Review: The Reluctant Assassin [W.A.R.P. book 01]

Title:     The Reluctant Assassin (W.A.R.P. #01)
Author:   Eoin Colfer 
Rating:  ★★★★

Two months and five bookstores later and two purchase attempts, I finally got my hands on Eoin Colfer's latest shiver-me-timbers book, W.A.R.P. 01: The Reluctant Assassin. Eoin Colfer is one of my favorite authors of all time and he is definitely on my auto-buy, no-question-about it list. With the conclusion of my beloved Artemis Fowl series with the eighth book, The Last Guardian, I was seriously looking forward to The Reluctant Assassin. So how did the book fare with me?

Riley, a teen orphan boy living in Victorian London, has had the misfortune of being apprenticed to Albert Garrick, an illusionist who has fallen on difficult times and now uses his unique conjuring skills to gain access to victims' dwellings. On one such escapade, Garrick brings his reluctant apprentice along and urges him to commit his first killing. Riley is saved from having to commit the grisly act when the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI's Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP) Riley is unwittingly transported via wormhole to modern day London, followed closely by Garrick.

In modern London, Riley is helped by Chevron Savano, a seventeen-year-old FBI agent sent to London as punishment after a disastrous undercover, anti-terrorist operation in Los Angeles. Together Riley and Chevie must evade Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now not only evil, but he also possesses all of the scientist's knowledge. He is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie's possession to make his way back to Victorian London where he can literally change the world.

Well. I love you Eoin Colfer but it took me some time to really get into the book. I kept stopping during the first few chapters and, surprisingly, it did not distract me from my really loud thoughts at that time. Even though the setting was perfect -- my favorite coffee shop with my favorite drink -- I just kept zoning out. It wasn't the most auspicious way to start The Reluctant Assassin, and so different from how I devoured each Artemis Fowl book.

Chevron Savano was not your typical heroine, and Riley even less so. But the hero and heroines they are in the book. Riley, the reluctant assassin, was just a street rat in my mind - just another thug. At first, he just bored me; he was just plain and dull for me, and even slow-witted. And Chevron felt like just another teen with a 'tude, albeit a real butt-kicking female, which is usually my kind of character. Although now that I think about it, kudos to Eoin Colfer for making such an unlikely pair become partners and even loveable characters by the end of the book.

Garrick felt just like any other villain. He was truly evil, as Riley kept pointing out, but he didn't really come off as too menacing for me. He didn't give me the creeps and I was waiting for that I-hate-this-villain feeling (the same way I totally loathe Opal Koboi), but it just didn't come, even until the very end.

So why did I give the book four stars? Because the plot is actually very original. Quantum mechanics, no magic this time, just science and illusions, time travel. Moreover, a story that took place in Victorian London with no romance? That was refreshing. I needed a break from all the romance books out in the market. The Reluctant Assassin was full of adventures and butt-kicking, and full of humorous lines (but I was not laughing out loud). Maybe it was simply because I was so full of expectations as I absolutely adored Artemis Fowl right off the bat. This time, the new series took some time for me to get used to, with the whole quantum physics thing.

Moreover, throughout today, I was constantly thinking about curling up in our couch after the book just to finish the book because I want to know how it all turns out. I'm so glad I finished it already because I started to like Riley and Chevron and even started rooting for them. Riley definitely rose to several notches in my esteem. Chevron, well, I didn't see much character development from her; she was still the same highly capable, young agent with a problem with authorities.

The epilogue is definitely intriguing though. I mean, seriously, him?? And what's the second book going to be like? The Reluctant Assassin, despite it falling below my expectations, still got me intrigued and hopeful in the end. Wait. I'm not even sure if there's going to be one. But I hope so. Please please please! But if there is one, yes, I am definitely going to buy the next book, aside from it being by Eoin Colfer, that is. I was disappointed though that there was no mention of Chevron in the ending and epilogue, so I'm not sure if she'll be in the second book. I hope so!


Here's to hoping that Eoin's got another best-selling series for me to get all excited about. I'm guessing that if there's sequel, it will be out next year. In the meantime, maybe we can beg Eoin to give us an Artemis Fowl-Riley cross-over short story???

Have you read The Reluctant Assassin already? How did you like it?

Goodluck, Eoin!

Ciao,