Middle-Grade Review: The Clone Catastrophe: Emperor of the Universe (Emperor of the Universe, 2) by David Lubar

It’s hard to return to regular life after being named Emperor of the Universe, especially when your parents want you to take out the trash. Nick Landrew is back, arguing with his parents about chores. Later, they come to ask him what’s been wrong lately, and when he tells them the truth, they don’t believe him. They don’t even believe that Henrietta the gerbil can talk; they are just pleased that Nick has been taking up ventriloquism and magic. They encourage this, since they are in the entertainment field themselves. Nick does get to travel with Clave (whom he summons with an app) every evening on The Nick of Space, and is expected to meet with various peoples in the universe to try to solve their problems. Of course, he has problems of his own, snice Morglob the talent agent wants revenge, and a group called the Unilluminated also want to kill him. Back on Earth, he finds it hard to talk to Stella at school. They do go out on a date, and the more he talks to her, the easier it becomes to communicate, but when Nick’s house is attacked when Stella is visiting, Clave rescues them. This means telling Stella the truth, but also fulfilling her wish to see the rings of Saturn. The Carborzi have bought one of Nick’s socks that Clave has auctioned off to raise funds, and used his DNA to create an army of clones. This creates a lot of chaos, and makes it harder for Nick to implement his goal as emperor. While he’s still struggling to come up with the meaning of life, he knows he wants to try to stop all wars, because “A bit of violence can ruin a whole lot of beauty”. When Stella reveals secrets about herself, will this help or hurt Nick’s reign as Emperor of the Universe?