The start of what will be a great series (Day of the Assassins - Johnny O'Brien)

Member Name: crazyminx

Product:	Day of the Assassins - Johnny O'Brien
Date:	20/06/09 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wonderfully produced book

Disadvantages: Occasional stilted dialogue

As soon as I saw this book I was excited. It's beautifully made - it has a hardback cover with real bullet holes, a glossy fold out map of the countries involved in WWI, a glossy fold out timeline of the war, thick high quality pages and various full page illustrations and photographs. It's the sort of book I would have treasured when I was younger (and still think is awesome now that I'm fully grown!).

The book tells the story of Jack and his friend Angus who travel back in time to the events that set WWI in motion, with the aim of stopping them. Of course, we know how history worked out and so we know they will probably not succeed, but the story is not really about whether or not they fail. It is more about the things they learn along the way, and whether they can get back to the future in one piece! There are also some interesting subplots.

There is a lot of historical action and there are also obviously a lot of non-accurate characters and events too, but it is quite easy to distinguish between the two. This book manages to be fresh, interesting and involving, whilst also being educational. This makes it great for anyone interested in history.

I would say this book is great for boys aged around 9 to 16. It may appeal to some girls but the nature of the action and the fact that all the main characters are male may put some of them off.

This is a beautifully presented, exciting, well written and educational book that I highly recommend. It's not perfect - some of the dialogue for example is at times a bit contrived or stilted - but it's definitely worth a read and would make a lovely present.

This book has an RRP of £9.99 but can be bought for £6.49 from Amazon.co.uk, which I think is good value for a book that will last a long time and be cherished.

(updated from my review on Amazon.co.uk)

Summary: I wish all books were made like this!