Customer Reviews

Havoc

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I LOVE Chris Wooding. I'm 19 and will read anything with his name on before I even consider reading something actually written for my age group. This is an amazing and satisfying conclusion to Malice, but it has the same flaw as it's predecessor: the actual comic. While certainly legible and successful in progressing the story, the comic portion of the book is a jumbled mess complete with bad art, hard-to-read layout, and random word emphasis in dialogue. But don't by any means let this keep you away from the marvelous and gripping story. The comic portion takes up 50 pages tops and still adds to the atmosphere of the book. Check Havoc (and Malice) out today, no matter how old you are!

First, this is not a stand-alone book. You'll need to read Malice before this one.
In Malice, we met Seth, Kady and Justin, and got introduced to the scary and strange world of Malice. Malice is a comic book world that's rumored among children. It seems like an urban legend, except children disappear every day.
It's creepy and dark, a villain named Tall Jake runs Malice, for what ends, nobody is sure. There is a resistance called Havoc.
This book goes into more depth about the characters and about the world of Malice. Where the first book had a nail biting cliffhanger ending, this one wraps up all the loose threads, but does leave room for more in a series. So if the story ends now, that's okay because it was wrapped up, if it continues, that's great too. It's a good story.
The book is both text and black and white graphic novel. Parts of the scenes in the world of Malice are illustrated, like you're reading the comic books that's featured in the story.
Both my teens loved the first book, and they are looking forward to this one as well. It was enjoyable for my husband and I to read as well. We try to read a lot of the fiction our teens read so we can have discussions about it. I'd recommend the series for 10 and up because it is a bit scary and there is death and violence in the story.

Havoc, rocks! I thought that Malice was too fun for words, but this sequel really knocked my socks off. So much fun, creativity and adventure, for a band of ragtag kids that travel in and out of a sinister comic book world called Malice.

I actually thought that Havoc was better than Malice in the sense that there was more substance to the story, more of an involved plot, and a wonderful increase to character development for each of the main kids, Seth, Kady and Justin. Half novel and half comic book is a neat package of ingenuity that really works. The reader never ever feels like they are reading a comic book, so lost in the thrilling scenarios involving the battles of good and evil that Chris Wooding puts the characters through. Not a stand alone story, one must have read Malice first in order to understand what is happening in this sequel.

I was a little confused at the end however. I wasn't sure if this was it and that the author was leaving the books as a duet, or if there was more to come. The way it reads it could go either way I think. I sure do hope for more, I thoroughly enjoyed both books and find them 100% pure entertainment. Loved it!!!!

My only disappointment was that this second cover design didnt have the 3-Dimensional cool plastic molded front like Malice did. That was another piece of creativity that made Malice unique that I think should have carried through for book two as well. Other than that, Havoc is a winner!

The first Chris Wooding book I purchased for my grandson was "Malice."
He loved it and could not put it down. Of course, I was thrilled..knowing how hard it can be to get some kids to read today.
So, the next book he got was "Havoc." He did a book report on this and in
his words..."You MUST read this book."..I thought that was pretty cool and
I have ordered several more Chris Wooding books for him!!
Highly recommend these books!

After managing to escape Malice, an evil comic book run by Tall Jake, Seth has finally started to remember what happened. With a shard in his possession that is rumored to have the ability to bring down Tall Jake, the fight becomes a matter of life and death for not only himself, but anyone who comes in contact with him.

Can Seth find a way back without Tall Jake destroying everything he holds dear?

Seth's friend, Katie, is still stuck in Malice. After hooking up with Havoc, the rebellion trying to overthrow Tall Jake, Katie discovers she was the founder. When information reaches her regarding a Queen of Cats who might be able to help stop Tall Jake, she and a few friends set out to find the queen. With no memory of being in Malice before and the new leader trying to discredit Katie in any way possible, things have just gotten a lot more dangerous - and the friends may never reach their goal.

Can Katie keep herself and Havoc safe while still overthrowing Tall Jake? Will she find the Queen of Cats?

An interesting book filled with danger, havoc, and a mystery to solve. The characters are well-developed. The plot is intense and holds the reader's interest. Those who like fantasy, books by Orson Scott Card, mystery, horror, and adventure will all enjoy reading HAVOC after they've read MALICE.

Reviewed by: Kira M

Seth is determined to get back to Malice and find a group of rebels called Havoc, that is where his best friend Kady is. Kady is determined to find Havoc, that is where Seth will find her.
Seth escaped Malice, but his best friend Kady was still trapped in Malice. Now he needs to get back to Malice and take down Tall Jake... by bringing the Tall Jakes biggest enemy of all... The Shard. Seth must go back to Malice without doing the ritual, he has no clue how, but he is determined to find a way.
Kady found Havoc, but she has to find a way in, and finds out some shocking news.
They both have amazing determination, and put their life on the line to achieve their goal, like on a page, when one of Seth and Kady's friend was almost turned to mosiac and they needed to follow a cat it said " 'Put him on my back!'
'He's to heav-'
'I don't care!'"
Then it said " ' You still here?' he asked
'Just about,.' said Justin ' You?'
'I think you gave me a hernia.'
'What are friends for?'
But Seth heart lifted, because Justin's voice sounded a little stronger. He redoubled his efforts.Even though the pain in his legs and back was enough to make him want to scream, he increased his speed.
'I...will not...give up!'"

I've been reading comics and graphic novels for almost four decades now, and I have to say that I think Chris Wooding has done a great job with Malice and this sequel. The story is wickedly, creepily intriguing -- a world made real by its creator, a *simple* graphic artist. Interesting characters and lots of action, with much creativity in evidence. The prose writing is very good, and the comics (six segments) scattered throughout flow easily and add to the excitement.

The comics are in black-and-white 1940s-style graphics that fit in well with the surrounding prose, which some people don't seem to like, but it is what it is .... artist's choice. My complaint is that there should be more. Plus, we never get any panel coverage of Grendel? Tall Jake? Scratch? You're kidding?!

I have to say, I miss the glorious three-dimensionality of the Malice cover; it was really disappointing not to get that again. Then again, in this world of trilogies, it's nice to see that someone showed some restraint.

This mix of prose and comic, with an exciting plot and scary villains, is great fun. (I do wish the adults weren't so universally disappointing, though.)

This is the second part of the Malice series by Wooding. I really enjoyed the first book, Malice, and thought it was an interesting combo of graphic novel and standard book. This was a great addition to the series and gave nice closure to the events that were left hanging in Malice. You definitely need to read Malice before reading this book.

Seth is back in the real world with the artifact that holds the secret to Tall Jack's undoing. Katy is still in Malice and is trying to join up with the rebel group Havoc. Both of them will need to combine their forces with the goddess Lack and the Queen of Cats if they are going to defeat Tall Jack and shut down the Malice comic book for good.

This was a great addition to the series. The plot moves quickly with ample twists and turns to keep you guessing. The action scenes are very well done and the setting is imaginative and captivating. This is a hard book to put down with non-stop action from beginning to end. I love how the story is interspersed with comic book scenes.

In general I really enjoyed this book. I have a couple small complaints though. The characters are never fully fleshed out; they are a bit spare and more characterization would have made this even a better book. My second complaint is that the graphic comic scenes are kind of second rate. I had the same complaint with the first book. The scenes are sketchy, hard to follow, and it is hard to distinguish one character from another.

The above being said I still really enjoyed this book. The questions from the first book are answered; we get to meet the mysterious Grendel and the mysterious Queen of Cats. Things are pretty well wrapped up. I am not sure if there will be more books in this series, but if there aren't I think this book wraps up things just fine.

Overall a great wrap-up to this series. Love the creativity of Malice and the wonderful action scenes. Not so fond of the sketchy artwork and the lack of characterization; but don't let those things keep you from reading this really engaging and creative book! Look forward to reading more of Wooding's books in the future; I have both The Fade (GollanczF.) and Retribution Falls on my bookshelf waiting to be read!

I really enjoyed Malice. The break-neck pacing, the plot twists, and the interesting beasties made it an incredibly fun read. Havoc does not have the same pacing, and doesn't invoke the same kind of fear that the first one did. We get more answers in this one, but unfortunately all the extra information comes at the expense of the quick terror filled action scenes and the snappy dialogue that characterized Malice. The story in Havoc is more complete, but it's just not as entertaining. The thrill ride is gone, and in its place we have a story that's very well thought out, with more attention paid to details of the Malice mythology. It's interesting, and I did like that we finally got to meet the artist. It's just not as much fun. The art was often hard to decipher and it didn't do much to move the story along. The author obviously is trying to flesh out his world, but I just can't help but feel a bit disappointed. Not a recommend.

This book is great! I loved it and it really kept me reading. great page turner. Age range 10 through 99 READ IT!