- Man vs Bookshelf: Outro
- Man vs Bookshelf: Introduction
- Man vs Bookshelf: Horowitz Horror
- Man vs Bookshelf: Lisey’s Story
- Man vs Bookshelf: Devil May Care
- Man vs Bookshelf: Big Little Lies
- Man vs Bookshelf: Good Omens
- Man vs Bookshelf: Grandpa’s Great Escape
- Man vs Bookshelf: Clough: The Autobiography
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Cuckoo’s Calling
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Escape
- Man vs Bookshelf: I Am Legend
- Man vs Bookshelf: Confessions of a Sociopath
- Man vs Bookshelf: Silence
- Man vs Bookshelf: Six Years
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Thin Executioner
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Entrepreneur’s Book of Checklists
- Man vs Bookshelf: John Dies at the End
- Man vs Bookshelf: Harry Potter and the case of the Duplicates
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (series)
- Man vs Bookshelf: Ayoade on Ayoade
- Man vs Bookshelf: Junk
- Man vs Bookshelf: Bobby Moore
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Hard Way
- Man vs Bookshelf: 102 days down (+ Freakonomics)
- Man vs Bookshelf: Dirk Gently (1 & 2)
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Clifton Chronicles (1 & 2)
- Man vs Bookshelf: Twitterature
- Man vs Bookshelf: Pele
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Collector
- Man vs Bookshelf: Cirque Du Freak
- Man vs Bookshelf: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Scripts
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Hobbit
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Lord of the Rings
- Man vs Bookshelf: Odd Thomas (1-3)
- Man vs Bookshelf: Harry Redknapp
- Man vs Bookshelf: Motivation and Doctor Who
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Killing Floor
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Dark Tower
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Moaning of Life
- Man vs Bookshelf: Will You Manage?
- Man vs Bookshelf: Creative Writing
- Man vs Bookshelf: Quantum of Solace
- Man vs Bookshelf: The City Trilogy
- Man vs Bookshelf: Horowitz’s Holmes
- Man vs Bookshelf: Forever Young
- Man vs Bookshelf: Drive
- Man vs Bookshelf: Story
- Man vs Bookshelf: Whatever You Say I Am
- Man vs Bookshelf: Football Manager Stole My Life
- Man vs Bookshelf: Red Dragon
- Man vs Bookshelf: Business Stripped Bare
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Damned UTD
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Gold Standard – Rules to Rule By
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
- Man vs Bookshelf: Am I Proud?
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Black Angel
- Man vs Bookshelf: Stress and Soccernomics
- Man vs Bookshelf: A Spot of Bother
- Man vs Bookshelf: Word Count & The Good Guy
- Man vs Bookshelf: Amazon Recommendations and Noughts and Crosses
- Man vs Bookshelf: More Word Count and Mother Tongue
- Man vs Bookshelf: Cardio Sucks
- Man vs Bookshelf: Thanks for Nothing
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Finish Line & The Bachman Books
- Man vs Bookshelf: Book 100 & Extraordinary People
- Man vs Bookshelf: Arsenal & MotD
- Man vs Bookshelf: Kevin Master of the Universe
- Man vs Bookshelf: Inbound Marketing
- Man vs Bookshelf: Goosebumps Collection 13
- Man vs Bookshelf: 1001 Days that Shaped the World
- Man vs Bookshelf: Dexter 1-3
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Inbetweeners
- Man vs Bookshelf: Manuscript Makeover
- Man vs Bookshelf: How to Think like Steve Jobs
- Man vs Bookshelf: Harlen Coben
- Man vs Bookshelf: One year, three weeks and Simon Pegg
- Man vs Bookshelf: Jonothon Fairfax
- Man vs Bookshelf: Nolan’s Batman
- Man vs Bookshelf: Discworld (1-5)
- Man vs Bookshelf: Extras++
- Man vs Bookshelf: Diamond Brothers
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Point
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Demonata
- Man vs Bookshelf: Awkward Situations for Men
- Man vs Bookshelf: Peep Show
- Man vs Bookshelf: A Song of Fire and Ice
- Man vs Bookshelf: Doctor Who
- Man vs Bookshelf: Cherub
- Man vs Bookshelf: Expectant Dad
- Man vs Bookshelf: Ferguson & United
- Man vs Bookshelf: Sirens
- Man vs Bookshelf: Carrie
- Man vs Bookshelf: Salem’s Lot
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Shining
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Stand
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Dead Zone
- Man vs Bookshelf: Firestarter
- Man vs Bookshelf: Cujo
- Man vs Bookshelf: On Writing
- Man vs Bookshelf: Caxton
- Man vs Bookshelf: Harry Potter
- Man vs Bookshelf: Zom-B
- Man vs Bookshelf: The Last Stats
Another day, another review.
As I mentioned in my last review (whenever that came out. I’m about to move it at the time of writing to make room for something else) I’m dealing with quite a backlog of books.
I started ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ review having already finished The Escape, and started I Am Legend.
By the time I finished, I had read I Am Legend and began Confessions of a Sociopath. Something I didn’t mention in the final Cuckoo post because it ruined one of the jokes.
Going into this review, I have the same problem, with two other books contending for space in my head. The only good news is Sociopath has been quite slow going. If I’d started another book the confusion would become so bad my head would explode. In a bad way.
Confusion aside, there is another problem with these reviews. That being the disconnect between finishing a book and posting a review.
My worry is, should I ever get any readers who don’t live with me, people will notice that ‘Week 8’ is in ‘Week 10’ and such.
For example, I finished ‘The Escape’ on 19th November (that’s 2017, for future readers) but I’m typing this on the 26th.
That’s already almost a week out, and it only gets worse.
As I said above, I’ve had to move Cuckoo because I’ve finished my book for National Novel Writing Month. This now won’t come out until the 28th, and I’ve got another blog on the 1st Dec so Escape won’t be out until at least the 3rd.
You see my problem. The review is out almost two weeks after I finished reading it, and when people notice…
Cue mass hysteria.
So, to combat this farce, I’ll be writing the reading dates of each book at the beginning of the review.
See, it’s quite a simple solution.
Now, with that explanation out of the way, we’re almost ready to get on with this week’s review.
But first…
Robert Muchamore and Me
Having read 11 Cherub books, you might have thought I would look at The Escape and say ‘I can’t take Muchamore of this’.
No, you wouldn’t.
I just wanted to get that joke in.
Now we can move on.
When I was growing up Darren Shan was, for a long time, my favourite author.
My friend, Mohsin, introduced me to the Saga of Darren Shan (Cirque Du Freak for my American readers) at school.
From the first book, I loved the series, and I loved Darren Shan.
Fast paced. Action packed. Gory. They were great for kids, young adults, and, I assume, for getting boys into reading.
Sometime later, I discovered the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore. And, sorry Shan, there was a new favourite writer in town.
I don’t know when I first picked up CHERUB book, The Recruit, but I knew I’d love the series from the get go.
It was a pull no punches series. It was more grown up. There was swearing and talk of tits and sex and all that stuff teenagers actually talk about. I loved it.
Given this, and the fact I waited with baited breath for each new Muchamore book to land, you’d have thought I’d have pounced on The Escape.
But I never read it.
I’ve been thinking about why this is, and I guess it’s to do with the time in which it is set, and the characters.
I did a History Degree at uni (college to my American readers) so I can’t stand anything set in the past. Duh. So, that put me off, but it wasn’t the main reason.
One of the big draws of the CHERUB series was its cast of characters. James Adams and co. were all so brilliant and, over 11 books, I became fully invested in them.
So invested that I couldn’t stomach the thought of reading about different characters.
So I didn’t read it. The book remained on my shelf while I read those other CHERUB books on repeat.
Until now.
The Escape
This is a short(ish) book, and it could be a short(ish) review.
The Escape is set early in World War II. The Nazis are in France, advancing across the country with their famed Blitzkrieg tactic. The Government abandon Paris upon realising they don’t want to be blown up. The whole country is in panic.
Within this historical setting, Robert introduces us to three children. Each struggling along in wartime France.
First, there’s Marc, a French boy (hey come on, give him a chance). Marc has grown up in an orphanage where he is frequently abused by The Director.
When the Germans arrive in town, Marc uses the commotion to escape. He steals a bike, food and money from the Director and flees south to Paris. Here he sets up camp in a house that turns out to belong to British Agent, Charles Henderson.
After Marc overhears valuable Gestapo information, Charles takes him on a mission. Together they seek to stop the Germans getting hold of vital plans that could shift the way in their favour.
These plans just so happen to be in the hands of Paul and Rosie. Two kids fleeing south from Paris, hoping to get a boat to England from Bordeaux to get the plans to safety.
The narrative beautifully bounces between these two stories until the climax, when they are finally brought together as a German spy attempts to get to the plans before Marc and Henderson.
The book is a speed read. We follow both Marc and Paul and Rosie as they run from the German’s, get into scrapes, and help with the war effort.
All my fears about not liking this because it was set in the past and didn’t feature a CHERUB cast were unwarranted.
This book brings in a new and exciting cast. The kids are smart, different, and worth investing in. Charles Henderson is not some boring parental figure. He’s shocking and violent and puts getting the job done above all else.
If and when I have children, this is the book I will give them when they start to hit their teenage years. There is no better series for getting kids into reading, I wouldn’t have thought.
I gave The Escape a four out of five on Goodreads, and well earned it was.
Later in this challenge, I will read the remaining CHERUB books, and I can’t wait. But I’m going to hold off for now.
I want something to look forward to, after all.
Next Time
This has been a shorter review (with no subtitles!) but hey, that means you get to go back to whatever interesting stuff you were supposed to do this afternoon sooner, right?
But, while you’re doing that, you can be thinking about the next review, coming soon.
It’s I Am Legend, hero of the Horror genre and inspiration to writers such as Stephen King and films such as Dawn of the Living Dead.
See you then.
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