TJ is attending his great uncle’s wake after his funeral. He enters the house with his parents to find many people milling around talking. His
mum suggests he go and talk with his cousins while they “…do the rounds.”
One glance over to his scowling cousins makes the decision for him. Instead, he heads away from the crowd and down a hallway. He finds a room full of books, and a desk covered in files and papers. Looking through the bookshelves, he finds one that moves!
A secret door!
At the bottom of a set of cobwebbed covered stairs, TJ discovers a room, with walls layered in tin foil. An intriguing file captures his attention…
Central Intelligence Agency
CLASSIFIED
AREA 51
There’s a note inside from his great uncle, and TJ delves even further.
His deceased relative has compiled a file of the history of the intriguing, Top Secret area named Area 51. At first it reads like a history lesson, but inside the file is the story of nuclear testing, then supersecret planes. When theories began surfacing about what was really happening inside the closed off area, conspiracies formed, and became more and more advanced.
Sightings of lights in the skies above the area, fed the theories and spawned stories, books and movies about aliens. The US government government worked hard with and against these reports and fears, to make best advantage.
Just when TJ is really getting to the interesting stuff, two men in dark suits and glasses arrive. And they aren’t there for the funeral….
Just one in a series of Archives of the Unexplained, Area 51 is an intriguing enigma to many around the world. This full colour graphic novel is historical narrative fiction, telling the story of this Top Secret place, through an arms race with Russia, to high tech planes and technology.
Many conspiracy theories that have bloomed about this area are mentioned , again with dates and facts to hang this story on. A bibliography for this episode is included in the rear of the book, with many specific online links referenced for reader’s own research.
Author – Steve Foxe
Illustrator – Fran Bueno
Age – 11+
Narrative Non-Fiction
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Publisher – Roaring Book Press
Set – Area 51 Nevada USA / 1950’s to present
Viewpoint – 1st person
Violence – No
Real Life – Yes
Fantasy – Alien Conspiracies
Blend – Real Life / Historical / Military / Mystery
(2026, First Second, Roaring Book Press, Conflict, Historical, Mystery, Real Life, Science, Sci Fi, Secret, Series, Aliens, Spacecraft, Flying Saucer, UFO, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, Conspiracies, Conspiracy, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, Spying, USA, America, Testing, Men in Black)