William Wenton and the Luridium Thief

William Wenton and his family have been living in Norway for eight years.  They moved there from London, at the same time as his famous code-breaking grandfather disappeared.  12-year-old William has inherited his grandfather’s skills, and spends all his spare time reading, and solving puzzles and codes.  On a school trip to the History of Science Museum, William’s code-breaking genius is revealed when he can’t resist solving an Impossible Puzzle.  Mayhem ensues when shortly afterwards he is kidnapped and taken to the mysterious Institute for Post-Human Research. He encounters a fantastic array of robots, and animated objects such as his friendly room door.  William makes friends with one of the other gifted ‘candidates’ at the Institute, Iscia, and they set out to solve the mystery of what has happened to his grandfather, and a mysterious intelligent substance called Luridium.

This novel has all the ingredients of a successful thriller for children; a hero with super-powers, a school for gifted children and a whole host of animated objects with personalities.  It’s not surprising that it’s already being made into a film.  Great fun!