Sarah Tesh reviews Swarm Rising and Swarm Enemy by Tim Peake and Steve Cole Digital drove: Tim Peake and Steve Cole’s aliens gave up their physical form to exist as a swarm of data. Create a Physics World account to get access to all available digital issues of the monthly magazine. If this book is over 5 years old, then please expect the pages to be yellowing or to have age spots. It’s a whirlwind – and educational – adventure, and I enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t your stereotypical alien invasion.

Biography: Tim Peake (Author) Tim Peake was the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station. When Danny's best friend Jamila goes missing, and no one remembers she exists, Danny knows the alien Swarm are back on Earth. Naturally, chaos ensues, and the race to save the world includes superpowers related to quantum physics, aliens trying to understand the concept of individualism, and the protagonists travelling across space as digital intelligences transmitted via radiowaves. He attempts a rescue mission but falls into multiple traps along the way and ends up being rescued himself by Swarm agents, including a newly programmed Adi. Aimed at ages 8–11, they are written from the point of view of 14-year-old Danny Munday as he and his best friend, Jamila al-Sufi, try to save the world from aliens intent on conquering the human race.These include the fight to be an individual in a society that expects you to be a certain way, the importance of empathy and understanding, and the realistic mental-health impacts of being thrown into a world of aliens. The journey to defeat the “Malusonians” is action packed and features a lot of sci-fi hallmarks, including zombies, teleporting, DNA hacking, an antimatter bomb, cryogenic suspension and a trip to the International Space Station (ISS).

It is however worth persevering through the information-heavy sections, and the authors are less prone to them in the second book . Take Adi’s powers, which allow her to do things like drive a car on water, bend buildings and walk through walls. Hachette Australia acknowledges and pays our respects to the past, present and future Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. There are other, more subtle messages skilfully woven into the stories that are more delicately handled.The story is full of twists and turns, cleverly orchestrated by Cole, and the action culminates in a trip to the International Space Station, where Peake is obviously very much at home. So perhaps that’s why the covers for Swarm Rising and Swarm Enemy have “From astronaut Tim Peake” emblazoned across them.

This second book has a lot more twists and turns than the first, which is one of the reasons why I preferred it. Sign into your Physics World account to get access to all available digital issues of the monthly magazine. Having encountered aliens in their first adventure (NB Swarm Enemyworks perfectly well as a stand-alone story), Jamila has been left with some strange, extra-terrestrial powers and this makes her a target for some very unscrupulous characters. Swarm Enemy Perfect for fans of Alex Rider, Young Bond and Cherub, this fast-paced action-adventure is the second thrilling story from astronaut Tim Peake and bestselling author Steve Cole.In Swarm Enemy, when Danny and Adi leave the Earth in a bubble of air to reach the ISS, the description of Danny’s emotions, the physical process, and the view of space and Earth is mesmerizing. Danny needs to find Jamila - and a new version of Adi, the friendly Swarm scout - and together they must stop both humans and aliens from destroying the human race. The books might not become classics, but I would definitely recommend them for any child who’s interested in – or yet to discover – space, science or aliens.

A ground-breaking human history of space by beloved British astronaut and bestselling author Tim Peake. Tim was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009 and after arduous training Tim was assigned to a mission to the International Space Station in May 2013. For instance, when Danny’s mum is talking about some previously detected signals, the conversation with Danny goes like this: “ ‘…the radio waves were being thrown out by a stellar remnant. With the help of bestselling children’s author Steve Cole, these books are Peake’s first forays into fiction.

Her alien-enhanced DNA can be used to clone super-strong beings with super-powers, and now it's not just the Swarm who are after her.