Penelope Quagmire and the Planet of the Zombies - Hal W. Lanse Book Review

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Review Summary

ImaJinn, May 2002, 10.00
ISBN 189386965x

Miss Penelope Quagmire and her three students (Ozzie, Orlando and Anissa) are looking to find their way back home when they are captured by a spaceship that looks like a skull. The crew is zombies who eat fresh flesh for nourishment. The foursome makes their escape with the help of Lorika, the original owner of the ship.

They land on the planet Sarkafagon where the intelligent species consists of three classes, the blue high fliers (beings with three eyes, a beak and wings), the brown fliers, and the orange ground walkers. Under the ocean the king of the frogs has made a deal with the zombie leader to overthrow the present regime and divide the planet into feeding bins for the frog people and the zombies. They don't know that Miss Quagmire and friends will go to any length to stop them.

Harry Potter meets his match in Penelope Quagmire. The story line of PENELOPE QUAGMIRE AND THE PLANET OF THE ZOMBIES is very entertaining though deeply imbedded into the plot are serious social messages that are the underlying basis of the tale. The world of Sarkafagon feels very real as is the author has made a study of it in his travels. This is an enjoyable read aimed at the young adult market.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of Penelope Quagmire and the Planet of the Zombies

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - exploring a wondrous planet or phenomena
Parody Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - teacher
Age: - 40's-50's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - An "It".
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - pirate
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - missing body parts/abilities

Setting
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a primitive/fantasy society
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a fair amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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