W. A. R. P. The Reluctant Assassin cover art

W. A. R. P. The Reluctant Assassin

W.A.R.P. Book 1

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W. A. R. P. The Reluctant Assassin

By: Eoin Colfer
Narrated by: Maxwell Caulfield
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About this listen

Shortlisted for the Red House Children’s Book Award 2013

If Artemis Fowl is “Die Hard with Fairies”, then W.A.R.P. is “Oliver Twist” meets “The Matrix”…

The Reluctant Assassin is the first book in the W.A.R.P. series. W.A.R.P. stands for ‘Witness Anonymous Relocation Programme’. The assassin of the title is young Riley who has been apprentice to Albert Garrick, a Victorian illusionist who has fallen on difficult times and taken to using his unique conjuring skills to gain access to victims’ dwellings. On one such murderous escapade he brings his reluctant apprentice along on 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 W.A.R.P. program, and Riley is transported to modern day London, followed closely by Albert Garrick. In modern London, Riley is helped by Chevie Savano, a nineteen year old FBI agent sent to London as punishment following a disastrous, undercover, anti-terrorist operation in Los Angeles. Together they must evade the assassin, Albert Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now more than human and is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie’s possession to make his way back to Victorian London where, with his new knowledge on all things scientific and technological, he can literally change the world.

©2013 Eoin Colfer (P)2013 Audible Ltd
Crime Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Time Travel Assassin Fiction England Young Adult Exciting Funny Fantasy
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Critic reviews

"Colfer has the ability to make you laugh twice over: first in sheer subversive joy at the inventiveness of the writing, and again at the energy of the humour." (Sunday Times)
"Readers mourning the end of the Artemis Fowl series can take heart: this first book in the time-bending W.A.R.P. series is an all-out blast." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about W. A. R. P. The Reluctant Assassin

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

nothing like Artimus Fowl stopped after 5 chapters

hated it nothing like The Fowls. really hard to get into. nothing likable about the characters

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story and good story telling

Love Colfer's Artemis Fowl and this is just as gripping. I was super happy to find out that there are two more books in the series! Read well with lots of fun voices.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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That was a surprise ...

Any additional comments?

I bought this really by mistake not realising that it was aimed at teens ... I nearly returned it but thought I'd give it a go. Blood guts and gore, what a surprise, if they made this into a film I would have thought it would have be an 18 certificate. From start to finish it had me hooked, great story, characters and narrated brilliantly.
So this big 54 year old kid has just bought book 2 !!
Put your headphones on, turn off the lights and give it a go.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent fun,

overall, excellent, maybe a few unanswered questions, but that's makes Eoin Colfer fun to read. looking forward to the next in the series, I hope Audible cotton onto something that they seem to miss in their marketing. Related special offers... if you like Eoin's other work, give this a whirl, maybe takes a little longer to get used to the characters, and not the same depth as Artemus Fowl, but in all an interestingly woven tale which is very well read.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not in Artemis Fowl's league

Narration is terrific - just a shame about the story. It might take a second listen to warm to this, if I can make it to the end the first time round (almost finished). W.A.R.P's premise is great and Eoin Colfer is usually such a fantastic storyteller (absolutely love the Artemis Fowl series) but this is just missing something and I think it's the usual dry humour.

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1 person found this helpful

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Great story

I found this book when searching for Artemis fowl and decided to give it a try - very glad I did, and am now about to start the 3rd in the series. An interesting slow paced narration style - works quite well as you don’t miss any of the plot. Only issue is Chevie’s accent reminds me of Donald Trump!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A nail biting adventure

I am a fan of Artimis Fowel and was delighted to find that I was as enthralled with W.A.R.P equally. It was pure escapism - a dark and dastardly tale with the most charming and eccentric characters as I have come to expect with Eoin Colfer books. He evoked the grinding poverty and squallor of Victorian London in a very real way. His books are pure magic.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A title you can't hide from.

A good story, well read. The supervillian in this is such a great character and strangely believable. You know Eoin writes well but what I would like to add is that this is a totally original story with original characters. The sequel I so look forward to can't make the same boast, but I don't care, I'm hooked now.

The reader is like a vocal contortionist. The ranges and differences for each character are startling - to go from one to another so fluidly- just amazing. I'm going to start looking for other books read by this guy, and I've never searched for a book in that way before! He must have learned the book to perform it so well.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining but the narration is a bit dodgy.

This was an enjoyable listen. The story, the character development and the general feel of the book were well realised and engaging. The narrator wasn't terrible but he did sometimes mix up the accents which is a bit annoying although generally the characters were well defined by him.
The story had moments that were predictable and there were one or two clichés or repetitive passages, but given its target audience and overall good atmosphere and world building I can forgive this.
There was some depth to the main characters and enough back story to establish their motivations and drivers.
Overall I would recommend this and will look for more in the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A futuristic tale

Some nasty people around in this story and two young people have to fight hard to stay one step ahead and certainly a story I did not want to put down, not the ending I would have liked but perhaps book two will put that right.

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