EAGER’S NEPHEW

Twenty years have passed since Eager’s last adventure among humans, and self-aware robots have long been outlawed. Once a year, Eager emerges from hiding to visit his friends, the Bell family. This trip he’s shocked to discover a stowaway: his nephew, the shape-morphing robot Jonquil. Eager insists that Jonquil hide from the Bells for their protection, but it’s difficult for Jonquil to stay out of trouble. Inadvertently, the Bell family’s been caught up in international intrigues, identity theft and disturbing virtual realities. Accompanied by an amusing robot actress who only speaks Elizabethan English, Eager and Jonquil risk their safety to help their human friends. Compelling mysteries resolve far too quickly, leaving a sadly flat conclusion to an otherwise cute adventure. (Science fiction. 9-13)