I felt like it was time for another book review. That, and I felt bad because I haven't been keeping up with my "Blog every Friday" thing. I'm not making excuses, but I was busy last weekend. That's another story though. ANYWAY, this morning (when I was supposed to be writing a "mini essay" for history) I finished reading The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer. That was a good book. So, here I go again, click the jump to read more!Summary:
The blurb from the inside of the book cover.
"Riley, an orphan living in Victorian London, has had the misfortune of being apprenticed to Albert Garrick, a former illusionist turned murdered, who now uses his conjuring skills to gain access to victims' dwellings. On one such escapade, Garrick brings his reluctant assistant along and urges him to commit his first killing. Riley is saved from having to commit the grisly act when the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI's Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP) Riley is unwittingly transported via wormhole to modern day London - with Garrick close on his heels.
In modern London, Riley is aided by Chevron Savano, a seventeen-year-old FBI agent. Together Riley and Chevie must evade Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now not only evil, but he also possesses all of the scientist's knowledge. He is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie's possession to make his way back to Victorian London where he can literally change the world."
What I would rate this book:
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| 5/5 stars |
Who I would recommend this book for:
Okay. Time travel and secret agent-y stuff. Who wouldn't want to read this? In all seriousness though, I would say this is more of a young adult (YA) book. There's violence, but the book doesn't dwell on that too much. Mostly just fast-paced fights and stuff like that. And there's the occasional minor curse sprinkled throughout, but nothing that made me think "Oh my gosh, just stop." I'm really picky about that stuff. So anyway, more of a YA book. If you're a fan of adventure novels, I think you'd enjoy The Reluctant Assassin. Think the same level of action as an Alex Rider book, but with a time machine.
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| The UK cover |
I saw this book at one library and for whatever reason, didn't pick it up right away. I was probably trying to keep myself from borrowing the entire YA section. I added it to my reading list though, thinking I would get around to it when I ran out of other things to read. When I started The Reluctant Assassin, I was kicking myself for waiting too long. You see, there are good books, and then there are good books. This one held my attention excellently (not that that's a hard thing to do, but you see the point). Last night, I had just finished reading a particularly interesting part and I almost couldn't sleep. I was just thinking about it. I probably talked to myself too, but no one needs to know that.
So, Riley and Chevie. For starters, I'm weirdly attached the the name Riley. I don't really know why. Anyway, I really liked Riley, and not just because of his name. He has this sort of naive quality about him, especially after getting dragged into the twenty-first century. Riley's not an idiot though; he's very clever, and seems to know what he's doing when he's not faced with the technology of the future. I liked him from the start (maybe because I thought it was kinda funny how he had all these nice 19th century manners). Chevron, on the other hand, took me a little while to appreciate. I didn't hate her; I think she might've been a little too sassy though. As the book went on and she understood Riley more (no spoilers, I promise), Chevie started looking out for him, to a degree. All in all, they both had drastically different personalities (I mean, what were you expecting? One of them's a tough-girl FBI agent and the other one was raised in Victorian London). I like that though. I like how they still managed to get along a trust each other as the book went on.
Alright, now for what I didn't like. The ending made me mad. No spoilers, like I said, but I think it's safe to say that I wanted more. However, there will be another book in the series next year. I forget what it's called, but I believe it's supposed to be released around my birthday. (I also just realized that that'll be my sixteenth birthday. Holy Snapple.) I can't really compare The Reluctant Assassin to Colfer's other novels, since this is the only one I've read. It does make me want to read more of his books though. Not sure where I'll start.
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So that just about wraps it up for my review. I hope you found it informative and helpful. Have you read The Reluctant Assassin? Let me know what you thought in the comments!
Until next time!
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