 | |
| Author | Sam Enthoven |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult, Science fiction |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | January 17, 2008 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-60968-5 |
| OCLC | 181422338 |
TIM, Defender of the Earth is a 2008 young adult science fiction novel by Sam Enthoven, written in the spirit of classic monster movies such as Godzilla and Gamera. It was shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. [1]
The story begins with the newly appointed Prime Minister, Mr Sinclair, being taken by Dr Mckienzy to a top-secret underground lab. There he views TIM (Tyrannosaur Improved Module) sleeping in a giant tank. Mckienzy explains that the military have been developing hybrids to fight their wars, but all except Tim have died. Mr Sinclair tells her that he considers her experiment a failure and instructs her to close it down and euthanize Tim.
Meanwhile, a class visits the British Museum. Chris meets a security guard, who shows him a strange bracelet, which glows when Chris goes near it. The guard clamps it on his wrist and tells him that he is now joined to the Defender of the Earth.
Dr Mckienzy floods Tim's enclosure with gas, to poison him. Tim breaks out and rampages over London, scared and confused by the world that he finds himself in. He blocks London Bridge, which Chris and his parents are driving over. As he gets close to Tim, Chris's bracelet starts glowing, and Tim suddenly feels peaceful. He trots into the Thames and wades off. Swimming in the sea, Tim runs into the Kraken, who informs hims that he is going to be the 'Defender of the Earth'.
The next morning, Anna's father, Professor Mallahide, is giving a demonstration to an audience that includes the head of the army and Mr Sinclair. He reveals to them that he has created a swarm of nanobots for the military. His audience is unimpressed when he demonstrates by changing a squirrel from grey to red, but when his nanobots eat the squirrel alive on his orders, increasing the swarm, they give him permission to continue his work. Once they have departed, Mallahide restores the squirrel to full health, calling the prime minister and his friends morons.
Chris returns to the museum to ask the guard that gave him the bracelet to remove it. When he learns that the guard has no way of doing that, he stalks off.
Mallahide orders his machines to devour him and make him one with the swarm. Just as he is almost gone, he thinks of Anna and regrets his decision. Then he is completely eaten and the experiment appears to have failed.
Anna waits in her family's flat for Mallahide. He does not appear, and at 11 o'clock, his work rings to tell her that there was an accident at the lab, and her father has died. She is lying in bed, with a counselor sent over by the government sleeping on the sofa, when her father turns up. She begins to argue with him. The noise in her room wakes the counselor, who comes up the stairs. Mallahide hears her coming, and disappears into thin air.
Kirkus Reviews found Tim disappointing despite its promising concept, citing its inadequate character development and confusing story structure. [2] In Booklist , John Peters wrote that the novel should appeal to fans of M. T. Anderson's Whales on Stilts, although it does not match the latter in terms of "sheer zaniness". [3] In The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books , Elizabeth Bush cautioned that while the novel may satisfy those looking for "light and cheesy entertainment", readers looking for more sophisticated and "hardcore" science-fiction will be disappointed. [4]
Other reviews were more positive. Paula Rohrlick's review in Kliatt called Tim "[f]un escapist fantasy", noting that it contains more humour and less horror compared to Enthoven's previous novel The Black Tattoo . [5] Jane Henriksen Baird's review in School Library Journal concluded: "This fun, action-driven, science fiction tale will be snapped up by restless boys who can never find books written just for them." [6]
Prey is the thirteenth novel by Michael Crichton under his own name and the twenty-third overall. It was first published in November 2002, making it his first novel of the twenty-first century. An excerpt was first published in the January–February 2003 issue of Seed magazine. Prey brings together themes from two earlier Crichton best-selling novels, Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain and serves as a cautionary tale about developments in science and technology, in particular, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and distributed artificial intelligence.
Rodman Philbrick is an American writer of novels for adults and children. He has written popular children's books such as Freak the Mighty, Max the Mighty, The Last Book In The Universe, and has written other mysteries and thrillers for adults.
Kristine Z. Kochanski is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. Kochanski was the first console officer in the navigation chamber on board the spaceship Red Dwarf. As well as appearing in the television series, she is also a major character in the Red Dwarf novel Last Human. In series 1, 2, and 6 she was played by Clare Grogan until producers deemed Grogan 'too old' for the role, and the character was then played by Chloë Annett for series 7 and 8, and the 2009 special Back to Earth.
Swarm is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character's entire body is composed of bees, and is mainly featured as an enemy of Spider-Man.
