W.A.R.P. – The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer

 

If you loved Airman you will love W.A.R.P., though perhaps not quite as much. If I had to summarize this book in a few words, I would say that it’s a cross between Airman and the Artemis Fowl series. In W.A.R.P. Artemis’ Fowl fairy magic is substituted by science  and Connor Brokeheart’s invincible fighting abilities are matched by those of the almost super-human villain Garrick. One of W.A.R.P.’s main characters, teenage FBI agent Chevie Savano, bears remarkable resemblance to Captain Holly Short, and Otto Malarkey and his Battering Rams are actually part of the plot of this book. It would seem a winning mix. So what’s missing? I’m not sure, perhaps more soul to the story and its characters. Once the initial time-travelling mystery is uncovered, the rest of the plot is rather predictable. Readers used to Artemis’ hi-tech genius and to the incredible versatility of Connor’s skills cannot help feeling a little disappointed by Chevie and Riley’s less remarkable (only by comparison, of course) feats. But perhaps this is an unfair comment if we consider that W.A.R.P. is only the first chapter in Colfer’s new series and I have a feeling that Chevie and Riley might have a few more tricks up their sleeve. So, on the whole, perhaps a tiny bit of disappointment but not enough to stop me from buying the next book in the series.