Sunday, June 16, 2013

Brad About Books: The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos

Read on June 7, 2013
THE PLANET THIEVES
Published: May 21, 2013
Publisher: Starscrape (Tor)
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 256 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Series: Thieves, #1

The Planet Thieves is the first thrilling installment of a new middle-grade series by Dan Krokos.

Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded the SS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required spacetime for summer quarter.

But routine goes out the airlock when they’re attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.

With the captain and crew dead, injured, or taken prisoner, Mason and the cadets are all that’s left to warn the ESC. And soon they find out exactly why the Tremist chose this ship to attack: the Egypt is carrying a weapon that could change the war forever.

Now Mason will have to lead the cadets in a daring assault to take back the ship, rescue the survivors, and recover the weapon. Before there isn’t a war left to fight.



I still don't entirely know how I feel about this book. While some parts really had me invested into the story, others had me dozing off. Did I enjoy The Planet Thieves wholly? Yes. Did I enjoy it at all times? Not exactly.

The biggest problem I had with The Planet Thieves was the main character - I never connected to Mason. He seemed to whiny and jokester-like for me to enjoy. Yes, being a jokester character does work in middle-grade fiction sometimes, but given the circumstances and the plot of The Planet Thieves, I don't think it worked so well. Right from the first page, I didn't like Mason. I was hoping he would develop and mature as the book went on, but... I just never liked him.

Luckily, the plot redeems The Planet Thieves (Mason just annoyed me). Very sci-fi action paced, and with an awesome twist - that's what I liked the absolute most about this book. It did have slow parts, but for the majority, it's hard to find a dull moment in The Planet Thieves. Dark and sinister as space itself, The Planet Thieves rocks!

Overall, The Planet Thieves has an awesome plot, but very obnoxious and annoying protagonist. So... maybe I half liked it, and half didn't? If you're looking for a new epic middle grade, I'd recommend The Planet Thieves!

M Y    R A T I N G



2 comments:

  1. Good review!! I've been wanting to read more MG so I'll probably pick this one up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The plot does sound really cool, but I personally can't get behind a book where the main character annoys me, ha ha.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by! I read every comment and truly appreciate them. I would love to hear your thoughts! If you leave a comment, I'll be sure to leave a comment back on your blog ASAP! -Brad