H.I.V.E. : Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden

I am torn about this review. On one hand I really enjoyed this book, and on the other I mildly dissatisfied with it. H.I.V.E. is the first book in a series that follows young criminal prodigy Otto Malpense and his friends. They all attend a boarding school for potential criminal masterminds against their will, and vow to escape. The school, the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, or H.I.V.E, is much like a hidden lair of a generic James Bond villain, or even Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. This aspect of the book is very reminiscent of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter books. H.I.V.E. is a place of where the students learn the different aspects of being dastardly, such as espionage, martial arts, mad science, and even the embezzling of monies. Instead of a well wizened wizard as headmaster there is Dr. Nero, a nemesis in the vein of Dr. No, or another agent of S.P.E.C.T.R.E, who must balance caring for his students and continue to be a evil mastermind. As you can tell the book has a lighthearted tone where the instructors are tongue-in-cheek stereotypes of spy thriller baddies. And this is where things get dicey for me as a reviewer. H.I.V.E. is highly enjoyable and fun, with great action and shows great promise for the future sequels. However the novel spends more then half of the book on the children’s first few days in H.I.V.E. facility. The rest of the novel quickly covers months of their school year, to the point where I could easily picture the movie montage of elapsed time. Then all of a sudden you are thrust into the climax of the plot with a scant hundred pages left. Now the last hundred pages are all action, which does make up for things, but in the end you are left with the question of what was the point? Otto even ponders this himself towards the end, why put so much energy into escaping when there is nothing for him and his friends on the outside world.

So I have to call it like it is, H.I.V.E. is an exciting premise and I am already planning on reading the second book (which is already out). As a standalone novel it focuses too much on surroundings and characters instead of plot. But it is just those aspects that redeem it and make it a very good book for reluctant readers: it moves at a fast pace, is easy to follow, and leaves you wanting more. I would recommend this book for anyone 10 and up.

Posted under a librarian reads, review