Stefan Mohamed
Ace of Spiders: Book Two: The Bitter Sixteen Trilogy
Ace of Spiders: Book Two: The Bitter Sixteen Trilogy
ISBN:9781784630676
Synopsis
The Guardian: Fresh voices: 50 writers you should read now
Stanly is frustrated. Having set himself up as London’s protector, he’s finding that the everyday practicalities of superheroism are challenging at best, and downright tedious at worst. So it’s almost a relief when an attempt is made on his life and Stanly finds himself rushing headlong into a twisted adventure, with enemies new and old coming out of the woodwork. However, even with his friends and his ever-increasing power behind him, he may have bitten off more than he can chew this time. The monsters are coming … and nothing will ever be the same!
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Reviews of this Book
‘★★★★★ Doing what so many sequels fail to do, Ace of Spiders soars, with a thrilling plot, brilliant character development, and fantastically funny cultural references.’ —Luke Marlowe, The Bookbag
‘★★★★★ Old enemies mix with new enemies mix with Stanly’s own shortcomings and frustrations to create an explosive mix of plot twists and revelations that had me gasping in shock, or running to hide behind the sofa.’ —Jen Gallagher, Medieval Jenga
‘A rollicking good ride that I flew through and now desire more. This is impressive, entertaining, addictive stuff.’ —Jackie Law, Neverimitate
‘★★★★★ The long-awaited follow-up to Stefan Mohamed’s brilliant Bitter Sixteen has arrived. And it’s just as good as it’s predecessor.’ —If These Books Could Talk
‘Mohamed does everything right: the realistic tone, leavened by humour, is pitch perfect, as is the portrayal of Stanly as a precocious but vulnerable teenager. The plot careers from one dramatic set-piece to the next, with plenty of clever pop culture references along the way, before closing with a thrilling denouement. And Daryl the talking dog is an inspired creation.’ —Eric Brown, The Guardian
Praise for Previous Work
‘4/5 Stars. This sparky debut puts the classic comic book origin story through the pop-cultural blender by gifting superpowers to a kid who just happens to be a massive sci-fi geek. For Smallville, substitute Tref-y-Celwyn, the mid-Welsh town where vowel-deficient teenage loner Stanly suddenly discovers a talent for flight and telekinesis. Accompanied by a potty-mouthed beagle (just go with it), Stanly up, ups and aways to London, where he throws his lot in with a bunch of Generation X-Men investigating a series of sinister child abductions. Zippy prose keeps the story barrelling along, the genre references come thick and fast (even the dog a Yoda impression does) and, in Stanly, Mohamed has created a hero you’ll really root for. A flying start.’ —Paul Kirkley, SFX Magazine
‘Children’s Book of the Week: Never mind writing about superpowers, debut author Stefan Mohamed clearly has them himself – he’s produced a highly original novel for young adults that is clever and funny, with character you want to ask home afterwards.’ —Alex O’Connell, The Times
‘It’s part superhero fantasy, part comedy, with an underlying love story and a creepy twist in the tail, all served up with panache, pace and punch.’ —Sally Morris, The Daily Mail