Scan barcode
A review by christajls
The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos
4.0
This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic
When I was first contacted about The Planet Thieves I was told it was “Star Trek meets Rick Riordan.” I didn’t need to read any further to know this was a book I needed to read. And it was exactly as described. The Planet Thieves is without a doubt, very similar to Star Trek. Remember that Star Trek episode, “The Game” guest staring Ashley Judd? Where all the adults are incapacitated so Wesley saves the day? Combine that with one of Kirk’s crazier adventures, throw in a inter planetary war and you have this book.
The Planet Thieves is an incredibly action packed read. Things happen fast but I never felt like I was struggling to keep up. Krokos kept the pacing steady and smooth. So even though there was a constant sense of urgency to the events unfolding on page, everything was always very clear. This book has already been optioned for a movie by Warner Brothers and HeyDay Films and I can’t wait to see some of the action sequenes on the big screen!
But it wasn’t just the action that made The Planet Thieves enjoyable. It was also the characters. In particular Mason Stark. Mason is just a cadet. A young kid, barely trained, but some heavy responsibility falls on his shoulders. And he bears it well. But I liked that he struggled, and I liked that he second guessed himself. He was amazing but he was also just a regular thirteen year old boy. I also really liked Tom. In the beginning he’s very serious and rule oriented. He clashed with Mason a lot, as they had very differemt personalities. But they had to overcome those differences and learn to work together and I found that aspect of the story especially encouraging.
I think older readers of this series, who also happen to be Star Trek fans (like me) may be a little irked by some of the blatant similarities between The Planet Thieves and Star Trek. For example the enemy warrior race – The Tremist fly a ship called a Hawk which is even described as “a bird circling her prey.” Sounds an awful lot like Klingons and their ship, a Bird of Prey. But that being said, I don’t think this will be a problem for the target audience of this novel – middle grade readers. I think it’s a safe bet they will be more focused on the action and adventure of this novel instead of similiarities to a show their parents may or may not have watched.
Recommendation: A thrilling, exciting start to a new series. Great for fans of Star Trek, Ender’s Game and Star Wars: Clone Wars.
When I was first contacted about The Planet Thieves I was told it was “Star Trek meets Rick Riordan.” I didn’t need to read any further to know this was a book I needed to read. And it was exactly as described. The Planet Thieves is without a doubt, very similar to Star Trek. Remember that Star Trek episode, “The Game” guest staring Ashley Judd? Where all the adults are incapacitated so Wesley saves the day? Combine that with one of Kirk’s crazier adventures, throw in a inter planetary war and you have this book.
The Planet Thieves is an incredibly action packed read. Things happen fast but I never felt like I was struggling to keep up. Krokos kept the pacing steady and smooth. So even though there was a constant sense of urgency to the events unfolding on page, everything was always very clear. This book has already been optioned for a movie by Warner Brothers and HeyDay Films and I can’t wait to see some of the action sequenes on the big screen!
But it wasn’t just the action that made The Planet Thieves enjoyable. It was also the characters. In particular Mason Stark. Mason is just a cadet. A young kid, barely trained, but some heavy responsibility falls on his shoulders. And he bears it well. But I liked that he struggled, and I liked that he second guessed himself. He was amazing but he was also just a regular thirteen year old boy. I also really liked Tom. In the beginning he’s very serious and rule oriented. He clashed with Mason a lot, as they had very differemt personalities. But they had to overcome those differences and learn to work together and I found that aspect of the story especially encouraging.
I think older readers of this series, who also happen to be Star Trek fans (like me) may be a little irked by some of the blatant similarities between The Planet Thieves and Star Trek. For example the enemy warrior race – The Tremist fly a ship called a Hawk which is even described as “a bird circling her prey.” Sounds an awful lot like Klingons and their ship, a Bird of Prey. But that being said, I don’t think this will be a problem for the target audience of this novel – middle grade readers. I think it’s a safe bet they will be more focused on the action and adventure of this novel instead of similiarities to a show their parents may or may not have watched.
Recommendation: A thrilling, exciting start to a new series. Great for fans of Star Trek, Ender’s Game and Star Wars: Clone Wars.