Colfer’s new science fiction series provides narrator Maxwell Caulfield a tableau of characters with which to demonstrate his formidable talents. The FBI has created a Witness Anonymous Relocation Program to transport high-profile witnesses into the past to trial. Teenaged Chevron, a magician turned assassin, and her assistant, Riley, end up in Victorian London. There they become caught up in a protection racket involving a relocated witness who has set up a crime network for himself. The vocal technique Caulfield employs to transition seamlessly between characters is evident at every turn. The absurdly comical self-important crime boss, Tibor Charismo, is beautifully juxtaposed with the frightening eagerness of the assassin, Garrick. Chevron’s no-nonsense tone is the perfect partner for Riley’s street-savvy Cockney. M.F. SYNC 2014 © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Best known for his Artemis Fowl books, Colfer introduces a new YA series here with the first installment in his W.A.R.P. series. Set in Victorian London, an orphan boy named Riley falls into an apprenticeship with Albert Garrick, an illusionist-turned-assassin. Garrick coerces Riley into committing his first murder, but his victim is a part of the FBI’s Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (W.A.R.P.). Zapped into present-day London, Riley is aided by 17-year-old FBI agent named Chevron Savano. This audio edition is crisply narrated by Maxwell Caulfield, who does an expert turn providing the voices of Garrick and Riley, capturing the growling menace of the former and the haplessness of the latter. However, Caulfield is less deft when performing the Savano. Maxwell’s voice possesses a gravitas and authority that is ill-suited to embodying a plucky American girl. Still, fans of Colfer will likely find much enjoyment here, and be back for the next audio installment in the series. Ages 10-up. A Disney-Hyperion hardcover. (May)

Readers mourning the end of the Artemis Fowl series can take heart: this first book in the time-bending W.A.R.P. series is an all-out blast. And its stars—17-year-old Chevie Savano, a quasi-disgraced FBI agent (of sorts), and Riley, the reluctant young assassin of the title—are every bit as dynamic as Artemis and Holly. After a bungled mission, Chevie has been sent to London where she is “babysitting a metal capsule,” which she learns is one end of a wormhole to the year 1898, when Riley (and a corpse) materialize, direct from the Victorian era. Riley has been raised by Albert Garrick, a magician turned killer-for-hire; as Garrick follows Riley to the present day, intent on changing the course of history, Riley and Chevie must use every bit of their expertise to take him down. Colfer blends grisly moments of horror, sharply funny dialogue, science fiction spectacle, and characters with depth to create a story that strikes the ideal balance between escapist fun and thoughtful commentary on the ways history, both personal and global, can shape a person. Ages 10–up. Agent: Ed Victor, Ltd. (May)

Gr 8 Up—Seventeen-year-old FBI agent Chevron Savano thought her time in London would be an exercise in boredom, but between dead scientists, scrappy would-be assassins, and a malevolent Victorian illusionist, boredom may be the least of her worries. The FBI's Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (W.A.R.P.)-where time travel is used to hide witnesses in other times-has gone horribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Riley must kill or be killed by his assassin master, but the teen is spared when his target turns out to be from the future and he's inadvertently transported from Victorian times to present-day England. Unfortunately, the orphan's murderous master, Albert Garrick, follows the boy, and his trip through the portal gives him knowledge and abilities that only make him more dangerous than ever. Garrick will do everything in his power to reclaim his apprentice and the Timekey that Chevie possesses. This science-fiction thriller provides readers with a breathless ride through modern and Victorian Londons as these two resourceful teens struggle to stay alive and one step ahead their pursuer. This offering is darker, bloodier, and much more serious in tone than the author's popular "Artemis Fowl" series (Hyperion). It may not be for the faint of heart, but the intricate plot, strong writing, and intrepid characters who must survive by their wits will make it hard to put down. Readers who enjoy Anthony Horowitz's "Alex Rider" series (Philomel) and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan (S & S, 2009) are sure to enjoy this nonstop adventure.—Stephanie Whelan, New York Public Library

Colfer opens a new series that promises to be every bit as brisk and violent as Artemis Fowl--this one featuring travelers using steampunk-style time machines for (usually) evil purposes. Chevron Savano is a teenager of Shawnee descent trained as an FBI agent in an ill-fated anti-terrorist program (and named, as it turns out, for a gas station). He hooks up with Riley, a 19th--century lad trained in the killing arts by Victorian-era master assassin/stage magician Albert Garrick. Their purpose? Simply to stay alive, as a secret device that opens wormholes between past and present but sometimes causes weird mutations in those who use it has turned Garrick into a shape-changing supergenius. He now has modern memories and a new, horrifying agenda that requires the Timekey Chevie carries around her neck. The plot moves back and forth between modern times and 1898 London (or an alternate, as in his lurid descriptions of the city's festering stews the author makes several seemingly offhand references to "slum cannibals"). The chase hurtles along through washes of gore and less wholesome substances to a massively explosive resolution. Riley and the "Injun princess," as she is repeatedly dubbed, make reasonably resourceful protagonists, but the scary, casually murderous Garrick really steals the show. A ghoulish thriller: melodramatic and tongue-in-cheek, sometimes both at once. (Science fiction. 11-14)