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Blitzers
When Danny reveals the dark underside of a company making a new fighting toy gadget, he has no idea of the danger he’s in … A gripping sci-fi mystery from bestselling Alastair Chisholm.
Everyone is desperate to have a Blitzer, the new fighting-game craze. But Danny’s Blitzer is broken – it won’t fight!
His classmates laugh at him. His brother tells him to wipe the code and start again. But Danny does something different … and everything changes.
For the people behind Blitzers are hiding a deadly secret, and now everyone is in danger. Can Danny uncover the truth? Can he figure out what Blitzers are? And above all, can he save his best friend?
Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.
Everyone is desperate to have a Blitzer, the new fighting-game craze. But Danny’s Blitzer is broken – it won’t fight!
His classmates laugh at him. His brother tells him to wipe the code and start again. But Danny does something different … and everything changes.
For the people behind Blitzers are hiding a deadly secret, and now everyone is in danger. Can Danny uncover the truth? Can he figure out what Blitzers are? And above all, can he save his best friend?
Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 14, 2025
7 people want to read
About the author
Alastair Chisholm
84 books86 followersAlastair is an award-winning children's author and puzzle creator. He's the author of the sci-fi middle-grade adventures ORION LOST and ADAM-2 , and children's picture books THE PRINCE AND THE WITCH AND THE THIEF AND THE BEARS and INCH AND GRUB, as well as books of Sudoku, Kakuro and other puzzles, including the Kids' Book of Sudoku and Kids' Book of Kakuro series.
Alastair lives in Edinburgh with his wife (who is lovely), two children (who are lovely but very loud), and a cat who is yowling at him even though there is clearly food in her bowl, look, it’s right there, *look*.
You can follow him on Twitter at @alastair_ch
Alastair lives in Edinburgh with his wife (who is lovely), two children (who are lovely but very loud), and a cat who is yowling at him even though there is clearly food in her bowl, look, it’s right there, *look*.
You can follow him on Twitter at @alastair_ch
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 16, 2025
A great short story full of action but with an underlying message about being kind. Written in a dyslexic-friendly format this story is also ideal for reluctant readers.
Barrington Stoke specialize in publishing books in a dyslexic-friendly format: the paper is cream/yellow rather than white for better contrast and they use dyslexic-friendly fonts in a larger size. Reading can be tiring when you have dyslexia so Barrington Stoke books also tend to be shorter than your usual middle grade book. This means they are also often the books I recommend to reluctant readers and that will definitely be the case with Blitzers.
Writing a good short story is difficult. Longer stories have the luxury to slowly introduce the characters, world and plot and to describe and develop them in detail. Short stories usually have to sacrifice something in order to get the word count down. So when a reluctant reader picks one up to read they find it harder to engage with the story and it reinforces their feeling that books are boring. This book does a great job of showing that doesn't have to be the case.
Alastair Chisholm manages to pack a lot into this book. The main story which will hook readers is the latest craze sweeping the playground: Blitzers. These are pocket robots you train to fight and rank up (think violent Tamagotchis). There are global leagues for the best robots and the book touches on pay-to-play and how easy it is to spend money and end up with nothing to show for it. Likewise there is mention of the reality behind influencers and their motivations.
Main character Danny finally gets hold of a Blitzer but it's different to the others. Chew Lip would rather wander the forest than fight and runs away from enemies. Danny is desperate to fit in and scours the internet for ways to make his Blitzer into a fearsome fighter. Events occur and the characters end up infiltrating the Blitzer HQ on a mission. There is intrigue, danger and a shocking reveal.
One of the major themes of this book is about how harmful aggressive behaviour is, and how being aggressive to one individual can cause them to be aggressive to others. It celebrates choosing kindness and accepting yourself and others for who they are. The book isn't explicitly about toxic masculinity but it reads like a counterbalance to the hateful messages a lot of young people are exposed to online about needing to be the alpha. Danny's older brother is a pleasingly positive role model in the story.
