What do you think?
Rate this book
Dot Robot
Dot Robot
'Congratulations, Jackson. Welcome to MeX.'Dot.com billionaire Devlin Lear, founder of the top-secret defence force MeX, has been watching Jackson Farley. He knows he has found a digital genius.Along with three other brilliant gamers from different corners of the world, Lear needs Jackson to join him and stop the criminal heist of the century. And all by the power of the most highly advanced, state-of-the-art robots ever invented.Are Jackson and the MeX recruits as good as Lear thinks? And how does Jackson know quite who to trust when they can never meet face-to-face?
308 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2009
7 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 2, 2019
I have given this two stars because it is daft, clunky and it would make a much better cartoon then it does a novel.
The premise of 11 and 12-year-old children given one training session on how to control flying saucer-shaped robot weapons and then let loose on covert 'missions' is bad enough in itself. The clunky dialogue and the action sequences worthy of an Indian Jones film tip it over into an unconvincing mess. Parts of it are so daft and far-fetched that I just gave up and started skim-reading.
The American girl was especially annoying: an over the top caricature and her entire personality was one-dimensional - 'feisty'. If they were older she would be the character that's only there to be a love interest. As 'strong' and independent as the author tried to portray her she still had to sit back and wait for the hero to rescue her.
It's just too daft to make a convincing book but I can definitely see this as one of those massively camp and over the top cartoons they did so often in the 90s.
The premise of 11 and 12-year-old children given one training session on how to control flying saucer-shaped robot weapons and then let loose on covert 'missions' is bad enough in itself. The clunky dialogue and the action sequences worthy of an Indian Jones film tip it over into an unconvincing mess. Parts of it are so daft and far-fetched that I just gave up and started skim-reading.
The American girl was especially annoying: an over the top caricature and her entire personality was one-dimensional - 'feisty'. If they were older she would be the character that's only there to be a love interest. As 'strong' and independent as the author tried to portray her she still had to sit back and wait for the hero to rescue her.
It's just too daft to make a convincing book but I can definitely see this as one of those massively camp and over the top cartoons they did so often in the 90s.
July 17, 2018
A holiday read - I enjoyed this - startlingly prescient because drones were not such a thing when it was written. It is obviously for teenagers but that didn't stop me enjoying it. At first I thought it was a bit naive but there is a useful twist. And those who have got irritated with Elon Musk's relentless use of technology and stunts to promote his businesses - well this book could have been written about him. We live in such strange times.
July 10, 2017
Rozprávka s jednoduchým dejom. Oddychové čítanie.
July 13, 2019
Sympa. Je n'ai jamais lu ce genre de roman... C'est pas un coup de cœur mais l'histoire est vraiment sympa 👍
July 24, 2025
hat mich nicht so stimmungsmäßig gepackt deswegen habe ich es abgebrochen
May 26, 2012
Rarely have I been so frustrated by a book…the premise is chock full of good time nerd fun. What kid wouldn’t want to be recruited by a secret organization to operate advanced flying robots that were sent around the world to fight criminals? Awesome right? Well it should be but Jason Bradbury manages to take a solid premise and ram it into the ground so hard that you’ll wonder if he’s the secret love child of George Lucas and Michael Bay.
Here’s the thing, a novel doesn’t need to have a stellar, intricate story to be a great book. Engaging characters can take even the thinnest, most absurd plot and make it a page turning read. Unfortunately, the characters in this book are so weak that they leave you wondering what’s less interesting, them or the story. They’re two-dimensional at best, frustrating caricatures at worst, and I spent most of the time hoping a giant explosion would take them all out at the end so I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore terrible dialogue.
Sidebar…I know Jason Bradbury is from the UK but that’s still no excuse to write the American character like she’s a mentally disabled extraterrestrial who learned English by watching reruns of Steven Seagal movies. If I hadn’t read this on my Kindle, I’d have used a black Sharpie to strike out every bit of her dialogue so that anyone who happened upon my copy of the book would be spared the pain I’d already endured. I swear my eyes started bleeding every time she spoke.
Ok, back to plot…ugh, seriously the bad guys are stealing a river? That’s right, a river…like a bad novelization of “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego” but without the fun of Rockapella soothing us with their dulcet tones. Maybe the bad guys should have hired the mathematical genius protagonist to crunch some numbers for them. I’m sure there’s a more profitable scheme than pumping a river into trucks, transporting it to tanker ships then sending it round the world to the highest bidder. This is modern day Earth not Arrakis…though maybe sandworms could have brought some character depth to this book.
In the end though, I have myself to blame…mainly for buying the entire trilogy before reading the first book. Who’s the idiot now? This guy.
Here’s the thing, a novel doesn’t need to have a stellar, intricate story to be a great book. Engaging characters can take even the thinnest, most absurd plot and make it a page turning read. Unfortunately, the characters in this book are so weak that they leave you wondering what’s less interesting, them or the story. They’re two-dimensional at best, frustrating caricatures at worst, and I spent most of the time hoping a giant explosion would take them all out at the end so I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore terrible dialogue.
Sidebar…I know Jason Bradbury is from the UK but that’s still no excuse to write the American character like she’s a mentally disabled extraterrestrial who learned English by watching reruns of Steven Seagal movies. If I hadn’t read this on my Kindle, I’d have used a black Sharpie to strike out every bit of her dialogue so that anyone who happened upon my copy of the book would be spared the pain I’d already endured. I swear my eyes started bleeding every time she spoke.
Ok, back to plot…ugh, seriously the bad guys are stealing a river? That’s right, a river…like a bad novelization of “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego” but without the fun of Rockapella soothing us with their dulcet tones. Maybe the bad guys should have hired the mathematical genius protagonist to crunch some numbers for them. I’m sure there’s a more profitable scheme than pumping a river into trucks, transporting it to tanker ships then sending it round the world to the highest bidder. This is modern day Earth not Arrakis…though maybe sandworms could have brought some character depth to this book.
In the end though, I have myself to blame…mainly for buying the entire trilogy before reading the first book. Who’s the idiot now? This guy.
September 17, 2013
Jackson liebt Computerspiele. Oft sitzt er bis mitten in der Nacht vor dem PC und kämpft mit seinem Helden gegen fiese Monster. Als plötzlich immer wieder eine merkwürdige Mitteilung auf seinem Bildschirm erscheint, ist er zuerst genervt, dann aber neugierig. So gelangt er in den Einflussbereich des mysteriösen Lears, der ihm ein Paket mit einem abenteuerlichen Inhalt schickt und über die modernsten Kommunikationsmittel Kontakt zu ihm aufnimmt, um ihn zu einem Spiel einzuladen. Und so lernt Jackson die hübsche Brooke aus Kalifornien und die Kojima-Zwillinge aus Tokio kennen, die nur im Doppelpack auftreten. Zusammen erleben die vier verrückte Abenteuer in der virtuellen Welt, die lange als Spiel erscheinen, aber schnell bitterer Ernst werden.
Jason Bradbury entführt den Leser mit seinem Buch „Gamer“ in eine fortschrittliche virtuelle Welt, in der Roboter und Maschinen per Mausklick gesteuert werden und auf modernste Art und Weise kommuniziert wird. Die vier Jugendlichen werden mit einer interessanten Masche von dem mysteriösen Lear geködert und für seine Machenschaften ausgenutzt. Ihre Aufgabe ist es, mit ferngesteuerten Fahrzeugen verschiedenste Aufträge auszuführen, die umfassend beschrieben sind. Dabei scheint Lear stets ein gerechtfertigtes Ziel zu verfolgen, doch schon bald müssen die Jugendlichen erkennen, dass sie für ein Projekt ausgenutzt werden, bei dem es um Leben und Tod geht.
