Book Review: Escape Velocity

 Summary: Pupils and staff at HIVE are horrified to discover that Dr Nero has been captured by the forces of HOPE, the Hostile Operative Prosecution Executive, the world’s newest and most ruthlessly efficient security force. Three months pass without any news of his fate, and Number One has decided to appoint a sinister new headmistress for the school, somebody that the pupils and staff had thought that they’d seen the last of. Meanwhile Otto is also struggling to cope with new abilities that are starting to manifest themselves; can he really be unconsciously interfacing with computers without physical contact? And if he is, what exactly do these new powers really mean? The only way to find Nero and the truth behind the lies is to escape HIVE. Otto must get out, and take the risks which come with being a rogue agent. Then he just has to break into MI6…..

Thoughts: I really love these books and I'll never be able to say why. I can see most of the twists coming, the characters aren't as developed as they could be...but I really love these books! 
 The story is all very much what you would expect from a story of 'evil' real-world super-agents. Lots of action and cool gadgets (real and fictional). Plenty of shocking (if not completely unexpected) twists. And even a bit of sci-fi thrown in at the end! 
 The writing style keeps the story simple and easy to follow no matter how chaotic the situation is. The only problem is that it moves too fast. i think that because these books are marketed towards a younger audience the writing tends to focus more on what's going on than what the characters are really feeling...which leads to certain scenes feeling anti-climatic or underdeveloped.There was one scene in the end that I felt could have potentially left me in tears but was instead just sort of brushed over.
 Despite this flaw the characters are still so much fun! I see a lot of potential in them that I hope will become clearer as the series progresses. The returning characters are great, the newer characters feel a little bland and, due to the fact that most of them are actual villains, stereotypical; basically what you expect from a character who's ony purpose is to be a bad guy and not really add to the story.
 Despite all my nay-saying, the books really are a lot of fun and easy reads.

Content: D*** and C*** are used a few times. One of the girls makes some flirtatious remarks to one of the boys. A lot of violence and explosions but very little in the way of blood or death. 
 All in all, a clean read for a mature middle-grader or older, though a good read for anyone looking for an action-packed story with fun characters!