The story has a lot of twists....Well written!! Read more

Once again, the nefarious Lucretia Cutter, “Beetle Queen”, continues her world-domination plans in M. G. Leonard’s third volume “The Battle of the Beetles”. As this segment of the story develops, Darkus, Virginia and Bertolt must locate Lucretia’s biome, hidden deep in the rainforest, and rescue Novak, Lucretia’s daughter, who is a victim of her experimentation. Further, Darkus must salvage his father’s reputation; having exited with Lucretia in the final chapters of “Beetle Queen”, the scientific world suspects Bartie of being in a league with Lucretia to conquer the world. Although this book continues M. G. Leonard’s intriguing story, it is far less appealing than the two former volumes in the series . The excitement and humor, both hallmarks of “Beetle Boy”, are sorely lacking. Interesting, educational elements – particularly relating to different beetles – woven into the text become too pedantic and overly relied upon to carry the story. Issues such as genetic engineering, cross-species breeding, and ecology and the environment play important roles in the novel; again, they become more tedious than in previous volumes. The characters are far less appealing in “The Battle of the Beetles” than in prior novels. I missed Humphrey and Pickering, the two buffoons who lightened the previous novels through their vaudevillian interaction. Their dialog in “The Battle of the Beetles” leaned on “potty humor” and added little to the story. Darkus, Bertolt, and Virginia’s beetles played a much smaller part in the action; I missed these characters as well. On a more positive note, strong, independent female characters, whether good or villainous, are as important as the male characters. This book is far more intense and frightening than either “Beetle Boy” or “Beetle Queen”. Violence and bloodshed make their way into the novel, creating a book that is not a good bedtime read for many ‘tweens or younger readers. The story draws the intriguing mystery to a close; this is not a difficult book to read, but it is much slower than “Beetle Boy” or “Beetle Queen”. Had I not read the first two books and had a desire to learn the final results of Lucretia’s experimentation, I would not have finished this book. Read more

My nine year old was very unimpressed when I presented the first book in the trilogy to him to read in the summer holidays. He read it reluctantly at first and then really got into it. So much so that he read the whole trilogy in the hols, which is more than I could have hoped for. May even read it myself. Read more

It is such a great book with all the aspects and elements to catch the attention of young ones... Read more

The grand finale between Darkus and Lucretia Cutter! My 7yo son loved all three books, and I greatly enjoyed reading them with him. He gets annoyed when the details of animals are incorrect, but he did not complain one bit here. He also liked the philosophical debates between good and bad guys. At one point, he jumped up and cried "Two wrongs don't make a right!" He was completely engaged from beginning to end. Great seriesfor any young reader who appreciates nature. Read more