What's the Story? After being teased one too many times at school, Ignatius MacFarland decides to build a rocket. Maybe extraterrestrials are nicer than his classmates! But when his rocket takes an explosive wrong turn, Ignatius ends up in another frequency run by former English-teacher-turned-dictator, Chester Arthur. Mr. Arthur has taken the art, culture, and advancements of our world, shared them with this new frequency, and convinced the creatures around him that he's a genius. It's up to Iggy and Karen, another trapped earthling, to expose Mr. Arthur for the fraud that he is-and to
hopefully make it home alive.
What's the Buzz?
"This series get a double thumbs up from my (10 year old) Frequenaut. He even gave his copy to his classroom teacher to read to the class and they love it!" - Sassie Irish Lassie
"In addition, Paul Feig’s characters use profanity and expletives. Not only are a few outright curses used by one character, but Ignatius himself regularly uses questionable expletives..." - Inkweaver Review
"Much insanity and a ton of kick butt fight scenes perfectly safe for young children’s ears ensues" - My Sentiments ExactLee
Frequency Freak-Out! Book 2
What's the Buzz?
"Feig does a great job expressing the conversations between all the characters. He paints a clear picture so that you really feel like you can see what is going on. I think that these books should either be made into movies or a television series." - My Sentiments ExactLee
There is only one word to describe the action in IGNATIUS MACFARLAND: FREQUENCY FREAK-OUT! And that is “nonstop.” - Timothy Power
Thirteen-year-old Quest (Q) isn't sure he’s ready for a new family. For a long time it’s just been him and his mom, Blaze. But everything changes when Blaze falls in love with Roger and they start a new rock band called Match. Now they’re married, have a hit record, and Match is going out on a year-long driving tour across the country.
Q, along with new stepsister Angela, will take a year off from school and travel with the band. For now, home will be a luxury motor coach and homework will be a Web site diary of their travels. Perfect-Q can practice his magic tricks and Angela can read her spy novels. What can go wrong?
As Q and Angela settle into their new life and new relationship as siblings, they start to notice that certain coincidences don’t seem coincidental. For example, how does a band roadie named Boone find them in the middle of a desert where their coach just happens to break down? Why does a man from their parents’ wedding keep showing up in the same cities they stop at? When they reach Philadelphia, Q and Angela realize this tour is definitely not the trip their parents had planned and that the “City of Brotherly Love” is full of mysteries and secrets that could threaten their new life together.
What's the Buzz?
"Action, secret identities, shifting alliances, interesting locations ... and, most of all, quick-witted cool kids who can think for themselves put this book right up there with the Alex Rider series..." - Pink Me
"This book is really good! It is a mystery/chase where two teens, Quest and Angela, are trying to catch the weird men following them! There is some shocking scenes in this book! You don't want to put it down!" - Monroe Library
"In this thrilling first title in the I,Q series Roland Smith ... tells an exciting story that is packed with surprises and colorful characters. Readers who think that it would be easy to be a spy will discover how wrong they were." - Looking Glass Review
"This exciting read will appeal to older tweens or younger teens who enjoy a good spy caper...Younger readers will have trouble keeping up with the plot details and background information about the agencies and groups involved." - Story Snoops
The White House Book 2
What's the Buzz?
"This fast-paced second installment in the I, Q series won't disappoint fans of the spy genre." - Story Snoops
"...This book is for anyone who likes adventure, good humor, and Roland Smith; not to mention the seducing element of spies and counter spies, agents and double agents in the underground world of espionage that, believe it or not, is right under your very nose." - RSGM Weekly
H.I.V.E.: The Higher Institute of Villainous Education Book 1
What's the Story?
Otto Malpense may only be thirteen years old, but so far he has managed to run the orphanage where he lives, and he has come up with a plan clever enough to trick the most powerful man in the country. He is the perfect candidate to become the world's next supervillain.
That is why he ends up at H.I.V.E., handpicked to become a member of the incoming class. The students have been kidnapped and brought to a secluded island inside a seemingly active volcano, where the school has resided for decades. All the kids are elite; they are the most athletic, the most technically advanced, and the smartest in the country. Inside the cavernous marble rooms, floodlit hangars, and steel doors, the students are enrolled in Villainy Studies and Stealth and Evasion 101. But what Otto soon comes to realize is that this is a six-year program, and leaving is not an option.
With the help of his new friends: an athletic martial-arts expert; a world-famous, beautiful diamond thief; and a spunky computer genius -- the only other people who seem to want to leave -- can Otto achieve what has never been done before and break out of H.I.V.E.?
Book 1 Reviews
"This book was an awesome read...One thing I like about this book is that it is mysterious and leaves you with some questions." - Keenan from Kidsblogs @ National Geographic
"Packed with mysterious characters of all kinds, fabulous technological wonders, and numerous unanswered questions, this is a novel which most readers will find hard to resist." - Through the Looking Glass
"You'll be drawn in from the very first chapter... Bad has never been so good." - The Trades
"The pace never slowed – racing forward at an alarming rate with new twists and turns around every corner making it incredibly hard to put down." - Books 4 Teens (U.K.)
H.I.V.E.: Overlord Protocol
Book 2
Book 2 Reviews
"This book is a improvement on the first one and the plot leaves you confused in some places while filling you in in others the whole way through. It's a good read and has plenty of action and surprises to keep the reader interested." - Devonian Book Review
"...I love that the series is taking a bigger dip into the realm of comic book villains – making it a series that I personally think everyone will love especially boys." - Books 4 Teens (U.K.)
"Mark Walden's eagerly anticipated follow-up to H.I.V.E. - The Higher Institute for Villainous Education is one of those rare treasures of book series in that it not only lives up to its predecessor, but it actually surpasses it." - The Trades
" I like the first book better, but this one still held my interest and kept me reading just as well as the first one. " - YA Books Central
H.I.V.E.: Escape Velocity Book 3
Book 3 Reviews
"A great book in a series that is always improving and changing. It answers questions,resolves plots yet introduces new ideas and challenges. Another book in a great series." - Devonian Book Reviewer
"While it is kind of ironic for villains to act as heroes and still see themselves as villains, the energy and action are just too good to resist in this series." - Kiss the Book
"I think I would have liked it in my distant youth. But then, I liked Get Smart a crazy lot, and H. I. V. E. has more than a little of the tongue-in-cheek KAOS about it. Except, in this version, Siegfried is kind of one of the good guys." - Geek Speak Magazine
H.I.V.E.: Dreadnought Book 4
Book 4 Reviews
"The positives? Dreadnought is a gripping, action-packed and thoroughly enjoyable adventure that will appeal to both sexes... Negatives? Franz talks in supposedly comic bad English... it made me cringe and it didn't feel right in this day and age. - Fantasy Book Review (U.K.)
"It's not often you root for the baddies to win but Otto and Co. are much, much better than the alternative." - Reading Teenage Fiction
"Mark Walden manages to create an intelligent and witty novel that you just can't put down." - SF Book
H.I.V.E.: Rogue Book 5
Book 5 Reviews
"The H.I.V.E. books are consistently brilliant, perfectly paced stories full of edge-of-your-seat action sequences, sparkling humour and great dialogue and banter... I have not yet met a 12 year old boy who didn't love reading one of these books. " - Book Zone 4 Boys
"Characters learn things about their backgrounds they would rather not have known. Characters die... It’s certainly exciting – but it’s much grimmer than the original novel and this should be taken into account." - The Great Raven
H.I.V.E.: Zero Hour Book 6
Book 6 Reviews
"For me this is what reading is all about - pure escapist fun - and the H.I.V.E. books are a perfect example of why as an adult I still love reading books for kids . . ." - Book Zone 4 Boys
"The series has gotten to the point where books can't be read stand-alone, so read the others first. It's worth the effort." - The Great Raven
H.I.V.E.: Aftershock Book 7
Book 7 Reviews
"...whilst I would recommend the book, I believe it would be quite hard to fully understand without reading most of the series’ novels first. If you are an avid reader of the series though you will like this as it is action packed and starts a whole new era with all the changes in place with G.L.O.V.E." - Book Bitz(U.K.)
"Aftershock is exciting, enthralling, light-hearted and Mark Walden's distinctive style of writing returns. I did think some parts dragged, and I wished there was more out of HIVE ... but once I'd reread it I was more satisfied." - Twin Sister Bubble
Mark Waldenis a busy guy with a busy site. Besides updated news and a blog, Walden also has fan forums where you can discuss the books.
Mark Walden H.I.V.E.: Aftershock Blog Tour
To promote book 7 of his H.I.V.E. series, Mark Walden visited blogs both in the U. S. and U.K.. Below are links to three of the sites. If you're interested in all the blogs he visited then go to the authors site where he lists them all.
What's the Story? For one charismatic kid, the dangerous world of the Forest of the Dead becomes the setting for the ultimate escape trick in this exciting debut novel.
Jack Carr has been shuttled from foster home to group home to foster home his entire life. The only constant has been his interest in magic, especially handcuff escapes like those mastered by his hero, Harry Houdini. When he’s placed with the Professor, however, he feels like he’s finally found a home—but his new guardian is hiding a dangerous secret.
Years ago the Professor bartered his soul to the undead magician Mussini, and when the payment is due, he sends Jack in his place. Jack must travel with Mussini to the Forest of the Dead, a place in between the real world and the afterlife, where he’s forced to perform in Mussini’s traveling magic show. If he stays in the Forest long enough, he’ll die himself. To find his way home, he’ll have the help of Mussini’s other “minions”—kids stolen just like Jack—and his wits, nothing more. Can he follow the example of his hero, Houdini, and escape the inescapable?
What's the Buzz?
"I adore this cover. And as I read the book I noticed more and more details from the story that the cover actually showed. Masterful!" - Jana's Booklist
"The author uses lots of descriptive words that tells you a lot about Jack’s adventure, almost making you feel like you are in the book." - Granite Media
"I would say that the book could have been longer and could have had a little more humor. " -The Smart Book Club
Author Site Laura Quimby
There's also a short blog interview with the author here
Megapopular author Dan Gutman brings on the excitement with an action-packed new series that's nothing short of dynamite. Join Coke and Pep on their quest to uncover just what it means to be part of The Genius Files . . . if you dare!
What Else Ya Got?
There isn't an official site for the book series but once the series gets rolling, maybe that will change. In the mean time, publisher Harper Collins has a few games based on the Genius Files here. They also have the first few chapters of Mission Unstoppable you can read here
In the first video below, author Dan Gutman talks a little about his baseball card series and My Weird School and finishes with a bit about The Genius Files. In the video below that, Mr. Gutman gives you a little taste of what's coming in Genius Files #2.
