At the end of Eleven, we left Sam and the others....where? I couldn't remember SO it was lucky that there was a handy little guide at the front of the book to jog my memory. Sam and Xavier were fighting Solaris at a zoo in Berlin, Alex is working with the Enterprise, Eva is pining over Sam (it didn't actually say that, I surmised it myself).

These books are all fast-paced, action-packed and easy to read, which will make them appeal to the middle grade age range, particularly with kids who are reluctant to read. However, for me the fact that they are short makes it feels like a lot has been glossed over when more time could be taken with character development rather than just the pace of the plot and for the sake of making things happen. The books are also too short to try and juggle multiple perspectives. Up until now I haven't been too impressed with the books but for some reason I have found myself enjoying this one more than the previous three. I enjoyed particularly the historical aspect and the idea of hidden da Vinci works.

There's just a couple of things getting on my nerves: the way every book ends in an inevitable 'cliffhanger' of sorts (that is not at all believable because you know there's so many more books to come and Sam is sort of the main character!) and also how sloppy a particular character death was handled. It just sat wrong with me. I also still stand by my original thought that these books would have been better combined, rather than as a serial release. I forget about them and then get behind and then read three at once, then forget about them for another three months.

3.5 stars and I'm on to the next one! ( )