Rogue

H.I.V.E. #5

by Mark Walden

The leaders of the world's villainous forces are being picked off one by one in a series of mysterious attacks and Dr Nero is forced to take temporary control of G.L.O.V.E. when Diabolus Darkdoom is seriously injured. He then discovers that Otto, who has now been missing for several months since Dreadnought, is leading the attacks. Under pressure from the remaining members of the ruling council, Nero is left with no choice but to issue a capture or kill order for Otto. Wing learns of the order and persuades Raven to allow him to join her on her mission to retrieve Otto. Other members of the ruling council, suspicious of Nero's relationship with the boy, have initiated their own missions to eliminate Otto. Wing and Raven find themselves in a deadly race against time to track Otto down before the other G.L.O.V.E. assassins get to him. Their pursuit takes them to a secret facility hidden deep within the Amazon rainforest, where they face a mysterious operative even deadlier than Raven. Meanwhile back at H.I.V.E., the school's own automated defence systems turn against the pupils and staff. And there is no one there to stop it.

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

296 pages, Paperback

First published May 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

[Amita · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jesus, what a mess!" - Francisco
a perfect way to summarize this, the best hive book (i love rogue so much please understand this)

not a problem in only this installment (it's been happening since book 3) but very noticeable here: they retconned wing into not understanding jokes and i'm upset about it. just because he's stoic doesn't mean he doesn't get jokes!! what happened to the wing of books 1 and 2!!
tbh by this point all of the characters are ooc from their original versions to varying degrees. even cypher, a literal side character that's been in 2 books...

raven is sooo aroace coded and bi laura is basically canon. also laura gets some of the best moments throughout this series but nobody talks about it! so i will. the moment with the neural pulse gun >>> almost any other scene from the series.

i thought it was funny that everyone was saying "heck" all the time but figured it was bc these are technically mg books. then ghost says damn and hell in the same sentence so now i'm confused as to why everyone has been censoring themselves

other great scenes include the "let's dance" "no. let's not." cultural RESET because WOW what a bait and switch. arguably one of the best-weighted decisions from this series.
and the "clearly interesting whisper not being revealed until 2 books later" (i think it's 2), which should be I L L E G A L. i remember losing my mind over that back in the day

[Vishal Mehta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best of the lot yet!

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The HIVE series has a lot of elements that one might consider cliché in a villain/hero story like this. There are the types of villains that would fit right into a James Bond movie as well as an indestructible hero that survives. It might be bothering me a little bit that it’s always the very same five children who get in trouble (or sometimes it’s seven but Franz and Nigel are quite sidelined (again) in this book).
This novel granted us the reappearance of the earlier imprisoned Cypher, who is as psychopathic as ever and can be considered a wild card. His reintroduction was very fitting to the topic since it was once again a battle against Overlord (I can’t get around the fact that it’s the best possible and obvious choice of a name for the almighty entity). While I love the adults in the story I can’t warm up to most of the children. They just seem a little bit displaced and their appearance of the scene of events was too forced (This refers to the three girls rather than Otto or Wing). I wish that Walden would focus more on the classes at HIVE and how they actually develop to be those Evil Geniuses that they are supposed to become. Instead the story focuses too much on what the adults are doing.
Highlights of this installment are the reappearance of Cypher and also the beloved HIVEmind (which I have found myself missing a lot). Then there is of course the big change that Nero has taken over the leadership of GLOVE, which I hope will show us his not so kind side a bit more in the further books. After all this man is not just a nice supportive teacher but a true evil mastermind. We got to see a little glimpse of how capable he is of doing that job at the end of the book and I hope it’s expanded further, not just in the shapes of empty threats.
I admit that I’m a bit troubled with the general series because it seems more and more like the adults are taking over the storyline and not the children. Some of the themes especially the torture is a bit too vivid in my opinion when you consider that this book is meant for a younger audience. But it’s still a very fast and enjoyable read with many intriguing twists and a predictable, yet brilliant cliffhanger at the end.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

