as Santa Claus. I loved the illustrations as much as I did the hilarious story itself. Especially the drawing of Woofer floating through the air after a fall from the roof. The expression on his face is priceless! LOL!

In Koontz's first Christmas story "Santa's Twin," Santa had an evil brother named Bob who caused a lot of problems when he replaced Santa on his Christmas Eve present run. In this sequel, "Robot Santa," a year has gone by and Bob has decided to atone for his evil ways. Unbeknownst to Santa, he has created a robot Santa to help out this Christmas Eve. Robot Santa uses a rocket-boosted sleigh piloted by a gorilla and assisted by eight mechanical reindeer. Of course this metallic gift-bringer has a few flaws in its design that cause a whole new set of problems when it visits the same sisters, Charlotte and Emily, that Bob visited last year. For one thing, it becomes confused and decides to take gifts instead of delivering them. For another it shouts "Bingle Jells" and "Cherry Mistmas" as it eats the plate upon which the cookies have been left out for Santa. The real Santa eventually shows up to save Christmas Eve, and he provides a moral about the nature of Christmas spirit and the importance of gifts from the heart.

Told in Koontz's trademark rhyming stanzas with an awkward but amusing meter, the silly verse will surely make kids laugh. Whimsical illustrations show such funny scenes as Robot Santa carting away the furniture, the gorilla in pilot goggles wearing a "kiss the cook" apron, and a mouse creating bedlam as it chases the reindeer through the house. Since this sequel refers back to the original story, it would be best if you have already read the original to the kids before reading them this one. This is a fun Christmas story.

Eileen Rieback

Now I have to read both this book along with "Santa's Twin" to my grandchildren every Christmas. What a delightful chore for this grandfather. I want to thank you for the opportunity to share the joy with them.

Dean Koontz, Robot Santa: The Further Adventures of Santa's Twin Brother (Harper, 2004)

It's been a long, long time since I've read a Dean Koontz book (with the exception of The Book of Counted Sorrows, which I read more for the sake of curiosity than anything). Robot Santa didn't inspire me to pick up any of his more recent novels, unfortunately.

While Koontz' particular brand of, shall we say, techno-verse (a very heavy beat, but the melody is often sorely lacking) certainly works better in a childrens' Christmas tale than it did in ...Counted Sorrows, it still lacks any pretension toward subtlety, and reads like Dr. Seuss on a hefty handful of quaaludes.

The book's saving grace is Phil Parks' illustrations, which are suitably creepy. Where Parks' wonderful illustrations complemented the text in Oddkins, here they more serve the purpose of saving the book from itself. ** ½

Dean Koontz - what can I say - one of my favorite writers. The story has a different spin which is what makes it so unique. The illustrations are great. I have to giggle. Dean - great job!

...but not as good as Part 1, less inspired...but the first one also had a great premise to start with - and for those few of you who don't know what I'm talking about, pick up a copy of Mr Murder...it's here it all began :)