CHERUB

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For other uses, see Cherub (disambiguation).
CHERUB

The UK CHERUB logo
Author Robert Muchamore
Country United Kingdom
Genre Young adult spy fiction
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Published April 30, 2004
Media type Print (Hardback and Paperback)
eBook
No. of books 16 + 1 mini book

CHERUB is a series of young adult spy novels, written by the English author Robert Muchamore, focusing around a division of the British Security Service named CHERUB, which employs minors, predominantly orphans, as intelligence officers.[1]

Initially, the series follows James Choke, better known as James Adams (his adopted name at CHERUB), as he enters CHERUB and performs various missions. However, the focus later turns to his sister Lauren and several other characters who work alongside him, and in separate missions. The initial series of twelve novels runs from the recruitment of Adams to his retirement from CHERUB at age seventeen. The Aramov series of CHERUB follows Ryan Sharma, another CHERUB agent.

The series has achieved great critical success, Christopher Middleton of The Times called the series 'convincing' and praised the way it allows readers to 'grow up with the characters.'[1] After release in the United Kingdom, the novels have been released in the US, New Zealand, and Australia, and translated into several languages including French, Danish, Spanish, Russian, Czech, Norwegian and Portuguese. On his website, Muchamore states that over 8 million copies have now been sold.[2] A film adaptation is also planned.[3]

Books

First series

The first series primarily follows James Adams, an adolescent who is later joined at CHERUB by his sister Lauren when their mother dies.

1. The Recruit (April 15, 2004) 
James joins CHERUB, passes basic training and goes on a mission to thwart an attack on an oil conference by eco-terrorists.[4]
2. Class A (October 14, 2004) (titled The Dealer in the United States) 
James, Kyle, Kerry and Nicole help to take down the cocaine supplier gang KMG.[5]
3. Maximum Security (April 14, 2005) 
James and Dave go undercover in a maximum security prison in Arizona to help capture an illegal arms dealer.[6]
4. The Killing (October 13, 2005) 
James and Dave go to find out why a small-time crook suddenly appears to become extremely rich.[7]
5. Divine Madness (April 6, 2006) 
James, Lauren and Dana investigate a religious cult in Australia with suspected links to an eco-terrorist organisation.[8]
6. Man vs Beast (October 19, 2006) 
James, Lauren and Kyle infiltrate an animal-rights terrorist group.[9]
7. The Fall (March 15, 2007) 
James tries to clear his name after being implicated in the deaths of two MI5 agents, while Lauren goes on a mission to expose a sex slave trafficking gang.[10]
8. Mad Dogs (October 1, 2007) 
James and Bruce infiltrate a gang tussling with rivals for control of the Luton underworld after the collapse of KMG.[11]
9. The Sleepwalker (February 7, 2008) 
Lauren and Jake go undercover to befriend a boy who claims that his father is responsible for a deadly plane crash in the Atlantic.[12]
10. The General (September 4, 2008) 
James and Lauren play insurgents in a US army training exercise.[13]
11. Brigands M.C. (September 3, 2009) 
James, Lauren and Dante infiltrate a violent biker gang.[14]
12. Shadow Wave (August 27, 2010) 
James turns down a final mission at CHERUB guarding a corrupt politician, instead helping Kyle to expose the politician's wrongdoings.[15]

Second series

This series, also known as Aramov, involves an almost completely new cast of CHERUB agents, centred upon a young boy, Ryan Sharma. However, characters from the original series occasionally appear. The first three books focus on a mission to dismantle the ficitional Aramov Clan. As of December 2013, four novels have been announced.[16][17]

1. People's Republic (August 4, 2011) 
Ryan investigates a young boy called Ethan whose extended family are the leaders of a Kyrgyzstan-based terrorist group known as the Aramov Clan.[18]
2. Guardian Angel (August 2, 2012) 
Ryan is tasked with destroying the Aramov Clan.[19]
3. Black Friday (September 5, 2013) 
Ryan has to stop the biggest terrorist attack in US history as Aramov operations wind down, and James Adams returns to CHERUB campus.[20]
4. Lone Wolf (August 1, 2014)[17]

Short stories

  • Dark Sun (March 6, 2008) (Released for World Book Day)
    Rat and Andy go undercover to befriend a boy whose father is a member of Dark Sun, a criminal organisation dealing in nuclear weapons technology. This book, chronologically, fits in between The Sleepwalker and The General.[21]

Other

  • CHERUB Ultimate Edition consists of a map of the CHERUB campus, a biography of Muchamore, and the novels The Recruit and Class A. (October 2, 2008).
  • The Recruit: The Graphic Novel. (August 2, 2012).

International releases

The CHERUB novels have been released in twenty-seven countries to date.

First publication date Country
2004 United Kingdom
Australia
Canada
Hong Kong
Ireland
New Zealand
United States
2005 Germany
Russia
2007 Belgium
China
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
France
Netherlands
Hungary
Poland
Portugal
Switzerland
Taiwan
2008 India
Japan
Spain
2009 Romania
Sweden
Turkey
Serbia

Setting

The series takes place on CHERUB campus, the headquarters of the fictional titular British government agency CHERUB for which the children work. It was formed during World War II by Charles Henderson; a British spy who had used children during an operation in France. It is populated by around 350 adolescents and children, who live on the campus when not on a mission to help the police. No-one in the world knows where CHERUB campus is situated except its employees, members and certain police and high level members of the British government.

CHERUB began with a small number of boys which swelled in size as the government realised its worth. After several years of operation it took in a trial group of girls, which proved successful. Since then CHERUB campus has grown a significant amount, improving many of its facilities. The dojo was built on behalf of a successful operation that took place in Japan and the new mission preparation building was built by the chairman of the first 6 novels, Dr. McAfferty, better known as Mac. The present chairwoman is Zara Asker.[4]

After years of speculation, Muchamore said in the Henderson's Boys novel Eagle Day that CHERUB stood for Charles Henderson Espionage Research Unit B; this was later confirmed in Secret Army by Eileen McAfferty in a telegram.

Characters

Main article: List of CHERUB characters
  • James Adams is the main protagonist of the series. He is a strong male boy ranging from just under twelve to eighteen to years old through the course of the series. Although usually friendly, he does occasionally have anger management issues. During the series he has had two on-campus girlfriends, Kerry Chang and Dana Smith, as well as various girlfriends on missions. He gets on well with his half-sister Lauren Adams.
  • Lauren Adams is James' sister. She is headstrong and does well in missions, however she does create various schemes to pay people back for actions, which result in her receiving punishments. She has a boyfriend called Rat.
  • Kyle Blueman is another CHERUB agent who is friends with James. He is homosexual, something that James has trouble coming to terms with. He is kind, but will also conduct revenge schemes, including one in which he exposes politician Tan Abdullah as conducting illegal activities in Shadow Wave, the twelfth book of the series.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Middleton, Christopher (2008-04-04). "Family bookclub: Robert Muchamore's The Recruit". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-05-17. 
  2. ↑ Robert Muchamore (2012). "Biography". Retrieved October 4, 2012. 
  3. ↑ Robert Muchamore (2012). "CHERUB News - March 2009". Retrieved October 4, 2012. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Muchamore, Robert (2004). The Recruit. CHERUB 1. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-88153-8. 
  5. ↑ —— (2004). Class A. CHERUB 2. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-88154-5. 
  6. ↑ —— (2005). Maximum Security. CHERUB 3. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-88435-5. 
  7. ↑ —— (2005). The Killing. CHERUB 4. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-89433-0. 
  8. ↑ —— (2006). Divine Madness. CHERUB 5. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-89434-7. 
  9. ↑ —— (2006). Man vs Beast. CHERUB 6. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-91169-3. 
  10. ↑ —— (2007). The Fall. CHERUB 7. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-91170-9. 
  11. ↑ —— (2007). Mad Dogs. CHERUB 8. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-91171-6. 
  12. ↑ —— (2008). The Sleepwalker. CHERUB 9. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-93183-7. 
  13. ↑ —— (2008). The General. CHERUB 10. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-93184-4. 
  14. ↑ —— (2009). Brigands M.C. CHERUB 11. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-98903-6. 
  15. ↑ —— (2010). Shadow Wave. CHERUB 12. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-95647-2. 
  16. ↑ "The New Series". cherubcampus.com. Hodder & Stoughton. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Robert Muchamore - CHERUB: Lone Wolf". Hachette Children's Books. Retrieved 9 December 2013. 
  18. ↑ Muchamore, Robert (2011). People's Republic. Aramov 1. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-4449-0610-3. 
  19. ↑ —— (2012). Guardian Angel. Aramov 2. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-99921-9. 
  20. ↑ Muchamore, Robert. "Black Friday". cherubcampus.com. Retrieved 13 August 2010. 
  21. ↑ —— (2007). Dark Sun. CHERUB. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-95679-3. 

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Book series by Robert Muchamore
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