Higher Institute of Villainous Education by Mark Walden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I've never heard of this series and then stumbled across a copy in my son's school library. It had a feel of Artemis Fowl's villainous genius and a specialized hidden school, a la Hogwarts. What an awesome combination. I finished the first book and am looking for the rest of the series now. My kids are going to love these books when their reading levels bump up a little.
There's Otto, an orphan with mad skills, who is selected to participate in the the potential super villain stream at H.I.V.E. The book features other talented youth - skilled thieves, masters of martial arts, tech geeks - in his stream and in 3 other streams. We've met thuggish Henchman trainees, a professor that is currently in the form of a cat and a friendly but seemingly talentless sidekick that ends up being an expert at plants. So much resembles the bare bones of Harry Potter - Crabbe and Goyle, Prof. McGonagall, Neville, 4 houses, orphaned main character with unknown past - but it's a completely different book. The classes are fascinating, the kids have great potential for future books and the concept is fun and unique.
Excellent story. I'm looking forward to book 2!
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