Shelly's Book Blog

Once I finished H.I.V.E.: The Higher Institute of Villainous Education, by Mark Walden, there was simply no question that I would immediately and rapidly read its sequel, The Overlord Protocol. Now I impatiently await the third book in the series. I haven’t had so much fun reading since I first discovered Harry Potter.
In fact, H.I.V.E. shares many characteristics with Hogwarts. It is a secret private school with very selective entrance requirements. Instead of magical ability, though, students at H.I.V.E. are required to have extraordinary potential to become evil geniuses. For example, 13-year-old Otto Malpense (notice that the characters’ names are suggestive, like those in Harry Potter) who is one of the new recruits as the first book opens, has spent the last several years of his short life running the orphanage where he has lived all his life, and recently caused the British prime minister to totally embarrass himself on television, effectively ending his political career. The students take classes such as “Stealth and Evasion” and “Villainy Studies.” They are even sorted into different streams: Alphas, Henchmen, Technical, and Political/Financial.
There is plenty of breathtaking action to keep the pages turning, along with quite of bit of James Bond-type gadgetry, finesse, and humor. This series is a definite winner!