Blade: Out of the Shadows [Hardcover]

Tim Bowler (Author)

Book Description

Series: Blade | Publication Date: June 24, 2010

Bleeding and dizzy, Blade wakes up to find himself in the hospital. But how did he get there? With enemies coming at him from all sides, it’s hard to know who attacked him. But he knows that whoever it was will be back to finish him off. And quick. So he’s gotta go. He’s gotta break outta there. Not only to save his own life, but there’s kindly old Mary and little Jaz to think about. Who’s looking out for them? On the run, with grinks hot on his tail and gravely injured, Blade will have to gather all his strength just to survive. And with nowhere to hide, he needs to run. Because this time, if he plays dead, that’s exactly how he’ll end up.

This captivating and suspenseful series never lets up. If A Clockwork Orange were to meet The Outsiders, Blade would be the result.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up–Blade, 14, wakes up in the hospital and is badly injured. He can't remember how he got there, or who did the damage. He remembers flashes of a girl, Becky, but she has an evil side he calls Bex. Blade talks to an imaginary friend he calls Bigeyes, as he first escapes from the hospital and then is on the run or battling evil forces. It is hard for readers to know who is after him or why. The story is a fast-paced series of chase and fight scenes, and it is peppered throughout with British street slang that, while understandable by textual clues, will either be cool or frustrating depending on readers. Reading Blade (Philomel, 2009) may help make sense of this title, and the rapid action may be a selling point to some readers.Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

This second book in the Blade series catches up where the opener, Playing Dead (2009), left off, as wounded teen assassin Blade stays just barely a step ahead of both police and murderous pursuers in a nonstop chase through one seedy urban neighborhood after another. Here, his resolve to escape the unnamed city in which he has been hiding is tested by both an unexpected ally and a three-year-old child, whose kidnapping in the final pages sets up the next outing. Narrated in a slangy and staccato present tense, this high-pressure page-turner includes additional tantalizing hints about Blade’s violent past as it extends his desperate flight. Grades 6-9. --John Peters

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Philomel; 1 edition (June 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399251871
• ISBN-13: 978-0399251870
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,198,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Different but interesting read, June 24, 2010

By 

S. Baskin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blade: Out of the Shadows (Hardcover)

Blade is unlike anything you've ever read before.
Blade is written in a manner that will thrill even the most experienced mystery books, turning the usual monotonous plots and twists seen in mystery and action books into something new and creative.


To describe Blade you must stop thinking of it as a single category. Instead think of it as part action adventure, part an old build your own adventure novel where you're part of the story, and part young adult (mostly because of the targeted audience and age of the protagonist, not the subject matter.)

It really is an odd reading experience. And is certainly not for everyone, but for those readers looking for something with a new twist. The Blade series certainly has it.

Blade: Out of the Shadows is the second in the Blade series and starts up directly after the first. It is enthralling, engaging, and an all about good read. Fans of the first Blade book will enjoy the twists and turns as new secrets are revealed and you learn more about Blade's past and the secretive old woman who helped him the beginning of the series.

A fun summer read especially for middle to high schoolers.

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