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Robodog

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Enter a world of superheroes and villains in this action-packed comic caper from No.1 bestselling author David Walliams – and meet Robodog: the future of crime fighting! Welcome to the city of Bedlam. Enter if you dare! Bedlam is one of the most dangerous places on Earth – home to a host of wicked villains. Nothing and nobody are safe from these evil criminals. The city needs its own superhero to defeat the supervillains. But who? Robodog! The newest recruit at the Police Dog School, and supercharged for adventure. But can he stop the most feared duo in Bedlam, and their evil plans to ruin the city . . .? David Walliams was most recently Overall Market bestseller with Spaceboy (TCM chart: week ending 8 October 2022)

301 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2023

130 people are currently reading
450 people want to read

About the author

David Walliams

224 books3,379 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Walliams is an actor and writer best known for his work with Matt Lucas in the multi-award-winning sketch show Little Britain. His debut children's novel, The Boy in the Dress, was published in 2008 to unanimous critical acclaim and he has since developed a reputation as a natural successor to Roald Dahl.

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505 (48%)
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290 (27%)
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178 (17%)
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49 (4%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
Profile Image for Anschen Conradie.
1,437 reviews81 followers
April 12, 2023
#Robodog – David Walliams
#HarperCollins
#JonathanBall

The city of Bedlam is desperate; the streets are rat-infested and filthy; the buildings dilapidated, and, worst of all, the inhabitants are ruled by super villains of the underworld. These thugs are captained by the dastardly duo, Mighty Mind, a giant criminal mega-brain living in a fishbowl on wheels, and his henchperson, Hammerhands, a terrifying woman with hammers instead of hands.

The Police Chief needs a hero. Fortunately, she is married to a brilliant scientist-inventor, the Professor, whose speciality is actually washing machines, but she is able to use spare parts to build the ultimate crime fighter, called Robodog. This robotic hero has the strength of a German shepherd, can follow a scent like a bloodhound, barks louder than a spaniel, has the speed of a greyhound, the pride of a terrier, the bravery of a schnauzer and is as keen nosed as a beagle.

Robodog will nevertheless need all the assistance available to overpower the conniving cats determined to destroy him; Pavarotti, a cat so large that he flattens his enemies by sitting on them; Slash, the terrifying feline street fighter who is rumoured to have killed a pack of wolves; the wise old Codger and the evillest cat in the world, Velma. They are not his only challenges, however. With only the so-called ‘lost patrol’, the most useless dogs ever, namely the nervous Scarper, the idle Gristle, and the Silly Plank, as well a rat who identifies as a mouse, at his side, Robodog must outwit and arrest Mighty Mind and Hammerhands and their fellow criminals. Their fight against despicable characters like the Masked Honker who farts deadly fire, Dr Stench who has bad breath as a weapon, the Ice Queen who can turn you to ice with the touch of a single finger, and the two-headed ogre whose heads are constantly in disagreement, will take them from the underground sewers to outer space, and all the way back.

Unlike Dave Pilkey’s somewhat stupid Dog Man, Robodog is not only brave, strong intelligent, and capable of heroic deeds, he is also a very likeable character who cries tears of oil when sad and whose biggest dream is to be a real dog, loved by his human parents. Walliams succeeds in combining his self-confessed love for the canine world with an amusing adventure story for young readers. Ratty, the rat-mouse, also plays a monumental role in teaching Robodog, and thus also the readers, life skills and healthy perceptions, such as acceptance of those different from you and the value of friendship and loyalty.

The illustrations are by Adam Stower and the book is suitable for readers of eight years and older.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #Uitdieperdsebek Jonathan Ball Publishers
Profile Image for Bill.
1,963 reviews108 followers
May 11, 2024
Robodog is the 2nd middle grade / YA book I've read by English author David Walliams. Like Spaceboy, it's an excellent, fun read for youngsters who are getting into reading.

Robodog is set in Bedlam, a town over run by super villains. The Chief of Police, a short woman, has set up a police dog academy to help combat the crime wave. Her wife, the Professor, has invented washing machines. After a disaster at the academy, caused in large part by the Lost Patrol (3 shiftless, lazy dogs) the Chief asks her to invent a super robot dog to help combat crime.

Hence the arrival of Robodog! He can do everything, fly, swim underwater, blow up bombs with his laser eye, etc. Unfortunately. the Professor and Chief's cat, Velma, is jealous and steals a part from Robodogs workings. When he is turned on, he goes berserk.

But this is fixed, and Robo is introduced to the academy where he becomes a subject of jealousy of all the other dogs. He's just too good. Meanwhile, Velma, the cat, is plotting to get her revenge on Robo and Robo is put in with the Lost Patrol.

Let's say it's a mixed up, crazy, wild adventure and Robodog will need the help of all of the other dogs, including the Lost Patrol and also Ratty, a new friend, if he is to recover stolen billions, defeat a gang of master villains and also a nasty group of cats. And he'll also discover something very important.... feelings.

It's a fun romp, lots of neat characters, great illustrations by Adam Sower, just a fun read. Check out David Walliams. He's prolific. (4.0 stars)
6 reviews
June 20, 2024
Je to úžasné! Robopes je super! Čítajte to!🤩🥰😍
Profile Image for XOX.
680 reviews18 followers
December 7, 2024
The story is more like a comic book. In the Police Dog school, most dogs will graduate and become police dogs. Some will fail the test. 

The beginning is a graduation that turns into a funny disaster. So no dog graduated this time. The police chief is disappointed and turns to her wife the professor for a solution. The professor created Robodog. The villains in the story are cats and thieves with special powers. The Robodog is being bullied by cats. Then the robodog makes friends with a rat. The rat helps Robodog capture the villains. 

The book is a bit silly. Cats are not the bad guys. Also, what does the writer have against coffee-favoured chocolate? 

3 stars. Too straightforward and silly. 
Profile Image for Holly.
252 reviews85 followers
February 26, 2024
My daughter loved this book therefore recommended it to me.
I enjoy David Walliams books they are funny cheeky and entertaining.

Robodog was adorable and I loved his friendship with Ratty. I am glad Chief and her wife the Professor kept Robodog as a family pet instead of the evil cat Velma.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Eve Copeland.
32 reviews
April 9, 2024
Parent review:
We’ve been listening to audiobooks for a while in the car, and this one certainly grabbed my children’s attention. My children, 6 and 9, both thoroughly enjoyed this, and it was short enough that we were able to finish it in 3.5 hours.
Profile Image for Indy.
1,091 reviews42 followers
May 8, 2024
An amazing children’s book about how a robot dog catching villains and feeling love to be a “real dog”.
Profile Image for Mary Rayner.
124 reviews
June 1, 2024
Such a good kids read. I love all david walliams books by far

This is probably my favourite of all time.

Great for kids great for adults to very funny and very easy to know what's going on
Profile Image for Vidhya.
Author 1 book58 followers
May 21, 2023
This book was a little different from other David Walliams books - and I definitely missed Raj.
However I loved robodog and the lost patrol. I think that’s probably because I’m a fur mom but it was good!
Profile Image for Gwendolyn Bright.
3 reviews
September 7, 2025
This book is not my best read, about a robot police dog who can do every thing a dog can do and more. In a city full of criminals can Robodog save the day?
The book made me feel bored, I didn't like the language used and seemed aimed at younger children. My favourite part was when it ended, and least favourite was how predictable the whole book was.
The Telegraph is quoted in saying "Dahl finally has a worthy successor" HA HA HA I DONT THINK SO!
Profile Image for Twideldi.
40 reviews
May 18, 2025
3 1/2. Wirklich tolle Zeichnungen und schön schrullige Charaktere. Tolles Ende.
Profile Image for Max Livingstone.
8 reviews1 follower
January 29, 2025
I love this book, Robodog has a tag line it is ‘the future of crime fighting’ I rate it 5 stars because of loads of reasons but one of them is because all the villains had a brawl and I like brawls and it showed every villain and the winner was the two headed goblin, He won because they two heads were punching each other like this 🤜🤛🤜🤛🤜🤛🤜🤛🤜🤛and then they both passed out too so that’s why it’s 5 stars. P.s this is my favourite book I’ve read so far!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for gemsbooknook  Geramie Kate Barker.
896 reviews13 followers
August 18, 2023
‘Welcome to the city of Bedlam. Enter if you dare!
Bedlam is one of the most dangerous places on Earth – home to a host of wicked villains. Nothing and nobody is safe from these evil criminals. The city needs its own superhero to defeat the supervillains. But who?
Robodog!
He’s the newest recruit at the Police Dog School and is supercharged for adventure. But can he stop the most feared duo in Bedlam, and their evil plans to ruin the city . . .?’
This book was fun.
As a massive fan of David Walliams, I was excited to get my hands on this book. I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I have a few ideas on why this book didn’t work for me but it genuinely surprised me that I didn’t love this book.
This book has everything I was expecting from a David Walliams novel. The story was funny, interesting, and had a great message. The writing was fast-paced, easy to follow, and a little bit naughty, and the characters were weird and wacky. All of these elements are perfect for Middle-Grade readers and entertaining for us older readers as well.
As for the Illustrations in this book, Adam Stower has done a fabulous job on that front. They were chaotic and crazy which perfectly complimented the narrative. I loved seeing elements of the story highlighted by the illustrations, especially the wacky characters. Given how much enjoyment I got from the illustrations I can only imagine how much young readers are going to love them.
I think my issues with this book started during the second half of the story. The pacing picked up but instead of feeling intense and dramatic it felt rushed, which is something I’m not used to in a David Walliams novel. On top of that, during the second half of this book the narrative split into two and we were jumping back and forth between two storylines and two sets of characters which felt disconnected and at times really annoying.
Since I am not the target audience for this book, I don’t think my issues with it will affect young readers as there are so many crazy elements to this story for them to love. I can easily see this book becoming a fast favourite with young readers, I am just sad that I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped I would.
Robodog by David Walliams is a funny, fast-paced book perfect for Middle-Grade readers.

Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com
Profile Image for whatbooknext.
1,261 reviews48 followers
May 23, 2023
The city of Bedlam has a HUGE crime problem. The Police Chief is stressed out as she can’t seem to get ahead of it, and the entire city is now suffering. There is rubbish everywhere, smog in the air and pollution in the rivers.

The Chief relies on the city Police Dog Training school to produce excellent crime-fighters to help her and her police force control the city’s baddies, but even this isn’t working any more. She needs MORE. What could possibly help the city of Bedlam? And then she gets an idea!

At home, she asks her clever wife who is a Professor to build her the perfect dog. A dog than can do all the things the Police Dogs can but better! At first the Professor isn’t sure about building such a thing – a Robot Dog?

Their cat Velma is horrified at the idea. She has had the Chief and Professor to herself all this time. Why on earth would they introduce a dog of all things to her happy household? She goes completely mad when the Professor presents ROBODOG!

The bedlam in Bedlam really steps up. There is a billion dollar robbery to be foiled, where only a rat who swears he’s a mouse can save the day. Velma is determined to wipe not only Robodog off the planet but every other dog in Bedlam, and suddenly every villain has escaped from Bedlam Prison. What is a Robodog to do?


As with many of David Walliams books, Robodog‘s opening pages introduce all the characters. You have the heroes, the villains, the dogs, the humans and the SUPER Villains. The action begins early, even if it’s slapstick and silly, the tension builds as Robodog chases villains, supervillains are chasing dogs, and the Chief and her wife the Professor are caught up in the middle.

Absolutely chocka with funny illustrations, maps, schematics, lists, and animals doing crazy things, along with the large fonts leaping off the page like the 1960’s Batman & Robin TV show – BAM! POW! – the reader is in the thick of the fight between good and evil.

Robodog is more on the silly side of the Walliams book scale, but there are plenty of laughs for young readers. This would be a great read aloud for years 6 and up, and fine for readers 7+. There are words that will stretch vocabs but all age appropriate.

Age – 7+
Profile Image for chroniclesofvish.
86 reviews1 follower
May 16, 2023
Robodog by David Williams is the perfect book for every dog lover. I absolutely loved the illustrations by Adam Stower.

Bedlam, once a home to ordinary people, is now a city infested with rats and is as dangerous as it is filthy. It is ruled by the baddest of baddies and badly needs its own superhero to defeat these supervillains. These baddies include Velma, the chief and professor's cat; mighty mind, the master mind who is just a mega-brain floating in a fish bowl and is behind the notorious robberies in the city of Bedlam; and Hammerheads, mighty mind's henchperson who lost her hands and uses a hammer on each side as a replacement for her hands.

The Chief of police's way of tackling the bad guys is a police dog training school. She believes dogs are a powerful weapon in dealing with criminals. But, with less hope as this year's batch of dogs failed the passing out parade, she is looking for the right superhero before things take a turn for the worse. The Chief's wife is none other than a genius Professor who makes washing machines. The Chief turns to the Professor with an ingenious idea: a single dog that can aid in different police activities; a robot dog “Robodog”. Will the Professor be able to create a dog that can be a solution to Chief's problems? And what about the history of cats loathing dogs with every fibre of their being? Read on to find out about this thrilling journey of fighting the baddies with dogs on your side.

My favourite line from Robodog is "Cat! You are under arrest!".

Thank you, HarperCollins India for the review copy.

This book is suitable for 7 years and older. Happy reading.
246 reviews3 followers
November 17, 2024
Adam har sammen med Kasper og Rikke læst denne nye og sjove bog af David Walliams @dwalliams . Den er på dansk udgivet hos @harpercollinsnordicdk . Han er også forfatter til bl.a gangster Farmor bøgerne, som vi virkelig elskede . Så vi så meget frem til at læse endnu en bog . Den foregår i byen Kaoskøbing , hvor hundene er politiets bedste ven. De går på hundeakademiet og træner til at være byens beskyttere , og kattene er skurkene sammen med superskurkene . Men en dag laver den søde Professor en Robot, som vil kun fange skurke, være politihund, være hjælpsom og meget mere. Men hvad vil det betyde for balancen i byen . Ja det må i læse i bogen 😂. Men find lattermusklerne frem, for det er endnu en utrolig sjov historie fra David. Adam var vild med historien lige fra start af, han har klukket løs næsten igennem hele historien . Han var vild med illustrationer, de var fedt tegnet og utrolig morsomme. Historien synes han var spændende ,og han kunne blive ved med at læse, det var faktisk træls, når de voksne ikke kunne læse mere den dag. Bogen har skabt så meget læseglæde og læselyst, at den har fået ærespladsen på værelset af flere om gange . Bogen har desudenogså været en fornøjelse og læse sammen , for den er sjov for både børn og voksne . Adam vil gerne anbefale bogen til alle børn , som elsker sjove historier . Den får ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️/5 og hans varmeste anbefaling . ( tusind tak til forlaget @harpercollinsnordicdk og @falco , fordi vi måtte læse med / reklame anmelder eksemplarer )
Profile Image for Lisa Trollip.
153 reviews7 followers
May 16, 2023
My daughter Amy (9) really enjoyed this new middle-grade book and she wanted to share her review.

"I thought Robodog was a great book for kids, it had some fun and fantastic characters. The Professor, the lost patrol, Robodog and his friend Ratty were my favourite characters.
It was a really cute story, and the bad guys were really good at being bad like Velma. I thought Mighty Mind, Hammerhands, The Chocolatier, The Headmistress and The Politician were all great baddies. I loved that Plank was so silly, I think if Plank could get a medal for anything it would be for being silly.

I think Robodog was a great book to read because it was very interesting and funny. I love that the Professor and the Chief were married because the people in the books I have read who have been married to each other have been husband and wife, so it was fun to read about a wife and a wife. I thought it was a really adventurous book, and I love adventurous books because I enjoy adventures. I would give this book 5 stars."
Profile Image for Emily May.
2,207 reviews320k followers
June 12, 2023
David Walliams is a very popular children's author in the UK but I've been avoiding his much-lauded books because a) I've never found his brand of humour particularly funny, and b) I read his picture book The Slightly Annoying Elephant to my kids and none of us rated it.

Then my kid got three of Walliams' books for his birthday, including Robodog. And-- what can I say --this was just a lot of fun. Lots of funny goofy dogs and funny evil cats. I laughed just as much as my son did.

Guess we'll be reading more.
153 reviews
December 12, 2023
Unlike Walliams's other works, this was presented as a combination of a comic strip and his trademark style. Personally, I think I preferred Tony Ross's illustrations over Adam Stower's but he still captured the essence. And I preferred the Ice Monster.

