Most Popular Books by Greg van Eekhout

Thatcher Hill is bored stiff of his summer job dusting the fake mermaids and shrunken heads at his uncle''s seaside Museum of Curiosities. But when a mysterious girl steals an artifact from the museum, Thatcher''s summer becomes an adventure that takes him from the top of the ferris wheel to the depths of the sea. Following the thief, he learns that she is a princess of the lost Atlantis. Her people have been cursed by an evil witch to drift at sea all winter and wash up on shore each summer to an even more terrible fate-working the midway games and food stands on the boardwalk. Can Thatcher help save them before he, too, succumbs to the witch''s curse? With sharp, witty writing that reads like a middle-grade Douglas Adams'' Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy, Greg van Eekhout''s first book for young readers is a wild ride packed with as many laughs as it has thrills.

Pacific Fire: Another thrilling ride through Greg van Eekhout''s wildly imaginative world of California Bones, featuring entertaining new characters and a dangerous magical plot unfolding in Los Angeles. I''m Sam. I''m just this guy. Okay, yeah, I''m a golem created from the substance of his own magic by the late Hierarch of Southern California. With a lot of work, I might be able to wield magic myself. I kind of doubt it, though. Not like Daniel Blackland can. Daniel''s the reason the Hierarch''s gone and I''m still alive. He''s also the reason I''ve lived my entire life on the run. Ten years of never, ever going back to Los Angeles. Daniel''s determined to protect me. To teach me. But it gets old. I''ve got nobody but Daniel. I''ll never do anything normal. Like attend school. Or date a girl. Now it''s worse. Because things are happening back in LA. Very bad people are building a Pacific firedrake, a kind of ultimate weapon of mass magical destruction. Daniel seemed to think only he could stop them. Now Daniel''s been hurt. I managed to get us to the place run by the Emmas. (Many of them. All named Emma. It''s a long story.) They seem to be healing him, but he isn''t going anyplace soon. Do I even have a reason for existing, if it isn''t to prevent this firedrake from happening? I''m good at escaping from things. Now I''ve escaped from Daniel and the Emmas, and I''m on my way to LA. This may be the worst idea I ever had. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Dragon Coast: the sequel to Greg Van Eekhout''s California Bones and Pacific Fire, in which Daniel Blackland must pull off the most improbable theft of all. Daniel''s adopted son Sam, made from the magical essence of the tyrannical Hierarch of Southern California whom Daniel overthrew and killed, is lost-consumed by the great Pacific firedrake secretly assembled by Daniel''s half-brother, Paul. But Sam is still alive and aware, in magical form, trapped inside the dragon as it rampages around Los Angeles, periodically torching a neighborhood or two. Daniel has a plan to rescue Sam. It will involve the rarest of substances, axis mundi, pieces of the bones of the great dragon at the center of the Earth. Daniel will have to go to the kingdom of Northern California, boldly posing as his half-brother, come to claim his place in the competition to be appointed Lord High Osteomancer of the Northern Kingdom. Only when the Northern Hierarch, in her throne room at Golden Gate Park, raises her scepter to confirm Daniel in his position will he have an opportunity to steal the axis mundi-under the gaze of the Hierarch herself. And that''s just the first obstacle. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Years after swallowing a kraken bone fragment and then witnessing the killing of his magician father, Daniel endures a life of thievery until his crime-boss uncle compels him to steal his father''s sword and fight a corrupt regime.

Is this Ragnarok, or just California? The NorseCODE genome project was designed to identify descendants of Odin. What it found was Kathy Castillo, a murdered MBA student brought back from the dead to serve as a valkyrie in the Norse god’s army. Given a sword and a new name, Mist’s job is to recruit soldiers for the war between the gods at the end of the world—and to kill those who refuse to fight. But as the twilight of the gods descends, Mist makes other plans. Journeying across a chaotic American landscape already degenerating into violence and madness, Mist hopes to find her way to Helheim, the land of the dead, to rescue her murdered sister from death’s clutches. To do so, she’ll need the help of Hermod, a Norse god bumming around Los Angeles with troubles of his own. Together they find themselves drafted into a higher cause, trying to do what fate long ago deemed could not be done: save the world of man. For even if myths aren’t made to be broken, it can’t hurt to go down fighting…can it?

