CHERUB: Divine Madness
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| CHERUB: Divine Madness | |
| Author | Robert Muchamore |
|---|---|
| Original title | CHERUB: Divine Madness |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | CHERUB |
| Genre(s) | Children's, Thriller, Spy novel |
| Publisher | Hodder and Stoughton |
| Publication date | 6 April 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 368 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0340894342 (first edition, paperback) |
| Preceded by | CHERUB: The Killing |
| Followed by | CHERUB: Man Vs. Beast |
CHERUB: Divine Madness is the fifth novel in the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore. This book has James going to Australia on his fifth mission.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
James Adams along with his sister Lauren and Dana Smith are sent on a mission to Australia, posing as the children of an ASIS agent. They have been sent to determine whether a cult is associated with Help Earth, and as such are sent to a 'recruitment hotbed' area. The 'family' starts going to cult meetings, and are eventually accepted into the commune. Lauren and James are accepted into an elite cult school in the Ark, the cult's headquarters which represents the safe house from all evil. There, James befriends Rathbone 'Rat' Regan, son of the cult's founder. After a while, Lauren develops a crush on Rat, and he uses his influence with one of his father's many wives to get her and James jobs in the offices, rather than in the stifling warehouse or laundry rooms.
Dana, meanwhile, is starting to consider dropping out of the mission when she is summoned to the head of the commune's office. There, she and another cult member are told that they are to participate in a Help Earth mission to blow up an oil tanker. Her attempts to warn the mission controllers fail, and she ends up having to stop the attack herself.
However, ASIS now knows of the links between Help Earth and the survivors. Having been waiting for an excuse to attack the Ark, elite troops are sent in to destroy it, despite the CHERUB agents' warnings that the cult is well-prepared for such an event. A helicopter and dozens of troops are killed in the first attack, and in the lull that follows, James, Rat and Lauren attempt an escape. However, they are captured and locked in a room full of toddlers by a sadistic overseer. When they manage to overpower her, Lauren points out that they need to take the kids with them or risk them dying. James reluctantly agrees, and they drag the half-asleep toddlers with them. Rat says that the most likely way out is through the sewage system, and so they go there. James is making his way through the tank when an engineer appears. A brief moment of panic is proved unfounded as Rat persuades the man that he is on a divine mission, and as such is helped eagerly by the man, who asks them why they haven't turned the light on.
The now-eight strong group get out, but later hear that in another ASIS attack, several dozen children were killed when a wall collapsed on them. Rat is reported dead, but is revealed to be alive and going out with Lauren, who receives a black shirt. Dana is given her navy shirt, while all James gets is a stomach bug caught in the sewage system. Rat is made a CHERUB agent, and the four return to campus.
[edit] Reviews
- The Guardian - "The characters are lively, likable and completely believable, his plots are gripping and his stories have surprisingly serious undertones Muchamore provides all the action, jargon and violence that the [spy] genre demands, and does a lot more too, leaving his readers with something to think about."
[edit] Awards
- Lancashire Children's Book of the Year - Winner 2007[1]
[edit] Extras
On the Cherub website there is a bonus story (Cherub: Disconnected) that is set during Chapter 44 in Divine Madness. It delves into James' past and it includes his father James Duncan.
[edit] References
- ^ "News : 'Divine Madness' named Lancashire's Children's Book of the Year", Lancashire.gov.uk, 2007-07-29. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
[edit] External links
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