Welcome to KIWIreviews - product reviews
•  click here to return to the homepage  •
Welcome visitor.Join us or log in

Product reviews on kiwireviews.nz : Sunday 8th December 2024 - 23:12:43

QuickSearch for:    What is QuickSearch?
QuickJump to:    What is QuickJump?
logon name: p/w:  

I want to:

You Are Here...

Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > Cobalt Blue review

« Upgrade reviewUpgradeThe Lost Girl King reviewThe Lost Girl King »

Score: 6.0/10  [1 review]
2 out of 5
ProdID: 9022 - Cobalt Blue
Written by Matthew Reilly

Cobalt Blue
Price:
$30.00
Sample/s Supplied by:
Click to search for all products supplied by Macmillan Publishers Ltd

Disclosure StatementFULL DISCLOSURE: A number of units of this product have, at some time, been provided to KIWIreviews by Macmillan Publishers Ltd or their agents for the sole purposes of unbiased, independent reviews. No fee was requested, offered nor accepted by KIWIreviews or the reviewers themselves - these are genuine, unpaid consumer reviews.
Available:
August 2022

Cobalt Blue product reviews

For 35 years, the United States and Russia each had their own superhero. Three days ago, America's hero died. Today will be bad.

In the face of an overwhelming attack, one young woman - unassuming and anonymous - might be America's only hope. Her codename... COBALT BLUE.

Check out Macmillan Publishers Ltd onlineClick here to see all the listings for Macmillan Publishers Ltd Visit their website They do not have a Twitter account They do not have a Facebook page They do not have a YouTube Channel They do not have a Pinterest board They do not have an Instagram channel They do not have a TikTok channel



Tags:
america   cold war   matthew reilly   russia   superhero
Other listings you may be interested in:
ContestContest
Rating: 7.1
ScarecrowScarecrow
Rating: 10.0
Seven Ancient WondersSeven Ancient Wonders
Rating: 10.0
Hover Car RacerHover Car Racer
Rating: 8.6
Area 7Area 7
Rating: 9.5
Ice StationIce Station
Rating: 9.3
The Six Sacred StonesThe Six Sacred Stones
Rating: 9.0
Camelot's ShadowCamelot's Shadow
Rating: 8.0
VIKING: King's ManVIKING: King's Man
Rating: 6.4
Spike & CoSpike & Co
Rating: 9.8
Dark AlchemyDark Alchemy
Rating: 9.5
River RiddleRiver Riddle
Rating: 9.9
Elephant ParkElephant Park

Product reviews...

Everyone is welcome to post a review. You will need to Join up or log in to post yours.

Click here to read the profile of tucker

Review by: tucker (Karl)
Dated: 29th of August, 2022

Link to this review Report this review

 

This Review: 6.0/10
Value for Money:
Score 5 out of 10
Level of Realism:
Score 7 out of 10
Rereadability:
Score 4 out of 10
Lose Track of Time:
Score 8 out of 10

Two humans infected with an alien pathogen that gives them super-human abilities. US scientist who becomes the hero "Cobalt" - peace-loving, law-abiding, an agent of all that is seen as good and right - and the Russian antithesis who becomes "The Fury of Russia" - a maniacal ego-driven psychopath, feared above all else and given everything he desires in order to avoid horrendous destructive fits of childish pique.

Both give rise to a handful of children who are also gifted, thanks to their genetic legacy, but only to a degree half as potent as their parents. On the Russian side, they are treated as demigods, again out of fear of the consequences should they get "upset". On the American side, they are treated as celebrity superstars, feted and fawned over in the public eye. All except one, born of a natural conception rather than the IVF that gave rise to her half-siblings.

And there you have the initial tableau, except for the key point that the American hero has passed away from cardiac arrest. "I was human, before I was superhuman," she said in way of explanation. The day after her funeral, the Fury of Russia arrives in America to exact an act of telling revenge - the total, destructive humiliation and subjugation of the US, and then the rest of the world.

As the Fury carves a path of death, destruction and petty outrage starting from the West Coast, he murders each of Cobalt's children one by one - a simple enough matter since they live in the spotlight of public media. With their strengths rated at half of The Fury's, it is a matter of foregone conclusion that they will be destroyed. However, not all conclusions are foregone, it seems. When you can't beat your opponent with strength of arms, you might have a chance if you use strength of mind.

Matthew Reilly has not always crafted successful stories - his recent foray into cinema with "Interceptor" has met with less than ideal reviews from critics and audience alike - however in terms of literary output, he's a fairly safe bet if you want something that will prove worth reading, if only once. This tale fits squarely in that category, with it being a light and easy read despite a somewhat 'doom and gloom' setting. There's no real tension developed, and the characters are a lot less developed than they could be despite many, many flashbacks to provide context. Still, it made for a good light read at 196 pages - some of which are taken up by maps or pictures of the characters. Padding it out by tacking on a 10-page interview with the author felt somewhat pointless though - the interview did nothing more than soak up another few trees' worth of paper.

Overall, it was... OK. Not one I personally would bother re-reading short of sheer desperation, but also not one that I regretted spending time on. I read it split into 10-20 minute blocks between other tasks spread over a week, but if you sat down and dedicated a solid 3 hours you would have ploughed through it easily. The author says it started out as a screenplay and was "expanded" into a novel by adding in extra scenes, however, I honestly feel that if it had been filmed it would have been made into, at most, a 30-minute show. Compared to his earlier work, particularly the "Scarecrow" series, this feels more like a pet-project pushed through while his attention is elsewhere, instead of a project he's really applied solid focus too. He somewhat admits to that in his interview as well, so it makes sense.

Random listing from 'Books'...

Score: 7.3
Product reviews for listing 5936: Palace Pets: Sticker Scenes -  Author: Disney

Product image for Palace Pets: Sticker ScenesLeap into the wonderful world of the Palace Pets! Join the princesses and their adroable pets ad they play, prance and purr. Complete these magical scenes with your beautiful stickers.

Go to the listing

General Disclaimer...

Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Do not copy content from this page. Creative Commons Licence All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.

"Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their bum when they ask where the bathroom is?"
unattributed