Peter, the human protagonist of the book, having previously uncovered the fact that reasonably benign aliens have replaced some of his teachers, left Earth to learn from the aliens, had his brain removed, studied and replaced, learns that the Intergalacatic Council of aliens has come to believe that humans are too dangerous to allow into space, and will either have their technology cut off, or simply be eliminated. I don't have the earlier books, but that did not prove to be a significant impediment to enjoying this book due to the concise summary of previous events at the start of the book.

My Teacher Flunked the Planet is the last book in the My Teacher Is an Alien series. Previous: 'My Teacher Glows in the Dark' ( ) 'My Teacher Flunked the Planet' certainly did that for me when I first read it. Sure, there is hardly any science in this fiction at all, and the idea that human science has stagnated since the mass introduction of televisions is truly absurd, but what separates a good children's author from the rest is their ability to stimulate thought while entertaining. He didn't flinch from showing some really ugly truths to an audience that's traditionally overprotected.Īnd Coville did this with some really fresh takes on the juvenile sci-fi genre. Sleep tight!Ĭreepy as those thoughts are I must respect Coville for what he did with this series. But that's going to be fixed real soon kids.

I'm really not too psyched about humanity being screwed up because it was a malfunctioning hive-mind. What a crock, right?Ĭoville avoids that, what he does do though just seems like the terrifying end of a book like 'Childhood's End' given a positive spin. Aw, he forgives his daddy, I guess we won't blow up your planet after all. Humanity always gets saved though by some last-minute act of love or forgiveness.

Death and famine versus art and non-lethal sciences. The case against was (and is) pretty solid from that perspective. Remember those old Sci-Fi movies and episodes of the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits where the Earth was held hostage by aliens? Some smug being in a silver jumpsuit or robe would lecture the assembled group of humans about humanity's lust for war and willful neglect of the starving and the poor, etc. The other 'My Teacher' books go into some deep waters with troubled homes, abuse begetting abuse, and the value of strong music programs in our schools, but Coville goes all out here. Who does Bruce Coville think he is? I remembered there being some heavy stuff in this book, but I completely forgot about that ending.

My teacher flunked the planet