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CHERUB #5
Divine Madness
When religion goes bad...
When CHERUB uncovers a link between eco-terrorist group Help Earth and a wealthy religious cult known as The Survivors, James Adams is sent to Australia on an infiltration mission.
It's his toughest job so far. The Survivors' outback headquarters are completely isolated and the cult's brainwashing techniques put James under massive pressure to confirm.
This time, James isn't just fighting terrorists. He's got to battle to keep control of his own mind.
When CHERUB uncovers a link between eco-terrorist group Help Earth and a wealthy religious cult known as The Survivors, James Adams is sent to Australia on an infiltration mission.
It's his toughest job so far. The Survivors' outback headquarters are completely isolated and the cult's brainwashing techniques put James under massive pressure to confirm.
This time, James isn't just fighting terrorists. He's got to battle to keep control of his own mind.
360 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2006
773 people are currently reading
3302 people want to read
About the author
Robert Muchamore
152 books1,920 followersRobert Muchamore was born in Islington, London in 1972. He still lives there, and worked as a private investigator up until 2005 and the critically-accepted release of Maximum Security.
The Hunger Games phenomenon is part of the huge YA / Children's book explosion that has grown, thanks to the British Rat pack of YA authors, Anthony Horowitz, Robert Muchamore, Mark A. Cooper and Charlie Higson. We owe much of the hunger games sucess to authors such as Robert.
Robert was inspired to create the CHERUB series by his nephew after he complained about the lack of anything for them to read. CHERUB: The Recruit was Robert's first book and won the Red House Children's Book Award 2005 in the Older Readers Category.
Following the last book in the CHERUB series, it was revealed that a trilogy would be released starting from August 2011 that will focus on a new set of CHERUB agents centred upon Ryan Sharma and also involve an sixteen year old Lauren Adams. The first book will be called People's Republic.
Check out the Hendersons Boys series. Henderson's Boys is a series of young adult spy novels written by English author Robert Muchamore. The series follows Charles Henderson, the creator of the fictitious CHERUB organisation.
CHERUB is currently being made into a TV series.
The Hunger Games phenomenon is part of the huge YA / Children's book explosion that has grown, thanks to the British Rat pack of YA authors, Anthony Horowitz, Robert Muchamore, Mark A. Cooper and Charlie Higson. We owe much of the hunger games sucess to authors such as Robert.
Robert was inspired to create the CHERUB series by his nephew after he complained about the lack of anything for them to read. CHERUB: The Recruit was Robert's first book and won the Red House Children's Book Award 2005 in the Older Readers Category.
Following the last book in the CHERUB series, it was revealed that a trilogy would be released starting from August 2011 that will focus on a new set of CHERUB agents centred upon Ryan Sharma and also involve an sixteen year old Lauren Adams. The first book will be called People's Republic.
Check out the Hendersons Boys series. Henderson's Boys is a series of young adult spy novels written by English author Robert Muchamore. The series follows Charles Henderson, the creator of the fictitious CHERUB organisation.
CHERUB is currently being made into a TV series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 486 reviews
December 25, 2016
Wow, young spy action @cult.
Seriously this series is the most entertaining spy series I've ever read.
Seriously this series is the most entertaining spy series I've ever read.
July 16, 2021
The worst of the collection!
August 17, 2015
dis wan is very good boookeer
July 7, 2020
This was the worst CHERUB book yet, very boring and hard to follow, unlike the other CHERUB books but it was good anyways. 😀
January 31, 2023
If I ever start a cult, it’s gonna centre around books.
March 3, 2023
C’est clairement le meilleur tome depuis le début !!
February 3, 2020
Just started reading these books I've not read them since 2015 what I got a few view of these books for Christmas so thought I'd would read the whole series again this book was great so in this mission the kids needed to return to be survivors and get their self into the Ark School so the survivors are a religious group that think that there are Angels and devils and the survivors are angels the kids are sent to Australia as they have uncovered a tie between help the Earth an Eco terrorist company and the survivors this was a great book and I am so happy to be reading them all I really loved rat in this book he was a descendant of the person who made the survivors but he didn't believe in their cult ways and he definitely wasn't brainwashed I definitely say if you read the books previously to this you're going to love this one started reading it earlier this morning and couldn't put it down
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2023
god i love cult plotlines
August 3, 2025
My cherub re read is done I’ve read the best one 🥰🥰
Read
June 10, 2025Yes this was written for a 13 year old to consume but I still have a hoot of a time at any age. Delightful nostalgia re-revisiting the Cherub audiobooks I grew up listening to every bedtime for years as a young teenager. I’m not going to lie these books hold up
January 15, 2022
A lot of suspense at the end.
