The Ink Thief.

By Paul Springer.

Synopsis:
Samantha and her brother Jim move to a new house in a strange country, then accidentally get drawn into the OOB's battle against the Ink Thief...

Review:
Paul Springer has a wonderful style of writing - chatty and informal but not patronising - that carries the story even though there are occasional moments that don't seem to fit. The characters are also excellently drawn out, and you can sympathise with both sides, although there seemed to be some signs early on of making the Ink Thief entirely evil. Fortunatly he was soon 'humanised' a little.

This is a novelisation of the children's TV series, and there are parts that don't really translate well to the written word. In my opinion the worst of these is the opening sequence, which would probably have worked well as a visual thing (I don't know, I think I missed the first episode. But then it was many many years since I saw it...) but just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the book.

There's a sly little mention of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is nicely done.

All in all, a very enjoyable book which, although aimed at children, is easily accessable. (At least by me, and I'm not very patient...)