H.I.V.E. (series)
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Higher Institute of Villainous Education The Overlord Protocol Escape Velocity Dreadnought Rogue Zero Hour Aftershock Deadlock |
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| Author | Mark Walden |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science Fiction, Action, Adventure |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Published | 2006 – Present |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
H.I.V.E. (short for The Higher Institute of Villainous Education) is a series of young adult fiction novels by Mark Walden.
H.I.V.E., the Higher Institute of Villainous Education, is a top secret school hidden inside a still active volcano. The school is a part of G.L.O.V.E., the Global League of Villainous Enterprises, and was built for the purpose of training children to become criminal masterminds. Only children who have already been seen to have some villainous skill are accepted to the school. The school has four streams; the Alpha stream, Henchmen stream, Technical stream and the Political/Financial stream. Each stream is associated with a color, and their uniforms reflect this. Alphas have black, Henchman has blue, Technical is white and Political/Financial is grey. Otto Malpense is a thirteen-year-old criminal genius, who has been handpicked along with others-the most intelligent, most athletic, technologically advanced children in the world to be part of H.I.V.E. In the first book Otto has entered the school; he discovers that it is not all what it seems, and sets out to unfold the mystery behind the school and its organization. Otto and his friends, Wing, Shelby, and Laura try to defy the headmaster, Dr. Maximilian Nero and try to accomplish something no one has ever succeeded in: escaping H.I.V.E. alive.
H.I.V.E. has met with mostly favorable reviews. Jack Heath, author of Money Run, said that "if you can suspend your disbelief far enough, you will find it a rewarding read... The dialogue is witty, the plot twists deft, and the setting inventive, with plenty of knowing nods to the comic books and Bond films which pioneered the super villain tropes." The first book was given a score of 4/5 on abc.net.au, where it was praised as having "adventure, sacrifice, mystery, surprises and evil doings."
After realising that the government funding that keeps the orphanage from closing down is being cut, Otto Malpense creates a remotely controlled device that is able to hack into the teleprompter and can hypnotise that he intends to use to publicly embarrass the Prime Minister during one of his speeches. After successfully completing his objective, he is ambushed and stunned by Raven (an assassin that works for H.I.V.E) and then awakes to find himself in a helicopter, strapped to his seat, and sitting across from a complete stranger. He finds out the stranger is named Wing Fanchu and they quickly become close friends. When the helicopter lands, Otto is informed that he will be spending the next six years of his life being schooled at H.I.V.E., the Higher Institute of Villainous Education. Dr. Nero, H.I.V.E's headmaster, is interested to know that it took more than two shots from Sleepers (knock-out weapons designed to replace tranquilizer darts) to capture Wing, enough to send a normal boy in a coma for a few weeks. He expresses his concerns to Raven and asks her to keep a close eye on Wing and Otto. Meanwhile, Otto's special skills have marked him out as an Alpha — a leader of tomorrow. He quickly works out that his little stunt with the Prime Minister now have landed Otto at H.I.V.E though he has no intention of staying in this new prison, and be friends many others who have been taken to H.I.V.E., like Laura Brand, Shelby Trinity, Nigel Darkdoom, and Franz Argentblum. Otto teams up with Wing, Laura, and Shelby, and together they hatch a daring escape plan. They travel through the hidden parts of the school, but as they nearly reach their freedom, their headmaster, Dr. Nero, reveals that all along they have been going on an impossible mission. However, Nigel Darkdoom has managed to stir up his own trouble on this night, and an enormous, flesh-eating plant (named Violet) he has accidentally bred escapes from the hydroponics lab. Everyone, including the students, jump into action to save the school, and they succeed (despite Dr. Nero and many others being injured). Otto and Wing are suddenly given a small window of opportunity to leave the school forever, but at the last second, they decide to stay. In the last chapter, it is revealed to the readers that Number One, Dr. Nero's boss and leader of G.L.O.V.E., in essence, has plans for Otto Malpense. Soon they will meet, and it will not be pretty.
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