Born half-grown in a world that is being destroyed, Fisher has instinctive knowledge of many things, including that he must avoid the robot that knows his name.

Stay calm and remain HAPPY. Help is on the way. Perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Jennifer L. Holm, this adventure-packed middle grade story, set in a world not too far from our own, follows a family that moves to a remote company town that seems perfect on the surface.... Keegan knows there’s something off about Happy Town. The isolated, high-tech company town is too perfect—with a dome keeping out bad weather and self-driving vehicles rumbling throughout the town delivering residents to work and school. Still, Keegan is excited to grow his art skills at Happy Town’s ultra-modern middle school, even if he has less time to see his mom and stepdad because of their new jobs. But when the two become obsessed with working and eating Happy Corp Meat Cramwich (the Microwaveable Sandwich Crammed with Meat) and Keegan gets sentenced to Mandatory Work Opportunities for refusing to follow Happy Town’s shady rules, he discovers a dangerous glitch in the system that’s turning the town’s happy residents into zombies. Carnivorous, meat-craving, literal zombies. With his new friends Gloriana and Tank by his side, he’ll need to find a way to destroy Happy Town’s happy system—before there’s nothing left.

What is there to do, when you have the power to do anything? John can fly, he can see through solid objects, he can take over the world and give it back again, but what he''s looking for is something else... At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A girl and her puppy face down the end of the world—which the puppy’s partly responsible for—in this middle grade story from acclaimed author Greg van Eekhout, perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and J.C. Cervantes. When Mott finds a puppy abandoned in a recycling bin, she’s ready to do everything she can to protect him. What she doesn’t realize, however, is that this is the legendary wolf Fenris, who’s prophesied to bring about the end of the world by eating the moon. Now Mott has found herself in charge of making sure the hungry pup—who’s busy munching on lampposts, cars, and water towers—doesn’t see all of California as an appetizer, while also hiding him from the Norse gods who are hot on his trail, determined to see the prophecy come true. Mott vows to protect Fenris, rescue him from his destiny, and prevent the world from ending. But will she be able to keep her promise? Or has she bitten off more than she can chew?

Dogs in space! Share this book with middle graders who enjoy stories about dogs, space adventures, or action adventure stories—or all three! Perfect for fans of Homeward Bound and Woof. Lopside is a Barkonaut, a specially trained dog who assists human astronauts on missions in space. He and the crew aboard the spaceship Laika are en route to set up an outpost on a distant planet. When the mission takes a disastrous turn, the Barkonauts on board suddenly find themselves completely alone on their severely damaged ship. Survival seems impossible. But these dogs are Barkonauts—and Barkonauts always complete their mission. SOS. Ship damaged. Human crew missing. We are the dogs. We are alone.

An all-ages adventure by the three-time Nebula nominee: "Cog is a gem of a robot, and his robotic observations are comedic gold. Readers will be charmed." — Booklist Five robots are on a mission to rescue their inventor from the corporation that controls them all—and their programming will never be the same . . . Cog looks like a normal twelve-year-old boy. But his name is short for "cognitive development," and he was built to learn. After an accident leaves him damaged, Cog wakes up in an unknown lab—and Gina, the scientist who created and cared for him, is nowhere to be found. Surrounded by scientists who want to study him and remove his brain, Cog recruits four robot accomplices for a mission to find her. Cog, ADA, Proto, Trashbot, and Car''s journey will likely involve much cognitive development in the form of mistakes, but Cog is willing to risk everything to find his way back to Gina . . . In this delightful adventure, the author of The Boy at the End of the World brings us an unforgettable character and a story sure to earn its place among beloved middle-grade classics. "A page-turning novel of friendship, family, and standing up for what''s right." — Bulletin of the Center for Children''s Books "Readers will be charmed by this sci-fi tale of free choice, hot dogs, and fun word problems." — Booklist "Van Eekhout brings considerable heart and wisdom to this coming-of-age tale . . . about hubris and what it means to be human." — Kirkus Reviews

