Alan Smith no longer exists - he was severely injured in a huge bomb explosion which wreaked havoc in the South of England. But, just like The Six Million Dollar Man (or Astroboy for those too young to recall Steve Austin) "we can rebuild him".
A top secret agency, Unit Red, even more secret than MI5, has the technology to repair and replace Alan's injured limbs and he is reborn as Jordan Stryker, a cybernetically enhanced teenager complete with bionic arm, supersonic hearing, enhanced vision and the ability to remotely access computers - everything a young boy would love!
In this fast paced adventure story, Jordan is assigned the task of discovering the identity of the bomber who was responsible for his injuries and for wiping out his family. He does this by a process of elimination, visiting all known suspects and using his special skills to eventually get to the truth but he is not allowed to let anyone know of his previous incarnation as Alan Smith, not even his friend and budding romantic interest, Amy Goss who happens to be the daughter of a local gangland boss - phew, there's so much going on!
Simple yet strong prose makes this ideal for young boys (about 9+) who enjoy a fast paced thriller including bombs, speed boats, explosions with the added bonus of the whodunnit element. But it's not all show - I liked the way the author portrays Jordan's inner sadness at being forced to give up his previous life and relinquish all that is normal for a teenager. At first all these cyber enhancements are a novelty for him - what young boy would turn up his nose at having supersonic hearing and x ray vision - but working as an undercover agent for Unit Red is certainly not child's play.
A gripping, unputdownable read which will really appeal to any boy who has a taste for adventure and gadgets - Alex Rider and Young James Bond had better up their game, there's a new kid in town!
