Product Description

The British underworld is controlled by gangs. When two of them start a turf war, violence explodes on to the streets. The police need information fast, and James Adams has the contacts to infiltrate the most dangerous gang of all. He works for CHERUB.

Cherubs are trained professionals, aged between ten and seventeen. They exist because criminals never suspect that kids are spying on them.

For official purposes, these children do not exist.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1877 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
Praise for books in the CHERUB series: 'Punchy, exciting, glamorous and, what's more, you'll completely wish it was true.' (The Sunday Express )

'An excellent start to a promising series. It is every boy's wish to be a spy, and this book will enthrall every single one of them.' (The Bookseller )

'An exciting, swiftly moving tale' (School Librarian )

'A fast-paced action thriller, which should turn into a fantastic series - if James manages to live that long.' (Young Post )

About the Author
Robert Muchamore was born in Islington in 1972 and spent thirteen years working as a private investigator. He was inspired to create the CHERUB series by his nephews' complaints about the lack of anything for them to read!

Customer Reviews

Another pulse-pounding, unputdownable book
Because Robert Muchamore's language is simple and clear, reviewers tend to ignore him. But his writing always puts you firmly in a place and time. Without resorting to long descriptive passages he makes you taste, hear, smell, feel and especially see what's going on around. And what a lot happens! In this book about rival gang wars in Luton, (no false glamour with Muchamore), there is a real sense of danger. The two things I like most about Muchamore's books, apart from the clarity of writing, are that his stories feels absolutely real, and that you never know what's going to happen next. I also like the strong sub-plot about 15 year old James' growing maturity.

Good addition to a great series, but not the best
The two biggest rivals to the Alex Rider series are this Cherub series and the Jimmy Coates series by Joe Craig. Cherub started off in amazing style with The Recruit and has continued to be pure class, but has never quite reached the heights of that first book.

While staying true to its grittier roots, it has lost some of the excitement because there's a limit to what real kids can practically do.

In contrast, Alex Rider became more and more ridiculous, while the Jimmy Coates series has improved with every book by striking a balance between a real life setting and more outrageous and daring action sequences.

Mad Dogs is definitely a great read, but it's good to have all these amazing books to read and to compare the different styles. If you haven't checked out any Cherub yet you should, along with Alex Rider and Jimmy Coates. (But start with the Recruit.)

Mad Dogs - Muchamore Turned Up To 11
I got hold of a preview copy of the book and thought I'd share my views on it.

This book isn't just Muchamore turned up to 11. The whole series is completely tuned in to what the younger generation wants to read, it seems that Muchamore has managed to capture it in a book so fast paced and adrenalin filled that once you've started reading, you won't want to stop.

I won't tell you too much about the plot however as per usual with a CHERUB book you have just more than one storyline to keep you the story thrilling and the book sees many of the main characters grow up, as well as some of the background details be built up helping you gain a real sense of the CHERUB world.

For the first time we see a gadgets master in the book, although he isn't supplying the agents with gameboys crammed with a smoke bomb and bug finder. Knives, miniature guns and nanotube fabric are the order of the day - this is certainly not Alex Rider. We're no longer talking of kids who can't handle weapons and who certainly can't get injured of hurt.

Mad Dogs is certainly brilliantly crafted and is a superb read. It could be quite controversial as some aspects of the book are more adult than child, however any fan of the series and new readers alike will love the book for what it is.

A true five star read!