Robert Muchamore

I actually preferred this book to the first one as there was a lot more action and Little John's story was also fleshed out a bit more. In this book, Robin is bored being under effectively house arrest as the outlaws of Sherwood try to keep him safe from Guy Gisborne's soldiers. Enter Marion's wayward older brother Flash who convinces Robin on the sly to help him rob some an ATM at an out of the way service station. Of course, it goes horribly wrong --think dye bombs in ATMS-- and Robin show more eventually makes his way home in disgrace. Marion refuses to talk to him and it is not until his superior hacking skills are called in that he starts to redeem himself in her eyes.
We also see how Little John is not coping at high school as Clare Gisborne is hell bent on making his life a misery. So much so that they get into a huge ninja-star brawl that sees the Sheriff of Nottingham withdraw Little John from the school and send him to board at an ultra-posh one away from all his friends.
Much more satisfying than the first novel, I can't wait until the third. show less

This is literally an action movie in book form. Secret agent kids, weird violence, world traveling, cults??? Apparently the recipe for success for me and all my weird friends at 14. Fond memories of my friend who owned the series dealing people books out of her locker during passing period like they were drugs.

As I said in an earlier review, I'm really surprised James anger issues aren't addressed more thoroughly. He clearly needs counselling to deal with these. I'm not sure he actually understands that what he does to Andy is wrong. Like he does but he really doesn't. But I'm not sure all his friends blanking him and the corresponding whinging send the right message that it was wrong. In addition to that the following scene rubs me the wrong way.

‘So, James,’ Millie smirked, covering her show more mouth as though she didn’t want Zara to hear. ‘As one CHERUB to another, how’d you end up on cleaning detail?’ ‘I got in a fight,’ James said awkwardly. Zara smiled. ‘Well that’s not exactly true, is it James?’ ‘I dunno, isn’t it?’ ‘Get this,’ Zara grinned as she pointed at James. ‘The silly muppet got himself dumped by his girlfriend. So he storms out and thumps the first person he sees: a little scrap of an eleven-year-old kid.’ Millie put her hands over her mouth. ‘Oh my god,’ she smiled. ‘James, how could you? And you’re so sweet with Joshua.’ James felt awkward and dumb, even though he realised Millie was trying to be nice. ‘So, like I said,’ Zara interrupted, ‘young James has some very good mission experience, but right now he’s down in the dumps. His friends have all given him the boot. He’s lost his summer holiday and the only way he’ll get out of cleaning duty is if I send him on a mission.’

Muchamore, Robert. CHERUB: The Killing: Book 4 (CHERUB Series) (pp. 95-96). Hachette Children's Group. Kindle Edition.

It doesn't seem like Zara appreciates the seriousness of what James did. Indeed it appears as if she sympathises - and I really don't think she should as the adult in the scenario. Furthermore, getting him out of the appropriate punishment he's been given enforces this message that it's okay. Lauren hitting Large was at least understandable. This wasn't. You can't just go around hitting anyone you want. Why on earth is Lauren's punishment so much harder and James isn't?

Disregarding that - I also don't understand the attraction to Kerry anyway. She's immature and annoying and prone to violence. I don't find they have any chemistry and I find them both painful.

The mission itself was okay. In addition to James attitude towards women, this book adds Dave's. Both of them are pigs. Women aren't objects available only for men's satisfaction. And it kind of seems like that's the message this book sends. Women are people. Human beings with thoughts and feelings.

This all being said - I actually do enjoy this series. I have to ignore a lot of the sexist crap but the plots are always interesting and action packed. show less

This book left me with a somewhat bittersweet taste. It's very entertaining, as expected from any book in this series, but for the first time James seems to realize that his time in CHERUB is nearing its end. As readers, we sense that we are near the end of a wonderful fictional ride.

Also, I was disappointed in his decisions during the last part of the book. Let's face it, James is a likable but also flawed hero. We have seen him at his worse before: we saw him hit a younger boy in anger, show more steal from shops, cheat on his girlfriends... he can be quite shallow sometimes. Bit of an idiot, as Lauren might describe him. But always I had the feeling that I liked him. That when it mattered he was a good kid and his flaws only made him more human. When this book finished, I felt that I did not particularly like the young man he is becoming. I thought he was maturing better. It's a fine line, mind you. His flaws make him more real and likable, a lovable rogue, you might say, but at a certain point it might be too much. I appreciate the fact that Muchamore doesn't patronize his readers, though. He doesn't explicitly tell them "this is wrong". He just tells the story and lets us judge.

The book is divided in three parts. The first is one of James' missions, infiltrating an anarchist group. I found it quite interesting because the role he was playing (bodyguard to the group leader) was more that of a young man than of a kid.

However, the mission is cut short, and then the main part of the book deals with a massive training exercise organized by the American army in collaboration with the British SAS and a group of CHERUB agents. Very enjoyable and a nice change of pace for the series, but perhaps we lose some of the realism that we have come to identify with the series.

Anyway, the last part of the book deals with James' activities in Las Vegas after leaving the training exercise.

I enjoyed it. This series is just fast action, fun and interesting characters. Mental candy, but this one was a bit bittersweet, as I said. Something has been lost. James is no longer a kid. Let's see how he grows in the last two books of the series.

Some comments between spoiler tags:

James acted a bit out of character when he was captured by the American intelligence officers during the training exercise. Sure, he has always been mouthy, but riling them up when you are in such a vulnerable position is just plain stupid.

Also, would such a tactical genius as Kazakov work training spy children?

Their decision to have James watch the video feed in a public place when they are cheating on the casino is just plain stupid, so much that it is out of character, in order to make the plot work. They should just have found another casino where the signal reached the car outside. show less