Product Description

At first, Johnny Dixon doesn't believe Professor Childermass's story about Evaristus Sloane, the insane inventor of a fiendish, baseball-pitching robot. Then Johnny sees faces at his window at night, and senses he's being followed. Old Sloane has invented a new, improved robot, and he only needs one thing to bring it to life--Johnny's eyes. A unique plot, marvelous characters, and non-stop suspense make for deliciously wicked fun. -- Booklist

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #566684 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8 Johnny Dixon and Professor Childermass, along with their friend Byron "Fergie" Ferguson, are back in another imaginative chiller. Here the three are pitted against Evaristus Sloane, an insane wizard and inventor. But even more frightening than Sloane is a robot he invented some 50 years before. The robot was built to look like a baseball player and to pitch balls, but the Professor, Johnny, and Fergie discover a much darker side to the mechanism. After finding the dismantled robot in an abandoned house, the Professor reassembles it. But after placing its eyes back in the empty sockets, the Professor realizes too late that he has resurrected a killer machine. Not only must the robot be stopped but also its mad inventor before Johnny loses his eyes and his life to a terrifying scheme. As always, Bellairs skillfully runs a current of evil just beneath the surface of the commonplace. The supernatural is mixed with the ordinary so effortlessly and so naturally as to make even the most bizarre people and situations seem possible in a very unsettling way. A unique plot, marvelous characters, and non-stop suspense make for deliciously wicked fun. Drew Stevenson, Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

The Master Of Young Adult Horror!
John Bellairs is one of my favorite authors and his books are never disappointing. This is a particular favorite of mine by this late great writer. The weaving of myth and witchcraft into that intriguing time period in America when the Atomic bomb was a new thing is just fantastic. The greatest thing about Mr. Bellairs is that his books can evoke a kind of "happy fear" in the young readers that will pick up his books and that his style and stories stick with you forever. I just can't imagine growing up without reading his books. Delightfully scary with great characters. And Illustrations by Edward Gorey! You gotta love the way Bellairs writes and what he writes about. An awesome introduction into horror fiction. No matter how old you are you will love any book by Mr. Bellairs, especially this one about an evil robot! 1

The best bellairs book So Far!
This book is a great mystery featuring Johnny Dixon, Byron Fergeson, and the Proffesor. It is about a killer robot, and a new one in the making by the evil/insane Evaristun Sloane. A MUST READ

This was a very exciting book, one of his best
Evaristus Sloane invented a robot that was like a pitching machine a long time ago. But Johnny's grandpa didn't want it because he didn't like the way it's eyes look. Now, crazy Sloane is going to get back at him and he is going to use Johnny to do it!!!!