Title: Adventures of the Steampunk Pirates (series)

Written by:  Gareth P. Jones

Illustrated by: Artful Doodlers

Published by: Stripes Publishing

If you like pirates and you like robots you’re going to love this series of books. In fact, how can you not love robot pirates?

Captain Clockheart and his crew are renegade robot servants who have been liberated by the Admiral’s daughter. In The Leaky Battery Sets Sail, the first book of the series, the robot pirates take to the high seas and have to avoid being captured by the evil Iron Duke, who is human and not made of Iron at all. The Duke has his beady eyes on the king’s reward for the steampunk pirates’ capture.

In Clash of the Rival Robots they face their old nemesis the evil Iron Duke again but the Attack of the Giant Sea Spiders finds them facing a new antagonist, the dreaded Captain Inkybeard and his wife Nancy (who is a squid that Inkybeard carries around under his pirate hat).  In the Rise of the Slippery Sea Monster, the steampunk pirates get a taste of their own medicine when the Leaky Battery is raided by a sea monster that’s greedy for gold. This is just a taste of the wacky plot lines and characters in this dynamic series.

These fast-paced reads are littered with author asides. Gareth P. Jones takes you on a roller-coaster ride through waves of pirates’ escapades, fuelled by their desire for gold. I like the way each chapter is summarised at the beginning. The stories are enhanced by the brilliant sea shanties at the beginning and end of the books and the amusing illustrations by Artful Doodlers.

I enjoyed reading these books. They are fun! A must for every school book corner and library. Excellent bedtime reading for your children. If you crave excitement these are the books for you.