Killer Strangelets

The first of three ARCTIC6 adventures for teenage readers. This adrenaline packed thriller follows the exploits of fifteen year old Iago, his cousins Cam, Tara and Renny, and his younger sister, Aretha. Joined by their friend, the bewitching Charlie, they embark on a mission to save Iago's father who has been accidentally kidnapped - by perhaps the maddest of all possible mad scientists.

'How can I, Iago Johnson, a) know anything about the fate of the universe and, b) be in any kind of position to change it..? I am not a superhero. I'm not a genius. I'm not even very good at science...'

Forced to take action, the ARCTIC6 embark on their first mission! The Intended Kidnap Victim - not Iago's father but his Uncle Jonas - is a scientist involved with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project at CERN - the European Centre for Nuclear Research in Switzerland, where he has been working on Big-Bang theory. An Old Nemesis: Katherina Kreng has used the LHC to create matter-annihilating particles - the Killer Strangelets - which could gobble up the planet!

The Solution: an emergency shutdown device hidden somewhere inside the long LHC tunnel, deep beneath the Swiss mountains.

The Problem: only Jonas knows where it is, and he can't get to it!

Immensely enjoyable.

The book is action packed and a race right until the very final page. There is an array of original ideas packed into this book, some of these are written through phone conversations which give it an extra dimension. The book ends with a bang, as all the storylines are brought together, leaving you to finally catch your breath.

This is a great start to the series.

Reviewed by Enchanted Books

The pace of this book is truly phenomenal!

Action packed from start to finish ... this book is surprisingly informative as well as being entertaining ... great characters, plenty of adventure and a lot of laugh out loud quips.

A great read to take on your summer holidays that will keep young readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

Reviewed by Kids Compass

Killer Strangelets is an action-packed read. It's a very up to date adventure with the communications mostly being carried out by video calls over mobile phones.

Review by Karen Meek - Reading Teenage Fiction