This grandad and grandson adventure has all the hallmarks of a whopping kids' thriller.' The Big Issue, Kids' Books of the year An effortless, atmospheric evocation of place and history combine in an unforgettable, immersive reading experience.' Guardian I did have a good time reading the adventure story, but I feel that some things were not as well-solved by the end of the novel as I'd like. I don't know if this is the first of a series, but I felt some of the plot points could be cleared up more. The resolution hardly felt resolved, and some of the characters ... they fell a bit flat. Alex's grandfather was funny at times, but other times, his 'uh's' and other hesitations seemed overdrawn. Less charming and more annoying. I felt bad for Alex most of the time - I understand the point of keeping some things for later in the book, but the kid is so caught up in a mess that nobody understands completely. Not even the people fighting seem to have the clearest idea of who or what they're on about. He just randomly fights against these vague "evil" forces without understanding the real history behind the bad guys. Who is that girl? Who is the tall man? Why are they all scarred up and how are the robots controlled by them? The little bits that are uncovered leave more questions. When twelve-year-old Alex receives an old tin robot in the post, the note from his grandfather simply reads: ‘This one is special’. But as strange events start occurring around him, it doesn’t take Alex long to suspect that the small toy is more than special; it might also be deadly.

Alex also seems poorly fleshed out to me. He's fairly 2D, and I feel he's just meant for any young boy to transpose their own identity onto so they can buy into this adventure. All we have to go on is that he likes robots, and he gets bullied. (On that note, I am really over the trope of insanely vicious bullies who get away with it right under the noses of their teachers. Bullies are sneakier, anyone that violent and monstrous would hopefully get snagged and punished.) Right from the prologue, Damien Love instils a sense of mystery in us readers, giving us the sense of an impending doom. You start thinking 'oh lovely, sweet' and it soon turns into 'oh damn, that was dark'! There wasn't a miss in the adventurous tone of the story and throughout, we journey along as our MC face challenges after challenges. This book has all the classic enjoyable tropes — young protagonist kept in the dark about unnatural circumstances and lore by an older/elderly figure, and the two go off on a wild adventure full of action, chase, asked and unanswered questions, and mysterious power.

LoveReading4Kids Says

This book is a fabulous choice for teachers! It serves as the springboard for numerous lesson ideas. A science unit in which students learn about the five simple machines then employ that knowledge by designing and constructing their own robots. Mathematical concepts obviously will be needed in conjunction with the construction as well as in determining the distance traveled by the novel's young protagonist, Alex, and his grandfather as they trek across Europe. That adventure easily lends itself to a unit on geography. History comes into play by studying the invention and different applications of robots over the years. (You could even debate the merits of automation of jobs.) Language arts lessons are seemingly endless; rewriting the ending, writing the story from one of the robots' points of view, changing the setting, etc. Vocabulary, spelling, you name it, this book is a gold mine!

He did get on my nerves at times. I can see why the author would go "Oh, I'm going to let grandfather smoke a cigaret but then make him repeat two times Alex should never do that since it's bad for your health!" Not only regarding smoking, but different subjects. I couldn't help think that maybe.. you shouldn't make his grandfather do those things in the first place then? The whole "yeah, you shouldn't do this yourself, Alex"-thing got repetitive after a while and I didn't like it. [It might definitely not be an issue for younger readers, but it got to me, okay.] I am usually up for a multigenerational adventure, but the relationships between family members that holds those stories together was very much absent in this book. At no point did I really understand or relate to any of the characters, nor they to each other. The setting was mysterious and mostly enjoyable, but the plot, like the characterization, was disjointed and choppy. I love to read stories of machinations, robots, artificial intelligence; you name it. Can’t get enough of it. But this book, while it certainly had many robots and machinations, took a very odd and unexpected twist towards religion. It thankfully did not offer absolutes to theological questions (nor did the book delve into theology aside from a few brief conversational instances) but it was very much out of the blue. I do recommend this book. Just be prepared for an enigmatic ride requiring more than a little suspension of disbelief. Alex is a great character, and the challenges he will face as he grows older are huge. Will he rise to them, or let them crush him? We may never really find out, but I think I know the answer! Prague has a rich, beautiful, and fearful history at times. This is hinted at and could be employed fully to really explore why the Golem is there, what role the Charles Bridge plays, along with the other important (and perhaps magical) buildings and locations.Let me start with the stupidest one first. I am aware it is kind of silly, but for some reason it drove me batty. Alex is bebopping all over the place with his cell phone, able to make calls and texts, but WITHOUT AN INTERNATIONAL PLAN. Also, his mom was able to text him, and he was texting her, but there wasn't the hassle of area codes. It was just like he knew how to make international calls no prob. Alex, 12 year old jetsetter. Things that should have been obstacles, even trifling ones, were just easily ignored or solved. But as strange events start occurring around him, it doesn't take Alex long to suspect that the small toy is more than special; it might also be deadly. Just as things are getting out of hand, Alex's grandfather arrives, whisking him away from his otherwise humdrum life and into a world of strange, macabre magic. Mysterious and frightening...a well-crafted adventure that's filled with desperate chases, narrow escapes, fight scenes, and twists.' - Publishers Weekly, starred review QUESTIONS. I had so many questions during the story and they barely got answered. By the end of the book, I was hoping to at least understand more of what was going on but.. that didn't happen? I know there'll be a sequel, but I hate having this many questions left after finishing a book. I'm not a fan of open endings in general and this honestly feels like one. Damien Love’s MONSTROUS DEVICES is a devilishly creepy children’s book about a young boy’s journey with his grandfather. Twelve-year-old Alex collects toy robots, but when his grandfather sends him a strange, very old looking, little tin robot, neither of them are prepared for what happens. The robot itself seems to have a mysterious connection to Alex, and it isn’t long before he and his grandfather are traveling through Europe (with stops in Paris and Prague) to prevent a cadre of strange people (and their minions) from acquiring a supernatural power.