Action unfolds in the streets and putrescent sewers of Victorian London as time-traveling FBI agent Chevie Savano enters the scene with a mission to prevent a future governed by Colonel Box rogue military commander with a plan for world domination. Unfortunately, Box's two Thundercat goons follow Chevie through the wormhole, hot on her heels with instructions to kill. Meanwhile, Riley (native Victorian and magician) has become entangled with the roughest gang in London, the Battering Rams, just as an undercover rebel from the future reveals himself with a bloody flourish. Together, Chevie and Riley attempt to stave off the "Boxite" rebellion. Though the novel is heavy on action and excitement, Colfer keeps things light with comic use of antiquated slang and banter, lead primarily by the "Ram King," who proves an entertaining combination of Fagin and Jack Sparrow. Shifts in time and perspective are firmly anchored by the plot so readers won't lose track of its thread, making for a fun, adrenaline-fueled adventure with a third WARP novel set to follow.

Returning from her jaunt to Victorian London in The Reluctant Assassin, Chevie Savano finds that fellow time-traveler Colonel Box must have succeeded in his conquest, since she's now a cadet in the repressive Boxite Empire's military academy. Going back to the past, Chevie reunites with magician and good friend Riley to change history in this funny, high-octane adventure with thought-provoking time-travel insights.

Gr 7 Up-Seventeen-year-old FBI agent Chevie Savano returns from Victorian London to find even more trouble in the present day, forcing her right back into the past to battle another villain. SLJ said of the first book, "[it] is darker, bloodier, and much more serious in tone than the author's popular 'Artemis Fowl' series (Hyperion). It may not be for the faint of heart, but the intricate plot, strong writing, and intrepid characters who must survive by their wits will make it hard to put down."

Teen FBI agent Chevron Savano's mission in Victorian London was successful in the first book in this series, but the future she returns to is not her own. In fact, her activities in the first book end up causing the villainous Colonel Box to move up the schedule of his plan to take over the past, a decision that averts what would have been its failure. Now, she is a cadet in the fascist Boxite Empire, bent on world domination and a true believer in Boxite dogmaexcept for a nagging voice in her head that seems to remember a different reality. That nagging voice is about to get her executed when, once again, she gets sent to the days of Queen Vic and the Big Stink of London, this time with two Boxite stormtroopers, called Thundercats, on her trail. Chevie must work with her old pal in Victorian London, Riley, the budding illusionist, along with former foe, Otto Malarkey, if she is going to save the day and prevent everybody's future from becoming extremely miserable under the rule of Colonel Box.Colfer does a great job of making not just main characters Chevie and Riley come alive, but also showing things vividly from the perspective of secondary characters such as Malarkey and the Thundercats. Some readers may find the frequent changes in perspective a bit confusing, but Colfer's trademark wit and adventurous plotting are in abundance as well. This is a very fun read, although the high body count makes it more appropriate for an audience slightly older than his Artemis Fowl fans.Sean Rapacki.