Evil Genius

by Catherine Jinks

Book Overview

Cadel Piggott has a genius IQ and a fascination with systems of all kinds. At seven, he was illegally hacking into computers. Now he's fourteen and studying for his World Domination degree, taking... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152059881
• ISBN13: 9780152059880
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 486 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

This is... not a great book

I bought this book because the concept sounded cool. I love reading books about child prodigies and anti-villains, and this one fit both. Not to mention the setting, the evil university, sounded like a place that would be filled with great characters. It was not. This book, much like Cadel, seems like one thing and is another. And not in a good way. This review will have mild spoilers. Be warned. The first few chapters of the book were interesting. Watching Cadel grow up while being a genius was cool. Then, right when he started going to the Institute, that was when it became... well, boring. You expect the plot to be interesting - they introduced superheroes! Superheroes! - but that was a fake-out as most of the "superhumans" die before the book is halfway done, except for one who uses his ability exactly 1 time throughout the book. You expect the place to be interesting, since it's a UNIVERSITY for EVIL and all, but most of the teachers don't even teach! They just skulk around and be grumpy. No plot there. The main plot of the story is about Cadel, his pen pal, and him finding his moral code. Really, that's it. This could've taken place in a regular boarding school with a regular kid, except the author wanted a hint of flavor. She had superpeople. She had an evil university. She used neither. She had a CHILD PRODIGY WHO COULD HACK SUBWAYS, and the smartest thing he did in the book is make a dating website. All of the action scenes are repetitive, the characters (besides Cadel, Gazo, and Thaddeus) are hard to remember and one note. When all of the "action" goes down and everyone is dying, you will not care less. The end is predictable, even if there are a few twists and turns that are resolved in a chapter. I sat through 500+ pages waiting for this to get good. It never did. And now I hear there are TWO MORE. That's why I'm angriest of all. Please don't buy this book. For your own sake. If you want to see how bad it is, borrow it from a library.

So happy to meet this new hero and this author

I bought this book knowing almost nothing about it or its author, and unexpectedly found it almost impossible to put down. Of course, I am an adult, and not a "Young Adult", so officially my review shouldn't count, but here it is anyway. I was captivated by the young hero, and enthralled by his experiences with a therapist who teaches him to indulge his own exceptionalism and introduces him to an entire university of narcissistic evil doers. It's almost like Harry Potter enrolled in a Hogwarts of evil. Since I knew little about the book when I began it, I first thought that Cadell Piggot, the young computer genius, might have Asperger's, and be struggling with those obstacles to social development. However, the book never goes down that road. This is a book about self discovery by a growning young genius who just happens to find himself running with the bad guys. And he, and the reader, has a lot of fun while he explores this side of himself, and ultimately begins to develop his own moral compass. I think this series is going to be a smash hit, and probably, soon a major motion picture. And by the way, some of the reviews have compared this book to Artemis Fowl, so I just thought I'd let other readers know that I am not an Artemis Fan...and that in my opinion the Evil Genius books are much more engrossing and have a lot more to offer. The Harry Potter comparison is more apt, in that in Harry P you discover the art of magic and the fun of boarding school,and in EvilGenius you explore the art of computer technology and evil doing while exploring a bizarre college campus. The Australian setting is not crucial to the plot, but I expect that in the books to come the location down under may plan a bigger role in setting the scene for this exploration of evil doing. I have a little bit of trouble deciding what age group of young readers the book is appropriate for. Many characters in the book are completely amoral, and there are discussions of odd viruses and killings that are probably too gruesome for the tweens and possibly even early teens. But older teens and their parents will be glued to the page. Enjoy!

Really, really good

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* Well, this book was basically amazing. I had no prior knowledge of it - it was just a recommendation from a good friend. I saw it on the shelves of a book store, and bought it, because I knew my friend told me it was good. And oh baby, it was. So many plot twists and turns, character changes, and about three different climaxes. Maybe more. I lost track after the second one. But the characters are so well written. My heart instantly went out to Cadel Piggot, a boy who is too smart for his own good, and seen from society as a "freak child." So his adoptive parents brought him to a therapist, Thaddeus Roth. Thaddeus is charming, and right away I trusted him to be a good character. Thaddeus Roth ran an academy for overly-intelligent kids, as a place for them to feel at home. But you soon find out that the school is not at all what it seems. In actuality, it is a college for world domination, funded by Cadel's father, Phineas Darkkon. But as soon as Cadel enrolls at the Axis Institute for World Domination, things go horribly awry. Unexplainable deaths, hackers, attacks... the entire book keeps you on the edge of your seat. There were umpteen nights where I was kept awake by the sudden happenings and climaxes. Great read, and best of all... there's a sequel!

A more realistic Artemis Fowl

Don't get me wrong. I love Artemis Fowl. But this travels some of the same territory with a more realistic worldview, more bald-faced action and stiffer consequences. Very exciting! I love the character of Cadel with his unformed morality and lonely, loyal heart. It's a long book with lots of twisting in the plots, like a great roller coaster ride, but the main attraction to me was seeing how Cadel grows and becomes a whole person. I look forward to seeing where he goes next!

A tense thriller combines powerful characterization with a moving story line that won't quit.

Gadel is a genius fascinated by systems and computers: he's fourteen and studying for his World Domination degree, taking classes from a criminal mastermind - but he's lonely, and when romance revolves from a classmate, he begins questioning the morality of his choices for the first time. Can he stop his teacher from carrying out his legal plan? A tense thriller combines powerful characterization with a moving story line that won't quit.

Sign Up for Classes at the Axis Institute

Evil Genius, by Catherine Jinks, is a fresh and clever young adult novel written about a misunderstood child prodigy. Cadel Piggott is a genius, especially with computers. When he gets into some trouble with the law at the age of seven, he foster parents take him to a psychologist who helps him discover his full potential. And eventually tells Cadel that his real father is none other than the villainous Dr. Phineas Darkkon. Cadel's psychologist encourages his family to send Cadel to the Axis Institute. But the college is more than it seems. Also known as the Axis Institute for World Domination, it's actually a higher learning center for students who want to study from one of the three schools of Deception, Destruction, and Organic Distortion (also known as Applied Arts, Environmental Science, and Biomedical Science). There is even a fun website that you can visit to find out more about the institute and it's students and faculty. When Cadel's classmates begin dropping out (and dying) one-by-one, he begins second guessing his decisions. And the more secrets and evil that he uncovers, the less he likes who he has become. Evil Genius is full of incredibly unique and creative characters. When I first began reading this, Cadel seemed to be the antithesis of Harry Potter. But Cadel actually has more depth to his character. And this is no story for smaller children. There are many deaths, though none are graphic. This is marketed to 12 years and up, and I agree. But a warning that the book is lengthy, with plenty of technical jargon, that I tended to skim over. With more twists and turns than the Los Angeles freeway system, Evil Genius is a wonderfully surprising treat for all fans of great literary supervillains and those striving for world domination.