IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
by Saci Lloyd
Pages: 288 (paperback)
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Publication Date: 1st January 2015
ISBN: 1444916688
Received From: Hodder Children's Books
Received From: Hodder Children's Books
Summary
Welcome to a world controlled by a megalomaniac Lolcat. A world where data pirates, zombies and infobots on surfboards roam free. A world at war over cheese ... When teenager Mikey Malone gets sucked through a wormhole into this parallel world, he discovers a power-crazed corporation is planning to use Earth as a dumping ground for an uncontrollable poisonous algae. It's a race against time for Mikey and his rebel friends to stop the ruthless tyrants from getting their way.
Review
"You must trust the mystery. No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place."
Where. To. Start... It took me a little time to figure out if this book was the creation of a loon or a complete genius, for the record I settled on the latter. It’s The End Of The World As We Know It is by far the most brilliantly bonkers book I’ve ever read. It’s unique, funny and mind-blowingly complex with something in there for literally everyone. From zombies to pirates, surfboard-riding robots to clones, and that’s not even mentioning the war over a massive ball of cheese. It sounds insane, it know! But trust me when I say this, it’s the best kind of madness and I couldn’t put it down.
It’s The End Of The
World As We Know It is about a boy named Mikey and what happens when a
wack-a-doodle scientist rips a whole in the fabric of time and space creating a
parallel universe. The book follows Mikey and a whole host of other characters
as they try to get him back to Earth after falling through the wormhole.
However, it’s not going to be easy as the parallel universe, DEVA, is being destroyed
by a sex-crazed algae called UltraRed. Hearing about the wormhole the
Korporation thinks Earth will be the perfect dumping ground for the UltraRed… oh
and did I mention the head of the Korporation is a cat named Önska.
The
whole book is barmy but I think that the reason it works so well is because of its
rag-tag group of heroes. We have Kix, a Kickass Pansexual Being. Blitzer the
BlitZerbot. Professor Mori the… well I think he was a robot of some kind. Oh
and DØØ & Σëë, who are in my opinion, the best part of this
book… these surfboard flying infobots never failed to make me laugh. Although
if you have an issue with spelling in books then they may not be your favourite characters as they have a
habit of swapping the first letters of words around as they find the human
tongue a little on the dull side. It’s this
misfit group that brings the story to life; each one is unique and well thought
through. Sometimes when reading a book that’s as complex as this one characters
can fade and the begin to feel like nothing more than an after thought. However,
Saci Lloyd has seamlessly put together a cast that feels relevant and exciting.
I think the only part I can fault is a personal
thing, and that’s the dialogue. I struggled a little with the way Saci choose to
voice the population of DEVA, I mean I’m not a stickler for grammar, not even
close, however, there were moments where I had to reread a sentence or two
which did feel a little tedious at times.
Overall, It’s
The End Of The World As We Know It is a great read. It’s funny and new and
unputdownable. The story flows and there isn’t a single chapter that isn’t
filled with something out of the ordinary. I would recommend this book to
anyone that is in need of something a little different and anyone in need of an
adventure.
"Maybe I don't want to survive no more... maybe I wantz to live."
**I received this book as an ARC from Hodder Children's Books to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**
Q&A with Saci Llody
author of It's The End of The World As We Know It
What was the
inspiration behind It’s The End Of The World As We Know It?
Oh, it’s full of things I’m super
passionate about – mostly the future, and what do we want it to look like. I
feel we are sleepwalking towards some very scary stuff and I want us to stop
and think about it. I also wanted to write something funny and play about with
the world… I’m a bit over the apocalypse.
The residents
of Deva have a rather strange way of speaking, why did you choose to write it
that way?
Umm, let me peer into my subconscious.
There’s a variety of dialects going on… ONSKA, of course, speaks like a LOLcat.
The synthetics often have little tics like zeds for s’s (not sure how to spell
that) I don’t know why… maybe feelz a bit like the futur? Captain Duchamp has a
little French thing going on, to make him feel like he hasn’t completely sold
out to the machines – probably in the same way that people who pirate load of
music occasionally buy vinyl to prove to themselves they’re still good people…
Think quick!
You’ve been sucked through a wormhole into a parallel universe, what is the
first thing you do?
Get myself a robot buddy
Who was your
favorite character to write and why? For the record, mine are DØØ & Σëë.
They are irilliantly bnsane.
Oh mine is probably Kix. She’s so
angry all the time. And so curvy.
Where
did your love for writing come from?
I don’t love it. It kills me every day sitting in
front of this screen, but I am HORRIBLY COMPELLED.
If
you could pick anyone, whom would you cast as Kix & Mikey in a film
adaptation?
Nikki Minaj and Seth Rogan’s younger brother/clone
What three
books would you recommend to readers of It’s
The End Of The World As We Know It?
Hitchiker’s Guide To The Galaxy
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole
SuperSadTrueLoveStory (for more adult
readers. Very cool)
Here’s a
random one for you. If you could live in a fictional universe that’s ALREADY
been written, which one would you choose and why?
Lord of the Rings. Totally be Tom
Bombadil.
What’s the
most challenging part of the writing process for you?
The writing part. I love the thinking
it up and the final touch ups.
In one
sentence tell us why we should read It’s The End Of The World As We Know It?
It’s so much funnier than a cup of
warm sick.
Lastly, is
there going to be a sequel?
Dangle mah donglez! Of course. I’m on it right now.
GIVEAWAY
Probably panic then start asking questions,
ReplyDeleteI would be really curious, so even if it's not safe I would cheer. I have a UK address, so I haven't entered by accident. xx
ReplyDelete