Ace of Spiders: Book 2 (Bitter Sixteen) - Softcover

4/5 Stars. This sparky debut puts the classic comic book origin story through the pop-cultural blender by gifting superpowers to a kid who just happens to be a massive sci-fi geek. For Smallville, substitute Tref-y-Celwyn, the mid-Welsh town where vowel-deficient teenage loner Stanly suddenly discovers a talent for flight and telekinesis. Accompanied by a potty-mouthed beagle (just go with it), Stanly up, ups and aways to London, where he throws his lot in with a bunch of Generation X-Men investigating a series of sinister child abductions. Zippy prose keeps the story barrelling along, the genre references come thick and fast (even the dog a Yoda impression does) and, in Stanly, Mohamed has created a hero you’ll really root for. A flying start.

Children’s Book of the Week: Never mind writing about superpowers, debut author Stefan Mohamed clearly has them himself – he’s produced a highly original novel for young adults that is clever and funny, with character you want to ask home afterwards.

It’s part superhero fantasy, part comedy, with an underlying love story and a creepy twist in the tail, all served up with panache, pace and punch.

★★★★★ Doing what so many sequels fail to do, Ace of Spiders soars, with a thrilling plot, brilliant character development, and fantastically funny cultural references.

★★★★★ Old enemies mix with new enemies mix with Stanly’s own shortcomings and frustrations to create an explosive mix of plot twists and revelations that had me gasping in shock, or running to hide behind the sofa.

A rollicking good ride that I flew through and now desire more. This is impressive, entertaining, addictive stuff.

★★★★★ The long-awaited follow-up to Stefan Mohamed’s brilliant Bitter Sixteen has arrived. And it’s just as good as it’s predecessor.

Mohamed does everything right: the realistic tone, leavened by humour, is pitch perfect, as is the portrayal of Stanly as a precocious but vulnerable teenager. The plot careers from one dramatic set-piece to the next, with plenty of clever pop culture references along the way, before closing with a thrilling denouement. And Daryl the talking dog is an inspired creation.