The General - Robert Muchamore - Reviewed by Jack Fry

Target Group: Teenagers

James Adams is back. The General is the latest release from incredibly successful teenage writer Robert Muchamore it is the 10th book to be released in the action packed Cherub series. This book alone has sold more than a million copies so far! It’s witty, exciting and of course a diarrhea filled story line will have you from the very first word. This novel offers an escape from the real world for the average teenager.
The General is set in modern day America where the world's largest urban warfare training compound Fort Reagan is playing host to the world’s biggest war game ever, but the British posses a secret weapon - a team of British cherub teenage spies lead by one of the most deadly men on the face of the earth.
Although the storyline sounds somewhat basic from a far, it is filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing to the very last word. The story is able to introduce new characters onto the scene that only help to give the novel more life, for example we find out more about Kazakov, a Ukrainian training instructor whose brutal tactics and war expertise come right into play when he's asked to head an insurgency against an entire American battalion. The novel is also able to tie these super spy teenagers to everyday emotions, joy, sadness and a thirsty sense for adventure quite successfully by the end of this book you will feel like have met each character face to face. I would not hesitate to say that The General is a new breed in the world of teenage spy fiction - it really does leave Alex Rider kicking and screaming in a puddle of his own blood simply because it is more realistic. Robert Muchamore is defiantly one of the only writers that can make teenagers want to read again.
Writers tend to go with the basic Hollywood script allowing the reader to not think too much while reading but Robert Muchamore has defiantly gone above and beyond with his latest release - it’s as if the characters are right there in the room with you. These character aren’t the “die hard” type, in fact in this book, war is more than often fought with words than weapons. For instance, Muchamore seems to have an irreverent view on the American Military tactics and he expresses this by using the phrase: “that’s why you idiots lost the war in Iraq”. But in the end the novel is not one of a political nature and more than often has something blown up. But basically the back story is all about teen interaction, basically the same sort of storyline you’d pick up for teenager these days.
Basically this is a light and easy book to read, it does not even require the reading of previous books to know what is going on, although it does help to get an idea for the characters. This book is defiantly alright for younger readers from about ten years and up, but parents should keep in mind that sex, drugs and alcohol are bought up in this and previous books.
You might like this book if you also enjoyed the Boy Soldier series by Andy McNab, The Young Bond series by Charlie Higson and all of the other books in the Cherub series, and the Henderson's Boys series by Robert Muchamore.