Project X-Calibur

October 14, 2013
In this fast-paced adventure, newcomer Pace infuses science fiction action with Arthurian myth, creating a genre-blending tale in which a group of teens must save the world from the imminent threat of an alien invasion. Thirteen-year-old Ben Stone is great with fixing cars, but a social zero. Then he's recruited by the legendary magician Merlin to participate in the secret Round Table Reboot project, along with four other talented teens. As they undergo testing to determine who will fly X-Calibur, a captured alien spacecraft, in order to defend Earth, Ben discovers new strengths and weaknesses. He is on the verge of being cut from the program when an unexpected challenge gives him the chance he needs to tap into his full potential. The intriguing concept, mixed bag of characters, and plentiful action and training scenes make this an exciting, if somewhat predictable page-turner, vaguely evocative of Ender's Game or The Last Starfighter. The unusual juxtaposition of fantasy and science fiction elements works well, and fans of both genres should love Ben's stalwart, self-sacrificing brand of heroism. Ages 10âup.

October 1, 2013
The Sword in the Stone meets Ender's Game, with most of the suspense and all of the logic sucked from both. Pipsqueak Texas teen Ben Stone is recruited by Merlin, a little boy who doesn't talk like one and claims, with patent absurdity considering what follows, that "there's no such thing as magic." He finds himself joining four (later five) peers at a secret British base run by the ageless Percival Pellinore, last surviving Knight of the Round Table. Their mission? To become instant spaceship pilots and defend Earth from the alien fleet that will be arriving in a week. Their weapons? X-Calibur, an ancient spacecraft of alien manufacture that will, conveniently, allow only a child to pilot it, plus four inferior copies of the craft kitted up like cargo-cult models from images of the original. Having had his butt repeatedly kicked (an expression of which Pace is inordinately fond) in practice games against sword-wielding practice robots and his fellow candidates, Ben seems like a failure until he demonstrates reckless courage and leadership qualities. So when the aliens arrive early, he takes charge and blasts off in X-Calibur (with the original sword, which was made centuries ago from a strip of hull metal) to battle their leader. There are no surprises here. "Don't think," says Ben unoriginally. "Do." That seems to be Pace's modus operandi too, but here, the Force is definitely not with him. (Science fantasy. 10-12)

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January 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-Life is tough for Ben as he struggles to help his mom make ends meet while dealing with the everyday injustices of school and bullies. The last thing he needs is a creepy-eyed kid who appears to have magic powers turning up out of the blue and telling him he has been chosen to save the world from an imminent alien attack. At a high-tech training facility in London, Ben becomes part of the Round Table Reboot, a top-secret mission to recruit adolescents and remake them into modern-day knights. His training is conducted by an original member of King Arthur's Round Table, and by the famous wizard Merlin. Echoes of Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief (Disney-Hyperion, 2005) are evident in this action-packed novel. An underdog kid is plucked from his ordinary life and offered a heroic destiny, all the while discovering that legends and heroes of the past are, in fact, still very much part of the present. Readers will enjoy the high-stakes premise and high-tech gadgetry, but will feel the uneven pacing. Too much time is spent explaining that Ben is falling short at his exercises and drills, and after waiting so long for the climactic alien battle, the story ends fairly abruptly. But, for fans of Arthurian legend, save-the-world adventures, and tales of unlikely heroes, the good outweighs the bad.-Emma Burkhart, Springside School, Philadelphia, PA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2013
Grades 4-7 In this debut novel reminiscent of a lighter Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (1985), aliens are arriving in six days to destroy Earth. Helping his single mother make ends meet, and still grieving his firefighter father's death, Ben Stone knows nothing about the imminent doom, until a strange child appears in his small Texas town. This seemingly young visitor is actually an elderly Merlin, who has aged backwards and needs Ben's help to save the planet. Whisked to London, Ben, along with four other diverse teammates, begins training in a secret space battleship known as X-Calibur. Much like the legendary sword Excalibur, only one brave knight will be the perfect match for the elite ship. Not sure at first if he can rise to the immense challenge, Ben learns that being a hero is not just about size, strength, and courage, but compassion as well. Although a story line right out of a Hollywood action film makes the book predictable, fans of the Arthurian legend should enjoy the speculative angle.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)