Mel Gilden

Here's one of those books I picked up at some point in my youth. It was either a school book fair find or a purchase from a used bookstore in Morehead City, I can't quite remember which. I also can't remember if I read it back when I bought it or not, though parts of the story seemed vaguely familiar to me.

Anyway, this was part of a book series about an average human 5th grader with monster-child friends. These friends all make up the Universal classics; the Frankenstein Monster (and a show more version of the Bride as this one's sister), Dracula, and the Wolf Man. Each of these kids apparently also has monster parents (or, at least the vampire boy does. They're the only pair that make an appearance in this one).

In this particular adventure, the human boy and his sister witness a strange man in an airship floating over Brooklyn, dropping flyers with nothing but the letter 'Z' on them. Turns out, it's an ad for a new pizza parlor called "Zombie Pizza." If that wasn't odd enough, things get more interesting for the kids as they investigate.

It's definitely a fun read. Worth the time for the right age group. They played with the classic monster tropes with each kid, making them unique to this particular story universe. I enjoyed it for what it was, and I'd be interested in trying a few others in the series some time. For now, though, this one is going in the Little Redd Book Barn (my Little Free Library). show less

Growing up, I never read books but I was a fan of 90210 so I was given this book, maybe in hopes that it would make me a reader or maybe just because I was a fan of the show. Regardless, as a teen I never read it but I still have it so I read it.

I super enjoyed it for the "historical aspect" -- like pay phones and VHS tapes(!). The whole time reading it I was wondering if it would still hold up today ... I'm sure the plot line of Steve searching for his birth mother and how he goes about show more doing that would be upsetting for people today but in 1992, when this book was published, that's how easy things were and that was the mindset regarding adoption.

I'm going to keep it.

Adrianne show less

I found this book to have an interestingly self-conscious Kirk—maybe it's just more interested in his internal mental state than some other books. The plot hinges on a politician and scientist who have rather simplistic ideas about how to end war in the galaxy and seem to blame the existence of war on Starfleet. Ultimately I found that part of the book pretty silly. More interesting is the superweapon the scientist creates, which randomly sends starships to other universes, many of which show more are inimical to life. (His idea is no starships, no wars...yeah, I didn't say it hung together.) Perhaps most interesting of all is the introduction of a character with a brain-enhancing implant that allows her to record her visual and auditory inputs. That's something Star Trek has never really fully explored (despite Geordi and, yes, the Borg) and which I wish there was more of. Still, all that said, I don't think this was the finest outing. Passable!

Oh, and amusingly: they spell "petaQ" or "p'takh" wrong: "p'tach." I wonder how Klingon spellings were circulated among the various strands of the franchise? I'm pretty sure that 1993 is after they were laid down, especially for common words like petaQ... show less

“Pico review” written for the SF fanzine OtherRealms (SF review zine by Chuq Von Rospach, Jan. 1991): As SF this probably only rates **, with one off-beat alien and a near-future California where robots are available as servants, tour guides and even to do your surfing for you. As a pulp mystery parody it gets ****. Zoot's planet, T'toom, gets radio transmissions from Earth (they panicked at the original War of the Worlds broadcast too). He decides to visit the place because he wants to show more be just like Philip Marlowe, but he ends up in Malibu, among the surfers, eating yogurt and watching tv until a motorcycle gang challenges them to win the Surf-O-Rama. Zoot must become a private eye for real to learn who destroyed all the surfbots and why Heavenly Daise, genetic research scientist and daughter of the owner of Surfing Samauri Robots, has disappeared. This is a FUN book. show less