Edison's Alley

Nick Slate (Tesla's Attic) believes he can keep an ominous asteroid at bay with Tesla's Far Range Energy Emitter--but to build it he must track down many odd gizmos he mistakenly sold at his garage sale. The quirky gadgetry from the first book returns in full force, and secondary characters feel more fleshed out. Humor and a strong narrative voice carry the day.

Celestial Object Felicity Bonk -- the asteroid that nearly destroyed the planet in Tesla’s Attic (rev. 3/14) -- maintains its ominous orbit of Earth. Nick Slate believes that he can keep the mysterious orb at bay (or possibly get rid of it for good) by building Tesla’s Far Range Energy Emitter (or FREE), which -- in addition to saving humanity -- may also be capable of transmitting energy across the world. Nick embarks on an unenviable reclamation project to find the many odd gizmos he mistakenly sold at his garage sale a few weeks before and fit them together to make the FREE. The quirky gadgetry from the first book returns in full force with some intriguing additions, such as an invisible-stringed harp that sends out cosmic vibrations when plucked. Secondary characters feel more fleshed out than in the previous installment; the authors give more airtime to key members of the villainous Accelerati, and Nick’s friends show some sinister sides as well (could one or more of Nick’s chums be double-crossing him?). Nick’s relationship with Caitlin blossoms into more than just a friendship, but in a very G-rated manner. As in the previous book, the plotting gets a bit convoluted in places, but the humor and the strong narrative voice carry the day. Stay tuned for what is likely to be an apocalyptic finale. sam bloom

In this humorous, well-paced sequel to Tesla's Attic, Nick and his friends continue to gather the dispersed parts of the Far Range Energy Emitter, while being hounded at every step by members of the Accelerati. Nick's friends are a delightfully varied bunch-there's Vince LaRue, who is being kept alive by a heavy wet-cell battery connected to his chest by electrodes; Petula Grabowski-Jones, quick-witted, verbose, and painfully honest; and Caitlin, whom Nick has just gotten up the nerve to ask out on a date. The way the kids cooperate and protect one another is admirable; it is easy to root for this motley crew. The third-person narration is filled with interesting factoids that serve to highlight the uniqueness of Nikola Tesla's fictional inventions, such as when the Emitter seems to be playing havoc with the weather: "Worldwide, lightning usually causes about eighty deaths and three hundred injuries per year. But the steadily increasing number of electrical storms in the past few weeks had laid waste to all previous statistics." The surprise ending will leave readers eagerly awaiting the trilogy's conclusion.