CHERUB Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of CHERUB Books
The Recruit | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Dealer / Class A | (2004) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Maximum Security | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Killing | (2005) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Divine Madness | (2006) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Man vs. Beast | (2006) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Fall | (2007) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Mad Dogs | (2007) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The Sleepwalker | (2008) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
The General | (2008) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Dark Sun | (2008) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Brigands M.C. | (2009) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Shadow Wave | (2010) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of CHERUB 2 Books
People's Republic | (2011) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Guardian Angel | (2012) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Black Friday | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Lone Wolf | (2014) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
New Guard | (2016) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Publication Order of CHERUB Graphic Novels
The Recruit | (2013) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Cherub is a series of novels from Robert Muchamore, a renowned English writer. The novels tell the story of a British Security Service Division called Cherub that employs young orphaned children as intelligence agents.
+The story
The Cherub novels primarily revolve around one boy, James, who was recruited into the organization at the age of 12. The term Cherub in the story is used to refer to the child spies that Cherub uses to accomplish its mission.
James Choke (also known as James Adams) drives the story of Cherub, the novels charting his life upon entering Cherub and the various missions he undertakes. Later on, the novels expand their focus to include Lauren, his sister, as well as the various other agents working by his side.
Even with these temporary detours, though, the initial twelve novels in the Cherub series largely focused on James’ story, chronicling his life from recruitment to retirement at the age of seventeen.
Aramov, the second series of novels, also set within the Cherub world, changes gears, instead bringing another agent, Ryan Sharma to the fro, with James making sporadic appearances as a Cherub staff member later on.
The history of Cherub is explored in Robert Muchamore’s “Henderson’s Boys” series, during which the tales of a twelve-year-old boy and his encounter with Charles Henderson not only prove the valuable role children could play in winning World War II but also initiated the process of Cherub’s creation.
The Cherub novels are very high-paced. They also provide a lot of details about the missions the protagonists undertake, not only allowing readers to invest in the stakes of the story but allowing them to grow attached to the characters in the long run.
The fact that the author places so much emphasis on the personal lives of his characters allows them to come to life, making the series an engaging experience for all sorts of readers.
It should be noted, though, that the book isn’t always appropriate reading for younger individuals. Not only does it feature occasional swearing but it makes a lot of reference to drugs and violence, with adult themes like sex becoming commonplace in later books.
The books are rarely as lighthearted as some people expect them to be. However, they are a must-read for fans of the young adult genre.
+The Author
Robert Muchomore is the author of the Cherub series of novels. The English Author was born on 26th December 1972. Born in London, Robert is the youngest of four children.
Growing up in Tufnell Park, the author attended St. Johns Upper Holloway and Acland Burghley, hoping to become an architect and a photographer, possibly even a writer. During his training, he wasn’t impressed to learn about the amount of work that he would need to do in order to become an architect.
A weekend job at a camera shop also tainted his love for photography, and so he turned to writing. He quickly found that he lacked the skill to produce the quality of work he desired. He quit soon after, eventually landing a job with a private investigation company.
Success in the literary arena began for the author when his nephew in Australia complained that he couldn’t find any novels he actually enjoyed. In response, Robert began working on stories for books he would have enjoyed during his childhood, books that stood somewhere between children’s novels and adult stories.
The Cherub series came into being, following a cast of children that were used by a British Secret Service Division to execute tasks because their age prevented targets from taking them seriously. The series has garnered the author many an award.
The majority of the author’s work has revolved around the Cherub world, though, as of recent, he has been making an effort to explore stories outside the Cherub universe.
+The Recruit
Cherub spies are trained at a young age to hack into computers, steal crucial documents, and bug houses. They now have a new recruit. James is recently orphaned. He is also brilliant at Math. With a hundred grueling days of training behind him, the young star begins his first mission.
While The Recruit, the first book in the Cherub series, doesn’t attract as much interest as the Alex Rider novels and other books of the same ilk, it is none the less quite impressive for the first book in a series.
The book introduces James, a new recruit who feels lucky that he found and was integrated into the Cherub system. James is reckless and often finds himself in trouble. As readers, you follow him as he undertakes the grueling training system, cheering him on as he seeks to triumph over adversity.
With his eyes finally set on his first mission, the book helps you attach to James’ story, adding suspense to the mix as he prepares to march into the field, putting his training to the test.
For the most part, while James succeeds as a protagonist, he doesn’t compare favorably with similar protagonists such as Alex Rider. IN fact, he can get a bit annoying sometimes.
While the missions are largely boring and the characters are nothing memorable, this book succeeds because of its pace, keeping readers engaged by creating the sense that it is building up to something.
It is easy to see why so many disliked the book, though. The Recruit is a unique novel, aimed towards a very young audience. It isn’t likely to appeal to the tastes and preferences of most people.
+Class A
Keith Moore is the biggest cocaine dealer Europe has ever seen. The police continue to hound him, even though there is never enough evidence to convict him. Four Cherub agents have now joined the hunt. Can they successfully infiltrate Moore’s organization where so many experienced cops have failed?
Class A is a far better read than its predecessor. Not only is the story brilliant but the writing and pacing make putting it down quite hard. Admittedly, Class A will offend some people, especially parents who will not appreciate the foul language and sexual innuendos.
James is fleshed out quite well in Class A, and his supporting cast no less brilliant. Only the swear words mire what could have been a great read.
Book Series In Order » Characters »
Definitely not for young readers: 2 instances of racism, lot of cheating around and sex, a lot of swearing, smoking drinking. One agent OD’d on cocaine (CLASS A/The Dealer) one agent (before becoming an agent) contemplates suicide (thankfully a one-time thing and quickly dismissed).