Infiltration

Kid Sensation #3

by Kevin Hardman

Having a surfeit of super powers is great for battling bad guys and saving the world, as Jim (aka Kid Sensation) is finding out, but less useful in dealing with day-to-day situations – like bonding with his superhero father, adjusting to a team environment, and coping with what might be perceived as a growing rivalry between himself and another teen super. On top of all that, despite having a serious girlfriend, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to a new female super he’s just met.

At the same time, some villain has just gotten himself a new toy: an unknown weapon of tremendous power that is able to strike without warning, causing unprecedented destruction and loss of life. Perhaps more terrifying, the wielders of this weapon make no demands and issue no threats; they simply attack. Even the Alpha League, the world’s greatest superhero team, is not immune, suffering an assault on their very own doorsteps.

It quickly becomes clear that the only way to stop this new evil is from within. With his unique abilities, Jim is the only person capable of infiltrating the enemy’s ranks. It’s up to him to figure out who is behind these attacks, what they want, and find a way to stop them – and their secret weapon – before they bring the entire world to its knees.

Genres: Superheroes, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Audiobook, Action

219 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 28, 2013

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Infiltration by Kevin Hardman and narrated by Mikael Naramore is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary. This book takes a wild turn when someone tries to make a new weapon to block the Super's powers. A book with clever strategies, fun dialogue, interesting characters, super heroes with lots of cool powers, and a touch of romance! I wish I could go invisible sometimes!
Mikael Naramore performs the voices perfectly! Wonderful job!

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent third instalment of Kevin Hardman's fun YA superhero series Kid Sensation. The series follows the adventures of teen superhero Jim as he deals with life at his superpowered high school and with saving the world from villainous attacks! It is fun and has a nice mix of action, adventure, coming of age drama, and cool superpowered happenings.

This third book introduced us to a few more of the younger superheroes as Jim and his classmates got pushed to compete in a nationally televised competition. In terms of the action Kid Sensation had to step in and help when a group of Supervillains showed up in multiple locations and caused havoc with some sort of new weapon that even Mouse and Brain Trust could not identify.

It was a fun enough story. Both the superhero competition and the battle with the villains had some cool moments. I'm not always a giant fan of action scenes but Hardmen writes them in a way that keeps them interesting and compelling for me so that is a big plus for this series. The other thing I enjoyed in this instalment was how Jim's personal relationships grew and matured. It was interesting to see how his romance with Electra developed and to get to learn a bit more about Alpha Prime. This was also a decent instalment for the secondary characters as the longer the series goes the more interested I'm becoming in the likes of Smokey, Li, Mouse, and the others we get a glimpse of from time to time like Dynamo. There is definite potential here for Hardman to spin-off a few of these characters for their own stories as he does a good job of making it feel like this world does not revolve around Kid Sensation despite how powerful he is.

All in all I felt like this was a fun third tale. Like the other books it is engaging and fun without being anything memorable or special. I'll read the next instalment for sure!

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Audio Note: As always Mikael Naramore does a great job with the audio.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the series, and it's the third book I have gotten a free review copy of. I would buy the rest of them right now if not for the hope that the rest will be given out for review as well. This isn't my normal kind of series, and maybe that's why I'm enjoying it so much. If you are thinking about getting the audible versions don't hesitate, they are very well narrated.

[Rebecka · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was a bit disjointed but was mostly enjoyable anyway. I would've given it 3 stars if not for the ending. I got annoyed because of how nonchalantly they treated a love spell. To me, love spells are too close to assault to be anything other than disgusting. It doesn't matter that the person wouldn't suddenly love someone that wasn't their physical type and that the spell was too weak to be truly effective. It's like saying rape is OK if the rapist is attractive to the victim or something similarly ludicrous. Somehow the MC and his GF think the perpetrator was being "cute", but all I felt was disgust.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really made the trilogy for me. Book 2 was good but not great. Book 3 raises the bar once again for this series. Book 2 had a touch of YA angst, which isn’t my cup of tea. Book 3 goes without that angst (hooray!).

