About the Book

When a creepy fog rolls into Haven Bay, Alex, Zoey and Anil are ambushed by terrifying crab-riding zombies, controlled by the evil spirit of Brineblood the pirate.

The only weapon that can stop Brineblood’s zombie army is a powerful trident – but it’s been broken into three pieces. Alex, Zoey and Anil must enter three deadly worlds that have been magically trapped in bottles to retrieve the hidden pieces, all before the zombies can catch them. But with some penguins, an octopus and a frozen dragon on their side, how can they go wrong?

About the Author

Having worked as a freelance games journalist and taught on a BA Creative Writing course for three years, David Owen’s debut novel, Panther, was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and was followed by three further highly acclaimed YA novels. Alex Neptune is his first series for younger readers, born of his love for nail-biting heists, fantastical monsters and heartfelt friendships.

Instagram –  https://instagram.com/davidowenauthor

What I Thought

Book 1 Review – Alex Neptune: Dragon Thief – https://kirstyes.co.uk/2022/08/03/alex-neptune-dragon-thief-by-david-owen-blog-tour-book-review/

Book 2 Review – Alex Neptune: Pirate Hunter – Alex Neptune: Pirate Hunter by David Owen – Blog Tour Author Interview and Book Review

Book 3 Review – Alex Neptune: Monster Avenger

Monster Avenger is my favourite book of the series to date. In it a parasite is infecting all the ocean creatures starting with Loaf the seal and there’s evidence that the Water Dragon is losing its battle with the infection and the results of that would be catastrophic.

Alex, Zoey and Anil get a distress call from new friend Meri and go in search of them, the missing baby dragon and a cure for the infection.

Then we take a very Inner Space like journey into the belly of the dragon, and its heart, lungs etc in order to administer the cure. As well as deadly stomach acid there are more foes lurking inside to keep them from their goal. There was also a highly entertaining Tarzan of the Jungle type scene featuring mucus vines!! (Spoilers for this book will feature in the book 4 review below).

Book 4 Review – Alex Neptune: Zombie Fighter

With Zoey and Anil having been gifted water magic Alex is no longer alone but instead finds himself in the role of teacher, while he is still coming to terms with the power himself.

But there is not much time for lessons when a mysterious fog and the mysterious clicking noise it contains rolls over Haven Bay and the safety of the town is once again threatened.

The zombie crabs are after Brineblood’s skull and after previously deciding that Argosy was not trustworthy enough to hold onto the skull his house is a last refuge to keep it from a greater evil.

Faced with a frozen water dragon it is up to the three fledgling magic holders to locate three trident prongs that when reunited would have the power to save them all.

What follows is a portal adventure and treasure hunt featuring volcanos, floods, penguins, monsters and some people who may not be what they seem.

The loss of the water dragon to icecubeness in this one drives Alex, Zoey and Anil to work together and learn from each other to achieve their goals.

As with the other books I really enjoy how the kids aren’t completely on their own with this and benefit from ongoing help from family and a variety of sea creatures. Alex’s Grandpa and sister Bridget are also excellent human characters to have along for the ride.

This is such an enjoyable series. Fast paced and action packed with an undercurrent of climate change/protect our oceans messaging that weaves into the plot smoothly.

Book 5 Review – Alex Neptune: Dragon Champion

Zombie Fighter’s ending has set – 2025 release Dragon Champion – up to be an epic concluding battle to a very fun series and is a book I will definitely be on my anticipated reads list for next year.

Huge thanks to Bee at Kaleidoscopic Tours and the publisher Usborne for the gifted copy for the purposes of an honest review. Do go check out the rest of the tour stops too.