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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
When I heard Eoin Colfer was starting a new series, I was very excited. After I read it, I was very disappointed. I just didn't enjoy this book as much as Artemis Fowl. Like it was a good book and all, and I think I'll read the next one when it comes out, but it wasn't a great book like I was expecting.
A solid book by Eoin Colfer. Very enjoyable, easy and fun read. Interesting characters with depth and a well paced story. Fun young adult adventure without the worn-thin-romance-trope.
Lots of action and adventure. A good time-travel tale!
3.5 stars really!
Time travel, Victorian England, a butt kicking FBI agent in training, and a terrified assistant in a book that is fast paced, full of intrigue and a truly terrifying villain. As would be expected in a book on time travel, the book takes place in both the present day and Victorian England. The two protagonists, Chevron - from the present, and Riley, from the past are thrown together when the time machine Chevie is babysitting suddenly kicks into gear and spits out Riley into the future. The two must work together in both eras to outwit Riley's maniacal boss and expert assassin, Garrick. I haven't met such a formidable antagonist in quite some time and he truly makes your skin crawl.
[a:Eoin Colfer|10896|Eoin Colfer|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1254336426p2/10896.jpg] sets a brisk pace in this story so that you may actually feel out of breath at the end of certain chapters. I loved the inventiveness of the story (the character of Charismo and his plays and songs are hysterical - The Panther that was Pink anyone?) A great first book for this series. I am looking forward to the next!
Due to the graphic nature of many of the scenes(the bad guy is really a ruthless assassin after all) I would definitely caution that this is for older less squeamish readers. Also, I received the compimentary e arc from NetGalley but this in no way shaped my opinion or my review.
Time travel, Victorian England, a butt kicking FBI agent in training, and a terrified assistant in a book that is fast paced, full of intrigue and a truly terrifying villain. As would be expected in a book on time travel, the book takes place in both the present day and Victorian England. The two protagonists, Chevron - from the present, and Riley, from the past are thrown together when the time machine Chevie is babysitting suddenly kicks into gear and spits out Riley into the future. The two must work together in both eras to outwit Riley's maniacal boss and expert assassin, Garrick. I haven't met such a formidable antagonist in quite some time and he truly makes your skin crawl.
[a:Eoin Colfer|10896|Eoin Colfer|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1254336426p2/10896.jpg] sets a brisk pace in this story so that you may actually feel out of breath at the end of certain chapters. I loved the inventiveness of the story (the character of Charismo and his plays and songs are hysterical - The Panther that was Pink anyone?) A great first book for this series. I am looking forward to the next!
Due to the graphic nature of many of the scenes(the bad guy is really a ruthless assassin after all) I would definitely caution that this is for older less squeamish readers. Also, I received the compimentary e arc from NetGalley but this in no way shaped my opinion or my review.
The premise was promising but this book just didn't do it for me. and I can't really explain why. It was a chore to finish it.
I had much fun reading this book! The mix of history and fantasy/Sci-Fi is great! (but nobody needs the epilog!!)
I really enjoyed the "Artemis Fowl" books by the same author so I got this audiobook to see if I'd like this series. It starts with Chevron "Chevvie" Savano, a 17-year-old orphan who was recruited for an experimental FBI program that employed teens.
When the program gets shut down, Chevvie gets re-assigned to the WARP team in London, watching a pod that never seems to do anything, until one day, two time travelers come through. One of the time travelers is a teenager named Riley who was the reluctant apprentice to an assassin, and he teams up with Chevvie to defeat the bad guy who comes through the time portal with him. There are adventures in hijinks in both the present and in 1898 London.
These books are a bit darker and more violent than the Artemis Fowl books but still plenty of fun. They're brain candy, but I'm interested in reading the next two in the series.
When the program gets shut down, Chevvie gets re-assigned to the WARP team in London, watching a pod that never seems to do anything, until one day, two time travelers come through. One of the time travelers is a teenager named Riley who was the reluctant apprentice to an assassin, and he teams up with Chevvie to defeat the bad guy who comes through the time portal with him. There are adventures in hijinks in both the present and in 1898 London.
These books are a bit darker and more violent than the Artemis Fowl books but still plenty of fun. They're brain candy, but I'm interested in reading the next two in the series.
The Reluctant Assassin is a fun, quick read, fast-paced and action-packed, with elements of sci-fi and history thrown in.
It's always going to be hard to follow on from a character as wonderful as Artemis Fowl, so I don't envy Eoin Colfer his job on this one. And to be fair The Reluctant Assassin is a pretty good book. It's just not quite as good as the first few Artemis Fowl ones - there is a spark of joy and outrageous inventiveness that seems to be missing to me. Having said that, I liked the main characters (particularly Riley and his Victorian expressions for everything) and the story was engaging although I thought it wound up a little quickly. And Mr Colfer has left lots of tidbits that tell us that there is a lot more of the story to come. So, a solid start to a new series and I look forward to seeing where he goes with it.