What do you think?
Rate this book
Pirates in the Robosphere
Ryan Ferris has no idea what lies ahead when he wins an invitation to a summer robotics camp. He and his new friends work on their animal bots, meet some amazing people, and create their share of mischief and music along the way. Little do they know their adventure is just beginning.
As classmates, this group of six boys and girls go on to share experiences they could never have imagined. But the most incredible experience of all proves to be the most dangerous. When the friends learn that one of their greatest teachers is in life-threatening peril half a world away, they must rise to meet a challenge that will test them as never before. Even with the help of their bots and some super smart colleagues from nearby Weatherall University and an air base in Nevada, they feel totally unprepared.
Can the friends and their bots rise to the occasion when it matters most?
As classmates, this group of six boys and girls go on to share experiences they could never have imagined. But the most incredible experience of all proves to be the most dangerous. When the friends learn that one of their greatest teachers is in life-threatening peril half a world away, they must rise to meet a challenge that will test them as never before. Even with the help of their bots and some super smart colleagues from nearby Weatherall University and an air base in Nevada, they feel totally unprepared.
Can the friends and their bots rise to the occasion when it matters most?
248 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2014
1 person is currently reading
183 people want to read
About the author
D.S. Rippy
1 book3 followersD.S. Rippy has a background in health science, and technology, and is an advocate of lifelong learning and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Pirates in the Robosphere is his first book of fiction. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
For more updates about me and my books, see my blog below, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter!
For more updates about me and my books, see my blog below, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 30, 2014
I won a copy on Goodreads Firstreads.
A group of six gifted students are all brought together at a robotics camp. While they all share many interests, it is their love for their animal robots that truly bind them together. They remain friends after the camp and all end up getting scholarships to a prestigious private high school. They end up having a year worth remembering including helping to thwart a group of pirates.
The best thing about this book is the message that science can be fun. It can take a lot of hard work, but if you enjoy it than it won't feel like work either. From this work, you can achieve amazing things.
First off, I have no problem reading young adult stories. Quite often, these stories are more appropriately labelled as good for all ages instead of just young adult. This story is not in that group really. It definitely would be more appealing to someone in their teen years. It is a fairly subtle thing though. I mainly feel this way because the six main characters and how they participate in the story. First they interact with characters that are anywhere from 10 to 40 years older than they are as equals. Now it is true that these are some very gifted students, but the adults they are interacting with are as gifted plus they have years more experience. I am not trying to imply that adults and children can't be friends and work together, it just doesn't usually seem to go to this level(and no, I am not implying anything untoward is happening here). I can not think of anything that the adults could not do that the students could do, so it made it really hard to believe they would have been included in the rescue mission.
Speaking of students, it seemed strange that a school as described in the book would only have one group of students interested in robots. Wouldn't there be upperclassmen that were also working with robotics? Or did the school only make cohorts for a subject every four years?
The robot designs also caused me some small problems. It took me awhile to realize that the robots were all supposed to be the same size as their actual animal counterpart. Part of this was because the cover showed a picture of a transparent lizard robot as big as someone's forearm while in the book the same robot was small enough to fit under a door. Now, I know you can't judge a book by anything on the cover. Still it didn't really seem that robots ranging from the size of a housefly to a full grown killer whale (orca) could all be made from the same "basic kit" as was said in the book. It really brings the question of the power source for all of these robots (this was never mentioned in the book) and how long they could all actually have operated before needing to be recharged or whatever.
To me, the characters did not really seemed to be fleshed out that well. This was true for both the main and supporting characters. You are given facts about the characters, like all of the kids liked sports and played a musical instrument. But these facts were usually mentioned in passing and never expanded. I found myself thinking of the students more in terms of which robot they had than as actual people. Even with the robots, it seemed most characters could have been interchanged without changing the story.
Probably the biggest thing that could have improved the story and the way it flowed, would have been to introduce a motivating problem. As it was, the kids just seemed to go from one event to another in a random pattern. Think of the Harry Potter books (and entire series) if they didn't have to worry about Voldemort.
So it might seem like I am saying this book wasn't that good. That isn't what I am intending. What I am trying to say is that the story and characters lack the sophistication that you get in books that are geared more to adults. Since this book is geared more to young adult readers, this isn't going to be as much of a problem. Reading it as an adult, I would rate this book as 2.5 or 3 stars. For young adults, I would rate the book as 3.5 to 4 stars.
A group of six gifted students are all brought together at a robotics camp. While they all share many interests, it is their love for their animal robots that truly bind them together. They remain friends after the camp and all end up getting scholarships to a prestigious private high school. They end up having a year worth remembering including helping to thwart a group of pirates.
The best thing about this book is the message that science can be fun. It can take a lot of hard work, but if you enjoy it than it won't feel like work either. From this work, you can achieve amazing things.
First off, I have no problem reading young adult stories. Quite often, these stories are more appropriately labelled as good for all ages instead of just young adult. This story is not in that group really. It definitely would be more appealing to someone in their teen years. It is a fairly subtle thing though. I mainly feel this way because the six main characters and how they participate in the story. First they interact with characters that are anywhere from 10 to 40 years older than they are as equals. Now it is true that these are some very gifted students, but the adults they are interacting with are as gifted plus they have years more experience. I am not trying to imply that adults and children can't be friends and work together, it just doesn't usually seem to go to this level(and no, I am not implying anything untoward is happening here). I can not think of anything that the adults could not do that the students could do, so it made it really hard to believe they would have been included in the rescue mission.