After saving Air Force 1 in dreadnaught, Otto is injected by Sebastian Trent with Animus, an organic supercomputer which turns him into a slave. Trent uses Otto and a superhuman assassin called Ghost, to attack members of G.L.O.V.E.. This forces Darkdoom to order Otto’s execution. Nero sends Raven to retrieve Otto, and Wing stows away with her to try to help, but the pair of them are captured by H.O.P.E at one of Raven's safe houses. Cypher (who was freed to help combat overlord) takes advantage of his freedom to seek out Wing - who believes Cypher is dead - at H.O.P.E.'s base. Cypher takes Laura, Shelby and Lucy as hostages. Shelby and Lucy escape him and free Raven, and when Otto begins to resist Animus, Wing escapes to join them. When Otto distracts Ghost, Raven takes the opportunity to kill her, but Cypher finds the group and attempts to kill Otto in order to protect the world from Overlord. Wing kills Cypher to protect Otto, and Otto is nearly taken over by Overlord. Just in time, Laura uses the neural pulse device to expell Overlord and Animus from his system, nearly killing Otto in the process. Sebastian Trent attacks them, but he is taken over and killed by Animus. The students return to H.I.V.E., where Otto recovers, although he is concerned that Overlord may have survived, and Darkdoom decides to hand control of G.L.O.V.E. to Nero, because he is the only one who is not too ambitious. Trent's body is recovered by H.O.P.E. and the first person to touch it(Dr.Creed) is infected by Animus and becomes Overlord. Overlord continues to jump from body to body as they are quickly destroyed. He begins to look again for Otto for a permanent home.

[AilsaOD · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book can be summed up as "Otto's edgy phase". I remembered this being way angstier than it was and I am a bit disappointed. Also the only thing worse than the regular banter in this series is sad banter.

I didn't mention it in my review of Dreadnought but there continues to be reference to a scene which didn't happen? Like I think a scene got cut out as I read these book back to back and there was no train journey when they were in Switzerland?? The only modes of transport they took in Switzerland were torpedo, cable car and rocket (which I must admit is an unusual combination).

At this point in the series I have to ask how many times can you save the world/a large number of people and still legitimately call yourselves a villain. Like tell me the last time any of the main characters did a villainous thing for the sake of being bad... I'll wait! In some character's cases it's NEVER. You can have a villain save the world repeatedly (just look at the Artemis Fowl series) but when there is 0% miscellaneous villainy between crises they just look like confused heroes. Let Otto do some crime as a treat!

[17hardiet034 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of action in this book. Great detail and lots of tension during the whole thing . However, I will be stopping in this series I would advise it to 11- 12 year old. Ending was very predictable which I hate in books .

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

It’s been a few years since I last read the other novels in this series so some of the more minor characters and previous plot points escapes me a little. Despite that, this was easy to read and once you got into the midst of things, the main characters were all easy to place. In addition, the story remains very exciting. However, I wanted more school for evil masterminds and this book was primarily a rescue mission. I’m very glad Otto (and HIVEmind) is back but I'm a little sad they're too stuck in the fight against Overlord. I’m interested to see what will happen going forward.

[Fatima Sarder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Cypher, what an undramatic end to his dramatic life; shot by his own son. So sad.

High octane action is about the only thing keeping the series going. As for Otto going rogue, yes, he fell into enemy hands and went bad, I saw it coming from the previous book already. Whenever trouble happens its basically the same five characters getting embroiled in it, by now, a reader can guess they have a few mental and emotional scars, but nope, the topic is never touched on.

As for Raven, she is becoming so commonplace, sometimes I forget who the main character is.

[Najah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing!!! Full of so much action and emotion 😭😭 I cried way too many times in this book. The end of chapter 12 really had my heart gutted 😭😭😭😭 Uncle Mark, you knocked it out of the park yet again!! I'm absolutely loving the overarching plot for the series and I cannot wait to continue reading! The writing is excellent and maaaaann is Walden good at making some evil ass villains. They had me pressed af. This series is just so perfect!!! I'm definitely collecting a finished set of HIVE in my lifetime!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The action is good and the tension is high, but the action sometimes overtakes the plot in this book. I got Raven’s backstory a lot in here, and while I like Raven being a more central character, I don’t need the gobs of backstory I got in this book. Additionally, the setting is a badly portrayed Rio de Janeiro. I didn’t like this book as much as the other HIVE books. It was a mediocre reading experience for me. Maybe because Otto isn’t himself and I’m not getting his viewpoint here, and the slightly stereotypical Wing has taken his place.

[Talia Dreemurr · Rating 5 out of 5]

H.I.V.E Rouge by FAR was the best of the series. I just love it when one of the main characters turns evil for a while. Otto working for H.O.P.E and then becoming Overlord.....IT WAS THE GREATEST! It got my blood pumping. Also, when Wing shot his dad and didn't believe him when he told him that Otto was becoming a monster was epic. But by far when Otto tried to kill Wing and almost killed the trio was the best. That's all.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great continuance to the series. Action-packed and fun to read. It's technical too in a futuristic, sci-fi way. A fun intro to sci-fi for kids, grade 5+. Plenty of violence/death but the gore is at a minimum.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

rogue is a great book, it is the 5th book in the HIVE series. this book a book that makes you not know who to cheer for and keeps you reading. it is a book that I would recommend to anyone who likes action, lots of action.

[Jude Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like a bit more of a focus on wing. He’s a cool character who is extremely capable. He doesn’t feel like ottos side kick but rather a person who has a set of skills which means him and Otto better each other.

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best HIVE book yet.

[Patricia Triz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of action and tension, less school. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

[Brooke Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not great literature, but it's super fun.

[Lulah · Rating 4 out of 5]

why did this make me cry

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the writing has improved a lot, and I enjoyed this plot as well as it began to tie in a lot of loose ends from other books

[Cora]

Favorite book of the series. It’s about autonomy, it’s about developing your own moral code, it’s about campy high speed car chases!!

[HB · Rating 2 out of 5]

★★

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very good with lots of surprises and kept me very entertained.

[Aisha Bolarinwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read
I can't stop looking for other books in the series

What a masterpiece 😌😌👍

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Levi’s book

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These book are always really fun and easy to read. Obviously designed for a younger age but I'm mainly just reading them for the nostalgia and because they're good breaks between reading more complicated books.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fifth book in Mark Walden's H.I.V.E. series is entitled Rogue. In the book the protagonist, Otto Malpense, has fallen into Sebastian Trent's clutches. Trent, a man who has become quite the enemy to Dr. Nero and the whole G.L.O.V.E organization, plans to use Otto as his secret weapon to finalize the destruction of G.L.O.V.E. With members of G.L.O.V.E. fighting amoungst themselves and Trent using Otto to attack them Nero doesn't know if G.L.O.V.E. will be able to survive. All Nero knows is that he has to get Otto away from Trent even if it means killing Otto. Dr. Nero sends Raven and Otto's best friend Wing to retrieve Otto before other G.L.O.V.E. members resort to their own ways of getting him away from Trent. Little do they know about the true dangers that lie ahead.

I gave Rogue a five star rating because it was full of suspense and plot twists. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough. Another reason why it deserved this rating was because the ending was terrific. It was a huge cliffhanger and I could not wait to find out what was going to happen in the next book. I also loved how descriptive Mark Walden was with the characters thoughts and feelings. He made it seem like the reader was right in the book along with the characters. One more reason I gave the book a five star rating was because it was action-packed and full of adventure.

I would recommend this book to others. I would specifically recommend Rogue to readers who love suspense and cliffhangers. I would recommend the book to these people because the book's ending is a huge cliffhanger and throughout the entire book the reader is on the edge of their seat waiting to see what happens next. Readers in middle school would also enjoy this book because the main character is middle school aged. The readers will be able to relate easily to his conflicts and thoughts because they are around the same age. Readers who love action and adventure would find Rogue to be a good book because it tells the action events that occur on the adventure Raven, Wing, Dr. Nero, and other students at H.I.V.E go on to try and save Otto and stop Sebastian Trent from succeeding in his evil plans.

