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May 08, 2017Love_Legolas_111 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The first scene plops you smack into the center of the conflict, and from there on things keep climbing in intensity. Colfer cranks up the dials as the pages go by, and the three leads---Riley, Chevie, and Garrick---will all hop off the page at one point or another. Coming off of reading Artemis Fowl (at this point, I'm 3/4 way through the series) and his Marvel comics Iron Man novel "The Gauntlet", my opinion of Mr. Colfer's writing is high. While others here have noted that The Reluctant Assassin isn't as good as Artemis Fowl, I feel that's because Artemis is such a uniquely engaging character, and has something about him that appeals to the reader (plus Holly and everything related to the People). While Riley isn't as sarcastic nor Chevie as experienced, the characters of W.A.R.P.'s first novel shine in their own way, and they are likable. And Garrick is terrifyingly potent as a villain. The Reluctant Assassin provides suspense, science, and action a little heavier than Artemis Fowl. My library system placed the book in the Teens section, and now I get why. While the violence isn't gory per se, it is vivid as a result of half the time being told from the psychopath villain's point of view. Thus, if you have a younger child who's just come off reading Artemis Fowl and wants more Colfer, maybe preview The Reluctant Assassin first. Some of the scenes are intense and at times a tad horrific. While Colfer often inserts humor or sarcasm to temper some moments down a bit, others are a little harder to swallow. Nevertheless, I plan on reading the rest of the W.A.R.P. series, which I believe is a trilogy(?). I'm looking forward to seeing what Colfer has planned.