December 5, 2025
One of my faves so far im glad Lauren is outshining James
March 15, 2019
I think the theme is that you have to concentrate on something else when you want to concentrate on the things going on. In the story a people try to distract the main character from whats really going on.
June 10, 2021
Divine Madness is a quick pace, fast thinking, and a good-to-read book!
I really enjoyed it because it is based on James, a cherub operative, and his friends at cherub campus. Everything matters when James and his friends are uncovering an Australian religious cult who call themselves angels, and everyone else devils. They are trying to track down evidence that links them to a terrorist group called 'Help Earth'. When they find that they are linked they realise that the angels are extremely involved with 'Help Earth' and are smuggling illegal weapons in and out of the country, including RPG's (rocket propelled grenades), guns, explosives and other dangerous chemicals, they try to siege the religious Ark with 6 military style helicopters each loaded with machine guns and 30 ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Service) operatives. The siege ends BAD... but for who?
My favourite part of the story is when James has to crawl through the sewers but when they get the help of one of the teachers inside the Ark they then realise that escape is much easier with the help of light and a gangplank rather than swimming through the muck of 300 people.
My favourite character is James (as always) because he is persistent and he is funny to read about.
A lesson that I learnt from this book is to never swim through sewage, it probably has a gangplank... And a light.
I really enjoyed it because it is based on James, a cherub operative, and his friends at cherub campus. Everything matters when James and his friends are uncovering an Australian religious cult who call themselves angels, and everyone else devils. They are trying to track down evidence that links them to a terrorist group called 'Help Earth'. When they find that they are linked they realise that the angels are extremely involved with 'Help Earth' and are smuggling illegal weapons in and out of the country, including RPG's (rocket propelled grenades), guns, explosives and other dangerous chemicals, they try to siege the religious Ark with 6 military style helicopters each loaded with machine guns and 30 ASIS (Australian Secret Intelligence Service) operatives. The siege ends BAD... but for who?
My favourite part of the story is when James has to crawl through the sewers but when they get the help of one of the teachers inside the Ark they then realise that escape is much easier with the help of light and a gangplank rather than swimming through the muck of 300 people.
My favourite character is James (as always) because he is persistent and he is funny to read about.
A lesson that I learnt from this book is to never swim through sewage, it probably has a gangplank... And a light.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2018
This time around, James has got a much more difficult mission - along with Lauren and Dana he has to go to Australia to infiltrate a cult, in an attempt to establish links between the Survivors and a terrorist group.
My first impression of this was that it would be a welcome change to take the Cherubs onto a broader scope. unfortunately, this involved a lot of setting up and background details about the cult which made it all seem to drag rather.
Once we start to see things happening it carried on at its usual breakneck speed. It was definitely good to introduce some new characters here, and to get readers to consider the wider impact of some of these criminals that the Cherubs are fighting.
My first impression of this was that it would be a welcome change to take the Cherubs onto a broader scope. unfortunately, this involved a lot of setting up and background details about the cult which made it all seem to drag rather.
Once we start to see things happening it carried on at its usual breakneck speed. It was definitely good to introduce some new characters here, and to get readers to consider the wider impact of some of these criminals that the Cherubs are fighting.
June 24, 2025
When I was younger this was the only CHERUB book that my school library didn't have. That, combined with the Australian setting meant I always had this in my head as a quite a distant and hard to get into book. Having revisited it though, I think it might be the strongest CHERUB book so far. The different exotic locations are fun to visit and broadens up the world of these books. They're full of action, adventure, high-stakes and villains that for the first time actually stand up as being quite threatening.
And yes it does lack the routine day-to-day glimpses of life on campus that makes this series so fun and unique, but not every book has to have those. If it did I'm sure it would feel a bit bloated. 4 stars.
And yes it does lack the routine day-to-day glimpses of life on campus that makes this series so fun and unique, but not every book has to have those. If it did I'm sure it would feel a bit bloated. 4 stars.
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February 22, 2018Divine madness is a very good book. It’s full of action. It’s exciting.
May 22, 2018
I know I'm mostly rating these books 4 stars, but that's just because they aren't *perfect* in my mind. However, that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying them, and this one is definitely my favorite. James is slowly becoming less of a douchebag, and the plot of this one, as well as having so many great characters involved, really made it a solid part of the series. Also, the addition of Rat (yeah, his name is Rat, poor dude) was amazing and I love him and Lauren.
With each book I just keep getting more and more excited about the series (and spin-offs!) as a whole, and it's nice because even though there are so many books, I'm really not intimidated on catching up just because they're so quick to read and easy to pick up even without having read one in a while, since each book has an individual arc.
I can't wait to keep going!
With each book I just keep getting more and more excited about the series (and spin-offs!) as a whole, and it's nice because even though there are so many books, I'm really not intimidated on catching up just because they're so quick to read and easy to pick up even without having read one in a while, since each book has an individual arc.
I can't wait to keep going!
September 21, 2018
An amazing 4th sequel to the first, and in the book its about a boy named James and over the course of the book the characters prepare for a mission of infiltration, or to be spies. They infiltrate a religious cult named the survivors and begin to spy and gain info on them and their relation to a dangerous terrorist group called Help Earth that targets fossil fuels in order to "Help Earth." I hope the next book will have similar features because if your like me and love/like this book then I'm sure Robert will make it even better!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2019
it was cool and it had action and stuff which was cool i guess
July 17, 2019
It is an action packed thrller from start to finish. And it never has a dull moment.
October 14, 2024
What a crescendo
January 5, 2025
Lauren did nothing to deserve that shirt. Lauren hater for ever
August 7, 2025
rooting for the terrorists
February 23, 2022
In Divine Madness, CHERUB uncovers a link between ecoterrorist group Help Earth and a wealthy religious cult known as The Survivors. James is sent to their isolated outback headquarters on an infiltration mission. It’s a thousand kilometers to the closest town, and James is under massive pressure form the cult’s brainwashing techniques. This time he’s not just fighting terrorists. He has to battle for his own mind.
March 10, 2025
parfait pour me tenir écarter de mon tel pcq addictif, sans devoir être trop concentrée
December 14, 2017
I think this book was excellent. It had lots of action and was impossible to put down. It was a thrilling mystery and was fun to read. When I was reading it I never knew what was going to happen next and when a big thing happened I was super surprised that it had happened. This book is also part of a series and I highly recommend the series.
October 20, 2025
Incroyable ✨
December 4, 2014
CHERUB: Divine Madness continues following our protagonist, James Adams, who is sent on a mission in Australia. Help Earth (the terrorist group from The Recruit) is striking again and it’s up to James, his sister Lauren, and fellow cherub Dana Smith to stop them.
I thought CHERUB: Divine Madness was an excellent book. I found James to have a good sense of humor once again to lighten the mood in this high-risk mission. I also learned more about the geography of Australia and around it. For instance I have never heard of the Arafura Sea until I read this book. I also got to learn about typical cults. I thought this book is like Alex Rider: Scorpia because in Alex Rider: Scorpia, Alex has to infiltrate a terrorist group known as Scorpia, just like James has to infiltrate Help Earth. I also thought this book was like CHERUB: The Recruit because James is sent to infiltrate Help Earth and CHERUB: Class A where James is sent to infiltrate a group of drug dealers. I thought the theme introduced in this book is that small things (James, Lauren and Dana) can accomplish big things. I thought the book was not missing anything in the plot because everything was explained either in the introduction, mission briefing, and the rest of the book. The writing was very descriptive with the setting. “The airport was air-conditioned, sending chills down their (the cherubs) backs. Once outside, James could feel the heat and humidity in the air, the kind that makes your shirt stick to your chest. There were palm trees as far as the eye could see and the water seemed crystal clear.” There was no show not tell and similes and metaphors were rarely used. Alliteration was also rarely used and there was no personification.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about espionage agencies and kid spies. I also recommend reading CHERUB: The Recruit first.
I thought CHERUB: Divine Madness was an excellent book. I found James to have a good sense of humor once again to lighten the mood in this high-risk mission. I also learned more about the geography of Australia and around it. For instance I have never heard of the Arafura Sea until I read this book. I also got to learn about typical cults. I thought this book is like Alex Rider: Scorpia because in Alex Rider: Scorpia, Alex has to infiltrate a terrorist group known as Scorpia, just like James has to infiltrate Help Earth. I also thought this book was like CHERUB: The Recruit because James is sent to infiltrate Help Earth and CHERUB: Class A where James is sent to infiltrate a group of drug dealers. I thought the theme introduced in this book is that small things (James, Lauren and Dana) can accomplish big things. I thought the book was not missing anything in the plot because everything was explained either in the introduction, mission briefing, and the rest of the book. The writing was very descriptive with the setting. “The airport was air-conditioned, sending chills down their (the cherubs) backs. Once outside, James could feel the heat and humidity in the air, the kind that makes your shirt stick to your chest. There were palm trees as far as the eye could see and the water seemed crystal clear.” There was no show not tell and similes and metaphors were rarely used. Alliteration was also rarely used and there was no personification.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about espionage agencies and kid spies. I also recommend reading CHERUB: The Recruit first.
December 21, 2012
2.5 stars
This books follows the adventures of a group of teen spies working for the British Intelligence, as they try to bring down a ruthless religious cult from within.
This book flickers between two and three stars. So to decide which one I want to settle on, I'm going to take a leaf out of Miss Rory Gilmore's book, and make a pro con list.
Pros
-The tension was great and the story line was fairly fast paced. Robert Muchmore did manage to drag my to the edge of my seat on several occasions.
-Also, the book had a morbid curiosity about it. The main story was based around a cult, so I couldn't help thinking to myself 'omg how bad is this going to get?'.
Cons
-The writing was very standard, the lack of originality left the book a bit flat.
-I found the main character quite annnoying, he seemed to spend most of his time complaining. Going on about how if he wasn't on a super secret mission, he would be getting off with loads of hot girls.
-My main problem with this book, is that the front cover told me that I would 'wish it was true'. Well...I didn't. I have my list of imaginary academies that I'd love to attend (eg Hogwarts, Camp Half-Blood) and the CHEREB facility just dosen't cut it. It all sounded a bit miserable to me.
So...
This wasn't my kind of book and the writing wasn't amazing, but it works okay as a 'boys book'. It does say it's 'unsuitable for younger readers', which is fair enough because there are some quite graphic decriptions. I'd probably recommend it for those who want to up grade from something like the Alex Rider series; it has the same level of complexity, but it's a little more teen than tween.
This books follows the adventures of a group of teen spies working for the British Intelligence, as they try to bring down a ruthless religious cult from within.
This book flickers between two and three stars. So to decide which one I want to settle on, I'm going to take a leaf out of Miss Rory Gilmore's book, and make a pro con list.
Pros
-The tension was great and the story line was fairly fast paced. Robert Muchmore did manage to drag my to the edge of my seat on several occasions.
-Also, the book had a morbid curiosity about it. The main story was based around a cult, so I couldn't help thinking to myself 'omg how bad is this going to get?'.
Cons
-The writing was very standard, the lack of originality left the book a bit flat.
-I found the main character quite annnoying, he seemed to spend most of his time complaining. Going on about how if he wasn't on a super secret mission, he would be getting off with loads of hot girls.
-My main problem with this book, is that the front cover told me that I would 'wish it was true'. Well...I didn't. I have my list of imaginary academies that I'd love to attend (eg Hogwarts, Camp Half-Blood) and the CHEREB facility just dosen't cut it. It all sounded a bit miserable to me.
So...
This wasn't my kind of book and the writing wasn't amazing, but it works okay as a 'boys book'. It does say it's 'unsuitable for younger readers', which is fair enough because there are some quite graphic decriptions. I'd probably recommend it for those who want to up grade from something like the Alex Rider series; it has the same level of complexity, but it's a little more teen than tween.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 486 reviews