We do not welcome our ten-year-old overlord by Garth Nix

I am a fan of Garth Nix’s writing and couldn’t wait to read his latest middle school book with the intriguing title We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord. Set in Canberra in 1975, Kim, his younger sister Eila, Bennie and her younger sister Madir are on a bicycle ride to the lake. Suddenly the world goes dark for a second and they spot an orb amongst weeds in the water. Kim takes it out and it unsuccessfully tries to take over his mind, and he warns the others to stay away from it. But Eila, a know-all prodigy, grabs it, names it Aster and is happy for her to come into her mind. Kim is convinced that it is dangerous, but Eila disguises it as a basketball and takes it out at night, where they experiment on ants, thousands of which die the next day. They also reduce an injured kangaroo to pulp. Eila is convinced that she is doing good when she manipulates her parents, living an alternative lifestyle on an Experimental Farm, persuading them to buy a colour television. Bennie and Madir’s neglectful parents suddenly become caring and Mrs Benison’s pain is stopped. But what will Aster do next? Why is she going out alone at night? Are Kim’s fears justified?

Kim has always been in the shadow of his younger sister, Eila, who speaks many different languages and is very smart. Eila is stubborn and believes that she is always right and their parents usually take her side in any argument. However Kim knows that he has common sense  and that the orb’s attempt to take over his mind was not a good thing. He is determined to save Eila from manipulating more people and he may have to save the world as well. There is danger to face and complex decisions to make as Kim and his friends battle Aster’s influence.

Nix brings in some of his own background to the novel. The group love to play Dungeons and Dragons, as Nix did in his teenage years; many families do not have colour TVs, and children were free to cycle miles without parental supervision.

The theme of a 10-year-old becoming an overlord is fascinating, raising questions about the maturity of children to make decisions. The possible outcomes of such decisions will leave readers thinking long after they finish the book. Older readers may want to move onto Nix’s Abhorsen series, starting with Sabriel. 

Themes: Aliens, Canberra, Science fiction.

Pat Pledger