Title: Certainly strange!
Review: Certainly one of the strangest science-fiction juveniles I have ever read. Not only is the science nonexistent, and the narrative (deliberately) chaotic, but also almost all of the illustrations have a kinky and disturbing sexual charge... the "good" Martians look like upright baseball bats with clusters of pubic hair in various places, and the "bad" Martians look precisely like gigantic, thick phalluses arising vertically out of a huge nest of pubic hair. The three stowaway kids along for the adventure are depicted with completely ambiguous sexuality. There is essentially no plot, and very little action, until a final "battle" between the baseball bats and the bad guys. The pseudonymous author, "Cross," was best known, I think, for short stories with a supernatural theme. It's hard to believe that this novel had at least one sequel, THE RED JOURNEY BACK, published about 10 years later. I haven't seen it and am almost afraid to search it out!
Is this product review negative?