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Batteries Not Included
A HIGH-VOLTAGE DREAM COME TRUE
The Rileys and their friends had lived in the old city tenement for years. A crumbling building full of memories and love…it was their home.
Now, the property is condemned.
And soon, the wrecking cranes will destroy the remnants of their lives. UNLESS…
Something happens.
Something weird.
Something wonderful…
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Presents
*batteries not included
A MATTHEW ROBBINS Film
The Rileys and their friends had lived in the old city tenement for years. A crumbling building full of memories and love…it was their home.
Now, the property is condemned.
And soon, the wrecking cranes will destroy the remnants of their lives. UNLESS…
Something happens.
Something weird.
Something wonderful…
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Presents
*batteries not included
A MATTHEW ROBBINS Film
213 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1987
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Wayland Drew
23 books33 followersWayland Drew (1932-1998) was a writer born in Oshawa, Ontario. He attended Victoria College at the University of Toronto, where he earned a BA in English Language and Literature (1957). Shortly after graduation he married Gwendolyn Parrott and together they raised four children. From 1961-1994 he was a high school teacher in Port Perry, Bracebridge, and Muskoka Lakes. He also worked for the Ontario Ministry of Education.
Drew began to write seriously in high school and published a number of short stories (to magazines such as The Tamarack Review) and non-fiction pieces throughout his career, while also selling radio and film scripts. His first novel (and sometimes stated to be his best) was The Wabeno Feast (1973). While rooted in Northern Ontario, the story indicted modern industrial civilization as an extension of the European colonization of Canada by depicting an entire society's fall into ruin. In her essay on "Canadian Monsters: Some Aspects of the Supernatural in Canadian Fiction ", Margaret Atwood noted that Drew's use of the aboriginal wabeno revealed a concern "with man's relationship to his society and to himself, as opposed to his relationship with the natural environment" and she concluded that Drew's novel combined "both concerns in a rather allegorical and very contemporary fashion".
Many readers, though, surely know him better as the author of an ecological science fiction trilogy, the Erthring Cycle (1984-1986), and of several movie novelizations (Corvette Summer, Dragonslayer, Batteries Not Included, and Willow, the last three of which were translated into French and the second in German). His non-fiction also reflected his concern for the environment and interest for Canadian landscapes, as seen in books such as Superior: The Haunted Shore and A Sea Within: the Gulf of St. Lawrence. His final novel, Halfway Man (1989), echoed themes from his first, The Wabeno Feast.
Drew began to write seriously in high school and published a number of short stories (to magazines such as The Tamarack Review) and non-fiction pieces throughout his career, while also selling radio and film scripts. His first novel (and sometimes stated to be his best) was The Wabeno Feast (1973). While rooted in Northern Ontario, the story indicted modern industrial civilization as an extension of the European colonization of Canada by depicting an entire society's fall into ruin. In her essay on "Canadian Monsters: Some Aspects of the Supernatural in Canadian Fiction ", Margaret Atwood noted that Drew's use of the aboriginal wabeno revealed a concern "with man's relationship to his society and to himself, as opposed to his relationship with the natural environment" and she concluded that Drew's novel combined "both concerns in a rather allegorical and very contemporary fashion".
Many readers, though, surely know him better as the author of an ecological science fiction trilogy, the Erthring Cycle (1984-1986), and of several movie novelizations (Corvette Summer, Dragonslayer, Batteries Not Included, and Willow, the last three of which were translated into French and the second in German). His non-fiction also reflected his concern for the environment and interest for Canadian landscapes, as seen in books such as Superior: The Haunted Shore and A Sea Within: the Gulf of St. Lawrence. His final novel, Halfway Man (1989), echoed themes from his first, The Wabeno Feast.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 4, 2024
If there's one thing to take away from this review, it's my recommendation to check out the 1987 movie this book novelizes. It was executive produced by Steven Spielberg, has music by legendary composer James Horner, and is a cute, heartwarming story about a group of residents in a rundown tenement building who are being intimidated to leave by a corporation that wants to demolish their building to construct a new development on the land...until they get some unexpected help in their time of need from some otherworldly visitors. The film definitely has the Spielberg feel, and reminds me a lot of his films Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, so if you like those you'll probably love this.
The novelization of the movie was fine. It's nothing to write home about. It starts out really great but then becomes somewhat "meh" for the rest of its length. It is decently written throughout, however, and I've certainly read movie novelizations that were far worse than this one (e.g. Godzilla vs. Kong), so if you're looking for a decent movie novelization of an uplifting, original story this fits the bill. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you're a big fan of the movie, as I am.
Definitely recommend checking out the movie if you've never seen it though, especially if you like Spielberg's other alien movies.
The novelization of the movie was fine. It's nothing to write home about. It starts out really great but then becomes somewhat "meh" for the rest of its length. It is decently written throughout, however, and I've certainly read movie novelizations that were far worse than this one (e.g. Godzilla vs. Kong), so if you're looking for a decent movie novelization of an uplifting, original story this fits the bill. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you're a big fan of the movie, as I am.
Definitely recommend checking out the movie if you've never seen it though, especially if you like Spielberg's other alien movies.
March 18, 2017
Great story, when an older couple meet some little mechanical things from another world, their lives and those who live in the tenant building where they also have a diner are turned upside down. Fun, exciting and heart touching.
April 16, 2025
A clever, whimsical script, expanded with Drew's gift for rich prose and deepening of character. Among the novelizations that are great books in their own right.
March 19, 2020
I had vague memories of the film, but as it turns out, very vague: other than the tiny flying saucers, none of this was familiar. A pleasant enough bit of fluff to distract myself with, but not much more.
June 27, 2024
Didn't see the film, but the book is a sweet heart-warming tearjerker :)
July 26, 2025
Scialbo. Superficiale. Dimenticabile.
October 28, 2025
Good sci-fi, also the film produced by Speilberg. A friendly plate sized UFO comes and fixes everything for tenants in a deteriorating block about to be demolished.
February 10, 2013
Synopsis: Frank and Faye Riley are an elderly couple; Faye's Alzheimer's leads her to believe that she sees her son everywhere, even though he died in a car crash years ago. Marisa Esteval is a young lady who is expecting...and unwed. They, and others, live in a building that is on the verge of being destroyed. It seems that only a miracle can save them and their dwelling now...but the kind of miracle they get is something that no one would ever expect or even believe. Based on a Steven Spielberg film.
Review: This was a weird one. I've never seen the movie this book is based on, but I'm not sure I would want to do that now. Though I love a good science-fiction/fantasy yarn, this doesn't seem to have one; it almost seems like the movie was sheer spectacle, just like Michael Bay's Transformers flicks supposedly are. Those who are fanatical about the movie *batteries not included (sic) would probably enjoy this, but everyone else should just skip it.
Content Concerns: Contains about ten or fifteen profanities, some violent scenes, discussion of an unmarried woman being pregnant, and a scene with an alien being nearly dying.
Score: 1.75/5
Review: This was a weird one. I've never seen the movie this book is based on, but I'm not sure I would want to do that now. Though I love a good science-fiction/fantasy yarn, this doesn't seem to have one; it almost seems like the movie was sheer spectacle, just like Michael Bay's Transformers flicks supposedly are. Those who are fanatical about the movie *batteries not included (sic) would probably enjoy this, but everyone else should just skip it.
Content Concerns: Contains about ten or fifteen profanities, some violent scenes, discussion of an unmarried woman being pregnant, and a scene with an alien being nearly dying.
Score: 1.75/5
August 21, 2011
I enjoyed this book, but I am a little irritated that it is entered wrong here. The book is Batteries Not Included, by Wayland Drew. It's been a while since I read it, but I remember that it was way better than the movie :)
May 27, 2016
The movie was better.
April 3, 2019
Fabulous book, really enjoyed it
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews