The Reluctant Assassin

I wavered between three and four stars for this. I really wanted to like it more than I did. It's good, just not Artemis Fowl-pure genius good. It's the story of Riley, who is apprenticed (make that more like enslaved) by a nefarious magician/assassin in Victorian England and Chevron, a teenage FBI agent who finds herself on an apparently boring assignment in modern day London. When Chevron's latest assignment ends up involving time travel, she and Riley are caught up in a dangerous game of hide and seek with super villains and huge stakes. This book is literally, extremely bloody. From the first chapter to the last, bloody death and injury abounds. However, while I thought the gore was a little over the top, Colfer's signature show more enthralling plot and well drawn characters eventually engaged me and kept me reading until the end. I'm hoping this series gets better and better, now that the main characters are well launched. show less

Great combination of futuristic and historical, combined with creepy supernatural villain. Riley and Chevron are appealing heroes and there is plenty of action and smart mouthed teenagers.

Riley is a reluctant apprentice in Victorian London to Albert Garrick, a magician turned murderer for hire. He is about to commit his first killing, with Garrick poised behind him ready to dispatch Riley and his victim if he falters. But the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI's Witness Anonymous Relocation Program. A wormhole in time transports Riley to the future, with Garrick close behind - an Albert Garrick who has merged with the persona of Felix Smart, an agent of the FBI, and now has all his knowledge and skills. Riley is taken into custody by the FBI, and when Garrick tracks him down to kill his one-time apprentice, escapes back to his own time aided by Chevron Savano, a young FBI show more trainee. Garrick is not far behind, and they are chased through Victorian London by a murderously pathological illusionist of unfathomable abilities.

The characters here are not (yet) as compelling as those in Colfer's "Artemis Fowl" series, but Riley and Chevie are quite intriguing, and I look forward to seeing where the following books take us. Eoin Colfer's deadpan humor is in fine fettle here. And for the record, outside of perhaps Garrison Keillor, Eoin Colfer gives the most entertaining author readings/signings I have ever been to. show less

After a slightly shaky and awkward start, I found myself utterly hooked on this mad-cap Victorian adventure novel. Well, when I saw "Victorian" I mean, semi-Victorian, because it is somewhat set in the modern day as well. Rather gory and a bit more violent than one might expect in a book aimed at children - thus I would recommend it for readers aged 10 or those of a less than squeamish nature. The villain is really very nasty - he doesn't just threaten - he follows up on his threats. A fairly high body count too. The characters - Victorian reluctant assassin, Riley and Chevron, teenage wanna-be-FBI agent, are both well developed and the plot moves along at a cracking pace. Overall, I highly enjoyed it and look forward to what Riley gets show more up to next! show less

[review written 2013]

wow!!! i really like eoin colfer’s books. ive read several of his other ones and i really like this one.

so i’ve been a fan of artemis fowl since sixth grade so that’s like … five years now? and WARP: the reluctant assassin reminded me of artemis fowl, especially the time paradox. but then again it deals with time travel just like the time paradox did.

now this book was a lot darker than artemis fowl or the supernaturalist was which is why i kept seeing it in the teen section rather than the young adult. there’s more violence and a tad more cursing than i’ve seen the artemis fowl series. but it was cool. and chevie was seventeen.

and oh my god i liked chevie. like. what a smartass. i liked her a lot and show more her backstory. riley was pretty cool too i liked him a lot. like. okay, it’s not artemis-fowl level snark, but the snark is there. (artemis fowl is one of the snarkier series. if you don’t snark in artemis fowl, you’re probably incompetent and unimportant. rick riordan and john flanagan are quite snarky too. i enjoy snark a lot.)

so yeah! and the plot was good - garrick was completely off his rocker and he was a good antagonist wow. i am definitely waiting for the next book, because i really do like eoin colfer as an author

(and hopefully i can get rid of my artemis fowl parallels to because like there is age difference between the girl and the boy and also a bit of a romance hint too god i need to go read artemis fowl again) show less

Background: Chevron Savano is a girl of our time, living with computers and advanced weaponry and HD TV. She is also the youngest person in the FBI and she made a huge mistake on her last assignment and was recently shipped off to England to watch over some shiny pod in a basement. Her job is to keep watch: that is it, no touching, no questions, no nothing. That is, until the pod awakens and knocks out about a quarter of the city’s power.

Riley is a boy living Victorian London as an orphan with a madman that has taken him under his wing as a magician/ assassin. Upon Riley’s mission to kill someone to prove himself to Albert Garrick, something goes terribly wrong and he is literally sucked into the future…where he meets show more Chevy.

Review: W.A.R.P. was such a cool book; it combined time-travel with assassins and a conspiracy theory plotline. It was so much fun to listen to. Chevy is a strong teenage female who is trying to find her place in life and with the FBI, while Riley is a little more vulnerable, but only because he is petrified of Garrick.

The time travel was done in a very interesting way and there were enough questions answered throughout that I did not feel annoyed at the end waiting for another book in the series. The book can be read as a stand alone, but based on the Epilogue there will be another installment.
Chevy and Riley are pared together well, both stubborn and interesting with their background stories and I am interested to see where their lives lead them through this series of books. I really liked Riley more than Chevy, which was different for me. Chevy was very stand-off-ish whereas Riley was more open and inviting about himself and his feelings and I enjoyed that about his character.

This book is for a young adult/ middle grade audience, and as of this book does not include a romantic/ girl swooning element. There is a lot of action and a lot of people die…and Albert Garrick is creepy and horrific when it comes to his stories and character profile, but all in all a wonderful read for all ages! show less

The Reluctant Assassin is entertaining. The story follows unlikely pair Riley and Chevie, one a waif from Victorian England, the other an American teen who is the product of a decommissioned FBI taskforce. When Riley falls through a time tunnel, the pair struggle to escape a mad assassin and set things right in the present and history alike. It's a bit of a mad runabout, with the purpose falling away until it seems like the books will never end. It's entertaining, but altogether, it's a bit pointless.

The characters were fine, although there were moments that made me a bit uncomfortable. Chevie is Native American, when the pair travelled back in time, the story was rife with racial slurs. While, yes, these were period appropriate, I show more think they were unnecessary. I think Chevie and her surroundings could have been better adapted, especially considering this is a middle grade novel?

However, the writing style was very true to Colfer's original. It was light and fast-paced and funny when I didn't expect it to be funny. I didn't completely dislike the book - there were moments where it was perfectly entertaining! But The Reluctant Assassin feels like more of a library book than a buyer for me. Then again, I am many years older than the target audience, and I can see middle schoolers finding this particularly amusing. But it was a little off center for my tastes.

Generally speaking, I'd say that while I wouldn't necessarily recommend The Reluctant Assassin, I still recommend Eoin Colfer, and any fan should try out this series and see if they enjoy it. :) But I'd start with Artemis Fowl or The Supernaturalist. show less