Ghosts make the best thieves in this pitch-perfect middle grade adventure from the acclaimed author of Weird Kid. Perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and John David Anderson--and anyone looking for an Ocean''s 11-style heist! Zenith and her friends may be dead—but lucky for them, even getting ghosted wasn’t enough to tear them apart. The four of them were thick as thieves long before an unfortunate lab accident sent them careening into the afterlife. So when they hear about a machine that could return them to the land of the living, they are determined to steal it. Unfortunately, the magical device belongs to a dangerous necromancer who’s out for their ectoplasm. Fortunately, they’re great at heists. Because pulling off the score of their deathtimes is no job for an amateur. Perfect for Halloween reading Features light scares A charming cozy seasonal pick

From the author of Cog and Voyage of the Dogs, Weird Kid is a hilarious and heartfelt homage to everyone who feels like they don’t belong. Perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Stuart Gibbs. Jake Wind is trying to stay under the radar. Whose radar? Anyone who might be too interested in the fact that he has shapeshifting abilities he can’t control. Or that his parents found him as a ball of goo when he was a baby. Keeping his powers in check is crucial, though, if he wants to live a normal life and go to middle school instead of being homeschooled (and if he wants to avoid being kidnapped and experimented on, of course). Things feel like they’re going his way when he survives his first day of school without transforming and makes a new friend. But when mysterious sinkholes start popping up around town—sinkholes filled with the same extraterrestrial substance as Jake—and his neighbors, classmates, and even his family start acting a little, well, weird, Jake will have to learn to use his powers in order to save his town. "The short page count, humor, and action make this a good choice for reluctant readers. A solid purchase for school and public libraries." —School Library Journal

A collection of the best American science fiction and fantasy stories from 2016

The July/August 2019 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine. Featuring new fiction by Sarah Pinsker, Greg van Eekhout, Rachel Swirsky and P.H. Lee, Marie Brennan, A.C. Wise, and Maurice Broaddus. Reprinted fiction by Tim Pratt, essays by Aidan Moher, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Karlyn Ruth Meyer, Marissa Lingen, and Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, poetry by D.A. Xiaolin Spires, Alexandra Seidel, Cynthia So, and Betsy Aoki, interviews with Greg Van Eekhout and Maurice Broaddus by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by Julie Dillon, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.

The July/August 2024 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine. Featuring new fiction by Sarah Pinsker, Greg van Eekhout, Sunwoo Jeong, John Chu, AnaMaria Curtis, Eleanna Castroianni, and Megan Chee. Essays by John Scalzi, Marissa Lingen, Del Sandeen, and Natania Barron, poetry by Terese Mason Pierre, Natasha King, Roshani Chokshi, and Abdulkareem Abdulkareem, interviews with Greg van Eekhout and AnaMaria Curtis by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by Broci, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas. Uncanny Magazine is a bimonthly science fiction and fantasy magazine first published in November 2014. Edited by 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 Hugo award winners for best semiprozine, and 2018 Hugo award winners for Best Editor, Short Form, Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, and Monte Lin, each issue of Uncanny includes new stories, poetry, articles, and interviews.

In the future, many animals can talk, and some have jobs. Evan outwits his dog, Bart, to do his homework. Or does he? A space explorer from 24th century Earth is on a mission to bring civilization to the tiny people of planet Tau Ceti. Is bigger really better? Read this book to find the answers.

"Alien shape-shifters from the Planet Morph have landed on Earth. Fortunately, General Gleaner and his descrambler ray can turn any object into an anagram itself. Unfortunately, the new anagrams are sometimes worse than aliens" -- taken from back cover.