A striking title worthy of any Sci Fi movie or even newspaper headline. This is the title of a new book, launched on Thursday 25th March 2010 by Stromness Academy’s Young Enterprise team, Alvis. I was privileged to be invited to this launch which was held in the Pier Art’s Centre. The company had put on an impressive reception with drinks and nibbles on offer as well as a display of the art work done for the book by illustrator, Alex Leonard, locally known for his ‘Giddy Limit‘ strip in The Orcardian newspaper who was in attendance signing copies of the book. There were also original examples of his work up for silent auction, with funds raised going to DebRA which researches into the skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).

The Martians are Coming – what is special about this little book? Beautifully produced and illustrated, it tells of a boy called David who stumbles upon a martian invasion on a the shore near Stromness. The [tiny] Martians, with their “little silver sticks” plan to wipe out Stromness, so David has to stop them somehow… and the rest is up to you to find out! The unique thing about the book is that it is one of a handful of unpublished stories written by the late George Mackay Brown.

To find out more about the team or the book visit their website: Alvis