Chapter 1
The High–Speed–Express–Rollerblading Machine
The High-Speed-Express-Rollerblading Machine swooped round the corner. Smoke and stars roared out of the back. It shot past Mr McMarvel’s workshop and rolled on down the road.
Tim bent forward, his face screwed up as he wrestled with the controls. The machine’s big boots stuck into his knees. He was going so fast he couldn’t swing the machine in the right direction.
The machine choked and stuttered. It slid sideways and upended Tim onto the pavement. A grundgy whirling sound came from the rollerblades.
Mr McMarvel had invented the High-Speed-Express-Rollerblading Machine for people who wanted to get somewhere fast. Tim had been testing it out for two days now, and he was black and blue from falling off. He knew how to operate all the other machines in the workshop – except this one. Tim desperately wanted to be useful. Secretly, he wanted to impress Mr McMarvel so much that Mr McMarvel would show him how to invent amazing machines. Tim hadn’t the courage to ask him.
The wheels on the Rollerblades spun madly at super-fast speed. They slowly came to a stop, screeching as if they were angry at being bashed about. Tim looked up. The name over the street door shone out in multi-coloured lights:
MCMARVEL’S MACHINES
What Happened Next
Tim is a keen young helper at Mr McMarvel’s workshop, and he’s desperate to learn how to make amazing machines. There’s Rupert, (Mr McMarvel’s robot,) the Unlock-Anything Machine, and the Grunts-Squeaks-and Scary-Noises Machine for starters.
Not to mention the High-Speed-Express-Rollerblading Machine(for people in a hurry) and the Dappled-Ice-Cream Machine (that likes fresh grass.)
But all is not well at the workshop. Tim is horrified to learn that Mr McMarvel is in big trouble. Things get worse when creepy Max Fish comes to help out. Max has a diabolical plan, and it’s all down to Tim, Rupert and the amazing machines to outwit Max, rescue Mr McMarvel and solve the problems in the workshop.
Wonderfully imaginative
This book is easy to read and well-paced for younger readers. At the same time it is wonderfully imaginative and full of amazing inventions. I’d have thought it could easily stimulate readers to start thinking up more amazing machines of their own.
Mr McMarvel’s Amazing Machines is published as an ebook on iBooks, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble (Nook) and Smashwords.
I am reworking it at the present time to show more coloured illustrations.
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