• “Hugely original, exciting…Love writes with such confidence, fluency and voice that it’s hard to imagine this is his first book…He has built a fantastical but entirely believable world with scary killer robots oiled to perfection with automaton history, surprising characters and dry humour. It’s hard not to see a film adaptation as you’re racing through the pages; so plotty and cinematic is this story, so hot on detail and funny in all the right places.” – THE TIMES BOOK OF THE WEEK

• “I enjoyed everything about Damien Love’s debut–its title, its breakneck action, its sly sense of humor. If you imagine Rick and Morty colliding with early Spielberg, you get some idea of this delirious adventure . . . and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it on the screen. I wish my first novel had been as imaginative and assured.” – ANTHONY HOROWITZ, New York Times bestselling author of the Alex Rider series

• “A superbly assured debut…truly sinister villains and an effortless, atmospheric evocation of place and history combine in an unforgettable, immersive reading experience.” – THE GUARDIAN

• “What fun! An evil villain, a host of scary robots, big and small, and a hero with commendably bad personal habits. Loved it!” – JOHN FLANAGAN, New York Times bestselling author of the Ranger’s Apprentice and Brotherband series

• Named one of the Best Books Of The Year by THE GUARDIAN

• “Monstrous Devices effortlessly brings mythic legend and modern life together in one exhilarating, breathless chase. With humor, relentless adventure, and true insight, Damien Love compels us to look closely at our wishes and illusions, at the dark and light forces of creation, at what really makes us tick.” — S.E. GROVE, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Sentence

• “Mysterious and frightening things begin to happen….humorous patter leavens a well-crafted adventure that’s filled with desperate chases, narrow escapes, fight scenes, and twists.” – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)

• “Lo que sigue es puro terror adolescente…” (“What follows is pure teen terror…”)
– EL MUNDO

• “A monstrously good tale…evocative atmosphere, disturbing chills and perfectly-paced cliffhanger chapters” – THE SUNDAY TIMES

• “Adventure, fantasy and sci-fi combine in this brilliant, cinematic tale…fantastic, mega-original… thrillingly ingenious…. If you need an inventive plot to keep you turning the pages of a book, here you are in the hands of a master…” SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

• “A well-knit debut, generously stocked with chills, thrills, and chancy exploits…Love tucks in plenty of icky bits, along with cinematic set pieces and hairbreadth escapes.” – KIRKUS

• “…Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Toy Story…” – selected as one of the year’s Flying Starts notable debuts by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

• “One of the most acclaimed, exciting new children’s series in years…a hugely appealing adventure for all ages, which seems almost certain to be adapted for the screen one day.” – THE HERALD

• “An immensely entertaining adventure tale, with Scottish author Love’s masterful manipulation of pacing alternately drawing out tension or speeding up life-and-death clashes to keep the pages furiously turning…Atmospheric and cinema ready, this will leave adventure fans anxious for another road trip” – BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS

• “Teeming with tension, automatons and assassins…an atmospheric, adventure-packed debut…feels at once timeless and of the 21st century” – lovereading4kids.co.uk

• “Magic and reality merge in a razor-sharp and gripping adventure… an exciting and fascinating story that holds the reader in its grip from the first…so lifelike you can almost see it before you” – NEDERLANDS DAGBLAD

•”A whopping kids’ thriller: a mysterious quest, a dream-like flight across snowy lands, a sinister magic, a throng of foes, and, most important of all, a huge heart.” – One of the Best Books Of The Year THE BIG ISSUE

• “Full tilt…” – THE HORN BOOK GUIDE

• “An ingenious tale… an array of menacing miniature machines equipped with whirling blades; a mystery that it takes the whole book to gradually unravel…and a properly apocalyptic Christmas finale” – BOOKS FOR KEEPS

• Named one of THE YEAR’S BEST BOOKS by BARNES & NOBLE

• “With great aplomb and distinct accents, Allan Corduner throws listeners, along with the main character Alex, into a world in which robots are alive, ancient magical powers can come to life, and Alex’s grandfather eats too many sweets.” – AUDIOBOOK awarded as one of the Notable Children’s Recordings 2019 by the ALSC, a division of the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

• A Junior Library Guild selection

ABOUT MONSTROUS DEVICES

 On a winter’’s day in a British town, twelve-year-old Alex receives a package in the mail: an old tin robot from his grandfather. ““This one is special” says the enclosed note, and when strange events start occurring around him, Alex suspects this small toy is more than special; it might be deadly.

Right as things get out of hand, Alex’’s grandfather arrives, pulling him away from an attack —and his otherwise humdrum world of friends, bullies, and homework —and into the macabre magic of an ancient family feud. Together, the duo flees across snowy Europe, unraveling the riddle of the little robot while trying to outwit relentless assassins of the human and mechanical kind….