King Creature Come

by John Rowe Townsend

ALSO KNOWN The Creatures. "You could say it all began with the arrival of the relief *. Or you could say it started two or three years before that, with the disappearance of Harmony's sister, Melody. But I think myself it began the day I saw the Creature prowling around the garbage..." From that day, Vector, the narrator of this story, found all his inherited assumptions about the nature of Creatures being called into question. He himself was a Person, a member of the species who had travelled from the planet Annulus and founded a colony on Earth. Despite their assumptions of superiority, all is not well with the Persons in the Colony, for over the years, genetic problems have arisen which make their survival doubtful; and the very care taken to ensure their continued existence poses a threat to Vector and his girl-friend, Harmony. The arrival of the 'relief' * means that they must take speedy action to safeguard their future together.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fiction

Paperback

First published April 1, 1980

About the author

John Rowe Townsend (born 1922) is a British children's author and academic. His best-known children's novel is The Intruder, which won a 1971 Edgar Award, and his best-known academic work is Written for Children: An Outline of English Language Children's Literature (1965), the definitive work of its time on the subject.

He was born in Leeds, and studied at Leeds Grammar School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Among his popular works are Gumble's Yard (his debut novel, published in 1961), Widdershins Crescent (1965), and The Intruder (1969), which won a 1971 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Juvenile Mystery. In Britain, The Intruder was made into a children's TV series starring Milton Johns as the stranger. Noah's Castle was filmed by Southern television and transmitted in seven 25-minute episodes in 1980.

Reviews

[Mary JL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vector has lived almost four years in the Persons colony on Earth. But he has never met any of the local "Creatures" except a few servants and the Guards. But when his friend Harmany decides she is not going home on the relief ship, a chain of events is set in motion and Vector finds hiself outside the colonies walls. Now he must intereact with the Earth "Creatures" despite his fears......

This is a good far futre novel. I liked it and found it interesting. Again, as an adult who has read LOTS of science fiction, I saw most of the end coming. But when I was first reading sf, this was the sort of book I would really have liked. Recommended for any teen sf fan 12 years and up. (Or a quick read if like me, you are a adult who also reads YA!)

(Whenever I read a good YA fantasy or sf book, I often think "So why weren't they writing these kinds of books when I was a teen? They were of course, just not as many.)

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book by Townsend! I wish, wish, wish I had a copy. Anyone out there have one I could buy?

[J.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a personal favorite of mine from my childhood. I'll write a more in-depth review when I reread the story. I finally found a copy on Amazon a few years back, so I own it.

[Cristov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago so I can't write a proper review but it's a book that certainly made an impression on me as I'd like to read it again.