[Justin Yan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aha, it is about time that I review this extraordinary book. As the fifth book in the H.I.V.E. series, you will not become bored by this book as it has an extremely interesting twist to it. True to the other books in the series, it is told in good old third person with the original characters still an integral part of the plot. As you may think that after 4 books what really is there to improve upon and add to the plot? Mark Walden is truly an amazing man as far as being able to conjure up something quite unexpected the nick of time. If you were like me, the fourth book started to get slightly repetitive, but that is not saying that is was a bad book my any means. Enjoy yourself as you are plunged into scenes of many characters with different situations.

Let's see, where to start. Oh yes, probably the most significant factor in guiding this plot is that H.O.P.E. has actually infected Otto with the Animus fluid and he now at Overlord's mercy. Meanwhile, H.I.V.E.'s systems are starting to malfunction, the A/C is messed up, the lighting is funky. Laura and the released Cypher are trying to figure out what might be causing the errors in the system. Cypher is not totally sane, so he "kidnaps" Laura, Shelby and Lucy and take them along to find Wing. From then on all of the action begins, from the children escaping to freeing Raven from the clutches of a new super-human.

You will definitely view this book as a rejuvenation of the series and I guarantee that you will enjoy the content and blaze through this great work of literature!

[Derrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rogue by Mark Walden is the fifth book in the HIVE series. It was very very good in my opinion because there is once again a lot of twists and turns, which just makes the book more interesting. The HIVE series has a lot of high tech material inside. Most of the battles are not the type of war we have nowadays, but it is a more advanced warfare that is better than anything in the current world, but in the current world.

At the start of the book, a member of the GLOVE ruling council is assassinated. This causes a lot of worrying inside the ruling council because the assassin used to be a student at HIVE. This was a very good start to the book because it was neither a slow start or a fast start. It went into the story at a moderate pace and continued on throughout the book. Everything happened was believable because I think the author might have experience with stuff like this and because of that I think he really made the start of the book feel like it could have happened in any major city in the world.

The best part of the book was the final battle in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. I really like this part because there was multiple actions. There were parts told by different people and there were people running everywhere. Once again the author made the battle incredibly easy to believe and the description he put in was very very good. It was very easy to paint a good picture of the battle in my head

[PurplyCookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The leaders of the world's villainous forces are being picked off one by one in a series of mysterious attacks and Dr. Nero is forced to take temporary control of G.L.O.V.E. when Diabolus Darkdoom is seriously injured.

He then discovers that Otto, who has now been missing for several months since Dreadnought, is leading the attacks. Under pressure from the remaining members of the ruling council, Nero is left with no choice but to issue a capture or kill order for Otto. Wing learns of the order and persuades Raven to allow him to join her on her mission to retrieve Otto. Other members of the ruling council, suspicious of Nero's relationship with the boy, have initiated their own missions to eliminate Otto.

Wing and Raven find themselves in a deadly race against time to track Otto down before the other G.L.O.V.E. assassins get to him. Their pursuit takes them to a secret facility hidden deep within the Amazon rainforest, where they face a mysterious operative even deadlier than Raven. Meanwhile back at H.I.V.E., the school's own automated defense systems turn against the pupils and staff. And there is no one there to stop it.


Book Details:

Title Rogue (H.I.V.E, #5)
Author Mark Walden
Reviewed By Purplycookie

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a rule, it's rare to find a series where the fifth book is still meeting (if not exceeding) the standards set by the first. Happily, H.I.V.E. seems to be one of those rare exceptions. The story in Rogue picks up almost right where the previous book, Dreadnought, left off, and catapults the reader straight back into its world of action, intrigue, deadly dangers and narrow escapes. I was so engrossed, I nearly read the whole thing in one sitting. This book has a somewhat harder edge to it than some of the earlier entries, but that's all to the good, as it makes the world which Otto and his friends inhabit a more believable one (they ARE all supposed to be villains or villains-in-training, after all!). The whole series is highly recommended for teens who like action books - just don't give them this installment before they've read the earlier ones, or they'll be totally lost. #6 is scheduled for its US release in March, and I'll be reserving a copy as soon as I can.