HE LAUGHED WITH HIS OTHER MOUTHS

The thrills continue as Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, goes into the deepest regions of space in search of his long-lost father.

Jasper is joined by Katie Mulligan and Lily Gefelty for another absurd adventure through time and space. This time, Jasper’s teleporter takes them deep within the Horsehead Nebula, the area of space that contains the secret of Jasper’s origins. Mysterious extraterrestrials travel the globe, abducting random civilians to ask them one question: “Where is Jasper Dash?” Meanwhile, in the footnotes, young Busby Spence reads classic Jasper Dash adventure novels and longs for the return of his own father, fighting in the Pacific theater during World War II. Anderson’s creative mixture of otherworldly adventure and heartfelt emotion is flawless. Nostalgic, hopeful and most importantly playful, the author has crafted a work that expresses all the pleasures of being young and getting lost in the realms of a great book. The novel doesn’t transcend the wacky sci-fi of old that inspired it but rather embraces it and dissects it, celebrating it and exploring why so many people fell in love with these silly worlds and gee-whiz heroes in the first place. Above all, this is a testament to the art of reading, a book that reminds you why you love reading in the first place.

Layered, beautiful, smart and achingly funny. In a word, brilliant.