Space Hostages

The town of Little Mowlesbury loses its children who are whisked away in a space ship by a mad pied piper - a diseased, demented Air Force Flight Lieutenant who believes he's saving them from an even more insane world. When the Lieutenant dies from radiation leaving them with a minor legacy of instructions, Tony and Brylo take over. Or rather Tony does. He's a pompous bully with a hyperactive conceit who manages to make life miserable for Brylo, a West Indian who is browbeaten about his color and his brains. In other ways, they complement each other: Tony can pull off a skillful maneuver in a critical moment; Brylo has the painstaking genius. Together they establish communication with Earth and Brylo undertakes the slow process of learning how to get home again. But Tony is learning also and the ship is almost lost because he abandons caution in an attempt to make a grandstand re-entry rather than landing near the moon base as planned. In spite of the absurdity of the plot and the dubious technical details, this does have its startling and exciting moments. The kids talk in a terrible Teddy-boy British, however, which Americans might not find so "flippin'" good. (Kirkus Reviews)