Evil robots combine with time travel in this darkly comic science fiction tale from Chris Ward, acclaimed author of the Tube Riders series. It came from the future … to be your best friend. Life sucks for twelve-year-old James Newton. His bible-bashing mother wants to convert him, his teenage tempest of a sister wants to berate him, and his loudmouthed, womanising father just wants him to go away. School is no solace either, with sadistic bully Miles Craddock lurking around every corner. James finds comfort in his collection of science fiction novels, but when something appears that could have stepped out of the pages of one of his beloved books, it seems too good to be true. And it is. Ugly Thirteen will be James's best friend. But the grinning robot from a thousand years in the future will be so, so much more…. For James Newton, a Christmas wish is about to turn into a nightmare.