THE TOUCHSTONE

Kai is an alien on a mission to liberate her planet. When she's injured, she contacts 12-year-old Earthling Douglas Patterson (a boy known for his calm in desperate situations). Kai asks Douglas to shelter her from the Guardians of the Federation and gives him a special green touchstone that allows him great powers. Richard Mitchley's performance turns this well-written adventure into a delicious romp through Douglas's usually uneventful life. As Gedrus, a walking encyclopedia to everything in the cosmos, Mitchley is appropriately smug. Further, he makes Douglas and his friends seem like real kids who learn that sometimes asking the right question is more important than getting the answer. Mitchley's intonations and exceptional characterizations add credibility to a series of hilarious and outrageous situations. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 05]