School Library Journal
After a stormy night and a green flash accompanied by a fast-moving star, Simon, Kathy, Louise, and Chris find a mysterious, slimy-rubbery substance, dubbed ''slubber,'' on the beach. They soon discover it can reproduce apparently perfect duplicates of anything, organic or inorganic. Initially thrilled by their discovery, the friends begin to disagree on what they should do with the slubber. Ultimately, Simon and Kathy realize the alien substance has a sinister intent--probably to control Earth by giving its inhabitants whatever they want. This science-fiction concept is potentially exciting, but the story is weakly constructed, lacking suspense and rapid pacing. Also, there are too many non-science fiction subplots. Bowkett's style is inconsistent; readers can't be sure of the characters' ages (in some scenes they seem 10, in others around 18). Some lines are dreadful: ''She stood with hands plonked on hips looking magnificently and gorgeously irate.'' The growing relationship between Simon and Kathy is carefully and credibly developed, and Louise is marvelously dislikable, but those aren't reasons enough to make this a high-priority purchase. --Ellen Ramsay, Amphitheater High School, Tucson, AZ
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
After a stormy night and a green flash accompanied by a fast-moving star, Simon, Kathy, Louise, and Chris find a mysterious, slimy-rubbery substance, dubbed ''slubber,'' on the beach. They soon discover it can reproduce apparently perfect duplicates of anything, organic or inorganic. Initially thrilled by their discovery, the friends begin to disagree on what they should do with the slubber. Ultimately, Simon and Kathy realize the alien substance has a sinister intent--probably to control Earth by giving its inhabitants whatever they want. This science-fiction concept is potentially exciting, but the story is weakly constructed, lacking suspense and rapid pacing. Also, there are too many non-science fiction subplots. Bowkett's style is inconsistent; readers can't be sure of the characters' ages (in some scenes they seem 10, in others around 18). Some lines are dreadful: ''She stood with hands plonked on hips looking magnificently and gorgeously irate.'' The growing relationship between Simon and Kathy is carefully and credibly developed, and Louise is marvelously dislikable, but those aren't reasons enough to make this a high-priority purchase. --Ellen Ramsay, Amphitheater High School, Tucson, AZ
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Used availability for Stephen Bowkett's Dualists