Cadel Piggott has a genius IQ and a fascination with systems of all kinds. At seven, he was illegally hacking into computers. Now he’s 14 and studying for his World Domination degree, taking classes like embezzlement, misinformation, and forgery at the Axis Institute, founded by criminal mastermind Dr. Phineas Darkkon. Although Cadel may be advanced beyond his years, at heart he’s a lonely kid. When he falls for the mysterious and brilliant Kay-Lee, he begins to question the moral implications of his studies for the first time. But is it too late to stop Dr. Darkkon from carrying out his plans? And is he really who he says he is?
Download and start listening now!
"A very intriguing story. It was very gripping from the start though near the end I started skipping most of the lengthy paragraphs. Most of the complicated language was lost on me but I still understood all that was happening - thankfully. Great story!"
— Danny (4 out of 5 stars)
" This book was an amazing story to read. I am glad that it has a sequel. This is a very action-packed, thrilling, and nail-biting story. Full of deception, lies, disguise, and thrills. "
— Malik, 2/6/2014" Sneaky good. Keeps you interested the whole way. "
— Dpalange44, 2/5/2014" just testing if this works.... "
— Betty, 1/19/2014" This is a book meant for middle school and high school kids. I enjoyed it, though it took me a while to get into it. "
— Mary, 1/12/2014" read for Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults nomination; review on my blog "
— Snow, 1/2/2014" Strange ending, but overall, this was a good book. "
— Kathryn, 12/26/2013" wow that was a quick read... especially compared to dune. mostly because it was such an easy read because its targeted at younger audiences but it was good nonetheless "
— Cauley, 12/21/2013" This book was gret. After getting used to the techno terms, I really loved this book. I hope this series has a lot more books in store. "
— *L!SSA*, 10/7/2013" Fun concept that turned itself inside out to come to a "good" ending. I want to read the second book because I'm interested in seeing what happens next, but I'm not approaching it with as much enthusiasm. "
— Teresa, 8/26/2013" It had enough twists and turns to keep ME entertained. Not to mention the fact the charecter seemed to be relatible as an evil genius turned good can be. =] "
— Cheyenne, 8/2/2013" this is awesome. the second book is just as good, the quality never changes, and the style is sophisticated and interesting "
— Sara, 7/3/2013" A fun youth fiction book that was longer than it needed to be. "
— Joseph, 5/31/2013" This series was great because in series like this it is rare that you see any of the events have an impact on the main character. In this series you really see it. "
— Blowry, 3/7/2013" Hilarious premise, surprising plot twists, overall: I loved it! Started reading this early one morning when i couldn't sleep - finished it later that day. Like other Catherine Jinks books, worthy of immediate inhalation. "
— Maureen, 9/13/2012" It seemed a little slow at the start but really picked up towards the end. I look forward to the second in the series. "
— Jeanne, 5/17/2012" Such a mighty disappointment: this book has a fantastic premise, but the worldbuilding is only so-so and the protagonist is...um. Somewhere between profoundly autistic and sociopathic, certainly affectless. Since this is told via his perspective, the reader remains chilled and alienated. "
— Gloss, 9/17/2011" I'm picky on what i read and this book was amazing. It has an extremely well thought out plot and I've never read anything in a school library that is this intriguing I encourage everyone to read it. "
— Allison, 8/28/2011" With so many books coming out these days about superheroes and so on, I expected this teen release to be fun and cool and exciting. Cadel's struggle, good vs. evil, is almost nonexistent till the end and by then I didn't care. Too cliche for me. "
— Rebecca, 8/17/2011" I really didn't expect this book to become what it is...I was picturing a totally different type of story. I liked it a lot and am now in the process of looking for the rest of the series because it is just too intriguing to stop reading now. "
— Kelli, 7/31/2011" I didn't enjoy this novel as much as I expected to. I didn't like the idea and plot of the entire book. "
— Adam, 7/24/2011" Derivative of Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter "
— Tessa, 7/2/2011" Cunning book. Reminds me a little of Artemis Fowl. "
— Rachael, 6/27/2011" This took a while to read, but it was really good. "
— Lilly, 6/23/2011" I thought it was ok but it was kind of confusing.<br/> "
— Alexis, 6/18/2011" if you to read some cool stuff this is the book to read it has an awesome school or evil??? "
— Luis, 6/2/2011" I really really loved this book <3 "
— Autumn, 5/19/2011" Young adult book, yet too evil for me. It did keep me interested though.<br/> "
— Lorra, 5/18/2011" A little bit of a slog, but I love the idea of all the villains in the world going to evil genius school. "
— Lea, 5/17/2011" Very good plot, lots of twists and turns, even though it does tend to get kind of boggy in some parts. I feel for Cadel, and he reminds me of some of the gifted students I've taught over the years. I devoured this and can't wait to read the sequel. "
— Lesa, 5/13/2011" Really good book. Sometimes a little difficult to understand what's going on but story line is fantastic. Can't wait to read the sequel. "
— Gabrielle, 5/10/2011" Evil Genius was pretty cool! I'm excited to read the next book. Although sometimes a little hard to follow (there were a lot of characters), I really liked all the scheming. I thought it was a fun ride. "
— Rhi, 4/27/2011" the tone at the beginning threw me a little- i thought the book was going to be more middlegrade and was surprised that it was so long. it got pretty intense as cadel got older though! can't wait to read the next one. also i am in love with sonja. "
— Lisa, 4/25/2011" This was cute and all, but the writing wasn't crazy good or anything...I did like the characters, though. They were all really unique and quirky. "
— Ana, 4/18/2011" This story had a really good plot and it was very interesting. The only bad part was when they would talk about genius stuff that some people might not understand. "
— Kaden, 4/14/2011Catherine Jinks is the Australian author of more than thirty books for all ages. She has garnered many awards, including the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award, the Victorian Premier’s Award, the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction, the Australian Ibby Award, and the Davitt Award for Crime Fiction.
Justine Eyre is a classically trained actress who has narrated many audiobooks, earning the prestigious Audie Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She is multilingual and known for her great facility with accents. She has appeared on stage, with leading roles in King Lear and The Crucible, and has had starring roles in four films on the indie circuit. Her television credits include Two and a Half Men and Mad Men.