Die Handlung des Buches lässt sich mit wenigen Worten zusammenfassen, da die Aufträge, welche die Jugendlichen ausführen müssen, sehr detailliert und umfangreich beschrieben werden. Der größte Teil des Buches spielt sich in der virtuellen Welt ab. Zwischendurch gibt es immer wieder Szenen, in denen Jacksons Vater auftaucht und versucht, seinen Sohn zu erziehen. Durch ihn kommt etwas Abwechslung in das Buch, das ansonsten sehr eintönig ist.
Auch wenn das Buch in einer fortschrittlichen virtuellen Welt spielt, ist diese doch anschaulich und verständlich beschrieben und ist somit leicht vorstellbar. Der Schreibstil des Autors ist für ein Jugendbuch angemessen, das Buch liest sich leicht und schnell.
Mein Fazit:
Ein fortschrittlicher Roman, der größtenteils in der virtuellen Welt spielt, in dem vier Jugendliche einem finsteren Verbrecher das Handwerk legen.
Jason Bradbury entführt den Leser mit seinem Buch „Gamer“ in eine fortschrittliche virtuelle Welt, in der Roboter und Maschinen per Mausklick gesteuert werden und auf modernste Art und Weise kommuniziert wird. Die vier Jugendlichen werden mit einer interessanten Masche von dem mysteriösen Lear geködert und für seine Machenschaften ausgenutzt. Ihre Aufgabe ist es, mit ferngesteuerten Fahrzeugen verschiedenste Aufträge auszuführen, die umfassend beschrieben sind. Dabei scheint Lear stets ein gerechtfertigtes Ziel zu verfolgen, doch schon bald müssen die Jugendlichen erkennen, dass sie für ein Projekt ausgenutzt werden, bei dem es um Leben und Tod geht.
Die Handlung des Buches lässt sich mit wenigen Worten zusammenfassen, da die Aufträge, welche die Jugendlichen ausführen müssen, sehr detailliert und umfangreich beschrieben werden. Der größte Teil des Buches spielt sich in der virtuellen Welt ab. Zwischendurch gibt es immer wieder Szenen, in denen Jacksons Vater auftaucht und versucht, seinen Sohn zu erziehen. Durch ihn kommt etwas Abwechslung in das Buch, das ansonsten sehr eintönig ist.
Auch wenn das Buch in einer fortschrittlichen virtuellen Welt spielt, ist diese doch anschaulich und verständlich beschrieben und ist somit leicht vorstellbar. Der Schreibstil des Autors ist für ein Jugendbuch angemessen, das Buch liest sich leicht und schnell.
Mein Fazit:
Ein fortschrittlicher Roman, der größtenteils in der virtuellen Welt spielt, in dem vier Jugendliche einem finsteren Verbrecher das Handwerk legen.
January 20, 2013
Author Jason Bradbury is best know for his role as a presenter on The Gadget Show and he certainly brings his experience of technology to Dot Robot.
Aside from technology, the book’s also packed with action. That’s a blessing and a curse, because we don’t dwell on anything for too long (this isn’t a book with a lot of depth) but it also leaves you racing along trying to keep up.
Credit has to go to the concept, most young adult books have to figure a way to get the kids away from adult supervision. Bradbury instead uses remote tech, which means the characters can save the world from the comfort of their bedroom and still manage a few chores.
The problem I found was that I didn’t empathise with the characters, certainly not until lives were on the line. Maybe that was to do with the characters themselves, their traits certainly aren’t mainstream and it’s unlikely you went to school with anyone like them (or dreamed of being someone like them).
The key moment in the plot seems a little contrived (and not too hard to guess) and everything seems to go a little too smoothly, with any obstacle quickly overcome.
The book sits firmly in the market for action novels aimed at a young audience. The likes of Alex Rider, Young Bond, Agent Cody Banks, Spy Kids and Kim Possible are the market this is aimed at. The tech element also drew parallels with Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, but without the latter’s punch.
