What do you think?
Rate this book
Horrible Science
Фаталните сили
Learn about the scientists who discovered "Smashing Speed", Gruesome Gravity", and "Facts about Friction". Tons of interesting facts about the forces of nature are packed into this latest installment in the Horrible Science series.
159 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
35 people are currently reading
359 people want to read
About the author
Nick Arnold
278 books142 followersNick Arnold is the author of the award winning series, Horrible Science and Wild Lives. Arnold's first published works appeared as a result of a project he was working on at the University of North London, when he was trying to teach young children. A positive review was written about him, and he started to write the "Horrible Science" books. His books are illustrated by Tony De Saulles.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 20, 2015
خوب چیز خاصی ندارم بگم :-"
بجز اینکه اگه درباره نیروها کم تر میدونستم ، کتاب خیلی لذت بخشی میشد :) :)
بجز اینکه اگه درباره نیروها کم تر میدونستم ، کتاب خیلی لذت بخشی میشد :) :)
January 9, 2021
If you think you're able to stomach the sick side of science, then read on as the fatal truth about forces is squeezed out. Find out what keeps the moon in the sky, how quickly your nails grow, & what happens when an apple hits a scientist on the head.
It's always a joy to read these books, they are short, sweet, and crazy but thats what science should be, mad and crazy but short and sweet so it's not too long it's boring and sweet enough to keep your interest. And for a subject like forces that is all around us and effects us all every second even after we die, the subject was made far more fun than in school! And that's why you come to these books because it's everything you don't learn in school and made fun! So you can't go wrong with this book you learn about the forces that keep you on the ground and means you don't float away when you jump. Just sadly it's not the book to unlock the force! So if your a jedi trainee you have picked up the wrong book, sorry to disappoint.
4/5 stars GoodReads ⭐⭐⭐⭐
95/100 Confused Jedi ✨
It's always a joy to read these books, they are short, sweet, and crazy but thats what science should be, mad and crazy but short and sweet so it's not too long it's boring and sweet enough to keep your interest. And for a subject like forces that is all around us and effects us all every second even after we die, the subject was made far more fun than in school! And that's why you come to these books because it's everything you don't learn in school and made fun! So you can't go wrong with this book you learn about the forces that keep you on the ground and means you don't float away when you jump. Just sadly it's not the book to unlock the force! So if your a jedi trainee you have picked up the wrong book, sorry to disappoint.
4/5 stars GoodReads ⭐⭐⭐⭐
95/100 Confused Jedi ✨
July 9, 2023
một cuốn sách thú vị về lực
September 8, 2015
As a child I loved both history and science, so as you can imagine I loved both the Horrible Histories books and the Horrible Science books.
Whilst I did enjoy the Horrible Science books, I never read quite as many as I did the Horrible Histories books. For me, even as a child, the Horrible Science books seemed somewhat second rate to the Horrible Histories books.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re good books. They make learning fun in the same way as their history counterparts, there simply seems to be something lacking. Perhaps it was simply because I read the Horrible Histories first and thought this was trying too hard to be like those books, or it could have been something else – as I’ve said, I’m really not sure.
Still, the Horrible Science books are good for any science-loving child.
Whilst I did enjoy the Horrible Science books, I never read quite as many as I did the Horrible Histories books. For me, even as a child, the Horrible Science books seemed somewhat second rate to the Horrible Histories books.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re good books. They make learning fun in the same way as their history counterparts, there simply seems to be something lacking. Perhaps it was simply because I read the Horrible Histories first and thought this was trying too hard to be like those books, or it could have been something else – as I’ve said, I’m really not sure.
Still, the Horrible Science books are good for any science-loving child.
October 5, 2021
Review originally published on my blog,
Dragon Bite Books
.
Sometime I think after 2010, I went through a phase where I loved the video clips of Horrible Histories that I found on YouTube, specifically the songs (Amazon Prime Video as of the time of writing this review has whole episodes). When I saw this book in the local free library, very wet and bedraggled, though I didn’t know that the same group had ever created any informational material on the sciences, I somehow correctly assumed the connection between the two series. I also pitied the poor book. So I took it home to let it dry out then read.
I am no scientist. I never studied physics in school beyond the barest introduction to Newton’s three Laws. Even so, most of the information in this book I have absorbed to some extent over 30 years.
This book has a great deal of the same tone as did those Horrible Histories videos. I knew it was going to be dense with puns and wry, British understatement from the cover (a man hangs by his fingertips from a ledge saying “This is a situation of some gravity”). The text is even interspersed by comics and humorous illustrations and diagrams. I actually wonder if this series would draw in readers already enamored by the picture-pocked style of The Diary of the Wimpy Kid, How To Train Your Dragon, and other popular, middle-grade fiction titles, because this is at least as densely illustrated.
The text does a good job of bridging the chapters together into something like a narrative, if only with one connecting sentence. I appreciated the attempt to keep some flow between the chapters; I don’t remember my textbooks doing much of that. It kept me reading, rather than each chapter feeling like a complete entity.
There are several interesting stories from history in this text of inventions and historical figures told in a more fictionalized style and with humor. There are quizzes. There are easy experiments to do alone. Though some ideas of physics have since been revised, with its focus on the basic and the research of the past, this book might escape being too badly outdated.
