Customer Reviews
Another Great Addition to the Series - By: MusicMan, 01 Jan 2009 
I think that Muchamore has triumphed again by writing another marvellous book. The text is gripping yet comical; the characters are well explained & the plot is great. The Plot: A training compoundin a desert near Las Vegas has now become the venue for a huge warfare training compound used to train soldiersin urban warfare conditions that simulate the present warin the Middle East. The Americans want someone else but themselves to fight against so they callin 40 British soldiers. What the Americans don't know is their British commander has an ace up his sleeve. He callsin 10 CHERUB agents to help the British soldiers - this is now going to be the best war-game ever fought.
The characters: The main charactersin this book are the 10 cherub agents consisting of James Adams, a star agent of CHERUB; Kerry Chang, James' ex; Lauren Adams, James' sister; Rat, Laurens boyfriend; Bethany, Laurens best friend; Jake, Bethany's little brother; Kevin; Ronan; Andy & Bruce, Kerry's Boyfriend. The instructors going on the trip consist of Meryl Spencer, Kazakov & Mac Mc' Afferty, the ex chairman.
I think that Robert Muchamore is a truly graet writir: he doesn't just write boring long over-descriptive passages of text. He tries toi engage the reader. He makes you feel that characters' emotions & feel what it is like to be on the scene. He describes what you can hear, see, smell - a truly great writer. I hope that he will carry on with the CHERUB series as I think it is a great idea. I also feel it is better than Alex Rider books: Muchamore creates suspense - he makes you want to read on & I think that the idea that there is a group of agents rather just one is more realistic. He has to be one of my favourite writers.
Overall, I loved this book: it is like all of the booksin the CHERUB series - gripping, exciting, & comical at some points. I would recommend this book to people from 12 - 16 years of age. *Note* it does have the "sh" wordin it. :)
Great book - By: cheesemonkey, 17 Nov 2008 
I reallly enjoyed this book, like all of the series but i was shocked how they seem to have skipped the other books into making them into audio books i was really looking forward to listening to Maximum Secruity but it seems they have decided to only realese the new books not the old ones.
Solid stuff - By: Masterkipper, 15 Nov 2008 After ten books Robert Muchamore has put a new spin on the CHERUB series, creating a title that focuses on a massive training exercisein the Nevada desert.
It's a great story. My only qualm would be that the plot assumes some prior knowledge. I'd reccommend new readers start with one of the earlier booksin the series, or better yet start from the beginning by reading The Recruit (or the hardback Ultimate Edition which contains the first two books at a bargain price).
Muchamore is a marvellous man! - By: Sarah A Hartley, 11 Nov 2008 The General is onein a fantastic series of books. I first thought they would be very much like Agent Cody Banks - unrealisitc & americanised. I was refreshed to find out that these books are gritty, realistic (as much as they can be) & totally believable. I'm beginning to wonder whether there really is a group of children agents among us, especially seeing how some children act today - maybe they're all on secret missions, which would explain some of the bizarre behaviour from the children at the school I work at!
This is a fantastic book for children, enough escapism to get your imagination going, but enough facts to pull you further into the book.
It is also a fun & enjoyable read for adults alike - a nice change to some of the tough going adult fiction around!
Much ado about Nothing - By: JKRowling, 25 Sep 2008 
Robert Muchamore is an author who always delivers - until now!
The firstin the Cherub series, The Recruit, had me hooked from the start on the adventures of child spy James Adams & his sister, Lauren. No other spy books - Alex Rider, Young James Bond, Jimmy Coates etc - could touch Cherub for quality, excitement or pure enjoyment.
However, I feel very let down by The General. Much of Muchamore's talent comes from creating believable & likeable characters, characters you invest your emotionsin - characters you come to care about. In The General, however, he dwells less on the people & more on the action. His characters become cartoon-like, one-dimensional - with no real depth to them.
The story within The General is also sadly lacking. Although the book enjoys a tense & exciting opening chapter, it rapidly descends into a fiasco of plot, involving plans to rob a Las Vegas casino using MI5 spying equipment & "fighting dirty"in a tedious training exercise. Like another reviewer said, the series really does jump the shark here.
The success of the Cherub series, for me, was that you could 'just about' believe that a spy school for orphan kids was plausible - as crooks would certainly be less wary of kids than adults. However, I found much of the plot of The General - especially that of a teacher plotting with James to commit theft on a grand scale - just too ridiculous to swallow. Perhaps Muchamore is running out of ideas, perhaps he was working to a tight deadline & had to rush things. Whatever the problem, this book is certainly the weakest linkin the Cherub chain.
I expected much, much more of Muchamore - but the hype surrounding the release of this book turned out to be much ado about nothing!