Not a bad book, but it needed another layer for me, as any emotional aspects were quickly brushed away, even the action flashed by and all you’re really left with is piles of tech being thrown at you.
Aside from technology, the book’s also packed with action. That’s a blessing and a curse, because we don’t dwell on anything for too long (this isn’t a book with a lot of depth) but it also leaves you racing along trying to keep up.
Credit has to go to the concept, most young adult books have to figure a way to get the kids away from adult supervision. Bradbury instead uses remote tech, which means the characters can save the world from the comfort of their bedroom and still manage a few chores.
The problem I found was that I didn’t empathise with the characters, certainly not until lives were on the line. Maybe that was to do with the characters themselves, their traits certainly aren’t mainstream and it’s unlikely you went to school with anyone like them (or dreamed of being someone like them).
The key moment in the plot seems a little contrived (and not too hard to guess) and everything seems to go a little too smoothly, with any obstacle quickly overcome.
The book sits firmly in the market for action novels aimed at a young audience. The likes of Alex Rider, Young Bond, Agent Cody Banks, Spy Kids and Kim Possible are the market this is aimed at. The tech element also drew parallels with Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, but without the latter’s punch.
Not a bad book, but it needed another layer for me, as any emotional aspects were quickly brushed away, even the action flashed by and all you’re really left with is piles of tech being thrown at you.
September 3, 2018
One of my favourite books, coupling friendship with mystery, technology and family. Jackson is endearing, smart and rebellious. To be honest, however, the plot and descriptions were difficult for me to envisage, but Jackson's character is vivid and memorable. It embodies how technology places us in more danger while removing us from warzones, how greed spurs progress and development at the expense of morality and judgment. It is funny, capturing the dreariness of teenage life - infused with sparks of excitement here and there.
November 7, 2010
A really exciting start which had me gripped, but it seemed to get a bit boring towards the end... with the main characters controlling the robots from their bedrooms, it didn't really feel like they were part of the action. Am looking forward to reading the sequel though and seeing what that brings.
November 23, 2013
This is a brilliant debut for kids, a rather tremendous take on the whole superhero teen genre. I think the seventh chapter was my favourite, and it's the sort of book I'd have been raving and enthusing about for weeks had I discovered it in my younger years. The next generations Artemis Fowl or Alex Rider for a cert.
June 15, 2016
A fairly interesting book. I admit I was kept enticed throughout, however being fairly hard to please I admit that I found it slightly dragging, and to me the twist felt rather predictable-but unavoidably so due to the general plot of the book itself. I am happy I read it, but nonetheless it is not a favourite, or something I would intentionally go out of my way to read again.
April 30, 2012
Written for the Young Adult market, but I still found the story-line quite interesting being in my 50s (having a bit of computer knowledge helps in understanding the wording used throughout the novel).
If young at heart and a computer geek, this book could be right for you.
If young at heart and a computer geek, this book could be right for you.
January 21, 2009
Pleasantly surprised by this! Great book for teen boys. Well plotted.
January 18, 2010
I love this guy, and a great read, but slightly predictable in places.
Great idea, and great technology though. A serious contender, and cant wait for the second book in February!
Great idea, and great technology though. A serious contender, and cant wait for the second book in February!
December 13, 2010
good try...thought on dreaming robot for awhile.
December 6, 2011
i thought it was a great book, the begining was a bit boring
but though out the rest of the book it is quite interesting.
but though out the rest of the book it is quite interesting.
January 1, 2015
No, nič náročné nečakajte. :) Odporučila by som ju tým, komu sa páčila séria Artemis Fowl od Eoina Colfera (http://www.martinus.sk/seria/artemis-...), alebo film Spy Kids.
November 27, 2014
I really liked it. I recommend it to kids my age (which is 10).
Read
January 25, 2018Touto akčnou oddychovkou sa Bradbury snaží vzbudiť u malých čitateľov záujem o vedu a techniku. Celá recenzia
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews