Dark Sun

CHERUB #9.5

by Robert Muchamore

Dark Sun
This story takes place between The Sleepwalker and The General.


Nukes and sleepovers...

It's the last day of term. Three lads are clearing out their lockers, organising a sleepover and hatching a plan to spatter a girl with rancid coleslaw.

But things aren't what they seem.

One boy's father is a member of Dark Sun, a criminal organisation dealing in nuclear weapons technology, while another is a CHERUB agent sent to stop him.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Espionage, Action, Adventure, Teen, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2008

About the author

Robert Muchamore was born in Islington, London in 1972. He still lives there, and worked as a private investigator up until 2005 and the critically-accepted release of Maximum Security.

The Hunger Games phenomenon is part of the huge YA / Children's book explosion that has grown, thanks to the British Rat pack of YA authors, Anthony Horowitz, Robert Muchamore, Mark A. Cooper and Charlie Higson. We owe much of the hunger games sucess to authors such as Robert.

Robert was inspired to create the CHERUB series by his nephew after he complained about the lack of anything for them to read. CHERUB: The Recruit was Robert's first book and won the Red House Children's Book Award 2005 in the Older Readers Category.

Following the last book in the CHERUB series, it was revealed that a trilogy would be released starting from August 2011 that will focus on a new set of CHERUB agents centred upon Ryan Sharma and also involve an sixteen year old Lauren Adams. The first book will be called People's Republic.

Check out the Hendersons Boys series. Henderson's Boys is a series of young adult spy novels written by English author Robert Muchamore. The series follows Charles Henderson, the creator of the fictitious CHERUB organisation.
CHERUB is currently being made into a TV series.

Reviews

[Levy Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Sun, is a book about two CHERUB spies. The spies names are Rat, and Andy Lagan. Rat's job is to befriend George, (the terrorists son) and then go to his house and sabotage his dad's missile blueprint. They end up having a sleepover, and Rat invites his friend Andy (a CHERUB spy) to the sleepover. They sedate George, one of his friend's, and his mom before they begin working. The mission goes extremely well, and the two agents succeed in sabotaging the missile blueprint. This book is amazing for all readers who love espionage themed books. This book, Dark Sun, is completely flawless. The writing is both funny, and interesting at the same time. Although Dark Sun's starting is a little tough to understand, it's still a superb book. I can connect this book to the hardships I face on a daily basis. If you are looking for an espionage series, CHERUB is definitely the way to go!!

[Ag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needed more length
Last cherub book I will read 🦗

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this installment, we get a bit of insight into a mission that Rat (...I mean Greg) is involved in; infiltrating the house of a Dark Sun conspirator through becoming friends with their kid.

This one didn't really click with me, as I just felt that the characters were far too juvenile for my tastes, and the plot itself didn't even really get going before it was finished :/ I mean, we started off with one of the characters attempting to throw who-knows-how-old coleslaw on their sister... and it doesn't get much better than that. George and Sophie were both awful characters who were so petty and hateful towards one another, and while I understand sibling rivalry they just went WAY too far o.o;

Not really a fan of this one I'm afraid!

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well thought out story - the mechanics of Greg and Andy's operation into the home of a Dark Sun scientist is clever and fun to follow.

The book is let down however, by the completely over-the-top reporting of some events. Kids being chased round a school by some bullies is written in such a dramatic and exaggerated that it feels like a high-speed car chase. Similarly, a small tussle between the agents and their friend's sister Sophie ends with her smashing a vase over one of their heads. You really don't go around smashing vases over random kids' heads, no matter how drunk you are. Speaking of which, why was Sophie so drunk? She is fifteen and going clubbing. She can't be getting in illegally but her mum seems to be very supportive of the plans. I think this is a classic case of Muchamore creepily over-sexualising fifteen year old girls. And then there's this...

"‘Talk your way out of that one, Georgie boy,’ Sophie said quietly. She gave her bum a jubilant wiggle and laughed drunkenly as she staggered out."

The end is probably the weakest part, the CHERUB campus opens its new, state-of-the-art library. This is a bit of pandering to the World Book Day movement, and I have lost count of the number of brand-new facility that CHERUB opens every year.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously, this book was intended to be just a charity issue, and in a way you can tell that when reading it. I don't mean the length - 124 pages is pretty decent - but I do mean the writing and the quailty of the plot. This book just can't match up to the other, full length Cherub novel. I love the idea that the money went to charity and that the author did this especially for that purpose, but I personally do not consider it one of the series.

[Mary Refalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written short story anthology that will appeal to reluctant readers. The stories centre around an adolescent spy organisation set in an English school. Both genders are equally represented as heroes and villians and, although their adventures are extreme, their experiences are credible. Most suitable for at and below stage readers, the stories offer pace and intrigue, propelling readers forward. This is the first of a series that is both well-known and well-liked by adolescents.

[Jstotland4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few naughty boys are planning to surprise a girl by throwing rotten food at her- just another old prank... Right? WRONG! One of these boys' dad is apart of a evil organization, called "Dark Sun". Another is a boy, apart of a secret organization, for kid spys. Things are not always what they seem...

This story is about courage, friendship, and hope.

[NoConforto Dos Livros · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.noconfortodoslivros.com/l...

[Kireth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat substantial short story showing Rat and then later Andy helping British Intelligence invade the really cool-sounding Dark Sun nuclear organisation. This is everything you think of when you first hear about CHERUB - the kids befriend the children of a nuclear parts engineer, and at a sleepover carry out mission objectives. As Rat/ Greg enjoys the last-day-of-school and gets involved in some combat to help his target, Andy's gruelling punishment reminds readers of the details regarding CHERUB's training course. What was interesting was seeing the range of technology used, including marked drinks as sedatives, sleep gas, lock guns and all the computer software (keystroke loggers, file backups and CAD!). It all seems typical until a twist, and this makes for some exciting pages and an absurdly funny ending.

[15JenkinsC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this mini book because in the small amount of pages it was able to make every page make me laugh or clutch the book in suspense. I particularly like how they fit in a short story about a nuclear arms dealer, short story of Kerry's very first mission and how disappointed she was, a mission with the twins and character profiles to let you understand each character better, like what their birth names are.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quick stories. The stories didn’t really finish, but you get to see some solo missions of lesser known people. Like the twins, and Kerry’s first mission. It also includes some profiles of characters.

[Peter Skurr · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the weaker books in an otherwise excellent series. Felt like a filler to keep the publisher happy. It would be a shame if this was the first book anyone read of the series, as it might put them off the others.

[Suzy Bess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un petit entre-deux tout aussi réussi que le reste de la saga !

[Mella · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was cool reading stories about side characters. I love Rat so that was obviously awesome. Him and Andy worked really well together and it was kind of funny how it all went downhill.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short and fun read. It was nice reading from some other agent‘s perspectives.

[Marcus Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for kids, I did enjoyed it and definitely my 9 years old son is enjoying it now 😄

[Larena · Rating 5 out of 5]

PG: PARENTAL ADVISORY: Conflict and Aggression are limited or moderate. May contain mild profanity suggestive language and brief scenes of nudity.

E:Easy: 3rd grade Vocabulary

[Melzer]

kinda nice

[Pia]

Good, quick read and mostly interesting

[Emmanuel]

I love Cherub

[Ro · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the peak of what i like to think of cherub to be

[Malachy Harkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

my first ever introduction to CHERUB my beloved

[Lazybee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short.

[Jayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

When looking at the Goodreads rating system, all I can give this book is two-stars, because all it was was 'ok'. Obviously just a filler piece in the Cherub series, you do get mentions of most of the main characters but primarily focuses on Lauren, Rat and Andy. It includes a mission but wasn't much of one, just a very brief and slightly out-of-hand sleepover where they stole some information and then that's it. It's only 100 pages or so though so that is to be expected.

[Nightshade · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great little addition to the Cherub series. It was nice to see some different kids on a mission for a change, even if I did keep forgetting that Greg is Rat's name.
I also enjoyed seeing a mission that went very smoothly and was actually relatively easy to pull off and had the desired successful results.

This is a great addition for those who have read the rest of the series, or a great way to trial out the cherub story to see if you would like to read the rest before committing to them.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good compilation of mini-stories.

[Tyrus · Rating 2 out of 5]

What i thought: personally, i thought it was okay. usually i would give a story of that quality a 3-4 rating, but knowing that the author, Robert Muchamore, can write things that are way better, i would say that the story is not as good as it could have been. Obviously, it couldn't be a book by itself, because James is not seen at any point in the story, but i would have enjoyed it if the mission that Rat and Andy went on was made a little more in depth. Hopefully Robert Muchamore can write better things in the future.

Setting: Cherub Dark Sun is set on England’s countryside, were the Cherub campus, Honeywill Community School and a big house, which is the three main locations that the characters act in. All three locations are perfect for the book. The school gives three of the four protagonists two minor antagonists in the form of bullies. Cherub campus gives the other main protagonist an antagonist, but only after thinking about the book, the reader realises that the antagonist is not the one that punishes the protagonist but is the one that causes the protagonist's punishment. The big house is the last main location in cherub dark sun, this location does not provide any antagonists but it does have challenges for all four protagonists.

Are there any double meanings or hidden messages?

What are the key points in the short story? There are three key points in the story.
The first key point is when Greg, Geroge and Zhang (3/4 of the 4 protaganists) accidentely prevoke two antagonists, the two bullies, by droping 8-month old colslaw on one of the bullies backs. Susequently, the two bullies chased the protagonists into a washroom intending to beat-up the protaganists. But, much to the dismay of the antagonists, before the antagonists could beat-up the protaganists, Greg beat-up the bullies.
The second key point in the story is when two of the protaganists get the other two antagonists drunk, wich lead two the two antagonists to fall asleep because the beer was tantied with a tranqulizer. The two kids that got tranqulized had to be, becasue the other two kids were spies look for info in the house.
The third key point in the story is when the two spies encounter a very drunk girl in the house. this leads to the spies and the drunk girl fighting all over the house. thus trashing the house.

How does the story relate to everyday life? this story relates to every day life because it is about kids, evil sisters and school

There is no moral to the story

[Ed Basham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story was released for World Book Day. I was hooked immediately and read the first of the CHERUB books the next day. The power of world book day

[Carlyn Brody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark Sun by Robert Muchamore is a short story that is part of the Cherub series. It was written in celebration of World Book Day. The Cherub series is about a secret spy organization called Cherubs where children are used as spies. Dark Sun follows the adventure of Greg Rathbone who is a secondary character in the series. In this story, his mission is to sabotage the plans of Dark Sun, a terrorist group from creating nuclear weapons. He does this by becoming friends with the son of the lead chemical engineer, Kurt Lydon.

This book is a bonus book that is good for fans of the books rather than a person who hasn’t read the series. The adventure is short and ordinary involving Rathbone and his partner Andy changing the plans for a nuclear weapon so that it doesn’t work. I considered the book to be like an extra chapter. It reminded me that sometimes spy work isn’t all about long missions, blowing up stuff and punching bad guys..

I have read most of the Cherub books and I’m trying to collect them all. There’s also a spin off series called Henderson’s Boys which is a prequel series about child spies in World War 2 . I have read one of the books from that series and I will probably read more of them.

What I like Muchamore’s spy series is that it’s set in the present day and the spies use the technology that is currently available instead of the futuristic high tech stuff found in other books and movies. The plotlines have featured cults, drug rings, terrorists and gangsters and it’s no Home Alone style violence so it may make some parents uncomfortable. I would let my future kids read it if they were interested but I wouldn’t put the books in my classroom.

I recommend the Cherubs series and Henderson’s Boys for anyone who wants to read something action packed and fast paced.