Baxter Moon, Galactic Scout

Read Baxter Moon, Galactic Scout Storyline:

Two ambassador ships have gone missing, and it’s up to Baxter Moon, Galactic Scout Second Class, to find them. His first thought is “Holy bloop!” but his second is “Let’s go!” After all, he is one of the best pilots at the Galactic Academy, and it’s not like he’s ever killed his whole crew in real life... only in simulations. But traveling through deep space with a large-but-dim mechanic, her genius twin, and a talking chimp isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It will take all the good old fashioned instincts Baxter’s got to navigate deep space, rescue the beautiful blue Aquarian princess, and save the world from a dangerous techno-race gone awry.
It might be a lot to do in one day for the average teenager, but Baxter Moon isn’t average.
**From School Library Journal
Grade 5–8—In this humorous science-fiction adventure, Baxter Moon is in training to become a deep-space shuttle pilot. Many of his fellow scouts have been bionically enhanced to see great distances or have superhuman strength, and others are genetically enhanced animals, but Baxter is an ordinary teen who seems to have the unerring ability (well, most of the time) to do the right thing at the right time. He's there when a robotic alien force overpowers a sensitive diplomatic mission, and he and his teammates must conquer it—without using any weapons. This silly space adventure won't give "Star Wars" or the X-Men much competition, but its simply written, easy-to-follow narrative will appeal to adventure fans, particularly reluctant readers.—Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX
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From Booklist
An sf tale with a satiric twist, this novel pits a hotshot student pilot and his genetically modified crew against an invasion force of robot TVs. When a diplomatic mission to the blue-skinned Aquarians of Sirius D goes missing, Baxter and another crew are dispatched to investigate. The mission, as it turns out, has been captured by TVTrons, who fiendishly hypnotize victims into watching television until they starve. With plenty of help from supergeek crewmate Elvin; Zenna, Elvin’s simple-minded, muscular twin sister; and GiS, their chimpanzee commander, the mission is saved, the invasion repulsed, and Baxter makes a connection with a hot Aquarian princess. Zakour’s grasp of astronomy and physics seems a little shaky, but the gags fly thick and fast (the author writes them for a living), and his ever-cocky protagonist repeatedly saves the day—usually in a spectacularly destructive way. Fans of Kathy Mackel’s tongue-in-cheek romps will happily tune in to this one. Grades 4-7. --John Peters