I really enjoyed this combination of an action-packed story that celebrates kindness.
Thanks to Barrington Stoke and NetGalley for the eARC.
Barrington Stoke specialize in publishing books in a dyslexic-friendly format: the paper is cream/yellow rather than white for better contrast and they use dyslexic-friendly fonts in a larger size. Reading can be tiring when you have dyslexia so Barrington Stoke books also tend to be shorter than your usual middle grade book. This means they are also often the books I recommend to reluctant readers and that will definitely be the case with Blitzers.
Writing a good short story is difficult. Longer stories have the luxury to slowly introduce the characters, world and plot and to describe and develop them in detail. Short stories usually have to sacrifice something in order to get the word count down. So when a reluctant reader picks one up to read they find it harder to engage with the story and it reinforces their feeling that books are boring. This book does a great job of showing that doesn't have to be the case.
Alastair Chisholm manages to pack a lot into this book. The main story which will hook readers is the latest craze sweeping the playground: Blitzers. These are pocket robots you train to fight and rank up (think violent Tamagotchis). There are global leagues for the best robots and the book touches on pay-to-play and how easy it is to spend money and end up with nothing to show for it. Likewise there is mention of the reality behind influencers and their motivations.
Main character Danny finally gets hold of a Blitzer but it's different to the others. Chew Lip would rather wander the forest than fight and runs away from enemies. Danny is desperate to fit in and scours the internet for ways to make his Blitzer into a fearsome fighter. Events occur and the characters end up infiltrating the Blitzer HQ on a mission. There is intrigue, danger and a shocking reveal.
One of the major themes of this book is about how harmful aggressive behaviour is, and how being aggressive to one individual can cause them to be aggressive to others. It celebrates choosing kindness and accepting yourself and others for who they are. The book isn't explicitly about toxic masculinity but it reads like a counterbalance to the hateful messages a lot of young people are exposed to online about needing to be the alpha. Danny's older brother is a pleasingly positive role model in the story.
I really enjoyed this combination of an action-packed story that celebrates kindness.
Thanks to Barrington Stoke and NetGalley for the eARC.
July 31, 2025
A good, fun read, from one of the major dyslexia-friendly houses out there. I get that over with quickly because this doesn't really deserve any restrictions on who picks it up. It concerns the latest juvenile trend – portable, linkable game units that each contain their own fighting entity that you nurture, train and gain promotion for. The problem with Danny's is that it might be bootleg, or fake, or off the back of a lorry – and even worse, it might be just about the only pacifist one. It seems to prefer hippyish larking around with the flowers than bashing any rivals. What is a lad like Danny to do?
This is a nice, taut piece, too, as the best of reads for those with a reading age of eight tend to be. The drama concerns Danny, Chew Lips – his character, his best friend, and his worst enemy. We get just enough of her, the bullying little madam, and see how other books should deal with similar characters designed for us to hate – minimally. I did have issues with this while reading it – I felt the piece served its moral perfectly, about how it should be the nicer things that went viral, rather than combat – but it has more to say, in a second half that seemed much less believable but not exactly bad at all.
No, despite my opinion it could have stopped midway, I was happily with this to the end, and the action is actually pretty decent – and things are certainly helped by the game units being so potentially realistic. With things such as the audio aspect and Chew Lips' origins left unexplained by the finish we get a drama that doesn't care to tick every box and cross every 't', and that is yet more evidence that it ultimately really does know what it's doing. A strong four stars, if not more.
This is a nice, taut piece, too, as the best of reads for those with a reading age of eight tend to be. The drama concerns Danny, Chew Lips – his character, his best friend, and his worst enemy. We get just enough of her, the bullying little madam, and see how other books should deal with similar characters designed for us to hate – minimally. I did have issues with this while reading it – I felt the piece served its moral perfectly, about how it should be the nicer things that went viral, rather than combat – but it has more to say, in a second half that seemed much less believable but not exactly bad at all.
No, despite my opinion it could have stopped midway, I was happily with this to the end, and the action is actually pretty decent – and things are certainly helped by the game units being so potentially realistic. With things such as the audio aspect and Chew Lips' origins left unexplained by the finish we get a drama that doesn't care to tick every box and cross every 't', and that is yet more evidence that it ultimately really does know what it's doing. A strong four stars, if not more.
August 13, 2025
Sci-Fi adventure based around a gaming device like a tamagotchi except this one is called a Blitzer and you teach it to fight!
Danny knows they can't afford one, seems like he's the only one who hasn't got one at school. Till his brother Jay gives him one, it not as smart as Tan's but hers is a silver special edition. Tan queries whether it's the real thing. Jay tells Danny it is it was rejected for sale though.
Danny's Blitzer is a bear called Chew-Lip...and he doesn't fight...and he looks scared when Danny zaps him. He likes the forest, and flowers and trees. He wins some fights - because his opponent gets hurt chasing him when he runs away.
One night when Danny gets very cross he throws the Blitzer across teh room and leaves it there...until he hears crying...Chew-Lip is crying. He looks scared of the hand coming to stroke him. Danny begins to sing a song Jay sang to him when he had nightmares. And Chew-lip looks less scared and stops crying. Danny thinks that Chew-lip has feelings. But how it's a game?
Next day, bully Mel who has gold edition Blitzers catches him, he says he doesn't want Chew-Lip to fight, he tries to get away but she takes it and hooks it to hers. Chew-lip starts to sing...and her fighter stops and begins to dance!
She throws it back at Danny. Next day every Blitzer screen is empty - they've all gone. But what has happened? At first the company says it's a temporary problem. But they don't come back. Then one morning Danny gets a message.
Really good read, short chapters and book as you'd expect from Barrington Stoke. Well illustrated by Francesca Ficorilli. I also have to thank Barrington Stoke for the early copy. Out 14th August.
Danny knows they can't afford one, seems like he's the only one who hasn't got one at school. Till his brother Jay gives him one, it not as smart as Tan's but hers is a silver special edition. Tan queries whether it's the real thing. Jay tells Danny it is it was rejected for sale though.
Danny's Blitzer is a bear called Chew-Lip...and he doesn't fight...and he looks scared when Danny zaps him. He likes the forest, and flowers and trees. He wins some fights - because his opponent gets hurt chasing him when he runs away.
One night when Danny gets very cross he throws the Blitzer across teh room and leaves it there...until he hears crying...Chew-Lip is crying. He looks scared of the hand coming to stroke him. Danny begins to sing a song Jay sang to him when he had nightmares. And Chew-lip looks less scared and stops crying. Danny thinks that Chew-lip has feelings. But how it's a game?
Next day, bully Mel who has gold edition Blitzers catches him, he says he doesn't want Chew-Lip to fight, he tries to get away but she takes it and hooks it to hers. Chew-lip starts to sing...and her fighter stops and begins to dance!
She throws it back at Danny. Next day every Blitzer screen is empty - they've all gone. But what has happened? At first the company says it's a temporary problem. But they don't come back. Then one morning Danny gets a message.
Really good read, short chapters and book as you'd expect from Barrington Stoke. Well illustrated by Francesca Ficorilli. I also have to thank Barrington Stoke for the early copy. Out 14th August.
July 13, 2025
This captivating tale is filled with adventure that appeals to readers of all ages, but middle-schoolers are sure to find it especially enjoyable. The vibrant illustrations are stunning, enhancing the narrative and making key moments come alive in vivid detail. This story is perfect for young readers who are passionate about video games and offers a delightful, family-friendly alternative to Dungeon Crawler.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.
August 24, 2025
This was great fun! Sci-fi robots like tamagotchis. When one’s a bit different from the others, it won’t fight, what happens then? This has great characters, a wonderful sibling relationship and some properly brilliant storytelling!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews