Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Peter Jay Black - Shockwave (Urban Outlaws) - Book Review (Bloomsbury 2016)

The Urban Outlaws have been infected! Hector Del Sarto used them to spread the deadly Medusa virus and now the whole of London is in lockdown. Only Hector and his father have the antidote. Can Jack, Charlie, Obi, Slink and Wren work together to bring down the Del Sartos once and for all? The whole city depends on them!

One day, a team of super-skilled kids popped into Peter Jay Black's head; that was the day the URBAN OUTLAWS was born. The first book in this fantastic series was published back in March 2014, which only seems like yesterday. The authors love of gadgets and films have made a fantastic impact on the following series. The second book was entitled  "Black Out" and the third book "Lockdown". Both were published by Bloomsbury in 2015 with fantastically cool and vibrant book covers. Each book followed the characters through a series of impossible missions that left the reader hooked from the very first page.

The plot line in book four "Counterstrike" was extra special in many ways. It is definitely my personal favourite and was out early this year. I have loved every minute of this series and I hope that you do too, if you've not already done so. I have flexed my fantasy wings and flown higher than Mount Everest, even landing on the summit due to big action bangs in every book. I have really come to love the characters and their individual personalties as if they were old and new friends. Every adventure has stayed fresh in my mind until the next instalment is unleashed. 

We have now arrived at the latest book, SHOCKWAVE. As the book title might suggest, in more ways than one (giving nothing away), this could be the last pages that we read, but I really hope not! Jack, Charlie, Slink and Wren face their toughest challenge in a fantastic high-stakes battle to save their lives and everybody on the planet. The clock is ticking and so will your heartbeat as the action unfolds in this gripping and engaging mission to defeat Hector and the deadly virus. The story is told with heart and gusto; it has many chapters jammed packed with exhilarating action and adventure.   

The imaginative qualities found in all of the books will rival the dreams of kids. Any reluctant reader will drop into any of the stories and really enjoy them, as they are fun, fresh and totally cool. All of the characters are different and fantastically written, with brilliant personalties that any reader (regardless of age or gender) will relate to. There are characters who are creative with gadgets e.g. a techno geek who is good with computers and surveillance as well sporty and action seeking characters. Each person brings their skills  to make a great team as they all want to make a difference in the world in order to make it a better place for everybody. 

This is a fantastically feel good series for everyone; it is smart, funny and a bucketful of entertainment, but what will happen now? Have we seen the last of the Urban Outlaws? 

Book Review: John Mcnally - Infinity Drake - The Sons Of Scarlatti - HarperCollins

                    

This is a very big debut book for 2014 which will go down a storm with the 8-12 year age group. It is a story that boys will definitely love and a book that girls will be intrigued to read. I have to say that I was definitely looking forward to reading this book. Fortunately I received a speedy review copy from the publisher. Many thanks for sending this to me and enabling me to have such a fantastic January reading experience. 

This is a big adventure involving a really small hero, 9mm tall to be precise, who is called Infinity Drake (aka Finn). He is every inch a hero with a really big heart. I like to compare this book with 'The Borrowers' meets 'Arthur and the Invisibles'. In my opinion, this is the biggest family read for years which is fast-paced, smart and also slightly zany e.g. Finn's psycho-knitting Grandma!

Finn is off on holiday with his mad-scientist uncle, when they are summoned to a crisis meeting. This leads to a madcap plot that will have you hooked to the point of no return. Meanwhile Scarlatti, which is a lethal bio-weapon and an ϋber-wasp killing machine, adds a dash of dark horror and some fantastic reading moments. Released by a pitiless villain which soon results in incalculable consequences for mankind. 

Fortunately Uncle Al comes to the rescue and shrinks a military team to be able to track down and kill the beast. However disaster soon strikes – sabotage! Finn has to jump in a tiny Apache helicopter with three soldiers in a desperate race to destroy the beast that's out there, which is very angry and many times their size…

This book was very infectious to read. It is full of explosive action with many crazy elements threaded through the storyline. Whilst still retaining humour to captivate the audience which adds another dimension. This is a huge cake wedge of fantasy immersed in layers of biology and science fiction themes with an oozing filling of serious action. Bugs on a large scale, people on a small scale and the world waiting to be saved from global destruction. Can they do it? Will they do it? You'll have to find out.