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The Alpha Box
The Alpha Box came to Asha when she was in despair. So, too, was Joss, whom she met under the Dark Arches that day. Asha, Joss and the Alpha Box become inextricably linked. Is the box malevolent? Is it haunted?
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1991
21 people want to read
About the author
Annie Dalton
96 books98 followersAnnie grew up as an only child in the English countryside during the 1950s. Her father was not always around but when he was, he would tell her fantastical stories, often with her as the principal character. Annie missed him and his stories, which led her to the fantasy section at her local library, thus sparking life-long love of fiction.
After undertaking jobs such as waitressing, cleaning and factory work, Annie went on to study at University of Warwick and soon started writing.
Annie lives in Norfolk. She has three children, Anna, Reuben, and Maria (the inspiration for the first “Angels Unlimited” book, “Winging It”) and two grandchildren, Sophie and Isabella.
After undertaking jobs such as waitressing, cleaning and factory work, Annie went on to study at University of Warwick and soon started writing.
Annie lives in Norfolk. She has three children, Anna, Reuben, and Maria (the inspiration for the first “Angels Unlimited” book, “Winging It”) and two grandchildren, Sophie and Isabella.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 11, 2025
There was just much too much going on in this book, all of it explored, mostly, and then clumsily interlaced together... like an amateur patchwork quilt where none of the corners or seams properly align, and the fabrics used are incompatible and chafing against each other in weave and fibre, and the whole thing is one lumpy, bumpy eyesore of a bedspread that you have to endure because your mum or auntie toiled with it for the past 3 years, just for you. (If you hadn't guessed, I've recently taken up patchwork).
Like in another book of Dalton's, "Out of the Ordinary", there's an emotionally absent and physically neglectful off-beat mother causing major personal issues for the teenage protagonist. And there's this running commentary about the mother, with some explanation for her bohemian ways (eliciting sympathy for her position) that goes on for what feels like most of the book... and it amounts to nothing. It's "My mum is the way she is for for (reasons)," and nothing more about this is relevant to the story or the character arc of the protagonist (although I guess you could tick off a box somewhere labelled "insight into fractious relationship with mum", if that's important). It bugs me, because it adds absolutely nothing. In this one, you stop hearing about Fran about 3/4 of the way through, as well as sister Martha. They get walk-on appearances in the finale, but play no real role, after having been fairly major players earlier.
The major thrust of this book is Joss having to leave his dad and move to the midlands with his mum and sister, Joss desperately wanting to bang Asha "the Ice Maiden", Asha having much more cosmic and holy aspirations after receiving The Box (she hits emotional rock-bottom early on - the ultimate forlorn, forgotten, unloved child), and various kids at the high school, most of which have gone Goth and gaga for The Hoarsemen, some charismatic local rock band. There's Tamar Tetley the skanky slooty one (who slightly bullies Asha and who also performs karate katas at random), Ghoul and Gunny the Goths, plain Bethany Blessed who is the repressed daughter of a nutso Christian evangelist, Otis the musician, and probably a couple of others who were instantly forgettable.
There's also Fran and Martha, Joss's mum and sister; a miserable old cat named Ludwig; a nicer cat who has 4 kittens; Luke the Stay-At-Home-Dad next door and Liana and Orchid, his very young daughters; Polish Mike of Midlands Light and Power (who has magical healing hands - this is never explained); Asha's weird spinster aunts; and then some mysterious junk/antique shop owners, who provide Asha with The Box (after she buys it with all her worldly possessions in some sort of temporary psychosis) and, separately, Joss with a blue electric guitar (in exchange for his broken-and-in-pieces cheap gold acoustic).
If you've made it this far, I'll get into some illustratory spoilers now: All this and more. Oh, I forgot about Tarot. She's kind of forgettable. But somehow key, and I still don't see why. I emotionally checked out of this book ages ago.
What was with Mike, the most interesting character of all?! And it is the 'Book of Revelation', singular, a.k.a. 'The Revelation of John (no, the other one)'. It is not the Book of Revelations, and I think the pregnant-out-of-wedlock daughter of a crazed Christian preacher would know that, baby brain and all.
I was right up there until Ancient Alien Architects. Not my favourite argument, and one which, I might add, is anathema to what I took to be the final message of this story - that we humans are to create rather than destroy.
Humans built, designed and dreamed up the pyramids, and anyone with a basic grasp of engineering can see why they are pyramids. Yes, they are big and impressive. That's about it, though. Not enough to invoke extraterrestrial involvement for me, thanks. Also annoyed about the Earthworks and ley lines (... which used to be used by whom and for what? No? No insight? Aliens again? FML, this is a lazy thinker's cop out!).
A book big on teen angst and confusion and a messy patchwork of mildly interesting, disparate concepts. A lumpy, awkward, scrappy quilt of a book. I bet Dalton enjoyed writing it much more than I enjoyed the finished project. Again, it's that badly made homemade gift you're saddled with at Christmas....
Like in another book of Dalton's, "Out of the Ordinary", there's an emotionally absent and physically neglectful off-beat mother causing major personal issues for the teenage protagonist. And there's this running commentary about the mother, with some explanation for her bohemian ways (eliciting sympathy for her position) that goes on for what feels like most of the book... and it amounts to nothing. It's "My mum is the way she is for for (reasons)," and nothing more about this is relevant to the story or the character arc of the protagonist (although I guess you could tick off a box somewhere labelled "insight into fractious relationship with mum", if that's important). It bugs me, because it adds absolutely nothing. In this one, you stop hearing about Fran about 3/4 of the way through, as well as sister Martha. They get walk-on appearances in the finale, but play no real role, after having been fairly major players earlier.
The major thrust of this book is Joss having to leave his dad and move to the midlands with his mum and sister, Joss desperately wanting to bang Asha "the Ice Maiden", Asha having much more cosmic and holy aspirations after receiving The Box (she hits emotional rock-bottom early on - the ultimate forlorn, forgotten, unloved child), and various kids at the high school, most of which have gone Goth and gaga for The Hoarsemen, some charismatic local rock band. There's Tamar Tetley the skanky slooty one (who slightly bullies Asha and who also performs karate katas at random), Ghoul and Gunny the Goths, plain Bethany Blessed who is the repressed daughter of a nutso Christian evangelist, Otis the musician, and probably a couple of others who were instantly forgettable.
There's also Fran and Martha, Joss's mum and sister; a miserable old cat named Ludwig; a nicer cat who has 4 kittens; Luke the Stay-At-Home-Dad next door and Liana and Orchid, his very young daughters; Polish Mike of Midlands Light and Power (who has magical healing hands - this is never explained); Asha's weird spinster aunts; and then some mysterious junk/antique shop owners, who provide Asha with The Box (after she buys it with all her worldly possessions in some sort of temporary psychosis) and, separately, Joss with a blue electric guitar (in exchange for his broken-and-in-pieces cheap gold acoustic).
If you've made it this far, I'll get into some illustratory spoilers now: All this and more. Oh, I forgot about Tarot. She's kind of forgettable. But somehow key, and I still don't see why. I emotionally checked out of this book ages ago.
What was with Mike, the most interesting character of all?! And it is the 'Book of Revelation', singular, a.k.a. 'The Revelation of John (no, the other one)'. It is not the Book of Revelations, and I think the pregnant-out-of-wedlock daughter of a crazed Christian preacher would know that, baby brain and all.
I was right up there until Ancient Alien Architects. Not my favourite argument, and one which, I might add, is anathema to what I took to be the final message of this story - that we humans are to create rather than destroy.
Humans built, designed and dreamed up the pyramids, and anyone with a basic grasp of engineering can see why they are pyramids. Yes, they are big and impressive. That's about it, though. Not enough to invoke extraterrestrial involvement for me, thanks. Also annoyed about the Earthworks and ley lines (... which used to be used by whom and for what? No? No insight? Aliens again? FML, this is a lazy thinker's cop out!).
A book big on teen angst and confusion and a messy patchwork of mildly interesting, disparate concepts. A lumpy, awkward, scrappy quilt of a book. I bet Dalton enjoyed writing it much more than I enjoyed the finished project. Again, it's that badly made homemade gift you're saddled with at Christmas....
July 4, 2021
This book was published in 1991, one to two decades before the YA Renaissance (depending on your stance on its golden age). It’s a pity for the sake of the book, because it would have done really well during that time. It hits a lot of now-classic YA beats, not limited to: significant birthdays, chosen one narratives (two for the price of one!), strong female characters, and saving the world through destroying the status quo. It also has something most YA doesn’t, which is elegant writing and solid, believable characterisation. Although I say there’s nothing new here, in 1991 it probably was new – it’s just been replicated so often, like bad and faded photocopies, that all its freshness and vigour is gone. Reading this (again), I can see why YA initially felt like such a breath of fresh air.
If this book had been written now, it would be twice as long. I don’t think ‘kids’ books’ in the nineties were allowed to be longer than 200 pages before Harry Potter bust down that wall. It’s a shame, because Dalton is clearly bursting with ideas, and trying to knit them all together in this tiny space does render some of them - ridiculous.
I hope someone does Annie Dalton on Backlisted one day and gives her the recognition she deserves.
“It was not the blues, oh definitely not the blues but music of the deepest blue it still undoubtedly was. Indigo music, he thought; shading into the purple you get at twilight. Torrents of twilight, pouring down the school corridor sand no one but Joss seemed to notice.
The upper part of the door to the music room was screened with mesh and the room faced into the sun, so that when he saw her it was through dusty golden honeycomb; playing her heart out on the crummy school upright, alone in the sun-dazzled room.”
If this book had been written now, it would be twice as long. I don’t think ‘kids’ books’ in the nineties were allowed to be longer than 200 pages before Harry Potter bust down that wall. It’s a shame, because Dalton is clearly bursting with ideas, and trying to knit them all together in this tiny space does render some of them - ridiculous.
I hope someone does Annie Dalton on Backlisted one day and gives her the recognition she deserves.
“It was not the blues, oh definitely not the blues but music of the deepest blue it still undoubtedly was. Indigo music, he thought; shading into the purple you get at twilight. Torrents of twilight, pouring down the school corridor sand no one but Joss seemed to notice.
The upper part of the door to the music room was screened with mesh and the room faced into the sun, so that when he saw her it was through dusty golden honeycomb; playing her heart out on the crummy school upright, alone in the sun-dazzled room.”
March 26, 2024
This is one that's stuck with me for 25-ish years. I got this book from a bargain bin when I was... 12, I think. I remember the mystical themes and trippy imagery of this story hitting my little tween brain like a freight train, and changing my life somehow. I think this is where my love of fantasy novels really began. My battered old copy had survived all these years, multiple cross-country, and even cross-hemisphere moves, and each time I re-read it, it feels like the first time again.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews