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Sea Quest #1
Cephalox the Cyber Squid
A brand-new underwater adventure from Adam Blade, author of the Beast Quest series!
Max's home, the floating city of Aquora, is attacked by Cephelox the Cyber Squid and his father is carried away by the Robobeast. Max and his robodog, Rivet, set off on a rescue mission. Along the way, they meet Lia, a princess of an ancient race of Merryns who live underwater. The Merryn's magic powers are fading because the evil Professor has stolen four pieces of a skull that is the source of their abilities. It is up to Max and Lia to retrieve these items and save Max's father before it is too late.
Max's home, the floating city of Aquora, is attacked by Cephelox the Cyber Squid and his father is carried away by the Robobeast. Max and his robodog, Rivet, set off on a rescue mission. Along the way, they meet Lia, a princess of an ancient race of Merryns who live underwater. The Merryn's magic powers are fading because the evil Professor has stolen four pieces of a skull that is the source of their abilities. It is up to Max and Lia to retrieve these items and save Max's father before it is too late.
120 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2013
About the author
Adam Blade
839 books219 followersAdam Blade is the house name for the Working Partners Ltd. ghostwriters who write the Beast Quest and Sea Quest series.
Adam Blade is in his late twenties, and was born in Kent, England. His parents were both history teachers and amateur artists, and Adam grew up surrounded by his father’s paintings of historic English battles – which left a lifelong mark on his imagination. He was also fascinated by the ancient sword and shield that hung in his father’s office. Adam’s father said they were a Blade family heirloom.
As a boy, Adam would spend days imagining who could have first owned the sword and shield. Eventually, he created a character – Tom, the bravest boy warrior of them all. The idea for Beast Quest was born.
When Adam grew up and decided that he wanted to be a writer, he was stuck for ideas – until he remembered the old sword and shield, and the imaginary boy he had created when he was young. Adam decided to bring Tom fully to life so that readers could go on the kind of adventures that he always wanted to when he was that age… And still does, even though he’s grown up!
When he’s not writing Beast Quest books, Adam enjoys visiting museums and ancient battle sites. His main hobbies are fencing and football. He also spends a lot of time at home running around after his two exotic pets – a tarantula named Ziggy, and a capuchin monkey named Omar. These little rascals were the inspiration for two of the Beasts that Tom faces on his Quest – Arachnid and Claw.
Sadly, Adam does not have his own Fire-Dragon or Horse-Man. But he really wishes he did!
Adam Blade is in his late twenties, and was born in Kent, England. His parents were both history teachers and amateur artists, and Adam grew up surrounded by his father’s paintings of historic English battles – which left a lifelong mark on his imagination. He was also fascinated by the ancient sword and shield that hung in his father’s office. Adam’s father said they were a Blade family heirloom.
As a boy, Adam would spend days imagining who could have first owned the sword and shield. Eventually, he created a character – Tom, the bravest boy warrior of them all. The idea for Beast Quest was born.
When Adam grew up and decided that he wanted to be a writer, he was stuck for ideas – until he remembered the old sword and shield, and the imaginary boy he had created when he was young. Adam decided to bring Tom fully to life so that readers could go on the kind of adventures that he always wanted to when he was that age… And still does, even though he’s grown up!
When he’s not writing Beast Quest books, Adam enjoys visiting museums and ancient battle sites. His main hobbies are fencing and football. He also spends a lot of time at home running around after his two exotic pets – a tarantula named Ziggy, and a capuchin monkey named Omar. These little rascals were the inspiration for two of the Beasts that Tom faces on his Quest – Arachnid and Claw.
Sadly, Adam does not have his own Fire-Dragon or Horse-Man. But he really wishes he did!
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 6, 2014
A good little lunch-time book to read, if you've got a spare half hour or so to spare its a great little read. Most likely aimed for 10 year olds its still enjoyable for the older reader. A tale beneath the ocean for of intrigue and fight to survive.
March 26, 2016
My son (age 8) enjoyed a couple of Adam Blade's Beast Quest books, which he got from his school library, but they were random installments in the series, so when I went Christmas shopping, I thought he might prefer to start at the beginning. We don't always have the best selection of English-language books at the bookstores here in Saigon, so I wasn't able to find the first Beast Quest. I did spot this, the first installment in Adam Blade's Sea Quest series.
The setting of these stories is interesting. It appears to take place on a planet which is mostly ocean. The sea creatures are the same as Earth's, and there are two cities: A floating city of humans that extends down below the surface, and an underwater city of a water-breathing humanoid race called merryn. The humans are masters of advanced technology, while the merryn are adept at psychic abilities ("aqua powers" here). The two cities were at war thousands of years ago, but now they have lost contact and generally forgotten about each other.
That quickly changes when merryn girl Lia rescues human boy Max during an attack on the human city by the title monster. Cephalox the Cyber Squid is controlled by a villain called the Professor, and he abducts Max's father and threatens to destroy the merryn city.
The battle that follows serves as a starting point for a (familiar-sounding, having read a couple of Beast-Quest books) quest to defeat three other monsters and collect the pieces of an artifact that will restore the full aqua-powers of the merryn.
The setting here is more fun than the generic fantasy of Beast Quest. I liked the mix of magic and technology, the use of lots of marine wildlife, and the kaiju-like flavor of the antagonist monster.
The book suffers from the fact that the actual villain never appears, as well as from uneven handling of the character of Lia. "Adam Blade" tries really hard not to fall into sexist clichés, and succeeds, well, some of the time. All of the time would have been better.
My son especially enjoyed the action scenes, which featured some very cool images as the monstrous squid wreaked havoc on the human and merryn settlements. He also enjoyed the descriptions of the gadgetry, and this was a nice follow-up to another book we recently finished that featured a mini-sub.
The illustrations are credited to "Artful Doodlers", and are quite good, especially on the look of the main characters. There is also a set of four cut-out trading cards, as is standard with the Beast Quest books, and which were a fun bonus for my son.
The setting of these stories is interesting. It appears to take place on a planet which is mostly ocean. The sea creatures are the same as Earth's, and there are two cities: A floating city of humans that extends down below the surface, and an underwater city of a water-breathing humanoid race called merryn. The humans are masters of advanced technology, while the merryn are adept at psychic abilities ("aqua powers" here). The two cities were at war thousands of years ago, but now they have lost contact and generally forgotten about each other.
That quickly changes when merryn girl Lia rescues human boy Max during an attack on the human city by the title monster. Cephalox the Cyber Squid is controlled by a villain called the Professor, and he abducts Max's father and threatens to destroy the merryn city.
The battle that follows serves as a starting point for a (familiar-sounding, having read a couple of Beast-Quest books) quest to defeat three other monsters and collect the pieces of an artifact that will restore the full aqua-powers of the merryn.
The setting here is more fun than the generic fantasy of Beast Quest. I liked the mix of magic and technology, the use of lots of marine wildlife, and the kaiju-like flavor of the antagonist monster.
The book suffers from the fact that the actual villain never appears, as well as from uneven handling of the character of Lia. "Adam Blade" tries really hard not to fall into sexist clichés, and succeeds, well, some of the time. All of the time would have been better.
My son especially enjoyed the action scenes, which featured some very cool images as the monstrous squid wreaked havoc on the human and merryn settlements. He also enjoyed the descriptions of the gadgetry, and this was a nice follow-up to another book we recently finished that featured a mini-sub.
The illustrations are credited to "Artful Doodlers", and are quite good, especially on the look of the main characters. There is also a set of four cut-out trading cards, as is standard with the Beast Quest books, and which were a fun bonus for my son.
April 8, 2013
Actual, full review: Original is here. (Note: Due to copy-and-paste, some formatting and links may have been lost.)
This review is written by my ten-year-old brother, who I figured was perfect for reviewing this book since he's in its intended demographic and loved Adam Blade's Beast Quest.
The Characters:
Max is a smart, brave boy, and his ability to learn quickly makes him a very admirable hero. I didn't necessarily like Lia, the princess of Merryns, because she got angry very easily when Max couldn't understand her. Though I guess anyone could have gotten frustrated in that circumstance. Rivet the robodog was awesome. He could chop through metal and talk and do all these cool things. Mostly, I really liked the characters and their developments.
The Story:
The plot was good, except it seemed a bit of the same storyline as Adam Blade's other book, Beast Quest. It was almost as if Deep Dive is an underwater version of Beast Quest with different characters. Yet I still liked the story because it introduced some really interesting elements that I didn't expect, adding in awesome technology with some really cool ideas.
The Writing:
The writing was P-E-R-F-E-C-T (my sister's transcription). Adam Blade used words I didn't know and made up some really great terms that I thought was totally awesome.
Overall:
If you like action, you should read Deep Dive. It has some really great action scenes and also pretty epic characters.
This review is written by my ten-year-old brother, who I figured was perfect for reviewing this book since he's in its intended demographic and loved Adam Blade's Beast Quest.
The Characters:
Max is a smart, brave boy, and his ability to learn quickly makes him a very admirable hero. I didn't necessarily like Lia, the princess of Merryns, because she got angry very easily when Max couldn't understand her. Though I guess anyone could have gotten frustrated in that circumstance. Rivet the robodog was awesome. He could chop through metal and talk and do all these cool things. Mostly, I really liked the characters and their developments.
The Story:
The plot was good, except it seemed a bit of the same storyline as Adam Blade's other book, Beast Quest. It was almost as if Deep Dive is an underwater version of Beast Quest with different characters. Yet I still liked the story because it introduced some really interesting elements that I didn't expect, adding in awesome technology with some really cool ideas.
The Writing:
The writing was P-E-R-F-E-C-T (my sister's transcription). Adam Blade used words I didn't know and made up some really great terms that I thought was totally awesome.
Overall:
If you like action, you should read Deep Dive. It has some really great action scenes and also pretty epic characters.
February 23, 2013
I always like to read the first book in a series. I would recommend it for boys especially ages 7-10.
April 5, 2013
This book was very good and I am excited to read the other 3 books in the seiries!
September 29, 2015
My 8 year old sons love this series. They now say Adam Blade is their favorite author.
March 26, 2016
I loved it!!!!
April 1, 2018
I liked this book because I think it was very exciting and it was very fun. It kind of surprised me how sea quest is also called deep dive. The story was about a boy who is helping a colony of merrin find a precious skull. The Professor broke the skull into 4 pieces and left each of them guarded by a beast. The boy is also trying to save his father. The boy defeated the first beast in this book. The boy also has a dogbot. He is also accompanied by a merrin. The merrin has a swordfish named spike.
June 9, 2018
This is my first book written by the highly prolific "Adam Blade." (Adam Blade is a created name for a group of ghostwriters.) This one is the first in the series called Sea Quest, as opposed to his prime series Beast Quest. It is written for younger readers and that is clearly obvious, but it doesn't take itself too seriously, and there is quite a bit of fun to be had here. You can see why his books are so popular.
July 1, 2022
Адам Блейд е автор, характеризиращ се със семпли, но занимателни сюжети, които раздвижна с много екшън. Тази книжка не е изключение и доста напомня на заглавията от вече познатата ни сага Beast Quest, но с уговорката, че светът е доста по-нестандартен и оригинален, което прави четенето по-екзотично. И макар сюжетът с калмара да е завършен, става ясно, че историята тепърва ще се завързва... Цялото ми ревю прочетете в Цитаделата:
https://citadelata.com/cephalox-the-c...
https://citadelata.com/cephalox-the-c...
December 10, 2017
i like the story when Max win the fight with Cephalox. This is a exciting story Adam Blade.
November 7, 2019
I read this to my kids, and we really enjoyed it! It’s kind of formulated, but it was a fun adventure book that kept everyone’s attention.
October 12, 2020
Good Book I Have Liked It Very Much This Is As Good As Anime For Me.
February 11, 2021
Its a good book made want to read about 3 times.
February 27, 2022
Libro semplice, con molte avventure al suo interno. CONSIGLIATO
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2025
5/10 - Was ok. Not as interested in this as Beast Quest
November 27, 2018
The starting point of Adam Blade's other outrageously popular series.
Though science fiction is the next logical step, I found that I preferred the fantasy setting of the Beast Quest series. Avantia proved a world of much richer detail in its first book than Nemos. Then again maybe the world-building occurs later in the series.
Nevertheless it follows a similar premise: boy and animal companion meets girl and animal companion to face off against a gigantic monster that none of the adults want them anywhere near.
It's a fun high adventure but nevertheless I can see a cross-series formula developing here: something I get very suspicious of especially when it comes to junior fiction.
Regardless, Cephalox the Cyber Squid remains another great way to get boys and girls into reading through titanic action told in 128 pages.
Though science fiction is the next logical step, I found that I preferred the fantasy setting of the Beast Quest series. Avantia proved a world of much richer detail in its first book than Nemos. Then again maybe the world-building occurs later in the series.
Nevertheless it follows a similar premise: boy and animal companion meets girl and animal companion to face off against a gigantic monster that none of the adults want them anywhere near.
It's a fun high adventure but nevertheless I can see a cross-series formula developing here: something I get very suspicious of especially when it comes to junior fiction.
Regardless, Cephalox the Cyber Squid remains another great way to get boys and girls into reading through titanic action told in 128 pages.
August 20, 2020
In diesem Buch geht es um Max, der ein U-Boot klaut und in ein Abenteuer hineinschlittert. Ein Abenteuer, das sein Leben verändern wird. Denn sein Vater ist verschwunden und den Meermenschen Merryn fehlt ein heiliges Relikt. Somit macht er sich zusammen mit der Prinzessin der Merryn auf, um beides zurückzuholen, den Vater von Max und das heilige Relikt der Merryn.
Der Name Cephalox hat einen interessanten Ursprung. Cephalox ist eine Droge. Auch der Name vom Monster aus Band 2 ist interessant. Silda, so heißt das Monster. Silda sind auch Viagra-Filmtabletten. Was kommt als nächstes? Aspirin, der Riesenkrebs? Doch dem ist leider nicht so. Interessanterweise gibt es aber das Monster Gulak. Also doch nicht so ein Kinderbuch.
Ich finde, dass das Buch gut geschrieben ist und es unglaublich viel Spaß macht zu lesen. Deshalb war ich auch nach einer viertel Stunde fertig. Doch das könnte auch daran liegen, dass es so groß geschrieben ist.
Ich habe das Buch für die Aufgabe "Lies ein Buch mit einem Dämonen-/Wasserthema" gelesen. Somit habe ich in folgenden Bereichen Aufgaben beendet:
Fluchbrecher (fertig)
Bibliothekar (fertig)
Hogwarts-Professor (noch 3 Aufgaben)
Die Moral am Anfang passt nicht gut in ein Kinderbuch: Lerne alle geheimen Passwörter deiner Eltern auswendig. Denn Max lernte die Passwörter seines Vaters auswendig um ein U-Boot zu kapern.
Fazit? Auch wenn ich schon längst aus der Zielgruppe draußen bin, macht es trotzdem immer noch Spaß zu lesen.
Der Name Cephalox hat einen interessanten Ursprung. Cephalox ist eine Droge. Auch der Name vom Monster aus Band 2 ist interessant. Silda, so heißt das Monster. Silda sind auch Viagra-Filmtabletten. Was kommt als nächstes? Aspirin, der Riesenkrebs? Doch dem ist leider nicht so. Interessanterweise gibt es aber das Monster Gulak. Also doch nicht so ein Kinderbuch.
Ich finde, dass das Buch gut geschrieben ist und es unglaublich viel Spaß macht zu lesen. Deshalb war ich auch nach einer viertel Stunde fertig. Doch das könnte auch daran liegen, dass es so groß geschrieben ist.
Ich habe das Buch für die Aufgabe "Lies ein Buch mit einem Dämonen-/Wasserthema" gelesen. Somit habe ich in folgenden Bereichen Aufgaben beendet:
Fluchbrecher (fertig)
Bibliothekar (fertig)
Hogwarts-Professor (noch 3 Aufgaben)
Die Moral am Anfang passt nicht gut in ein Kinderbuch: Lerne alle geheimen Passwörter deiner Eltern auswendig. Denn Max lernte die Passwörter seines Vaters auswendig um ein U-Boot zu kapern.
Fazit? Auch wenn ich schon längst aus der Zielgruppe draußen bin, macht es trotzdem immer noch Spaß zu lesen.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews