Rob Stevens - S.T.I.N.K.B.O.M.B. - An Odious Book Review

                                                 

• Pages - 384
• Publisher - Macmillan Children's
• Date - 5 August 2011
• Age - 9+
• ISBN: 978 0 330 53024 8

Twelve-year-old Archie Hunt is a fairly unassuming kind of boy - until the day he is recruited into S.T.I.N.K.B.O.M.B., MI6's fledgling branch of child agents. Their mission? To track down the evasive Doctor Doom, whose sinister experiments to create the ultimate super-being must be stopped. (Seriously. Austin Powers' Doctor Evil has nothing on this guy.) Luckily Archie has been given a few piloting lessons by his fighter-jet-designer father . . . and soon S.T.I.N.K.B.O.M.B. are whizzing around Europe on the search for Doom's lair. They meet friend and foe along the way - including the poor mutants who are the products of Doom's failed experiments. Like Finn: half-man, half-goldfish. He WANTS to lead the team to the hideout, but his three-second memory means that consistency isn't his strong point . . .


This book is jam packed full of many zany moments that will have you laughing on your feet. It's a great easy read that is full of half-breed monsters that have been genetically modified for the good of evil by the power crazy Doctor Doom. I was looking for something easy and up beat to read when I found this on my reading pile. Instantly, I knew that this was the book I was looking for. 


I read this book in one sitting - that's how engrossed I became in the story. It's a pure off-the-wall adventure that is very far fetched. It is certainly not held back by the constraints of reality, as Archie suddenly finds he has unsuspected martial arts abilities and is able to fly his missing father's helicopter at the age of twelve. Although these escapades do produce some high octane moments which are written particularly well.


This is the start of a new series in this comical spoof caper where the secret agents (all children) work for an unofficial branch of MI6. The book is full of suspense and fraught with danger. The clock ticking moments run right through to the very end. 


The characters are engaging and certainly not the run of the mill superheroes. Whilst the so-called 'baddies' are an eclectic mix of species. So much so, that they will have you thinking have I really just read that right. 


Anyone and everyone would enjoy reading this book. It would suit those who consider themselves young at heart and both boy and girl readers alike.
It's a happy and joyous read amongst my pile of books that are written with a more serious and sinister tone. In fact, this was a welcome read and the type of book that I would like to come across more often. Therefore, I send a big thank you to the publisher for making my day.