Jimmy Coates is a series of children's books written by the English author Joe Craig.[1] The books have been published in many countries and became widely available in the United States for the first time in 2013.
| Jimmy Coates: Killer Jimmy Coates: Target Jimmy Coates: Revenge Jimmy Coates: Sabotage Jimmy Coates: Survival Jimmy Coates: Power Jimmy Coates: Blackout Jimmy Coates: Genesis (TBA) | |
| Author | Joe Craig |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Thriller, Children's |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
The books are mostly set in the fictional dictatorship of the "Neo-Democratic State of Great Britain".
Series
edit| Number | Title | Publisher | Date Published (UK) | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Coates: Killer (USA: Jimmy Coates: Assassin?)[2] | HarperCollins Children's Books | March 2005 | ISBN 0-00-719685-7 |
| 2 | Jimmy Coates: Target[2] | HarperCollins Children's Books | May 2006 | ISBN 0-00-719686-5 |
| 3 | Jimmy Coates: Revenge[2] | HarperCollins Children's Books | January 2007 | ISBN 0-00-723285-3 |
| 4 | Jimmy Coates: Sabotage[2] | HarperCollins Children's Books | October 2007 | ISBN 0-00-723286-1 |
| 5 | Jimmy Coates: Survival[2] | HarperCollins Children's Books | April 2008 | ISBN 0-00-727099-2 |
| 6 | Jimmy Coates: Power[2] | HarperCollins Children's Books | October 2008 | ISBN 978-0007277308 |
| 7 | Jimmy Coates: Blackout[2] | HarperCollins Children's Books | June 2013 | ISBN 978-0007524327 |
| 8 | Jimmy Coates: Genesis[2] | HarperCollins Children's Books | TBA | |
Characters
editProtagonists
edit- Jimmy Coates – a young, genetically modified assassin
- Zafi Sauvage – another young, genetically modified assassin (who works for the French secret intelligence)
- Mitchell Glenthorne – another young, genetically modified assassin (who works for NJ7)
- Helen Coates – Jimmy's mother
- Eva Doren – Georgie's friend who works in NJ7, but she is actually giving information to Jimmy about NJ7's plans
- Georgie Coates – Jimmy's half-sister
- Felix Muzebeke – Jimmy's best friend
- Dr. Higgins – scientist who helped to create Jimmy
- Christopher Viggo – campaigner and politician
- Saffron – trained in the martial arts and Christopher Viggo's girlfriend
Antagonists
edit- NJ7 – the fictitious government agency that pursues, and designed, Jimmy Coates
- Miss Bennett – Director of NJ7
- Paduk – ex Director of Special Security for the Neo-Democratic State of Great Britain
- William Lee – Director of Special Security for the Neo-Democratic State of Great Britain
- Ian Coates – Jimmy's father and, later, Prime Minister of Great Britain
- Ares Hollingdale – the late and former Prime Minister of Great Britain
- Dr. Higgins – part of the team that built Jimmy & Mitchell
- Lieutenant Commander Luke Love
- Mitchell Glenthorne – the first assassin created
- Zafi Sauvage – the French child assassin
- Uno Stovorsky – French Secret Service
- Colonel Keays – a director with the CIA and Synperco
USA release
editShortly after the UK publication, Craig's first book was released in the United States under the title Jimmy Coates: Assassin but withdrawn shortly afterwards. During its short release, it was selected for, among others, the Lone Star reading list in Texas[3] and the New York Public Libraries 'Books for the Teen Age' list.[4]
The whole series was released for the first time in the USA across 2014 and 2015 by Open Road Media.
Critical reception
editThe Independent wrote of the first book: "Few books have the power to drag young boys away from their Xbox or Wii but I've seen the Jimmy Coates series in action – Super Mario is no match for this schoolboy assassin."[1]
It was described by School Library Association as "Packed full of shocks and surprises, high-octane action sequences, constant dangers and near-miss escapes from death, this is an at-a-sitting read for Bond and Rider fans everywhere. With bags of film potential..."[1]
It was a finalist for the 2006 Manchester Book Award, and won the Bolton Children's Book Award 2006.
See also
editReferences
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c Craig, Joe. "Jimmy Coates". freewebs.com. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Craig, Joe. "The Series". freewebs.com. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- ^ Lone Star 2006-2007.pdf
- ^ http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/bta2006.pdf [bare URL PDF]
