Robert Muchamore

Robert Muchamore hardly needs another review. His nine books have sold a million copies. He has a fan club, a few websites, t-shirts, dogtags, a limited edition short book called Dark Sun that was published in honor of World Book Day (celebrated this year on 6 March 2008).
Born in 1972, he worked for many years as private detective until he sold up and started writing books. He appears to have the knack of marketing. You can visit his Cherub Campus site or so a more personal look at him, his Facebook, Bibo or MySpace sites.
    When I asked my ten year old why he is bringing novels down to breakfast, not to mention dinner, he shows me another cover. That is his way of saying, I am reading another Muchamore, don't you understand? He hasn't emerged since he discovered them. And although he likes reading, he usually waits to get into bed at night. The closest thing he gets to an explanation about why he likes them (besides the warning on the cover "this is not suitable for younger readers"), is "they are really realistic. The characters need to find a toilet in the middle of the action. Alex Rider never goes to the loo. Hermoine does but Harry never does unless he is rescuing someone.
    What is Cherub, you may ask? In WW2, there was a resistance movement set up by French civilians. They recruited children of all ages because they thought they would go unnoticed. A British spy worked with these French spy children for three years. After the war, he brought the concept to England, where it still operates.
    From a skim through the books, I have noticed that this book does not inhabit the rarefied worlds of the young James Bond or Alex Rider. (Alex goes to state school but he is never there). There are drunken and obese parents to contend with, council estates and drugs. The crimes and criminals seem absolutely believable. The  dialog seems less so. I still back the Alex Rider series, if you are reading out loud to the kids. But if they want to wrap their hands around these books, then send them to the library. They won't ask to be reread.