- Mass Market Paperback
- Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group; Reissue edition (31 Dec 1986)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553255649
- ISBN-13: 978-0553255645
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.7 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 640,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
FOR INTERSTELLAR PIG
'A riveting adventure . . . Terrifyingly vivid, coupled with a high-flying sense of humour.' (NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW )
'Will raise readers' hackles and incite nervous laughs . . . a taut tale.' (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY )
'Sleator's science fiction story is compelling on first reading - but stellar on the second ... raises enough questions to keep readers thinking - and wondering - well past the last page.' (SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL )
'From creepy to hilarious to murkily outlandish: a freewheeling science fiction nightmare/comedy from the inventive William Sleator ... Steady, challenging amusement for savvy readers.' (KIRKUS REVIEWS ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'A riveting adventure . . . Terrifyingly vivid, coupled with a high-flying sense of humour.' (NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW )
'Will raise readers' hackles and incite nervous laughs . . . a taut tale.' (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY )
'Sleator's science fiction story is compelling on first reading - but stellar on the second ... raises enough questions to keep readers thinking - and wondering - well past the last page.' (SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL )
'From creepy to hilarious to murkily outlandish: a freewheeling science fiction nightmare/comedy from the inventive William Sleator ... Steady, challenging amusement for savvy readers.' (KIRKUS REVIEWS ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Publishers Weekly
'Will raise readers' hackles and incite nervous laughs . . . a taut tale.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have owned a copy of this book all through my childhood and have re-read it many, many times. The plot leads you along so smoothly and the inspiration for the characters is out of this world. The idea of "the game" being real drags at our creative and thoughts and plays with our imagination. A book well written in every sense. No child or adult should be without a copy for when they need a little pick-me-up.
Format:Paperback
William Sleator's Interstellar Pig (1984) is a book I'd encountered as a young adult. I'd forgotten it (blocked it?) entirely until Bex mentioned it a few weeks ago. And then, when she realized I hadn't read it for decades, she thrust it into my hands and stood over me until I finished. "Encountered" and "blocked it" are deliberately pejorative words. This supposed children's book is exactly the sort of thing that breaks fragile young minds. Not because it is bad - more the reverse: Sleator's hallucinogenic science fiction is way too well-written.
Barney is a lonely, slightly-geeky 16 year old with parents that "just don't understand" (in fairness to Mr. Sleator's characterization, he does a great job creating the distant/loyal Charlie Brown style parental unit). His miserable summer is enlivened when three very peculiar strangers move next door and entice him into playing their favorite board game.
The game is, of course, the titular "Interstellar Pig". Each player assumes the role of an alien - the representative of their entire species. The aliens quest around the universe in search of the "Piggy", an artifact of unknown origin or value. When the timer goes off, the alien holding the Piggy is spared. All the other species - and their homeworlds - are extinguished.
As you can probably predict, the game and Barney's reality become cataclysmically intermingled. Barney is pursued by alien lifeforms while desperately trying to save Earth. What should be a fairly goofy YA scenario is turned into very real horror by Mr. Sleaton's extremely evocative prose. And, of course, the enticing descriptions of the actual game - guaranteed to trigger the imagination of any geekishly-inclined reader.
Barney is a lonely, slightly-geeky 16 year old with parents that "just don't understand" (in fairness to Mr. Sleator's characterization, he does a great job creating the distant/loyal Charlie Brown style parental unit). His miserable summer is enlivened when three very peculiar strangers move next door and entice him into playing their favorite board game.
The game is, of course, the titular "Interstellar Pig". Each player assumes the role of an alien - the representative of their entire species. The aliens quest around the universe in search of the "Piggy", an artifact of unknown origin or value. When the timer goes off, the alien holding the Piggy is spared. All the other species - and their homeworlds - are extinguished.
As you can probably predict, the game and Barney's reality become cataclysmically intermingled. Barney is pursued by alien lifeforms while desperately trying to save Earth. What should be a fairly goofy YA scenario is turned into very real horror by Mr. Sleaton's extremely evocative prose. And, of course, the enticing descriptions of the actual game - guaranteed to trigger the imagination of any geekishly-inclined reader.
Format:Paperback
I first read this book when I was about 10years old, because I thought the front cover looked, interesting. Usually I never judge a book by its cover but in this case it worked. This is a really spooky story of strange things happening to Barney one summer. I was a big fan of the Goosebumps books by R.L Stein, when I read Interstellar Pig, but this is considerably better I think now. An interesting read for a summer holiday, for anyone between 10 and 15 I would say.
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