Do You like book H.I.V.E. Higher Institute Of Villainous Education (2007)?
An evil Alex Rider series, H.I.V.E. is a fast-paced and fun read for all ages, especially those who enjoyed the Alex Rider series. Otto Malpense wakes up in an unfamiliar helicopter next to a serene Chinese boy named Wing, both of them kidnapped. They are taken to an island where there is a school inside a volcano called the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, for short H.I.V.E. Otto and Wing are both highly suspicious about the school that teaches them how to sneak around a building full of people without being seen once and how to make flesh eating Venus fly traps in biology. Otto and Wing along with two other students decide they want to get off the island and they to devise a plan. With the help of an unaware tech teacher, a laundry chute, and an emotional AI named H.I.V.E.mind the four students sneak their way to freedom. With a surprising twist near the end, a mysterious necklace, and a cliffhanger ending H.I.V.E. will leave you begging for more.Normally I am more into Sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal stuff but I have always had a weakness for spy books and kids with excellent memory or excelled knowledge of advanced college age academics. I loved the Alex Rider series and the Mysterious Benedict Society books so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it! I can't wait to read the second book!
—Lily K
The first book in a YA series that smells a lot like Harry Potter, but isn't quite as good as the Percy Jackson books. It's also a somewhat predictable book, albeit predictable in enjoyable ways. Neither the characters nor the plot are in the same category as Rowlings or even Riordan or Colfer. Still, I found myself getting into it by the end, and starting to appreciate the unique elements of the first book.Orphan boy genius Otto Malpense-- who is in the unique position of having peers who respect and value his superhuman intellect, instead of fearing him and wanting to remove his face-- humiliates Britain's corrupt prime minister using a tiny robot and mind control, and suddenly his potential is recognized by the world's supervillain community. In a flash, he is whisked off to H.I.V.E., a high-tech version of Hogwarts that a) no one leaves before graduation and b) is populated only by Slytherins. Instead of Houses there are apparently three "streams" for budding villains-- Alphas, Henchmen, and Financial. Otto is an obvious Alpha (evil mastermind), and so he is grouped with an interesting array of young prodigies with different talents. None of his fellow first years seem particularly evil yet, but I suspect that will change over time.The problem of the first book? Escape from the H.I.V.E. The superhuman youngsters have a challenge ahead of them, and while the final results are predictable it's still fun. Speaking as a writer, there was about a quarter of a twist in the ending, a slight improvement on what my brain concluded was the "right" way for the series to go without really trying.One of the problems that struck me is that this book is written even more like a screenplay than most novels. The way it switches fluidly between POV characters, and the sometimes strained efforts towards clever commentary both struck me as attempts to make sure the book is suitable for filming even before the author started. Still, transparent motives or not, I liked it.
—Matt
CLICHESSO MANY CLICHESIt's not even funny.We've gotThe Hogwarts of evil people.The fat kid who eats ALL THE TIME-The smart Asian-The bratty fashion-obsessed blonde American (however, this does change. I do have to give the author credit for that)-Our not-NEARLY-as-cool-as-Neville-Longbottom who has to live up to his parents' lives-The nice girl who we ALL know is going to end up with our protagonistThe mysterious guy whose motives are not known but the majority of us know he's going to be related to our protagonist (And totally ripped off the "mysterious sponsor" from Great Expectations)The two brutes who are rude to our protagonist and have no other personalities (basically, these two are Crabbe and Goyle but less compelling because there's no Draco)-The seductive assassin helper.And our GENIUS orphaned special perfect lead role. Who, with no discernable flaws, bullying tendancies, and extreme (and I do mean extreme. There are entire paragraphs of him speaking about how much better he is than everyone) arrogance, is like Artemis Fowl. In fact, he IS Artemis Fowl. Except you find yourself not rooting for him. Because he is an awful protagonist that I despise.See, the problem with this is the author, instead of focusing on entire personalities and creating well-fleshed out characters, he sticks with exactly 1 trait of each character.Also, can I talk about Otto's (main character) backstory? He convinced people and companies/corporations to give their money and stuff to his orphanage so they could have big TVs and video games. He then convinces the government to give money so he can be homeschooled, but in reality the head lady is just going to use it to buy herself expensive clothes and jewelry. Is this a thing in England? And then, after that, he complains that they are going to shut down his giant fraud machine? And we're supposed to root for him. Did I miss something? I must have missed something.Also, there were 3 names in this book that bothered me to no end. One was named Diabolus Darkdoom. Did the author just run out of names? Seriously. Why don't you just name your kid Evil McEvil? And then the two brutes are named Tackle and Block.The plot wasn't my favorite. The idea was good, just poorly executed. There were also many pacing issues, and the writing was simple, but understandable for (what I think is) a tween-age book. The ending, however, was less awful than the rest of the book. I didn't find the cliffhanger too compelling, and I probably will not be finishing the series out.
—Katie