Speaking of students, it seemed strange that a school as described in the book would only have one group of students interested in robots. Wouldn't there be upperclassmen that were also working with robotics? Or did the school only make cohorts for a subject every four years?
The robot designs also caused me some small problems. It took me awhile to realize that the robots were all supposed to be the same size as their actual animal counterpart. Part of this was because the cover showed a picture of a transparent lizard robot as big as someone's forearm while in the book the same robot was small enough to fit under a door. Now, I know you can't judge a book by anything on the cover. Still it didn't really seem that robots ranging from the size of a housefly to a full grown killer whale (orca) could all be made from the same "basic kit" as was said in the book. It really brings the question of the power source for all of these robots (this was never mentioned in the book) and how long they could all actually have operated before needing to be recharged or whatever.
To me, the characters did not really seemed to be fleshed out that well. This was true for both the main and supporting characters. You are given facts about the characters, like all of the kids liked sports and played a musical instrument. But these facts were usually mentioned in passing and never expanded. I found myself thinking of the students more in terms of which robot they had than as actual people. Even with the robots, it seemed most characters could have been interchanged without changing the story.
Probably the biggest thing that could have improved the story and the way it flowed, would have been to introduce a motivating problem. As it was, the kids just seemed to go from one event to another in a random pattern. Think of the Harry Potter books (and entire series) if they didn't have to worry about Voldemort.
So it might seem like I am saying this book wasn't that good. That isn't what I am intending. What I am trying to say is that the story and characters lack the sophistication that you get in books that are geared more to adults. Since this book is geared more to young adult readers, this isn't going to be as much of a problem. Reading it as an adult, I would rate this book as 2.5 or 3 stars. For young adults, I would rate the book as 3.5 to 4 stars.
March 8, 2016
I got this book through Goodreads Firstreads.
I read this book myself, then gave it to an elementary school boy. He really enjoyed it; I did as well. This book takes a unique centering around these intricate robotic designs, which fuels its plot with excitement and fun. Now, the main characters are precocious middle schoolers who enjoy the company of their lifelike robotic companions. Not your typical kid's book about the first day of school, or battling monsters (nope, just pirates!). Rather, the book maintains a focus on the interactions between characters- and that includes the robots. Simply put, the book makes this typically "nerdy" thing something legitimately cool, and focuses on the true passion the characters have. The sense of community shows staunch support for the inspiration of children to achieve and innovate. I absolutely believe that it can encourage children to explore their own interests more.
The book flows easily and has an engaging plot, and overall achieves its purpose as an entertaining children's book very well. But what I really loved about the story was all the small details. The obvious effort put into little facts, like background about the various animals (the research done about Harris's Hawks in particular), really highlights the painstaking care that went into making this book a relatable, enjoyable read. And Rippy captures the personality of his young characters perfectly. Besides what they actually do, the way they talk and act accurately reflects positive young behavior.
The whole robotics angle really works for the story. The author handles this unique aspect of his book very well, in a manner that intrigues the reader without becoming overwhelming. It's the story's brand, in essence, and contributes rather than detracts from the development of the story. Basically, the focus on robotics turns out very nicely.
For a kid, this book is awesome. For teenagers and adults, it's a relaxed and fun read, and great for those who enjoy children's fiction. I will say it's a bit cutesy at times, but, come on, it's meant for kids.
One-word to describe the book? Fun!
I read this book myself, then gave it to an elementary school boy. He really enjoyed it; I did as well. This book takes a unique centering around these intricate robotic designs, which fuels its plot with excitement and fun. Now, the main characters are precocious middle schoolers who enjoy the company of their lifelike robotic companions. Not your typical kid's book about the first day of school, or battling monsters (nope, just pirates!). Rather, the book maintains a focus on the interactions between characters- and that includes the robots. Simply put, the book makes this typically "nerdy" thing something legitimately cool, and focuses on the true passion the characters have. The sense of community shows staunch support for the inspiration of children to achieve and innovate. I absolutely believe that it can encourage children to explore their own interests more.
The book flows easily and has an engaging plot, and overall achieves its purpose as an entertaining children's book very well. But what I really loved about the story was all the small details. The obvious effort put into little facts, like background about the various animals (the research done about Harris's Hawks in particular), really highlights the painstaking care that went into making this book a relatable, enjoyable read. And Rippy captures the personality of his young characters perfectly. Besides what they actually do, the way they talk and act accurately reflects positive young behavior.
The whole robotics angle really works for the story. The author handles this unique aspect of his book very well, in a manner that intrigues the reader without becoming overwhelming. It's the story's brand, in essence, and contributes rather than detracts from the development of the story. Basically, the focus on robotics turns out very nicely.
For a kid, this book is awesome. For teenagers and adults, it's a relaxed and fun read, and great for those who enjoy children's fiction. I will say it's a bit cutesy at times, but, come on, it's meant for kids.
One-word to describe the book? Fun!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews