Grasp The Incredible Origins Of The Onyx Sun Edited By Christopher Mahoney Format PDF

first half of the book is really a fun and intriguing read that both young and old will like, Aall the way. Two kids make an alliance to figure out what Zack's crazy ingenius inventive grandfather is up to, It results in some great adventures ending up on a space ship his "crazy" grandfather has created and going to the moon and beyond, It holds a promise of really a great adventure into space,

Suddenly after landing on the moon the story changes and an evil man with an evil plot pops on the scene out of the clear blue and the story changes from an adventure in space to espionage and killing and deception.
The fun and exciting part of space travel slips away and it becomes more a battle of survival, In fact the rest of the book is really trying to survive against the evil who has tried to destroy them and in turn plans to destroy the world.
Sort of a batman type story,

There are interesting science fiction aspects from unlimited power cubes to giant robots andsecond learning files but they are grounded on the moon now and so the promise of space travel and all that never comes to fruition.
The last half of the book revolves around now three kids, one being a true part of the crew, and a great friendship ensues, And the bond between Zack and Angelina grows into something very precious, These three take on the evil one practically on their own with virtually no help from his grandfather or the rest of the crew who seem to want to ignore the evil and work on establishing a base on the moon.
This whole separation issue seems very unreal and when the three actually save the ship and the crew from what would have been sure destruction they get punished by his grandfather and the rest of the crew.


This second half of the book has some challenging issues and great adventures but now it is not against space as much as fighting a crazy evil person bent on destroying the world.
The direction of the story changing in the middle of the book changed the enjoyment of the read and the plausibility of the story, It is still good but seems to loose the great writing of the first half and becomes more of just another good/evil story and not all that much of plot anymore.


I was disappointed in the ending which of course is not a real ending but set up for the next book, But I felt like I was torn away from what the whole book had been building up to, Adults really come away as pretty stupid and uncompromising which takes a little away from the reality of the whole book, But There are some good science items of interest and I think most young readers will enjoy the adventure, This book is about a boy named Zack Goodspeed, He's normal, but his grampa is not, His grampa is makes inventions, lots of inventions, Zack thought he knew everything about his grampa, Until he finds an elevator in the woods, At the bottom he finds, wait I can't ruin the story for you, You will have to read it for yourself,
I really liked this book, It keeps you reading. If you think this book is a boring science fiction novel with aliens, well, you're wrong, No aliens, but lots of adventure, Personally if I pick up a boring book and try to read it my brain shuts down, With this book my brain aspercent allert, I really liked this book and I know you will too,

Abby,yearold. Aimed at theset, this book is a fun ride for just about everyone, This is the first book in a series aboutyear old Zack Goodspeed and his eccentric and mysterious grandfather Fyodor, It seems that the old gent has invented a new, limitless power source and has set out to colonize the moon, Zack and the new neighbor girl Max sneak their way into plenty of adventures and dangers throughout this book, The illustrations are fantastic, giving a reality to the imaginative scifi features in this book, There are plenty of thrills and mystery, with short chapters that are sure to have kids pleading for the chance to read just one more chapter before lights out.
There is also an interactive website set up that will eventually allow kids to write their own Onyx Sun adventures, though a visit to it today showed the site was not quite ready for it's many promised uses.
Mahoney also plans teacher lesson plans that will link scenes in the
books with real world math and science problems, It's an ambitious project and a fantastic book that should appeal to kids everywhere, Who knows, Zach could well be the next Harry Potter!
I received this book as an Advanced Edition from the author and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I enjoyed this book.
I like science fiction in films sometimes but generally avoid it in books, The story and the characters in this book really grabbed me from the beginning though, It may be written for middle school age kids but as an adult I think it works as an enjoyable read too, For kids I think it would be even better it has a classic good triumphing over evil element, lots of action, and young characters that kids can identify with.
Overall I give itout ofstars, This story is a wonderful blend of fantasy, adventure, and science fiction which means just about perfect for any young reader, The action was exciting and should easily hold the attention span of elementary school students, The climax of the story, when Zack is trying to decide how to deactivate the bomb, is especially well written and worth the effort to get to the end.
Great job Christopher Mahoney.

Donated to the Lee County Middle School, Leesburg GA due to the fact that the cover art and story line is appealing to reluctant Jr.
High boys.

AR test created by R Lewis McGhee,

Goodreads quiz created by R Lewis McGhee

Received through goodreads, com giveaways program
When I was Zack Goodspeed's age, I met Captain Kirk and his merry band of crew members on the good ship Enterprise.
All science fiction/spaceship/boldly go where no man has gone before type tales always bring me back to the Enterprise, It's a character flaw, or perhaps an endearing quirk, Who knows.

In this story, we have young Goodspeed, and his pals boldly going to the moon aboard Grandfather Goodspeed's amazing ship, powered by his even more amazing energy source, the Onyx Sun a nice oxymoron to call this jet black cube sun.
It pleased me. At first, I found myself a little distracted by things such as calculating Grandfather's approximate age Hey! He and I were probably littermates! I wonder if he was really the brainiac in myth grade class who won the science fair But I settled in, fastened my seat belt and sent on a onyx sun charged ride.


The basic story is entertaining, and fun, if a tad predictable, I mean, come on if you meet a character named Dr Machvel, how can anyone who has ever been exposed to The Prince not suspect he might be a bad guy.
But, since most of the readership probably won't have read that particular book yet, it's probably okay, I won't go into a plot summary, because that can be read elsewhere, I did get a little eyeglazy with some of the descriptions of how things worked or looked, It made me realize that probably a lot of authors, myself included, may write more towards how things would look in building a set or on camera than in a person's head.
Or maybe you need to be ayear old boy to picture it in your mind, My view of the ship kept looking like the Enerprise But again, I digress,

Grandfather's version of madscientist is charming I tended to see him as a cross between Mark Twain and Columbo, but with a peculiar hairdo, described early on in the book.
Zach is a basic boy, with a bit of extraordinary skills that become more apparent as he moves through the story, One of his more endearing characteristics for me is that he gets motion sick pretty easily, It's his Achilles heel, or the kid version of Indiana Jones and snakes, Nice touch, from a reader who pukes on roller coasters, Made him more real. There's lot's of room for his character to expand and fill out in sequels, for yes, I would bet there are sequels in store, Angelina is a great character a bit of a wildcard and daredevil, I enjoyed her somewhat callous, yet vulnerable view on the world, Sanjay rounds out the kid trio with down to earth geekiness,

I longed to get my hands on some of those learning files, and enjoyed the learning process the kids went through about the ship.
As a neurological nurse, I worried about all the head injury/trauma Zach particularly seemed to suffer with all the blackouts, And there were a few other parts where my practical adult/parent mode kicked in, until I reminded myself to go back to a kidreadingthis mode.
I also want to explore the website and wish I had access to some of the interactive stuff alluded to on the final page of the book.


I recently read another book by another author geared at the same target audience, but found myself turned off by the author trying to appeal to all reading audiences with his cleverness and allusions.
Christopher Mahoney didn't forget his target audience, which is good, He stays true to them, but allows the rest of us to come along for the ride, I think kids will enjoy this, especially because it's other kids not so much as outsmarting adults, but in leading adults, It's not an usagainstthem situation, as much as teamwork, where the generations work together, Again, nice touch.

I have a suspicion my nephew might enjoy this book, so will probably pass along one of my copies to him to read, Think of him as Zach, but with Sanjay's skill set, He'll probably have no trouble picturing how the ship looks, and will tell me all the ways my mental image is wrong, Beam me up, Scottie!

This is an Advanced Reader copy sent to me by the author, This page refers to the Advance Copy that was distributed inin limited quantities to members of the press and online reviewers, The following description is from the final book isbn:, published May,,

The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun is an awardwinning space adventure for young adults that has earned the acclaim of Publisher's Weekly, Writer's Digest, Amazon.
com, and kids and parents everywhere,

The book follows Zack Goodspeed, a perfectly normalyear old boy, who discovers his eccentric grandfather has invented a source of unlimited power, called the Onyx Sun and harnessed that power to fuel a spaceship.
Stowing away on the ship with his mischievous neighbor Angelina "Max" Maximillian, Zack is thrust into a journey that strands him on the Moon, introduces him to bold new friends, and pits him against Dr.
Machvel, a rouge member of crew bent on turning the Onyx Sun into a weapon of mass destruction,

Through an imaginative storyline, the book immerses children in the possibilities they will oneday face to improve humanity through invention and technological exploration, It is a scintillating, rollercoaster ride of a story that helps kids also understand the nature of friendships, conflict, and

personal growth, Publisher's Weekly applauds the book, saying "This space adventure yarn has the right stuff, The fastpaced novel keeps the reader engaged throughout, The main characters are nicely done, the plot is exciting, and theres a clear jumping off point for a sequel, which young scifi fans would surely look forward to.
"

This debut novel by Christopher Mahoney has also won an honorable mention in theth Annual Writer's Digest SelfPublished Book Awards and reached the semifinals of theAmazon Breakthrough Novel Awards.


An engaging book for young readers as well as the rest of the family, The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun inspires all of us with visions of what life could be like as humanity spreads into the.
More information and online secure order form at onyxsun. com. .