The Escape

Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space #0

by Cavan Scott

It is a dark time in a galaxy far, far away...When the parents of Milo and Lina Graf are abducted by agents of the evil Empire, the children must undertake a perilous journey across the unknown reaches of Wild Space to rescue them - and to discover hope for the future.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Fantasy, Audiobook, Middle Grade

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

is a freelance comic writer and author. He is best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from both Doctor Who and Star Wars, as well as comics and novels for Vikings, Pacific Rim, Sherlock Holmes, and Penguins of Madagascar.

Cavan Scott, along with Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel Jose Older, and Charles Soule are crafting a new era in the Star Wars publishing world called Star Wars: The High Republic. Cavan's contribution to the era is a comic book series released through Marvel Comics titled Star Wars: The High Republic.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the books released for World Book Day, which children will be able to redeem with one of the £1 World Book Day Tokens that they should receive from school. This is one of four titles produced for KS2 and is a slim paperback, with 84 pages.

Milo and Lina, the children in this book, also appear in two longer books – The Snare and The Nest and, in a way, these World Book Daybooks are ‘tasters’ for longer novels that children can go on to explore. What is good here though, is that this is the first in a new series and so children really need to start this series at this point, which makes it really interesting and exciting.

Milo and Lina’s parents have been abducted by agents of the evil Empire, so the children have to go on a journey to rescue them. Their parents are Auric and Rhyssa Graf – interplanetary explorers, cartographers who have spent the last fifteen years producing maps of Wild Space. This story is packed with adventure, droids, spaceships and adventure and has loads of appeal for young children. There is also the first chapter of the next book to whet the appetite and encourage children to read on.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the beginning of a series that is meant for children. In this one, two children are off exploring on an uninhabited planet while The Empire visits their parents. If you know this universe then you know when The Empire comes calling it usually isn't a good thing.

I thought this was a good start for this series if you take it for what it is. It isn't serious but a fun romp adventure for children. If you are looking for a serious story then you will be disappointed. I liked the relationship between the brother and sister and their commitment to their mission. Is it realistic? Not really but it is the message that counts. And a Star Wars read would not be complete without a droid. I enjoyed the one in this book as he draws comparison to C-3PO.

This was all set up as we really don't get into the adventure. That being said I enjoyed the setting and the introduction into our heroes. It looks like this will be an adventure of normal beings that do not have powers. I am here for that and I look forward to reading about their adventure.

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight]

I'm not going to rate this because it isn't made for me. This is very clearly a book for the much younger end of Star Wars (although I don't want to think about how I'm technically in the younger end of Star Wars). But it was fun and active enough for a Star Wars book, so I liked it. The concept of an adventurer family in wild space is a cool one. Onto book 2.

[ambyr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the Star Wars middle-grade books I've read; I like middle-grade books in general. But this is more of an elementary school easy reader, and . . . there's nothing objectionable about it, if my six-year-old niece wanted to read it I'd cheerfully hand it over, but there's also nothing to snag an adult reader's attention. The characterization doesn't even rise to the level of tissue thin. The illustrations are bland.

I picked this up because I know Ezra's parents' show up later in the series and I was curious about what they were up to when he was a kid, but I don't think I'm going to get far enough to find out.

[Brad Harmer-Barnes]

Promising start to the series. Has the Star Wars feel and pacing down right, which makes me optimistic.

[Louise Cowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really nice, quick read. Perfect for children 7+ and you don’t need to know very much about Star Wars to understand (I know almost nothing about it 🙈). The story moves along quickly and is short enough that even reluctant readers would be able to read the story without losing interest. It seems to be part of a series, which could encourage more sustained reading in young readers. Definitely donating to my school library!!

[Myk Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning of a 7-book series for kids. It’s a cute junior series with new people, creature, and planets to expand the Star Wars universe even more.

[Syed Ali Hussain Bukhari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but less in it!

[Mario · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prelude to the new canon young adult series named "Adventures in Wild Space" consists of a short explanation of the first chapters of the first book "The Snare". We find the protagonists of the series, young boys Lina and Milo, who are exploring a planet when their parents, a couple of scouts, are kidnapped by the Empire, and must escape for their lives along with the family droid and their Kowakian monkey-lizard pet.

The series is immersive and very easy to read and it's a delight to everyone that read the Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts from West End Games, even using a variation of one of the scout ships shown.

Let's see how the entire series goes after this delightful prelude.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little young middle grade story: kids versus the Empire. A bit predictable, but ok. Korda is a bit over the top, especially the whole mechanical jaw thing. Lira and Milo are Jaina and Jacen clones for anyone who has read other Star Wars fiction (especially the Young Jedi Knights series). Lira is a techie who groks machines and can fix anything. Milo loves biology and critters. I'm amused by the (unintentional?) callback, and I still appreciate that it's the girl who's the techie and the leader, but on the other hand, I've seen this before.

It ends on a cliffhanger, which is understandable as it's a #0 prequel intended to hook you into the series.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

World Book Day title - a kickoff novella for a new middle grade Star Wars series. I liked the setup and I think it will be a good series. I have bought them all online as they are only published in the UK. Maybe someday my son will want to read them too.

[JJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into Adventures in Wild Space: The Escape assuming that it would be like so many of the short stories and other Star Wars books aimed at young people: An easy, harmless read that doesn't leave any sort of impression one way or another. And not only is it a short (six-chapter) chapter book aimed at young kids, but it's even a prequel to the main series and only available as an e-book or in print as part of a UK "World Book Day". So it can't be important or all that interesting, right?

Well, I was wrong. The Escape was far better than I dared hope. I blasted through all the short, easy-to-read chapters in one sitting and am eagerly awaiting diving into the rest of the series.

As most kids books do, this one stars two children (one age nine, one a bit older but exact age not given). These particular children have parents who are cartographers independently mapping Wild Space. But when the Empire comes in search of their mapping data, they have to...escape. The book isn't very long, so that's about all there is to it. But it's snappily-written (although there was one notable typo) and provides enough detail and characterization to paint a good picture of what's going on. And while it's not groundbreaking as far as characters go, it did feel genuinely exciting to get a look at a new type of profession and status quo for a family in the Star Wars universe. I have no doubt that this series will not create ripples that reverberate across the canon, but with so much of the new canon up to this point focused on established characters, the universe does feel deeper and richer for having this story in it so far.

[Jonathon Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adventures in Wild Space is a seven-part junior novel series by Cavan Scott, made inexplicably difficult to access in various parts of the world with at least one instalment, the prelude, no less, being available only as part of a World Book Day promotion that involved the exchange of money for tokens and tokens for books – that would be a timed bartering system at least one step too long, in my estimation.

Nonetheless, here we are, with the completed series including The Escape, The Snare, The Nest, The Steal, The Dark, The Cold and The Rescue available pretty much worldwide at this point, provided you’re willing to pony up for extortionate international shipping fees. The question, I suppose, is whether Adventures in Wild Space is worth you doing so.

FULL REVIEW: https://readysteadycut.com/2018/07/10...

[Alan Castree · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Ewok Adventure were Canon

When browsing “Star Wars Timeline” to see other literature in this age I became curious about these Wildspace young reader books.

Rather than Mace and Cindel we now have Milo and Lina, assumed dead by the Empire, searching for a way to rescue their parents.

This prelude book gets the adventure started by laying out the ordeal and getting us familiar with the siblings and their companions CR-8R, a mash up droid, and Mork, their pet lizard-monkey. However not much else really goes down aside from setup.

Might consume these on kindle but don’t think I need to own the dead tree versions.

[Glenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intended for young readers, there is little to no expansion of the Star Wars universe outside of the names of some undiscovered creatures and no foreseeable connection to the greater Star Wars saga. The "ugly" robot, CR-8R, is interesting, but its knickname, "crater," feels like a ripoff of the fan-dubbed TFA stormtrooper, TR8R. And the droid's personality doesn't feel new. The evil Imperial officer with the metal jaw is too reminiscent of the iconic Bond villain. A very quick read. I will probably read the next volume if only to confirm this review.

