The Eyes of the Killer Robot

by John Bellairs Narrated by Johnny Heller

Overview

When feared Yankees slugger Cliff Bullard goes barnstorming around the northeast, offering $10,000 to any local pitcher who can strike him out, Professor Childermass and Johnny Dixon get a sneaky idea. There's a local legend about a crackpot inventor who once built a robot capable of throwing a baseball 110 MPH, and the professor thinks that if they find the machine, they can win Bullard's prize. They discover the rusted old monstrosity in an abandoned workshop and put it back together, piece by piece. But when they screw in the robot's eyes and it comes to life, they realize they have made a terrible mistake.

As soon as it's activated, the robot attacks, trying to kill Johnny and the professor. Was it made to be a killing machine, or have its circuits been corroded? To save the town and get a crack at the $10,000, Johnny and the professor will have to tame the steel beast.

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 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.

From the Publisher

Praise for John Bellairs
 
“I have just spent a long rainy weekend buried under a quilt, devouring salty peanuts and a stack of John Bellairs mysteries. It was heaven . . . Much like other mysteries, these short works of the imagination are designed and constructed with the fine storytelling craft of an adult master. . . . Bellairs moves the action at a furious clip. . . . [These] hair-raising adventures also excite readers because they involve believable and likable characters with whom we can empathize in moments of danger . . . An endearing detective team.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times
“Is there no end to the suspense John Bellairs can create?” —School Library Journal
 
“There’s suspense and action aplenty. . . Perfect for the pre-Stephen King set.” —Booklist
 
“Sophisticated notions on the nature of good and evil, nuanced storytelling, and expert world-building.” —AV Club
 

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175678933
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	10/18/2022
Series:	The Johnny Dixon Series , #5
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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