Rebecca's World

by Terry Nation, Larry Learmonth (Illustrator)

It was the eleventh day of the school holidays and Rebecca was bored. But events take a dramatic turn for the better (or worse) when she finds herself transported to a distant planet whose people are terrorized by jelly-like monsters called Ghosts.

Rebecca's World is a marvellously gripping (and frequently comic) adventure story, with a memorable cast of characters. A story that will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade

117 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist. After briefly joining his father's furniture-making business and attempting stand-up comedy, Nation turned his hand to writing and worked on radio scripts for The Goon Show and a range of TV dramas such as The Saint, The Avengers, Z Cars, The Baron, The Champions, Department S and The Persuaders. He went on to write about 100 episodes of Doctor Who and wrote scripts for the American TV series MacGyver (1985) and A Fine Romance (1989).

He is probably best known for creating iconic villains the Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who. Nation also created two science-fiction shows - Survivors and Blake's 7.

Terry Nation moved to Los Angeles, California, United States in 1980. He died from emphysema on 9 March 1997, aged 66.

Reviews

[Rebecca Nation · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to write so many kind and heartwarming reviews of my dad's book. I deeply appreciate the wonderful comments, sentiments and suggestions, all of which I will take into consideration for possible future plans.

It's always a pleasure to answer your questions and discuss the book. You can find me on Facebook (Rebecca M Nation) and Twitter (@RebeccaMNation). I look forward to hearing from you.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Rebecca's World' was my favourite book as a child. I spent many evenings staring at the stars and willing myself to be transported, like Rebecca, to a more colourful world... Unfortunately mother dearest didn't approve of my choice of literature and my book mysteriously disappeared after about the tenth reading. I've spent many years looking for an affordable copy until my husband bought my current copy as a present (and yes, it was expensive!) Now, over 35 years later, this book doesn't disappoint. The characters are so vivid they're still jumping off the page at me. The plot is superbly thought out, well balanced and brimming with wit. This is 'off the wall' imagination at its very best and, like all the best children's books, equally enjoyable as an adult.

[Clara Benson]

When I am Queen I will decree that this book be brought back into print and a copy given to every schoolchild in the country and never mind the budget deficit. It's an exciting, humorous sci-fi/fantasy adventure with a female lead, quirky sidekicks, scary baddies, and a nice, understated environmental message to boot, and it's just as entertaining *ahem* years later as it was when I first read it as a child.

[Mags Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book ... I have read it to possibly every class I have taught alongside Michael Murpogo's Kensuke's Kingdom over the last 20 years. Both books have encouraged reluctant readers to pick up a book ...
I love the characters in Rebecca's World - they are created so well - I hope it's never turned into a TV Series or film (though it would make a wonderful one) because the characters live on the pages and in the imagination ... I cannot imagine for one moment anyone worthy enough to don Captain K's tights or Kovack's multiple noses or Grisby's bunions ...
and the message of the book still rings true ... read it to your children - read it yourself!

[Rebeckah11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was bought this book many years ago because of my name and read it as a child and again more recently. It gripped and scared the pants off me as a child and still held my attention as an adult. Nation is also famed for inventing the Darleks and the character in Rebecca's World are just as rounded with the evil ones being just as dark as his fearsome machines.
Like Potter, I believe this book crosses the child/adult divide and have always been amazed that it was not more popular.

[Joz Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that kick-started my fascination with weird fiction, science fiction and flights of fantasy.

The best book a 6 year old, wide-eyed creative could possibly read. And still captivating the first time I read it again 30 and 40 years later.

And it still both tickles and slightly disturbs me every time I read there's a GHOST approaching!

[Asli Cakir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I transported myself to the stars ✨

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a copy of Paul Darrow reading the audio book of this from Big Finish because it was Terry Nation and what could be better than Paul Darrow reading a children's book?

But I did laugh. Here we had a young girl going on an adventure to another magical world where things are dangerous and different. (As young girls frequently do in stories). This young girl was quite puzzled as she noticed there were NO TREES in the world she went to. However she TOTALLY FAILED TO NOTICE THERE WERE NO OTHER GIRLS OR WOMEN IN THE WORLD! Really something only a man would write! It made me laugh. Eventually towards the end of the books she did finally meet another woman, but she was a monster/metaphor in disguise and not an actual woman. I think it says a lot about how conditioned girls are to reading books without women and girls in them that so many women on the reviews here said how much they'd loved this book as a child. I mean like the Wizard of Oz, you have one girl character going off to a magical world and making friends with strange men she meets along the way. But it was still quite an entertaining adventure, with evil ghosts and an evil businessman who was only happy when he saw other people were poor, and an environmental message.

In the audio version Paul Darrow does a wonderful job reading the story with all sorts of voices given to the different characters.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like several others, I read this as a child in the late seventies or early eighties. I began looking for it again my senior year in high school only to find that it was out of print.....I waited twenty years to get my hands on a copy, and it was as wonderful as I remembered, although it seemed shorter...;)

Now this book is carefully displayed on my living room shelf. I have been happy to expose my own children to it...but I'm not letting it out of my sight. If you can get your hands on a copy, i highly recommend indulging!

My favorite quote:
'Why is it when you want something it's always in the last pocket you look in?' he said crossly.
'It's the last pocket because when you've found what you want you don't look in any more,' said Rebecca with annoying smugness.

Now, as a forty year old, that's pretty obvious. But when I was ten, it was downright profound.

[Frank Shailes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wizard of Oz meets "Doctor Who - Death to the Daleks". Great fun. I bought this from the school book club when I was about 8 or 9. The illustrations are wonderful. There's an earlier hardback edition with some colour as well. The story harks back to Terry Nation's TV adventure scripts but is ideal for children, with some mild scares and lots of humour. The characters are broad but very memorable for children. Highly recommended.

[Clare Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, I borrowed it from the library as a child and adored it. I went back looking for it time and again but forgot what it was called or who the author was. I found it again as an adult because a friend had a copy and I'm reading it to my children for the second time. We all love it. Five stars.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first encountered this book when I was in what is now called Year 4. Miss Briggs read it to us at the end of the day at school, a bit every day. I loved it. I was enthralled. Copies are rare now, but a brilliant friend bought me the audio book and I'm pleased to say that 32 years has done nothing to diminish its fabulousness.

[Gareth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charming bit of nonsense from Terry Nation that borrows a lot from Alice in Wonderland and the Oz books. It's probably a bit too random and episodic to be really affecting, but its lead Rebecca manages to be heroic and clever, without becoming insufferable. Knowing Nation wrote this for his daughter lends to whole affair a nice affectionate glow.

[Louise Paton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite books of all time! It was read to me at primary school and then I bought it about 6 years ago for a lot of money - but it was really worth it!

[Joy Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved this book since I was a child and when my husband bought me it for Christmas, I couldn't wait to get started. Thoroughly enjoyed it the 2nd time too and will keep it to reread.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

My knowledge of Terry Nation is based on a mix between his work on Blake’s 7 and Doctor Who (he created the Daleks). When I first joined Twitter, I heard, with some reverence of a children’s book he had written back in 1975 called Rebecca’s World. Since it had been written by Nation, it steadily achieved cult status and was too expensive for me buy. By lucky chance, I found out that our University library had a copy.

Following a spate of tropes from Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and odd elements of Doctor Who, the story begins with a bored young girl who finds herself whisked off to a world in which Ghosts (vaporous, grey creatures) are devouring its inhabitants. With the help of three extremely off men, vaguely associated with Dorothy’s companions in Oz, it is up to Rebecca to find that last Ghost Tree and use its branches to destroy the Ghosts. However, Mister Glister, a megalomanic ruler who wishes to destroy the last tree and bend all remaining inhabitants to his will.

Sadly, Rebecca’s World would not do well on the shelves today. Partly because it is so darned odd but also because Rebecca is supported by (and supports) three, odd, single adult men. Such images will not chime too well in today’s society and even I read the relationships as a slightly odder Mr. Rabbit and the Present. Even acknowledging that Nation was writing the story solely for his own daughter, Rebecca, at first and that the men in the story could be various incarnations of her father, there is no doubt that adults will read something sinister into this because that’s what society suggests at this moment in time.

What I found reassuring, in some ways, is that readers who read it when it was first published (see other reviews on Goodreads) obviously saw nothing sinister in this story at all and just enjoyed the fast-paced, eccentric adventures of a little girl who was bored no longer.

[Alison Scott]

I read the Big Finish audio drama of Rebecca's World, performed by Paul Darrow. I had known the book existed for some years, but had not come across it as a child for some reason and had not previously read it.

I thought this held up surprisingly well. It's an episodic SF adventure story written by Nation for his daughter Rebecca. Which explains why it is – a considerable rarity for 1975 – an adventure story about a girl. It's very inventive throughout, and the premise – a world in which the overly money-focused have destroyed the environment for personal gain – continues to resonate. The characters are amusing and interesting, and there are moments of both hilarity and poignancy. Darrow does a good job with this; an extra bonus for Blake's 7 fans.

Top fare for a family drive, though points for discussion may need to cover why all Rebecca's companions, the villain and his henchmen, and nearly every incidental character, is male. Reading the book rather than the audiobook requires a bit of work, as it has been out of print for many years. I cannot at all think why; Nation's work continues to grow in stature, with not only his work for Doctor Who but also Blake's 7 and Survivors getting considerable critical attention. I would have thought that reprinting this novel would be an easy choice.

[Ian Hembo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and re-read this wonderful book when I was about 11 years old.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still just as good as I remembered it being.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the start of 2010, my friend Linda made a quick post about a favorite children's novel she was re-reading, Rebecca's World by Terry Nation. On that alone I added it to my wishlist and eighteen months after doing that, it bubbled to the top of my list and I was able to cross it off. I'm glad I paid attention to her post.

Rebecca's World was Terry Nation's first children's novel. It's in the style of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum or any number of other fantasies where a young girl travels to a far off land and becomes a hero as she tries to find her way home.

In this case, Rebecca is beamed to a far off planet which I think is the only time I've read that set up in an otherwise traditional fantasy. If there are others, please recommend them in the comments! Rebecca after being called horrible and all sorts of other things by the perturbed scientist sets out to find her own way home.

She is quickly attacked by GHOSTS (always in all caps) and when she's rescued she learns about the environmental disaster that has given the GHOSTS free reign over the land. She and her new companions set out to fix the problem, based on the clues of an old riddle and represented graphically on the endpapers as an intricate and gorgeous series of connected mazes.

Rebecca's World ended up being part traditional quest to get home mixed together with social commentary and an environmental message. All these elements are held together by Larry Learmonth's pen and ink drawings — most of which are in black and white and some of which are colored.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was a child, so much that Rebecca and Captain K stuck in my mind long after I'd forgotten the finer points of the novel. Purely on the memory of enjoying it, I bought it for my nephew, who loved it so much he started gabbling to me about things I no longer knew. So, I decided to read it again.

Reading it as an adult made me originally see the narrative as a little too fast-paced and thin, but after two chapters, my criticisms were all forgotten. Fifteen years and an English degree may have passed, but I still fell into that book as though I were the same 7 year old sitting cross-legged on the Reading Carpet at Storytime.

Nation has written a classic (as you can tell if you ever decide to try and buy a copy of your own... phew!). The imagination, the characters and the message all combine into an effortless tale that everyone should enjoy. It is not without its faults, but as a child, the humour and the imagery were astounding. As an adult, it's not too far off the mark, either. My favourite character is still Captain K, the rather useless superhero. I'm pretty sure that will never change, now.

It's Alice in Wonderland and Doctor Who wrapped up in a huge ball of sass and creativity. Everyone should read this book at least once - if not for themselves, then to their children.

[Daysleeper236 · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favourite books from childhood. Have been trying in vain to find a copy for years and finally got one via interlibrary loan. Not the same as owning it, but for a few weeks at least I get to be a kid again and hang out with Rebecca, Grisby, Kovak and Captain K.

Some of my favourite quotes are below.


Favourite quote #1:
The man pointed an accusing finger towards his feet.

"Those feet," he said, "are the most painful feet in the entire universe. Concentrated in those two extremities is a massive quantity of pure undiluted agony." He talked about his feet as though they belonged to somebody else.

"Those feet," he went on, "are the sorest pair of throbbers in the entire history of feet. Would you like to see them?"

"No thank you," answered Rebecca. "It's very kind of you to offer though."

Favourite quote #2:
You can see Rebecca's world. It's the first bright star of evening. And if you stare at it long enough, then close your eyes and think about it very hard, you can make it your world too.

[RotHead · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books when I was a kid, the only part I remembered was the land of bad habits, but that stuck in my memory for 30-some years. I've been wanting to read this book again over the years but since it was out of print I never bothered to track it down. Now I'm about to have a daughter so I definitely wanted to add this to her book collection. I was sucked right back into Rebecca's World, the story still holding its charm as an adult that I felt as a kid. So glad to be finally able to read it again!

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember reading this alongside my best friend in junior school all those years ago. We both loved the book. Very sadly my friend passed away this year & everytime I see or hear of this book it reminds me of her.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute fave book - was read to me at junior school, but I moved away before we finished, do I bugged my mum to get me a copy. I just had to know the ending!

It was my first sci-fi book, I never knew who Terry Nation was.

[Nikki Howson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this as a child. Haven't seen a copy for 30 years, very keen to catch up with it again at some point.

[Rob Hopwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rebecca's World by Terry Nation

Terry Nation is probably best known as the scriptwriter for various TV series during the 1970s, most notably Blake's 7 and Doctor Who. Prior to that, he had been involved in comedy shows both as a performer and as a writer of material for other comedians.

Rebecca's World was published in 1975, and it is clear that the content has been greatly influenced by the author's background in writing humor and shows with fantastical science fiction settings. Many of the Doctor Who and Blake's 7 episodes required the characters to overcome challenges and dangers or figure out the answers to riddles and conundrums, which is what Rebecca and her friends must do in order to complete their quest.

I think that the ultimate strength of this book is its charmingly surreal and quintessentially British sense of humor. The protagonist is clearly based on Alice from Alice in Wonderland, and her three companions are somewhat reminiscent of those who accompanied Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

There is an unmistakably Edwardian quality to Rebecca, who lives in a large country house, lacks companions of her own age, and is feeling bored during the school holidays. She therefore gives in to the temptation to meddle with the astral telescope which her father has expressly told her never to touch. As a result, she immediately finds herself whisked away to another planet where completely unfamiliar natural and societal rules apply, and where she meets three good-natured but hapless companions with whom she must strive against the odds to save the inhabitants of Rebecca's World from oppression and slavery.

This tale comes across as a sequence of largely unrelated incidents which never quite connect into a single journey. There is also a lack of character development and logical consequence. Despite the fact that this story is aimed at a very young audience, I think more could have been achieved with a little more forethought. Apart from being good fun, Rebecca's world is ultimately not a very satisfying read for adults, who will likely only enjoy the occasional mild chuckle due to the humor. This is not a book with any hidden depths, and it can only be read on one level. Young children, however, may well appreciate it and find it memorable, and adults may derive pleasure from reading it to them.

[morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrows a bit from Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, as Rebecca goes down a rabbit hole of what could be her imagination... plus there's some definite similarities in here to Terry Nation's TV writing. He does like using the quest template - ie. collecting the keys in Keys to Marinus, passing through the forbidden city in Death to the Daleks, and even Blake's 7 had a number of trials and tribulations in the search for Star One. Edition I have illustrated by Larry Learmonth, which does have the map with the riddles at the back, not sure if all editions have that.

Nation was a script writer by trade, and at times the writing feels like a script, ie GHOSTS in ALL CAPS, and descriptions that come off like screen directions. Some of the prose is a little sloppy and lacking clarity at points. When Captain K can't move his legs due to darned tights, it was a little hard for me to picture what was happening exactly, and what Rebecca was cutting.

Overall, it's a very entertaining, fun book. The three sidekick characters are amusing , quirky, and a lot of the obstacles they encounter had me laughing, particularly the library scene. The villain, Mr Glister, seems be a stand-in for capitalism run amok, and is a worthy adversary. As always, Nation is quite talented at creating/ writing antagonists and depicting authoritarianism.

[Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child, getting it out from the library multiple times to read it, and then I completely forgot about it, until the good folks on the Octothorpe podcast talked about it a while ago. As soon as a copy was available at a reasonable price, I jumped at it. It's a short book, in which the eponymous Rebecca wishes herself to another world, after being bored during the school holidays. There she finds a treeless planet filled with ghosts (sorry, GHOSTS) and a walking metaphor for the evils of capitalism.

I hadn't actually realised that this was written by that Terry Nation until the Octothorpe discussion (although I've been a Doctor Who fan since childhood, I didn't know who Nation was until much later). This is a fun, episodic story, as Rebecca makes friends, learns about the world and goes on a quest. The companions she makes are simply drawn but good people. Oh, and speaking of drawing, Larry Learmonth's illustrations are very evocative. The lines maybe feel a little old fashioned, but nonetheless are great.

A lovely little nostalgia hit, but I think it holds up in its own right too. It's still a book that I'm happily going to lend to my nephlings (even if some things don't entirely stand up to modern sensibilities, for example Rebecca being the only female character means it doesn't get a look in at the Bechdel test).

[Darryl Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the sort of book I would normally read (as a typical middle-aged man). But it's Terry Nation! The man who gave us the Daleks, "Blake's 7," and "Survivors." I was captivated by two things: (1) hearing that Terry had written this specifically for his young daughter Rebecca; (2) Paul Darrow was narrating the audiobook. It was also touching to see that Rebecca herself (now my age or older) had dropped a note in the Goodreads reviews to thank everyone for their kind words.

This is a novella about a girl who is accidentally transported to an alien world. She makes some friends - all very unique characters - and discovers that the world is suffering a reign of terror from strange, ethereal creatures called ghosts. Rebecca and her friends go on an adventure to find the one thing that can defeat these monsters.

If you have a child of primary school age, he/she will love this story. The book is long out of print, super-rare nowadays, and expensive second-hand on eBay. But the audiobook is superb and readily available on Audible. There are musical interludes and sound effects throughout, and Paul Darrow is possibly the best audiobook narrator ever. The reading is full of feeling, and all the characters have unique (and often funny) voices. Well worth an Audible credit.