So Jim has to go undercover to gain info and save his friends. It’s tricky work and there’s plenty of potential for true danger. I loved all the suspense this caused in the story. The tale bounces back and forth between two main storylines, but I liked that as it allowed for some character growth beyond just Jim. I like that Jim gets to bond a bit more with his dad too.

Jim has the support of his family, and not just his bio dad, but also his grandparents who raised him. I really liked this aspect of this superhero as so many supers have this horrible family life or lack of family that really shapes them. Here, Jim is shaped by these positive influences in his life.

This story tests Jim a bit. The bad guys have some tech that the superheroes haven’t really explored and Jim has to stretch his abilities to pull off the infiltration. For me, the one little weakness of the story was that I never really worried for Jim’s safety. I knew he would win out. If the stakes were a little higher, it would add to the suspense.

Over all, it’s a great addition to the series. I really enjoyed listening to it and this series has a solid place in the superhero genre. 4.75/5 stars.

The Narration: Mikael Naramore once again nails the voices in this story. He’s perfect for young and determined Jim. His grumpy old man voice for Jim’s grandpa is well done. His female voices are believable & he has distinct voices for all the characters. There were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

[Wyatt Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a bit more predictable than the first two books. There were some twists that kept it interesting. Who the villains were, where they were and how they would be defeated were parts of the book that was well handled. How the villains got their power and how they planning to use it was another good twist.

The interactions of Kid Sensation with other characters is changing. He seems to be maturing somewhat in his everyday reactions. His reactions in terms of using super powers still leaves a lot to be desired. He has a plethora of powers but often hardly uses them or uses them in really sub-optimal ways. This is in direct contradiction to the alleged intensive training he has received from BT and his grand-dad, among others.

Still good but becoming a bit predictable. Maybe I should give the series a break for a while before continuing with the next book.

I received the Audio version of this book as a free copy and chose to write a review.

[Cmoore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Infiltration is a super hero story that's just super fun. For me, half of that fun is finding and meeting new Super Heroes, as well as the super villainous, well... villians! Their powers and their names are both just so damn laugh worthy! This time Kid Sensation is in disguise, and he's infiltrated a Super Villain's Hideaway. It's up to The Kid to expose and stop the evil doers plot... He's seriously gonna' need to pull out all the tricks, and maybe find himself an ally as well, to help win the day...
Mikael Naramore is one of my favorite narrators... so easy to listen to, and his delivery of each and every character is absolutely Great!

Kevin Hardman in honor of June being audio book month, celebrated by giving away this book! In keeping with the celebration, I've voluntary left a review... Woohoo, happy June, happy listening..

[Mattias Ahlman · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent book only thing that really annoys me is that it keeps stating that the main character has a genius level iq when he is clearly dumb as a brick he never does anything in the 3 books that is remotely smart there is nothing really super clever in the books don't get me wrong i like the books but no need to make the super op main character a genius as well when you clearly cant write him as such the only thing that gives this super op main character problems is his own dumb actions it not even like the author tries to make him look smart in any way it's just like he wanted his main character to be perfect in any way so he has to be a genius as well but can't do anything remotely clever.

[Rosemary Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes life as a supernatural youngster isn't easy. Trying to fit in with the age group, sorting out feelings about a dad that had only recently come back into his life and fighting to save the world from a villain, who may have found the key to world domination. Life sometimes can get a little bit hectic.

Although, some would say this is a teenage saga, I believe a lot of adults that are attracted to the supernatural storyline will love this series.
Having listened to the audiobooks for this series, I found the narrator's enhancement of the story, by use of various vocalizations for different characters adding that extra dimension to an otherwise epic story.

[Ruby Ridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book but for the first 70% of the book literally nothing happens following which the entire story is shoehorned into about 15% of the novel then back to nothing happening again,
Second complaint - the ridiculous romance between Electra and Kid Sensation, I have never read a more pathetic attempt at teen romance since "Twilight", Electra is a great character and this turns her into a figure of fun, almost comic relief. Why do authors feel every female character needs a boyfriend, she deserves her own book,
Summary - lose the romance and get the pacing right and you have a winner

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teen Super Heroes..

This is the third book in the series and it does not disappoint.

The book is a fast and fun read about Jim, the main lead, dealing with new

powers and his confusing feelings about the new girl.

Overall, an enjoyable read


Mikael Naramore did well with the narration.

Note:
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kid Sensation is is really growing into his powers and getting better at combining them and coming up with plans to get out of any situation. This is particularly useful when he has to go undercover as a villain to find out how to battle a particularly powerful threat to the world and to the Alpha League,
I started this straight after finishing book 2 as I wanted more from Kid Sensation and his world. I really enjoyed it and was sorry when I finished.

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third "issue" of the Kid Sensation story deals with father-son bonding, a charity super hero Olympics and a battle against a a group of super villains with world conquering ambitions. I really enjoyed the light, playful writing style, the over the top, comic book battles and the family tensions story line.
If you're a fan of contemporary comic books and are looking for a new hero to follow, you owe it to yourself to give Kid Sensation a look.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, and found it very entertaining. Kid Sensation is having difficulty adjusting to his new life. Being a super hero is cool, but it doesn't solve all your teenager problems. As Kid tries to works his way through his problems, he still has bad guys to deal with, threw in the suspense, action and some very intriguing characters and you'll be listening to the very end.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. In Infiltration, Jim, aka Kid Sensation, and his friends are starting at regular schools being that the Academy was destroyed. Jim is trying to bond with his father. Meanwhile, a rivalry appears to develop between Jim and another teen super and he finds himself in a bit of a love triangle; but remember, things are not always as they appear. Infiltration takes the read on quite an adventure with Jim and fellow team members.

[Holly Lenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Infiltration is a fun teen superhero story that is the third part of the Kid Sensation series. While I'd recommend listening to/ reading all the books in the series, this book would be fun by itself as well.The story has a bit of a slow start, but it's very good once it gets going. The audiobook narrator for this series is terrific!

[Nicolas Lobotsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kid sensation finds himself in another dilemma only he had deal with (because he happens to be in the right place at the right time). The overall story is enjoyable and entertaining, though some parts are a little obvious missing on the shocking reveal, not that it took away from the story.

I wonder if this is the start of an arch nemesis for Kid sensation.

[Roberto Flores · Rating 1 out of 5]

These are getting worse.

Now the story is predictable and convoluted. The worst team up available. Also the MC seems to be getting worse at being cocky and superior, doing what he wants, choosing if people are punished and he gets away with it all with pats on the back. The lack of growth is what gets this one a single star.

[Wide Eyes, Big Ears! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series! Kid Sensation, a teenager endowed with a ridiculous number of superpowers, infiltrates a lair bristling with super villains. Can he find out and thwart their nefarious plans without getting caught?

[MICHAEL Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid outing for Kid Sensation

Battling evil doers is nothing for Kid Sensation. Getting to know his real father is the real challenge. Add in a girlfriend and a new super weapon and his days are hectic. Solid third outing in this series.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fourth read from author Kevin Hardman was amazing! Well-written super-hero sci-fic/suspense, with well-developed characters. I look forward to reading more in this series. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

It is a book intended for late teens but it has broken into adult work as it doesn’t go into the emotional cataclysm that that age is every day. Thanks I enjoyed your almost Superman and child there-of ... thanks.

[Schuyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same world, same kid going through typical teen problems with his family, girlfriend, schoolmates, and friends. Not too much different from the other books and overall lot progression is crawling along. There was the whole "exhibition" portion of this book which had nothing to do with the rest of it (insert evil villain that Kid Sensation has to single handedly beat like the other books) which made this book feel disjointed and like the author added it for filler content. Not a bad read, decently fun, but there are better books out there so I won't be continuing this series.

[Sicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, Bad name

Another solid book in the series. Jim runs into problems and fixes them, next. The actual infiltration has very little to due with the story though

[Lazybee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story.

[Mark Hassenpflug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy fun

Clever and innovative insights into people beyond average. Dealing with life issues while joking something greater than themselves. Well done

[Matthew Wentworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun, little superhero book.

[Rex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm done.

[Lee Willie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series

Really great series of books, going straight onto the next one after this. Great cast of characters and good strong stories

[Nasya Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I really enjoyed it! I can't wait to read the next book!