Tag: Mr Browser

Beware of the Brain Sharpeners

Beware of the Brain Sharpeners

by Philip Curtis; ill. Tony Ross (Anderson Press, 1983)

Book cover: “Beware of the Brain Sharpeners” by Philip Curtis; ill. Tony Ross (Anderson Press, 1983)

An underwhelming instalment. The Brain Sharpeners, rather than posing some insidious threat, now play the role of conscientious anti-nuclear interventionists. Their plan is gratuitous and the abducted students have no agency whatsoever. Curtis employs a jocular prose style devoid of actual humour.

The Revenge of the Brain Sharpeners

The Revenge of the Brain Sharpeners

by Philip Curtis; ill. Tony Ross (Anderson, 1982)

Curtis_Revenge Brain Sharpeners

This direct sequel lacks the one-against-many tension of the original. The cast is the same but the protagonist viewpoint is diluted and the Brain Sharpeners have become ineffectual background threats, not menacing subverters lurking in the fog. Fun enough but relatively disappointing.

 

 

Mr Browser and the Brain Sharpeners

Mr Browser and the Brain Sharpeners

by Philip Curtis (Alfred A. Knopf, 1981); audiobook read by Sandi Toksvig (Brilliance, 2014)

Curtis_Mr Browser Brain Sharpeners

A perfectly pitched middle grade adventure, pitting 10-year-old Michael Fairlie against egg-headed aliens who want to smarten up and then abduct his classmates. The foggy school oval and pepper-pot spaceships lend an eerie imagery to what otherwise is a fast, fun tale.

 

 

Derelict Space Sheep