Sometime I think after 2010, I went through a phase where I loved the video clips of Horrible Histories that I found on YouTube, specifically the songs (Amazon Prime Video as of the time of writing this review has whole episodes). When I saw this book in the local free library, very wet and bedraggled, though I didn’t know that the same group had ever created any informational material on the sciences, I somehow correctly assumed the connection between the two series. I also pitied the poor book. So I took it home to let it dry out then read.
I am no scientist. I never studied physics in school beyond the barest introduction to Newton’s three Laws. Even so, most of the information in this book I have absorbed to some extent over 30 years.
This book has a great deal of the same tone as did those Horrible Histories videos. I knew it was going to be dense with puns and wry, British understatement from the cover (a man hangs by his fingertips from a ledge saying “This is a situation of some gravity”). The text is even interspersed by comics and humorous illustrations and diagrams. I actually wonder if this series would draw in readers already enamored by the picture-pocked style of The Diary of the Wimpy Kid, How To Train Your Dragon, and other popular, middle-grade fiction titles, because this is at least as densely illustrated.
The text does a good job of bridging the chapters together into something like a narrative, if only with one connecting sentence. I appreciated the attempt to keep some flow between the chapters; I don’t remember my textbooks doing much of that. It kept me reading, rather than each chapter feeling like a complete entity.
There are several interesting stories from history in this text of inventions and historical figures told in a more fictionalized style and with humor. There are quizzes. There are easy experiments to do alone. Though some ideas of physics have since been revised, with its focus on the basic and the research of the past, this book might escape being too badly outdated.
March 8, 2019
188 - 2019
April 13, 2020
Bu kitabı okurken o kadar zevk aldım ki serinin diğer kitaplarını da okumak için can atıyorum. 🤗🤗🤗
May 10, 2020
Many interesting facts
May 22, 2020
I loved this series as a child. Reading this book once again is really a chance for me to relive my memory. Funny and informative, I am trully grateful for reading this series.
August 31, 2025
A good book for kids who want to understand physics
October 27, 2025
Read to my 9-year old
November 22, 2015
My favorite part of this book is the part about balls. If a fast flying baseball hits an unprotected hand, the baseball will probably make a hole in the hand. To protect from that, you need to wear cushioned shoulder padding, a pair of shin pads, Boxer's gum shield, American footballer's helmet and the cricketer's box. The best part is about juggling. When you juggle one ball, you only have to throw the ball in between the hands. But when you juggle two balls, you have to throw one ball up, and then, when the ball is about to fall, you throw the other ball up. And so on.
July 1, 2013
This book is about forces. You will learn about gravity and I also might recommend this book to Isaac Newton, because he has his name in the book a lot. Also my friends I would recommend it to. You might learn about a couple sources, like mobile sources, like sources that move. Mobile sources are ones that makes stuff move, like for instance gravity or velocity. So I also might say this is very gravital (HA HA HA). And I also might like to make a little code:12 1 7 26 1 18 1
September 17, 2014
This book was very enjoyable especially because I got to learn a lot of different facts about force. What made it enjoyable was that they gave us examples of pictures which were very funny but somehow connected with the information. The pictures had little speech bubbles with jokes that help us learn a lot about the topic because they connect to the topic. Horrible Science books are always beyond your expectations!
September 8, 2016
Out of everything in science forces had to be the most mind numbingly boring topic and if you too feel this way then I suggest you read this book as upon reading it I found myself intrigued about what would be on the next page. Great fun and allows children to learn interesting facts. As I have said previously on reviews from other horrible science books its a shame there isn't something like this got those who are In higher education.
February 5, 2011
All the horrible science books are really recommended to people that have a problem with science, it includes examples that are so easy for 'us' to understand, that you'll have nailed a concept in no time.
Read
December 16, 2013This book tells you about all of these invisible forces and people who discovered them. I would recommend this book to you if you like little funny comics and science. I would rate this a 4 because I learned some new information by reading this book.
October 16, 2008
I finished this in two days. But I still don't understand what cifigual thingy force is, or what consomethingal force is. (Very confusing.)
November 25, 2011
It's been a long time since I studied any physics, so I learnt or re-learnt quite a few things from this book. One of the better ones in the series.
May 11, 2013
All horrible science books are really good with funny puns, drawings and you actually learn something! I believe it is better than horrible histories but gets so much less credit
February 3, 2014
A book of facts where you learn about gravity and forces.
This book is Non-fiction, facts, science and reality.
I would recommend this book to who likes science.
Fatal forces written by Nick Arnold.
This book is Non-fiction, facts, science and reality.
I would recommend this book to who likes science.
Fatal forces written by Nick Arnold.
June 12, 2014
I love this series!
"Fatal Forces" was a great addition
"Fatal Forces" was a great addition
September 24, 2022
It might be aimed at children, but it's perfect too for an adult with no knowledge of physics whatsoever.
Read
May 12, 2018Another very exciting book with layouts that are different and appealing. Learnt so much through this book and in an interested manner.
Thanks Nick, for making science more interesting and fun...
Thanks Nick, for making science more interesting and fun...
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews