Zero Hour

H.I.V.E. #6

by Mark Walden

Overlord is reborn, and has developed the chilling ability to move from body to body, erasing the host`s personality and ultimately killing them, forcing him to hop from victim to victim. He must find Otto, the only host designed to contain him, and for that he needs the location of H.I.V.E. He also plans to take control of a secret US Army facility that is home to the Autonomous Weapon Programme, a computer-controlled system uniquely vulnerable to his control.

Nero is forced to activate Zero Hour, a plan designed to deal with any member of G.L.O.V.E. on the brink of true global domination. Nero also knows that Otto must not be allowed to fall into Overlord`s hands, and a desperate race across the globe begins. The stage is set for a final battle with Overlord. Little do they know that he has a final weapon in his arsenal, on a scale unlike anything they have ever seen before.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Action, Middle Grade, Childrens

Hardcover

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

I am the world’s laziest man.

No…really. Not just a bit slack, really, truly, breathtakingly lazy.

Which is why it’s taken me so long to get off my big, lazy rear end and get myself properly on-line.

I’m the author of the HIVE series of books which I hope that some of the people who stumble across this might have read and enjoyed. Or read and hated…

I am fortunate enough to live with the two most beautiful women on earth. And yes of course I’m hoping they’ll read that and forgive me for any one of the incredibly stupid things I’ll do this month.

I have yet to hold down anything even vaguely approximating a proper job.

I did help make video games a while ago but that was not the best environment for someone as lazy as me.

Reviews

[Crowinator · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3 stars, maybe 2.5 stars for the oddly brief, matter-of-fact death scene of a character that then goes almost entirely unmourned or unremarked upon, even though there were about 40 pages left. This is not a series with a strong character focus, but I have never been less moved by a death before. And here she was just developing a (very tame) romance with sort-of main character, Otto, too, so it's even weirder.

This is a plotty, action-heavy series, perfect for young readers who like lengthy battle scenes and cool technological gadgets, and it still has its moments (mostly when the young characters of the H.I.V.E. school get to be in the spotlight, something sadly lacking in the latest books) but I have grown less enchanted with it within the last two books. The disconnect between the fact that the main characters are all supposed to be super-villains or villains-in-training and the fact that they act like heroes bent on stopping the real villains grows harder to ignore with every book. Still, the real villains are deliciously megalomanical in the best, Dr. Evil, way and their crazy complex plans are a highlight of this series. This one was better than Book Five, but I can't help feeling that this series started out as a fun parody of the superhero genre and slowly grew away from that and become too straightforward and serious.

[Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page 98 is a very, very, very awkward moment.
Extreme awkwardness.
Should I quote it?
Yes, yes I should:

intriguing.
H.I.V.E.mind's voice spoke somewhere inside Otto's head.
'Not now,' Otto said with a sigh.
'What's wrong?' Lucy asked, pulling back with a puzzled look on her face.
'Not you,' Otto said quickly, 'it's just that we're...erm...not exactly alone.' He tapped his finger against the side of his head.
'Oh yeah,' Lucy said, blushing slightly. 'I'd kind of forgotten about that.'
Do not feel you need to stop on my account.

Awkwardness...

Yeah I loved this book :)
It had action and guns and stuff.
And now there's romance :)
Romance makes a story complete :)
But I still don't care if there's any or not - I'm not too fussy about what I read, as long as it's good :)

*goes off subject and rambles on*


A few hours later...

and that's why Simon is better than Jace!

Anyway, I really think that Laura and Otto should be together. Lucy just got in the way, and (sploiler) now she's dead.

I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing...

[Carrie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

So... part of me feels like this series should have ended after book two or three - H.I.V.E. Higher Institute of Villainous Education and The Overlord Protocol were GREAT, some of the best books I've read; after that, well.... eh. But another part of me really enjoyed this installment in the series. There were moments where my willingness and ability to suspend disbelief were sorely tested, and moments where I was perched precariously on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, completely paralyzed with fear, and wondering how Otto was going to get out of his current predicament. This book was good but, like many other third, fourth, fifth, etc. books in a series, it sizzled and fizzled instead of banged. My recommendation... if you've read the rest of the H.I.V.E. series, go for it! If you've yet to read any, read H.I.V.E. numbers 1 & 2 and leave it at that.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, the good bad guys are just really good guys in disguise I've decided. For all that they talk about villainy and being villains--the whole arc of the series has been to thwart true evil (over-the-top CRAZY I'm going to self-destruct the whole world and I don't care who goes dies with it) villains.

So in my mind, this makes them the good guys; ok, maybe that is a bit of a stretch--how about we say: the anti-heroes? They don't wear white hats. They cuss occasionally. Did I mention the violence???!!! And now they are starting to throw in a tiny bit o' kissy-face (not that this is bad or good; just a heads' up). YET...they are fully dedicated to protecting the world, those they love, each other, and even perfect strangers.

They will not let the villains win.

[AniMaddox · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I'll try not to put in too many spoilers, so read at your own risk*
My rating: 3.5/5
Though this is by far my least favorite, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Here are my main problems:
- The romance is not good. In my opinion, it's just awkward and cringy. It may work for some people, but they just seemed to throw it at the wall, and for me, it didn't stick (though admittedly, Wing and Shelbey are pretty cute, the Lucy, Laura, Otto 'love triangle' was honestly terrible). Also, when do you just go up to people and kiss them? Sure, maybe they're best friends, and the love has slowly been brewing (like in the case of Shel and Wing), but since it wasn't really mentioned in previous books it was just bad.
- I also agree that they're (Nero, Raven, and the students) just the heroes now. What evil are they actually doing? I guess they sometimes kill people out of nowhere, but Nero himself is against ruthless murder, it's a bit strange, but it didn't bother me that much.

- Lucy dies, and as much as I was upset with the whole love thing, I was still sad that they killed her off. In most books, I'm team 'why does every protagonist just survive every time?' but it still hits, and while maybe I should be giving it a star for having a good death, I still don't like it, and thus it still ends up on things I don't like.
I'm a bit over the recommended age range, 8-12, so maybe I found more problems with it? Still, I couldn't put it down as with all the other HIVE books (I usually can finish them in a few hours). And I'm excited to continue the series.

[Amita · Rating 3 out of 5]

what better way to finish off the year than with the end of a hive era?

i'd like to extend a cordial "rip" to lucy, who is now dead after being here for three books. her only job was to be part of a love triangle which is kind of unfortunate for her. can't help but wonder how impactful her death might have been if she had been a real actual character!
she says "I fell for you the moment I met you" to the main character as she dies... please be fr. what about that guy inspires such a reaction

other mid parts of zero hour include:
-nero joining the list of ooc individuals
-the fact that the most interesting part of the first 40% of this sci-fi/action novel was the ridiculously out of the blue love triangle
-a misinterpreted ben franklin quote
-yet another use of "strikingly beautiful" to describe a character (the count is at least 6 billion by now)

i really do have to shout out mark walden for coming up with the most insane plots ever tho bc HOW does one come up with the animus fluid + regenerative nanites thing that can only be stopped via nuclear explosion. what.

[Bookwyrm's Bones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second time reading through this series and it still charms me, though some loose ends from the first two/three books haven't been addressed.

I'll remember that the pink book (American Cover) had the the kisses in it now, and it ended with more insight into Franz becoming a useful character.

I remember reading this the first time and being absolutely furious the Otto and Lucy were becoming an item, and hating Lucy for it. But, now I'm old and mature enough to see that Lucy was a good character and the relationship was healthy enough. Do I miss her? No. Do I hate her now? Also No.

I'm Proud of myself for growing up.

[gltgw · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

My reading may have been affected by my last reading the previous books over a decade ago, with only hazy memories of them. It was a bit younger leaning in that the dialogue of the bad guys was a little cartoonish, but then it was also happily violent.

Overall, solid but sometimes lacking in depth (the part where it talks about making the sacrifice worth it was one of the strongest parts). The banter between the friends was my favourite part. The pace was fast, things were constantly happening, which was engaging but the in-between moments tend to be when you develop a connection with the characters.

[Fatima Sarder · Rating 3 out of 5]

“There always has to be a choice.”
- Lucy Dexter

Overlord can't just keep his artificial head down can't he? And oh dear, Lucy goes ahead and dies, guess that budding romance between her and Otto didn't happen after all. I always knew he was gonna end up with Laura, one way or the other.

The romantic undertones, while it was obvious, was jarring. The characters are still flat, Book 6 and yet I could care less whether one of them dies. Yes, even my favorite character, Wing, has as much depth as corrugated cardboard.

[EdwinB_D2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about a kid called Otto Malpense, who had a organic computer engineered in his brain since he was a fetus and trying to save the world from a psychopathic rogue AI. This book is a Sci-fi and coming of age novel. This is very similar to the Harry Potter series because they both involve a unexpected entrance to a top secret school. You would like this book if you enjoyed Harry Potter and science fiction.

[David Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

alright so I've been waiting six fricken books for certain peopleto finally kiss so yay. now I just feel lonely. newest favorite book line " 'Dexter, I could kiss you,' Shelby said as Lucy climbed back into the car. 'if Otto doesn't mind that is?' " well i finished this book in less than three hours and it was amazing. rip Lucy I almost cried but wing and Shelby are cute

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zero hour is a amazing book, it is the 6th book in the hive series. the series in general is about a boy who is at the Higher Institute of Villainous Education(HIVE) and his life and adventures with his friends at Hive. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for action and a flare of harry potter.

[Kaitlynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good probably the best plot of the books so far.





***!!!SPOILER!!!***
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCYYYYYYYYYYYYWHY????????????????????????????????????????????

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thought that these people are villains is quite unbelievable at this stage, especially since they don't seem to be doing much villainous acts. Still highly enjoyed this, though I would be scared for my brain - does it have a chip?

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The actual villains of this series are kind of cliche, because they're so over the top evil. I didn't really enjoy the romance, it seemed pretty forced especially in Wing and Shelby's case. That said, I enjoyed the plot and I was surprisingly sad when Lucy died.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good ending that I might wish was the end of the series. Overlord’s body hopping is creepy, and people actually die. I will mourn Lucy. It was epic even if parts of it were cringe. After this book, even though the books after were good, felt a bit like a zombie series.

[Jude Morse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The original creator of glove needs Otto to take over his body. Otto is the ultimate host the perfectly designed human. Only problem is Otto doesn’t want to give his body up. He cannot risk being captured.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting addition to this creative series about students training to be villains while simultaneously saving the world over and over. Looking forward to the next one.

[Len Washington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book, and the teen relationships and love triangles made me love the book even more, until the surprise at the end of the book that broke my heart.

[Steven C. Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series for all.

This is a great book for any reader. It was recommended to me by my thirteen year old grandson. I am 70 years young. Try the series. Start with book one.

[Owen Vogelgesang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just plain love this series, Mark did a great job making me fell the characters. I was so sad about ravens turning and Nero's injury.

[Mindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am finding that I enjoy plot driven literature.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very amazing twists in all directions! Awesome!

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much action I didn’t want to set it down

[HB · Rating 2 out of 5]

★★1/2

[Yomi Olufidipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otto and Lucy 🥺❤️ 4 Ever.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really good. You should definitely read it if you have read all the other books.

[Alice Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy emphasis on action rather than character development, though still enjoyable. Rather violent for 8-year-olds, though, IMO.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars