Escape from Splatterbang

by Nicholas Fisk

Left behind on a hostile planet, Mykl finds that Ego, a friendly computer, is no substitute for human companionship and meets a Gypsy girl named Amina who figures out the planet's terrible secret which makes escape nearly impossible

Genres: Science Fiction, Childrens

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

(1923–2016), British author of more than forty books and television scripts and a master of science fiction for children. Fisk, whose real name is David Higginbottom, grew up during the Second World War and served in the Royal Air Force. His autobiography, Pig Ignorant (1992), covers the years 1939–1941 and details his life in Soho, a bohemian section of London, where he played jazz in the evenings until he was called to enlist. After the war Fisk worked as a musician, journalist, and publisher. He started writing in the 1960s, and his popularity was at its height in the 1970s and 1980s. His most impressive work, A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Hair (1982), is a thrilling futuristic novel set at the end of the 22ndcentury. The government is cloning new people and has manufactured a 1940s wartime family whose members are unaware that nothing they know is real. This moving story is a dark representation of the threat posed by technological advancement but is optimistic in its message about the triumph of the human spirit. Fisk's most enduring books include Grinny (1973), which features a technologized extraterrestrial threat in the form of a great- aunt who glows at night, and Trillions (1971), an eerie story about mysterious hard shiny objects that contain an alien intelligence. Monster Maker (1979) was made into a film.

Reviews

[ALX · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting action and unique world-building start on page one and continue throughout this short book. Fisk has such a wild imagination and his writing feels effortless. He knows young readers are smart and capable of grasping the plot and understanding the made-up and almost made-up words. This book may be geared toward young adults but adults can certainly be entertained too.

[Steve Dilks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I ever read. Being a young kid of nine into STAR WARS, I was fascinated by the cover which depicted two young suited teenagers emerging from a spaceship into hostile alien surroundings. The plot is fairly straight forward. A young boy and girl are marooned on a regularly meteor storm struck planet that they have christened Splatterbang with only a computer called Ego for company. It's a short book and written for a young audience and it delivers very well. As an adult, re-reading it some twenty years later, I was still impressed with it.

[Grey Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another fantastic book from my childhood - made a huge impression on me!

[Thomas Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book just so I could pass it down to my kids. One of my favorites as a child.