"Genius Squad" by Catherine Jinks is the sequel to "Evil Genius." Also by Catherine Jinks.
Cadel Piggot--or Darkkon, or English--is fifteen years old and living in a foster home. His involvement with the Axis Institute and his maybe father are not yet in the past, because Prosper English, alias Thaddus Roth, is not willing to say anything that would incriminate himself. And, because no one can figure out if Cadel is a citizen of the United States or of Australia, Cadel's been stuck in a foster home with a malicious boy and limited computer access. It's like death after all the privacy he wanted at the Piggots, and all the computer time he wanted at the Insitute. So no wonder he jumps at the chance to join the Genius Squad in hopes of shutting down Phineas Darkkon's scam business, GenoME, with his best and only friend, Sonja. But how far will Prosper English go to make sure that his heir is under his sole control? And has Cadel finally found a good home--or is the Genius Squad just a more attractive and innocent-looking Institute?
HA! Take that, public library system! I finally found it! I am convinced that the library had been keeping this book from me, even as I'd been searching for it. They just didn't want me to read it. But now I am reading it. So, there.
It was well worth the wait, and the two months of nearly fruitless searching (Yes, I have heard of requesting a book, but I'm just to lazy, okay?). Catherine Jinks provides a compelling squeal to her first story of a genius boy warped from age two. This story, though, has a slightly different taste to it.
In "Evil Genius" we all know that Cadel was just that: an evil genius. Duh. It's in the title of the book. He wrecked all sorts of havoc on Sydney, and went to a school for villains. He was not a good person. Plain and simple. But this story explores him trying to break away from his villainous urges. Of course he still has them, and it would be completely unbelievable if he didn't. This older Cadel has gained a consciousness and a strong sense of dislike for his previous life.
But he still does preform acts of revenge, and when he does they seem pettier. He does know that, but still. Dumping soiled bedsheets on someone's shoes? What does that accomplish? Maybe it symbolizes that he's leaving behind his past as a sophisticated villain, and becoming more of a kid . . . and maybe I'm just grasping at straws.
The computer lingo is just as intriguing. I was reading the part in the book where a virus gets disguised as a software protection pop-up last night, and then I clicked on a McAfee "scan your computer" dialogue box a minute or so ago. I clicked on it out of habit, and then I completely freaked out because someone might've been trying to get into my computer files to see if I had been communicating with any fraudulent companies. Yeah. It does make me think twice about putting anything out there on the Internet.
It's also quite interesting how the information the author gives you is just barely understandable. Like, what's a "honeytoken" in relation to computers? She doesn't give you enough information so you know what it is, exactly, but she gives you enough to make sure that you aren't drowning. As she gives it to you, too, it seems natural, not like you're stupid and she's lecturing you. It's more like you're privy to Cadel's thoughts and he just barely thinks around the actual definition. So you aren't crushed and dying underneath all the foreign terms in this book: You're on top of the moon because you feel like a genius yourself for understanding it all.
One half-complaint, though. There are so many characters. Sure, all their names are distinct and their personalities individual, but at first they leave my head spinning. There are at least ten new character additions in this book, additions to an already numerous cast. You get used to them all after a while, because they are constantly reused and brought back, but still. It's mind-boggling, but it also makes it feel a bit more real, because don't we all know a gazillion people? And, bonus, you feel proud of yourself just for remembering them all.
Oh, yeah, and this is the second book of a triology, I think. The third one is called "The Genius Wars." Sounds promising, no?
I would strongly recommend reading this story of a villain turned semi-do-gooder. Science fiction has never been so down-to-Earth (sorry, I had to), and the genre of fantastical crime has never seemed so feasible. Start putting up firewalls, CEOs of fraud companies, because the Genius Squad is coming for you.
The author has her website at www.catherinejinks.com. New books, old books, kid's books, and author's bio. You know. The usual.
Showing posts with label Catherine Jinks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catherine Jinks. Show all posts
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Evil Genius
In Evil Genius, Catherine Jinks spins a straw of a boy who was raised wrong, but might just turn out right.
Cadel Piggot has always been told "Whatever you do--don't get caught." So, by the age of six he has shut down the Sydney railway system for an afternoon, and caused an impenetrable traffic jam in the same place at the same time. Obsessed with systems and anything that will ruin people's lives through not-quite-illegal methods, Cadel quickly climbs through the grades, with the encouragement of his psychologist, Thaddus Roth, and his imprisoned father, Phineas Darkkon. A chance meeting with a woman over the Internet and the enrollment into a prestigious collage for criminals may but a wrinkle in Phineas's and Thaddus's plans, as Cadel learns what it's like to think for himself.
First it was Harry Potter. After that came the deluge: Falcon Quinn, Otto Malpense, Charlie Benjamin, Percy Jackson, and countless others. What do these boys and the names of their school all have in common? They are all the focus of stories that tell a tale of a powerful hero (or heroine) with powers of the supernatural who went to a special school to get trained in the art of using those powers to achieve good and make the world a better place. Should we add another name to those ranks: Cadel Piggot? Not so much.
Why? Well, that would give half the book away. And it was a very good part of the book, trust me. But one reason might be what Thaddus has told Cadel since he was small "Whatever you do--don't get caught." You generally don't find that in a lot of books. Small wonder why, right? (The adults don't want us breaking the laws uncontrollably.) And Cadel does whatever he wants and he never gets caught. It's very . . . impressive, to say the least. I might be the slightest bit jealous.
And all of the teachers in Axis Institute are also known criminals, another angle that is very interesting. Which school hires teachers wanted for fraud, and who-knows-what-else? The whole set-up is very interesting. From the Virus, a computer-hacking genius who Cadel often takes advantage to, to Tracey Lane, a has-been news anchor who's quite the player.
In fact, the whole atmosphere of Axis Institute is very interesting. In the book series HIVE (Higher Institute for Villainous Education, James Walden), the criminals are all very friendly with each other, to some degree. The staff gets along well, for the most part, and the students befriend each other and whatnot. But in Axis, the staff hate each other and spy on each other, and the students try to kill each other. It's just . . . well, it's fantastic if you're slightly crazed like moi, and a bit creepy if you're the sane sort of person.
What else can I tell you other than that Catherine Jinks bamboozles you with her cleverness and the way she makes Cadel smarter than any known human being, while still keeping him very human? He changes a bit fast, Cadel does. From a criminal to a kid, very quickly. But I suppose getting kidnapped does that to you. (Oh, wait, sorry . . .)
This is one of those books that I don't really have anything critical to say about. It's over 500 pages, though, in paperback, and the real action doesn't start until about page 300, and there is some stuff that you could guess all along while it takes a while for Cadel to figure out. Other than that, I say that you take your first plunge into true villainy in the works of Ms. Jinks, and maybe it will become clear that while we might all be bad, we're bad because me make the conscious choice to be. Or something like that.
P.S. The book's setting is in Australia. I was having trouble figuring out whether it was in England or in Australia, but when I saw the word "Sydney", I figured it out. Just so you go into it relatively unconfused.
Cadel Piggot has always been told "Whatever you do--don't get caught." So, by the age of six he has shut down the Sydney railway system for an afternoon, and caused an impenetrable traffic jam in the same place at the same time. Obsessed with systems and anything that will ruin people's lives through not-quite-illegal methods, Cadel quickly climbs through the grades, with the encouragement of his psychologist, Thaddus Roth, and his imprisoned father, Phineas Darkkon. A chance meeting with a woman over the Internet and the enrollment into a prestigious collage for criminals may but a wrinkle in Phineas's and Thaddus's plans, as Cadel learns what it's like to think for himself.
First it was Harry Potter. After that came the deluge: Falcon Quinn, Otto Malpense, Charlie Benjamin, Percy Jackson, and countless others. What do these boys and the names of their school all have in common? They are all the focus of stories that tell a tale of a powerful hero (or heroine) with powers of the supernatural who went to a special school to get trained in the art of using those powers to achieve good and make the world a better place. Should we add another name to those ranks: Cadel Piggot? Not so much.
Why? Well, that would give half the book away. And it was a very good part of the book, trust me. But one reason might be what Thaddus has told Cadel since he was small "Whatever you do--don't get caught." You generally don't find that in a lot of books. Small wonder why, right? (The adults don't want us breaking the laws uncontrollably.) And Cadel does whatever he wants and he never gets caught. It's very . . . impressive, to say the least. I might be the slightest bit jealous.
And all of the teachers in Axis Institute are also known criminals, another angle that is very interesting. Which school hires teachers wanted for fraud, and who-knows-what-else? The whole set-up is very interesting. From the Virus, a computer-hacking genius who Cadel often takes advantage to, to Tracey Lane, a has-been news anchor who's quite the player.
In fact, the whole atmosphere of Axis Institute is very interesting. In the book series HIVE (Higher Institute for Villainous Education, James Walden), the criminals are all very friendly with each other, to some degree. The staff gets along well, for the most part, and the students befriend each other and whatnot. But in Axis, the staff hate each other and spy on each other, and the students try to kill each other. It's just . . . well, it's fantastic if you're slightly crazed like moi, and a bit creepy if you're the sane sort of person.
What else can I tell you other than that Catherine Jinks bamboozles you with her cleverness and the way she makes Cadel smarter than any known human being, while still keeping him very human? He changes a bit fast, Cadel does. From a criminal to a kid, very quickly. But I suppose getting kidnapped does that to you. (Oh, wait, sorry . . .)
This is one of those books that I don't really have anything critical to say about. It's over 500 pages, though, in paperback, and the real action doesn't start until about page 300, and there is some stuff that you could guess all along while it takes a while for Cadel to figure out. Other than that, I say that you take your first plunge into true villainy in the works of Ms. Jinks, and maybe it will become clear that while we might all be bad, we're bad because me make the conscious choice to be. Or something like that.
P.S. The book's setting is in Australia. I was having trouble figuring out whether it was in England or in Australia, but when I saw the word "Sydney", I figured it out. Just so you go into it relatively unconfused.
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