• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7

Hovering before him was an enormous bubble, taller even than he was, and faintly shimmering with an unearthly light.

Billy Brown can't resist the opportunity to experiment with the mysterious substance he has found. Before he knows it, he's whisked far into space, through a black hole to a strange flat planet. Soon he's embroiled in a deadly game of chess with an evil mad queen. Can Billy beat her, or will he and his friends be devoured by a monster too hideous for words?

Elwy Yost's profile page

Elwy Yost was a familiar face for film lovers for over thirty years as the enthusiastic host of television’s Magic Shadows and Saturday Night at the Movies, two shows which set motion pictures within a learning context. Although he is well known in connection with films, Mr. Yost also devoted himself to his writing with a similar flair and determination. His stories brim with fascinating people and compelling plots, and he always seemed to create new situations and characters. “I’m just tremendously excited by life,” said Yost, “and I don’t want to waste a second of it.”

In 1947 he wrote, directed, produced and performed in a short feature film, In Between, which won honourable mention in the 1949 Canadian Film Awards. In 1957 he wrote an epic poem called “The Lost World of Christopher Skye” and a play, The Falls of Orellana, which was the basis for Secret of the Lost Empire. Mr. Yost has written a film book, Magic Moments from the Movies, and a space adventure called The Mad Queen of Mordra. Born in Weston Ontario, Yost spent most of his professional career in Ontario before moving to Vancouver. Yost passed away in 2011 and and is fondly remembered by readers and viewers alike.