Book Extract: Tucker’s Time Machine Telescope by Robin Bennett

It’s a pleasure to be welcoming Robin Bennett to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, Tucker’s Time Machine Telescope with illustrations by Matt Cherry. 

Thomas Tucker (or just Tucker to everyone who knows him) is walking innocently down the street when he is attacked by a chicken and falls down a hole. Unlikely as it sounds, this is how he ends up finding the Time Machine Telescope.

Unfortunately, Tucker seems to attract chaos and bad luck the same way that someone standing on top of a mountain waving a metal pole will eventually attract lightning and a free Xray.

Can he survive killer robots, Tudor kings, dinosaurs … and Kylo Hens long enough to complete his Time Machine Wish List

• GET RICH
• HAVE FUN!
• GET MUM AND DAD TO SPEND LESS TIME ON THEIR MOBILE PHONES

There’s only one way to find out…

Robin has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.

*****beginning of extract*****

Chapter 1

Tucker is chased by a chicken

Thomas Tucker (or just Tucker to everyone who knew him) was walking innocently down the street near his home. Minding his own business.

Although he didn’t know it yet, this was going to the most important day of Tucker’s life.

He was on his way to see Mrs Dempsey, the lady who looked after him in the holidays. His parents worked late, and they didn’t trust him to stay on his own for more than about ten minutes without getting into some sort of terrible trouble.

They weren’t wrong about this because Tucker seemed to attract chaos and bad luck the same way that someone standing on top of a mountain waving a metal pole will eventually attract lightning and a free Xray.

As we shall find out.

The sun was warm on his face, and it made him scrunch his eyes up, so he heard the chicken before he saw it.

‘Cluck,’ said the chicken.

Uh oh! thought Tucker, forcing his eyes open: he knew that cluck.

Kylo Hen.

A small chicken with black and red feathers was standing in the middle of the pavement. Tucker’s arch enemy scratched the ground and glared at Tucker with one terrible beady eye, then its head made a slightly bonkers, jerky movement.

Tucker had no idea why this chicken hated him so much. It seemed to spend an enormous amount of time thinking up horrid, chickeny plans to torment Tucker and Tucker only.

And today was no exception. Tucker had read somewhere that chickens were pretty stupid – not bad at wandering about, pecking the ground … and laying eggs, but rubbish at everything else like driving a car, maths or world domination. But this chicken was different. She was an evil genius.

As if to prove a point, there was a loud cracking noise behind Tucker as a small tree he hadn’t noticed came crashing down behind him, blocking his escape.

Kylo Hen spat out some pieces of wood from her beak, to show Tucker just who was responsible for the fallen tree. He was trapped and his choices weren’t great.

If Tucker tried to run – pretty much like he always did – then Kylo Hen would chase him and peck his legs. And Tucker was wearing shorts. His only chance was by sprinting for the pavement on the other side because, for some reason, the chicken would never cross the road. But Tucker couldn’t go left, because there was a parked van in the way, and a hedge on his right was too tall to jump over.

This was the perfect ambush and they both knew it.

‘Paaarrrkk!’

Kylo Hen flapped her wings and prepared to charge … Tucker’s eyes narrowed.

Not today, he thought. I’m not going to run away screaming like I always do, for I am brave, I will fight you, I will…

‘Cuk, cuk, CAAARRRKK!’

OK, OK! I’m going to run away after all thought Tucker. He hated himself for it, but, really, what choice did he have?

He saw a small gap between the parked van and a red Mini and took it.

This was a mistake, because it meant slowing down. There was a flap of wings as Tucker felt two sets of claws attach themselves to his hair and a beak start pecking the top of his head.

‘Caak, caka caka caaaakkk!’ Kylo Hen sounded demented but also really happy.

‘Why?’ wailed Tucker. ‘What have I ever done to you? I don’t even like eggs!’

Tucker staggered back onto the pavement and started running. This wasn’t the cleverest thing to do because the flapping chicken wings in his face meant he couldn’t see the small hole left by workers in the middle of the pavement.

Luckily, he missed it.

Unluckily, there was a much larger hole right next to it.

Tucker crashed through the barrier and, with Kylo Hen still attached to the top of his head, pecking furiously, he fell right in …

 ‘Aaargh! Oooof! Ow!’ said Tucker.

‘Squawk!’ said Kylo Hen, who wasn’t any happier than Tucker was to find they were suddenly in a big dark pit.

Her way of coping with this was to hold onto the top of Tucker’s head even tighter and peck much harder.

 Tucker, whose bottom hurt from the fall and whose head hurt from the chicken, couldn’t believe this was happening to him.

‘Help!’ he said, scrabbling against the muddy sides of the hole to feel for a ladder. His clawing fingers found lots of stones, a few small tree roots but nothing to help him escape. ‘I can’t believe this happening to me.’

It was at that very moment, his frantic fingers found something not hole-related. Something that felt long, round and metal. He pulled and the object came away from the layers of mud with a noisy squelch.

‘Ha!’ went Tucker – now he had a weapon he could use to get Kylo Hen off him. He grabbed it in both hands to hit the chicken. Unfortunately, Kylo Hen was as quick as she was cunning and moved at the last moment … so Tucker hit himself on the head instead. Very hard.

‘Aargh!’ cried Tucker and somehow he twisted the thing in his hand. There was a blinding flash of light that filled the workman’s hole and shone out of it, right up to the fluffy clouds, then there was a sort of bang, a sucking noise and, in the same instant, both Tucker and Kylo Hen’s worlds completely changed.

Forever.

*****end of extract*****

About Robin Bennett –

When Robin grew up he thought he wanted to be a cavalry officer until everyone else realised that putting him in charge of a tank was a very bad idea. He then became an assistant gravedigger in London.

After that he had a career frantically starting businesses (everything from dog-sitting to cigars, tuition to translation)… until finally settling down to write improbable stories to keep his children from killing each other on long car journeys.

Robin plays most sports. Poorly.

Say hello to Robin on Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok. 

Tucker’s Time Machine Telescope was released in March 2025. Click to buy on Amazon UK and Amazon US. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.