The Cypher

The Cypher
(Guardians Inc. #1)
ny Julian Rosado-Machain

From the publisher:
"GUARDIANS INC.: THE CYPHER is two stories in one. A glimpse into a multinational company that is in reality the oldest of secret societies, one that spans close to seven thousand years of existence, weaving in and out of history, guiding and protecting humanity from creatures and forces that most of us believe are only mythology and fairy tales.

The other is the story of Thomas Byrne, a young man thrust into secrets he shouldn’t be aware of and dangers he shouldn’t face but, that he ultimately will, for he is a Cypher. The only one who can steer humanity’s future.

The ultimate conspiracy theory is that Magic is real. Kept in check by technology but, every five hundred years the balance can shift and, if it does, technology will fail and those creatures we’ve driven into myth will come back with a vengeance.

To protect the present, Guardians Incorporated needs to know the future."

This book was moderately enjoyable for me, but I'm pretty sure that middle school kids who love Rick Riordan or Artemis Fowl (also only moderately enjoyable for me), will love it.  The series has great potential, so I think it will only get better.  I did find it a little weird that the main character was 16, yet the book felt more like a middle grade read to me.  However, there was a lot of action with magical creatures, and the descriptions of the mansion were awesome.  I want to live there!  Imagine needing to go somewhere, anywhere in the world, and walking out your front gate to find yourself only 2 1/2 blocks from it.  Very cool. I also loved that the main character worked in a library and all of the literary references.  How amazing would it be to have access to hidden treasures from the great authors that no one even knows about?  This book is a quick (quite a small book), mildly fun book with a lot of potential.  Read it and then look forward to book 2.

Areas of concern:  A couple of uses of the *d* word.  Violence with magical creatures.  All parental figures (parents and grandpa) have disappeared.