Blog Tour: Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Map Trap Cameron MacIntosh

Title: Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Map Trap

Author: Cameron MacIntosh

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Big Sky Publishing

Published: 7^th June 2021

Format: Paperback

Pages: 128

Price: $12.99

Synopsis: There’s a new sleuth in town — he’s fun, funny, and very 2424! It’s 2424. Super Sleuth Max Booth is uncovering the secrets of 20th century gadgets with his faithful but slightly neurotic robodog, Oscar. There are sinister characters and challenges along the way. Join the adventure in this fabulous series full of mystery, surprises and suspense. Ideal for reluctant readers.

IF YOU HAVE A MAP, YOU MUST KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING… RIGHT? TODAY, MAX ISN’T SO SURE! When Max and his brainy beagle-bot, Oscar, find a 400-year-old navigation unit, they’re shocked to discover that it still seems to work. They trace its owner’s last journey and find themselves on the road to very big trouble!

Far from home, Max and Oscar cross paths with a bunch of bungling burglars, trying to zip away with a precious piece of old-tech art. Max and Oscar will need to map out a rapid plan to catch the thieves and navigate their way out of danger!.

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Welcome back to 2424, and Max Booth’s world, where he and fellow robo-dog, Oscar, are still hiding from those that want to take them back to the Home. They’ve stumbled across another 20^th century gadget – a toaster but hidden within the toaster is another gadget that resembles a mobile phone yet … might not be one after all. In fact, after a trip to the phone museum, they discover that it is a 400-year-old navigation device! Max and Oscar must find out who the device belonged to and where it leads them, whilst avoiding being taken back to the Home, and solving the theft of a holographic device – a piece of old-tech art that communicates the history of Bluggsville to those around in 2424.

Max and Oscar are in a race against time to find out who owned the navigation system, solve the theft and make sure they are not forced back to the Home. This is the sixth in this exceptionally fun and fast-paced addition to the Max Booth series, catapulting readers into a future that could be, but at the same time, it feels as though it is so far into the future, it is just something we can imagine for now. What we are living through in 2021 is history and archaeology for Max, and so far-removed, that for us, it is an entirely fantastical world we can immerse ourselves in whilst still being assured that we have what we know to return to.

It is a great book for kids venturing out into the next stages of independent reading, with text combined with images to give the book a sense of fun and whimsy, but still giving kids the confidence to read alone and helping to promote literacy and an interest in history and science, as well as building understanding of friendships and compassion. This exceptionally clever and fun series is engaging, and will be one that children read again and again as they follow Max and Oscar on their fun adventures.

Another great Max Booth story!