In this story, there is a police chief and a professor who are each other's wives. The chief decides she wants a dog that can do every task which leads to the professor creating a "Robodog" out of old washing machine parts, kinda like Frankenstein's monster. Robodog and some ordinary mortal dogs go to a dog training school to learn to be police dogs. Throughout the story, the other dogs find that though Robodog doesn't feel or recognise emotions in the same way as others, he is still a loveable, kind character.
29 reviews
August 10, 2025
i never ended up finishing this book as it wasnt eh=ntertaining or funny and even though i got through the begining it had a very slow start. it did get slightly more interesing as the book progressed but still i abandoned it and it isnt something i would go back to. I 100% would not reccomend this to my friend but if they read it i would warn them of a slow begining. you need reading stamina for this book and sadly since i read this in school (where i had most of my free reading time) and the school year was ending and i began to loose some of that time i gave up and failed to finifh it but i dont think i would have finished it if we were still in school no. if you are looking for an amazing book i wouldnt reccomend getting this one, try demon dentist.
Profile Image for sliceofmini.
624 reviews4 followers
July 28, 2023
As much as I agree this is wholesome and sweet , it doesn’t have the charm of his initial books , I’ve already noticed a shift in the writing style and the illustrator , but I wanted to complete all of his work , atleast at the time I discovered him and I’m glad it’s all off my tbr. Some of them were a real chore to get through

This was just a bit bland , that’s it.

My tier ranking of the author books so far :

THE BOY IN THE DRESS, MIDNIGHT GANG , GRANDPA’S GREAT ESCAPE, CODE NAME BANANAS >
MR.STINK , AWFUL AUNTIE , BAD DAD, MEGAMONSTER >
RAT BURGER >
DEMON DENTIST, ICE MONSTER , ROBODOG >
GANGSTA GRANNY, BILLIONAIRE BOY, FING >
SLIME, THE BEAST OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE
13 reviews1 follower
April 6, 2025
3.5/5 stars

Robodog by David Walliams is definitely aimed at a younger audience, but I have to admit—I quite enjoyed it! Sometimes a light-hearted, silly read is exactly what you need, and this book delivered just that. It’s full of Walliams’ signature humour, quirky characters, and outlandish plotlines, all brought together in a fun and fast-paced story.

While it didn’t blow me away, I appreciated the comical moments and the general charm of the book. Great for kids, and a nice palate cleanser for adults looking for something fun and easygoing.
Profile Image for David Robert Bloomer.
167 reviews1 follower
May 28, 2023
I love a good David Walliams book and this is a return to form. I just wish that it had been longer to be honest. They're always fast paced and frenetic but I did want more when I finished it. Fingers crossed for a sequel.

In usual Walliams style we have unlikely characters having outlandish adventures. I really enjoyed the story. A Robodog has been created to fight crime but not everyone is happy with this, especially cats. A great cast of characters lead us through a great story.
Profile Image for Marta Pi.
32 reviews
August 16, 2023
DNF. I was halfway through this book and it still hadn't started to be interesting or have any plot. A robo dog was built. The cat hates it. There are three useless dogs. Yawn. The characters are flat and talk a lot but nothing happens, apart from things getting damaged and making sounds. And the enlarged onomatopoeia do nothing for the flow of the text. Which Walliams book is good? I would like to give him another try at some point...
2 reviews
November 28, 2023
Can you imagine a police dog but built as a robot fighting crime around the city? Well if you can and like the idea, you should read this book. This book is great because it is a bit unusual from your typical David Walliams book because he doesn't usually write about crime fighting or robots but in this book he nailed it. It has a great plot (which I will try not to spoil), and it has a lot of funny bits.
Profile Image for XfeliX.
169 reviews3 followers
February 10, 2025
I love David Walliams' writing as always, but I like his stories more when a child is the protagonist plus (but I think thats just because the situation of our world right now is a lot on my mind) I didn't like that the topic was so much police (and a little bit military) and shooting etc. But it had very much the feeling of a superhero comic/movie but as a book which I really liked, and I loved that the human protagonists were just casually two married women.
112 reviews
August 23, 2023
I enjoyed reading 📚this book.😀 I liked the idea 💡of the cats 🐱 being the baddies. I liked all the charters very much and I wouldn't change any them. I like the pictures very much. Sometimes I reading 📚 a child 's book. I liked the dogs in the book. I even got to like Ratty toward the end of the book. I would like to read other book about Robodog.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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