by Mark Teague
When a spaceship lands in Vern Hollow, Jack's hometown, he and his no-account inventor-uncle Bud are busy trying to fix a car driven by Dr. Shumway and her daughter, Isadora. Although Uncle Bud secretly knows the aliens are after one of his inventions, everyone is surprised when the space aliens capture seven of Vern Hollow's residents and take them into outer space on a wild adventure...
After a series of twists and turns, all of them are taken to Skreepia, the aliens' planet, where they have to defeat the Skreep queen before she can use Uncle Bud's invention to take over planet Earth. Filled with wonderful detail, humor, inventive dialog, and irresistible black-and-white spot art, The Doom Machine is a tour de force by one of America's most beloved storytellers.
"Borrowing wildly from pulp fiction, bad movies and even Vonneguts Slaughterhouse Five, Teague has a wonderful time with this occasionally disjointed but endlessly inventive first novel. Ages 912." - Publishers Weekly
"It is a great fit for science fiction, humor, and adventure genre fans." - VOYA
"Starred Review. It's a great story with engaging characters and a good deal of humor." - School Library Journal
"Though the author gives most of the active roles to the grown-ups ... his feeling for oddball characters and twists recalls Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday (2007). Ages 11-13." - Kirkus Reviews
This information about Doom Machine was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

If you liked Doom Machine, try these:
by Elaine Castillo
Published 2026
A bold and inventive novel about real romance in the virtual workplace—bringing Castillo's trademark wit and sharp cultural criticism to an irresistible story about the possible future of love.
by Chuck Tingle
Published 2025
Bury Your Gays is a heart-pounding new novel from USA Today bestselling author Chuck Tingle about what it takes to succeed in a world that wants you dead.
Misha knows that chasing success in Hollywood can be hell.
by Margie Sarsfield
Published 2025
A young woman's seasonal job working a sugar beet harvest takes a surreal turn in this surprising and vivid debut.
A library is thought in cold storage
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.