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prelude to the Series

This is the prelude to the Adventures in Wild Space series for the young ones. We meet a brother and sister, children of the famed Graf family (with a long history in Star Wars of exploration) out exploring a new world, when their parents are kidnapped by the Empire and they are left behind. The Empire and their parents think the children have been killed, but they cleverly escaped. The audio book features the wonder January LaVoy expertly handling narration. Since the publisher isn't Random House, no music or sound effects. On to the next adventure!

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spotted this book in the local library and immediately grabbed it, because I haven't been able to source it for a decent price anywhere. I'm glad I borrowed it. Given the length and the target audience, I wasn't expecting much. But this is really good. My interest didn't wane for an instant.

Side note - it appears that this series introduces the Graf family for the first time. Scott and co. have been writing about the kids' ancestors in the High Republic project.

[Lucien Sandberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an AMAZING book with the theme of Star Wars. This book is based around when Darth Vader was taking over the galaxy and the empire had turned evil. Lina, Crater and Milo have to try and rescue their parents in a breath taking journey. There are other books in this series. This book is quite short but doesn't stop it from being exiting! This is book 0. Enjoy!

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Escape is decent for what it is: a young reader Star Wars story. There’s nothing amazing or eye opening in this short story, but it’s mildly entertaining and well written.

At 55 pages it’s exceedingly short (I know this one was made for “free book day” or something) so it’s a really quick read and an easy way to pad your yearly book list.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

It literally took me all of 20 minutes to read this. I know this is supposed to be middle grade but damn did it feel juvenile. There isn't really much to it, it felt like a short story opposed to a book. Two children see a holo of storm troopers taking their parents and are determined to get them back. End of book. :p Seriously. There was nothing to this one and it was a bit of a bummer.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had fun with this even if it was really short. The sequence where they navigated through the tunnels with their wings up was fun. A nice simple call to action story for these 2 kids and a droid. I could see myself really enjoying these characters as I read more. But also I really do not like protocol droids, they’re all annoying.

[Tommy · Rating 1 out of 5]

3/10 Like playing Dejarik with a Wookie.

Even for a middle grade book, this felt pretty lame to me. I didn’t find anything interesting or enjoyable, which is surprising given the author. I guess I expected something a little “more” than this, and it let me down. I’m hopeful another of Scott’s books in this series captures something interesting.

[Evey Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Toda una sorpresa siendo una novela aunque canon dirigida al público más infantil, tanto por su trama como por sus personajes y la quimica que se gesta entre ellos. Deseando continuar la aventura.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely made for children, so my brain isn’t working over time trying to understand this story. It’s an interesting start to this series. It almost feels like a story arc from clone wars but without any recognizable characters.

[Brandon Antequera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelentes ilustraciones, personajes entrañables. Un historia que, aunque simple, atrapada y te insta a seguir leyendo. Un libro perfecto para hacer que los niños pequeños se enamoren del maravilloso mundo que es Star Wars.

[Will Plunkett · Rating 3 out of 5]

1: I did not know there was a "prequel" book to the Adventures in Wild Space series. 2: I did not know there was a "World Book Day," and I am pleased that there is. 3: I am glad I finally have one of these books with the British covers (better than the US-released series stylistic shadowy ones).

[Gabriel Benitez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dos hermanos sufren el secuestro de sus padres por soldados del imperio. Una aventura en siete partes donde ambos tendrán que escapar de las garras de sus perseguidores imperiales para poder salvar a sus padres.

[Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super short introduction into this junior novel series. I suppose this could be a quick and easy test-read to see if you or your kid might be interested in the books. It's a fun series, but nothing special.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It was amazing and I loved it. I loved it because the Bird escaped the bombs and I loved it because the Bird also escaped the purple skinned bats." - Clifton, age 6

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute, surely. But definitely not something I enjoyed 100%