Alex Keller - Re:Wired - BK2 - Book Review

          

• Pages - 166
• Publisher - Mogzilla
• Date - 7 April 2011
• Age - 10+
• Isbn - 9781906132347 

An old family, torn from power, wants to rule again. But their heir is dead, and only one man can give them a new one: Mandrake von Guggenstein. In the thrilling sequel to Haywired, brothers Ludwig and Hephaestus are once again drawn into their father's machinations as they hunt for "Grilsgarter", a strange creature and harbinger of a nightmare future. It has come to collect on their father's promises. As the ghosts of von Guggenstein past catch up with the present, the brothers find themselves at the ends of the earth, desperate to stop a terrible war that will tear their home apart.

It's another book packed full of explosive encounters and fast paced action. It has lots of exciting twists and turns to keep any reader hooked. The author slowly reveals all of his cards by the end of the story. However, he doesn't always take the easy options - he certainly makes some major decisions towards the end, but at this point I'll say no more.

As I was reading this book, I got the sense that the author was particularly well read. I felt that the imaginative plot line that he has developed may have been influenced by some of the books that he has read over time. The author has a great foot in the fantasy world door with each book blossoming into a real winner. However, I would really like to see the author write a longer novel - maybe around the 300 page mark and not the current 160 page mark, so that the reader can really get their teeth stuck into it. Whilst I recognise that the writing is aimed at the 8-12 year age bracket, I feel a longer story would also enable more detail to be included and a greater complexity of plot to be experimented with. This would then appeal to an older audience, although many young and old fans are already enjoying this series.

For anyone who enjoys a good story with an abundant amount of imagination and some of the most interesting characters you'll find, then this is the book for you. It incorporates some great action and 'crazy' fighting scenes, and some fantastically strange machines that will keep you intrigued right to the very end. Please pick up a copy of this book, read it and then pass it on to your friends - you won't be disappointed. 

Watch out for the guest post coming soon from Alex. In the meantime, check out my book review for the first book 'Haywired'. Thanks for reading this post, and as always, I look forward to your comments.