Sky Fighters and Houndy Crunchers

Sky Fighters and Houndy Crunchers is a 2014 vanity press young adult science fiction novel written by Ross Eberle. It was the first novel in Eberle's "Sky Fighters" book series. The plot, which follows a self-insert of Eberle himself named "Muggins" during an unexpected alien invasion in the year 2000, incorporates themes of corporate Americana and life as a child with a single mother.
Plot
Muggins (Ross Eberle) is taken shopping by his mother (Laurie Eberle), where they are looking for affordable bargains at an Eastern United States grocery store. After finding a dented can of tomato soup, they leave the store, but are surprised by the sight of invading "Python Demons" that blow up and tear the roof from the grocery store. The Python Demons are stopped by giant "Sky Fighters" and numerous "Houndy Crunchers" (large anthropomorphic shape-shifting animals), and nearly defeated, the Sky Fighters almost relent, but Muggins, much to his mother's chagrin, cheers them on. The Sky Fighters win the battle, but a greater war against Earth is revealed, and Muggins and his mother are visited by the Sky Fighters, who welcome the family duo to their inner circle, where they receive knowledge and magical powers in order to help stop the Python Demons. The Sky Fighters resemble various human figures; for example, one Sky Fighter is described as a giant stereotypical Native American lady in regalia resembling Pocahontas. Eberle as "Muggins" comes to befriend the giant creatures and find power in his life as a result of interactions with them.
Reception
Sky Fighters and Houndy Crunchers received mixed reviews from critics. While retaining largely negative reviews on Goodreads (having been voted for placement on Goodreads's "Crap of the Crop: Worst Self-Published Books" list), critical reviewers were more neutral about the book. Eberle was interviewed via video conference by Joshua Grant of Diabolic Shrimp, who praised the book for its imaginative outlook on life and the incorporation of real-life events that had impacted Eberle in his own childhood. The interview, titled Ross Eberle--BOOKS, VIDEO GAMES, and A MUSICAL FAMILY--Diabolic Shrimp #18, was later uploaded to YouTube. Trana Mathews, a historical fiction author and book critic, interviewed Eberle in 2020 and found that many of the ideas in Eberle's book were tied to causes that Eberele and his mother valued, such as preventing climate change and conserving nature, which Mathews commended.

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