NORBY AND THE TERRIFIED TAXI

In this 11th entry in the Norby series (Norby and the Court Jester, 1991, and the others were collaborations with Isaac Asimov), cadet Jeff Wells and his amazing robot, Norby, encounter an alien device called the Connector. Working through a venal and rather stupid human, Garc the Great, it captures Norby and the central computer for the Solarweb, and uses them to travel back in time and change Earth's history. Jeff and a sentient taxi named Lizzie must rescue Norby and set history to rights, or all of humanity will disappear. Endless exposition and dialogue, little action, convoluted plotting, flat characterizations, and awkward writing conspire to keep readers from developing any interest in the story at all. Where others in the series were lighthearted and clever, this one is hokey and banal—and some parts make no sense at all. (Fiction. 8-12)