The Stig Plays a Dangerous Game - Blog Tour

Top Gear is a programme that I watched for many years, I have to admit that I sort of switched off when there was the changing of presenters but one part of the show that remained constant and fab to watch was when The Stig drove those cars around the track. And now Jon Claydon and Tim Lawlwr have joined forces to bring this fantastic racing driver to a younger audience and what better way than through the medium of writing.

You are now joining my latest blog tour and I'm happily introducing The Stig Plays a Dangerous Game ...

Sam Wheeler may be the new boy in Bunsfold, but he's got a feeling that all is not well either in the town or at Bunsfold High - and he's not just talking about the maths teacher with the unfortunate flatulence. A local boy, Buster Mustang, has recently gone missing, and no one seems to care - they're all too busy playing the highly addictive video game Xenon or getting the town ready for its very first TT race. Both are the brainchild of mysterious local billionaire PT Cruiser. Besides global domination, PT Cruiser wants nothing more than to destroy his nemesis The Stig once and for all - and his TT race is just what he needs to tempt him on to the big stage again ...

Sam sets out with his new friends Minnie Cooper and Ford Harrison to uncover the truth behind all the strange goings-on in Bunsfold - but danger has a habit of showing up wherever they do, and soon all that stands between our heroes and disaster is ... a taciturn man in a white suit. 

I'm sure many of you are reading this and thinking that this book appears to be more for boys than girls but I am here to tell you that you're thoughts would be utterly wrong. This is an adventure book suitable for any gender, although I'd say it was more suited for children aged between the ages of seven and twelve.

My twelve year old daughter took the book away on holiday with us and finished it in next to no time and she has some thoughts she'd like to share with you:

The Sig Plays a Dangerous Game is eye opening. The general idea is a billionaire makes a video game to take over the world and to catch his arch-nemesis, The Stig. However a band of kids come together in the hopes of stopping him!

The Stig is a mysterious driver in white that pops up all over history to save the day and to race. The character was previously in the TV show Top Gear and he didn't really seem to have a back story.

But now he has his own book series.

I applaud the authors for using this mystery driver as the main subject, the took one genre of entertainment and managed to adapt it for a younger audience.

On that note, I like how the authors managed to link it to the show by giving characters names based on cars, this made for a goof joke here and there, it was a great added touch to an already good story.

My favourite part of this book had to be the complexity of it. On the one hand, you have Sam's school life and past and then on the other hand you have Xenon and the Deathbot. Oh and not forgetting the Stig.

The Stig manages to make those two come together (fist-pump), it's how the tale becomes complete.

What I liked is that although complex, the story didn't become confusing or any part overpowering. It was a perfect blend of three ideas that could have easily become separate but managed to mix together.

Finally I'd like to quickly note that this book wasn't all serious. It had a good number of jokes and laughs and that just made it all the more enjoyable.

In conclusion I would probably recommend to most fans of cars, action and adventure. I absolutely enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading more books from the series in the future.

As you can see from my daughter's review, it is a well rounded book jam-packed with action, adventure and emotion. With short and snappy chapters it makes a great story even for reluctant readers and with addition of the odd comic book images throughout the pages, there is a great mix of text and pictures to keep you turning the pages.

Out now, The Stig Plays a Dangerous Game is can be found over on Amazon and can be purchased in either e-book or paperback form.

A great start to a series!

Now for more reviews, extracts and interviews you need to follow the rest of the blog tour, take a look at the banner below to discover where to go next.