The use of nanotechnology in fiction has attracted scholarly attention. The first use of the distinguishing concepts of nanotechnology was "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", a talk given by physicist Richard Feynman in 1959. K. Eric Drexler's 1986 book Engines of Creation introduced the general public to the concept of nanotechnology. Since then, nanotechnology has been used frequently in a diverse range of fiction, often as a justification for unusual or far-fetched occurrences featured in speculative fiction.
Molly Moon Stops the World is a 2003 children's novel by British author Georgia Byng. It is the second instalment in the Molly Moon six-book series.
Undead and Unwed is a paranormal romance novel by MaryJanice Davidson. It is the first adventure of Elizabeth Anne "Betsy" Taylor in the Undead series after her transformation into a vampire. The book was released on March 2, 2004 through Berkley Books and was on the Maclean's bestseller list for April 4, 2004.
Undead is a paranormal romance book series that is written by MaryJanice Davidson and published through Berkley Books. The series was first launched in 2004 with the publication of Undead and Unwed, and as of 2016 there are fifteen books in the series, and several accompanying short stories. Davidson attributes the popularity of the series to the absurdism, tone, and believability of the characters. The series was a reaction to what Davidson saw as cliches and unrealistic characters in paranormal romance novels.
Freehold is a military science fiction novel by Michael Z. Williamson, published in 2004 by Baen Books. The book tells the story of Kendra Pacelli, a young soldier who begins the book in the service of a world-dominant, authoritarian United Nations. Accused of a crime she did not commit, she flees Earth for the Freehold of Grainne where she struggles to adapt to the climate and culture of an ultra-libertarian planet. She eventually joins the Freehold military and fights in a war against a UN invasion.
Code Orange is a 2005 young adult novel by Caroline B. Cooney. The novel won a National Science Teachers Association recommendation and has been frequently used in classrooms. The Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy also marked the book as one of their Young Adults' Choices for 2007.
The Million Dollar Putt is a realistic fiction novel written by Dan Gutman in 2006. It is about a young blind child's quest to learn golf and win a million dollar prize.
New-Gen, styled NEW-GEN, is a superhero comic book series created in 2008 by J.D. Matonti, Chris Matonti and Julia Coppola, of A.P.N.G. Enterprises. It is printed, distributed and advertised by Marvel Comics. The series centers on the war over nanotechnology between two powerful scientists, Gabriel and Deadalus, from the extra-dimensional world of New-Gen.
Mexican WhiteBoy is a 2008 novel by Matt de la Peña, published by Delacorte Press. De la Peña drew on his own adolescent passion for sports in developing his main character Danny, a baseball enthusiast. The novel, which is set in National City, California, uses Spanglish and has a bicultural theme.
Sylvester Deadalus (Sly) is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character appears in the NEW-GEN comic books. Created by Chris Matonti, J.D. Matonti, and Julia Coppola, he first appeared in NEW-GEN #1 (2010).
Thea is a fictional character that appears in the NEW-GEN comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Matonti, J.D. Matonti, and Julia Coppola, she first appeared in NEW-GEN #1 (2010). She is the wife of Gabriel, mother to the twins Sean and Chris, and one of principal educators for the A.P.N.G.
The Devil and His Boy is a 1998 young adult novel by Anthony Horowitz. The book is set in Tudor times and follows the adventures of a young boy as he meets several influential people from that time period.
The Bonemender series is a trilogy of young-adult fantasy novels by Holly Bennett between 2005 and 2007 through Orca Book Publishers. The first novel, The Bonemender, was published on September 1, 2005, with the subsequent novels, Bonemender's Oath and Bonemender's Choice publishing on November 1, 2006 and September 1, 2007.
Such A Pretty Girl is a 2007 young adult novel by American author Laura Wiess. The book was first published on January 2, 2007 through MTV Books and deals with the subject matter of a teenage girl that must deal with the reality that the father that molested and sexually abused her and several others is getting an early release from jail.
After Atlas is a 2016 science fiction novel by British writer Emma Newman. It was first published in the United States as a paperback original in November 2016 by Roc Books, and in the United Kingdom by Gollancz in paperback in February 2018. An audio edition of the book, narrated by Andrew Kingston, was published in the United States by Blackstone Audio in November 2016, and in the United Kingdom by Orion Publishing in December 2017.
Latte and the Magic Waterstone is a 2019 German-Belgian computer-animated film directed by Mimi Maynard, Regina Welker, and Nina Wels. Based on the 1971 book of the same name by Sebastian Lybeck, it was adapted for film with a screenplay by Martin Behnke, Andrea Deppert, Marina Martins, and Jesper Møller. The film premiered at the Schlingel International Film Festival in 2019, and was released in Germany on December 25, 2019. It was later released on Netflix as an original film on July 31, 2020.
