The Blurb On The Back:

There’s no ducking out – it’s time to be a hero!

When a meteor hits his pond, a wise-quacking duck develops superpowers and becomes …

ADVENTURE DUCK!

But Power Pug has gained strange powers too and he’s using them to take over the world!

Can Adventure Duck stop the evil pug and his Moo-dy Henchcow before it’s too late? 

You can order Adventure Duck -v- Power Pug by Steve Cole and Aleksei Bitskoff from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

The Review (Cut For Spoilers):

When a meteorite hits the Earth’s atmosphere and breaks up into a series of glowing rocks, one of the rocks ends up hitting a small duck pond in a large park.

A vain, not particularly bright duck who calls himself Adventure Duck (or AD for short) discovers that the rock has given him super powers – he’s super-fast, super strong and has an incredibly loud quack that can knock down the strongest of opponents.  And AD isn’t alone.  An egg that calls itself Yoki had been left in a nest near the pond has developed super intelligence, a rather magnificent moustache and a psychic connection with Adventure Duck.

Adventure Duck wants to use his powers to get the respect and admiration of the other ducks at the pond.  Yoki convinces him that the best way to do that is to use his powers for good and Adventure Duck’s first job is to track down Power Pug – a dog that’s also gained super powers from the meteorite but is intent on using them for evil. Adventure Duck thinks that beating Power Pug will be a doddle, but hasn’t counted on Power Pug’s formidable hench-animal, Apocalypse Cow.

Adventure Duck’s going to need all his bravery, all his powers and the help of a supercharged, electric generating zebra called Ziggy if he’s going to beat the dastardly pair – and even that might not be enough …

The first in Steve Cole’s humorous superhero book series for children aged 6+ (illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff) is a zany and silly affair with some good one-liners that will keep both adults and children amused, an interesting main character who’s amusingly self-involved and a dastardly villain, all of which should delight the target audience.

Adventure Duck is a delightfully vain, silly character – who is slow on the uptake but has a pun for every occasion – and I liked the way he develops over the course of the book.  Also entertaining is the relationship that develops between him, Yuki and Ziggy while Power Pug is a suitably evil foe with a real dastardly plan.  My absolute favourite character though was Apocalypse Cow and given a twist towards the end, I am very much hoping to see her again in future books.

The humour is silly with some good one-liners that made me grin and Aleksei Bitskoff’s illustrations add to the humour and have a lot of energy to them.  All in all, this is a lot of fun that younger readers and grown ups will enjoy.

ADVENTURE DUCK VS POWER PUG was released in the United Kingdom on 4^thApril 2019.  Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.