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Dangerous Reality

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brand new book.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

7 people are currently reading
194 people want to read

About the author

Malorie Blackman

156 books4,514 followers
An award-winning children's author, Malorie Blackman was honoured with an OBE in 2008. Her work has been adapted for TV and stage.

More information available at:
Myspace
British Council: Contemporary Authors
British Council: Encompass Culture
Channel 4 Learning: Book Box

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Community Reviews

5 stars
91 (24%)
4 stars
101 (27%)
3 stars
131 (35%)
2 stars
40 (10%)
1 star
10 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Profile Image for Julian King.
185 reviews4 followers
July 11, 2013
My 10-year-old son says that this is one of the best books he has ever read. For sure, it's the first time I've ever seen him choose, of his own volition, book over iPad! He read the 200-odd pages over just a couple of days, in I suppose about 2 hours. Thank you, Malorie Blackman!
1,185 reviews8 followers
October 26, 2020
A great novel for kids, who will learn lessons about who controls AI and the nature of family and friendship. Blackman's very good at that sort of thing, and it's a good companion to Pig Heart Boy.
Profile Image for Sunflower.
8 reviews1 follower
June 22, 2022
I really enjoyed this. The protagonist was super annoying and I warned to knock some sense into him, but he was a kid after all and he did eventually come to his senses.

I alewady figured out who culprit was when the first big event was announced, but I did not expect the plot twist. I still enjoyed it a lot.
Profile Image for C.W. Brooks.
69 reviews
July 7, 2022
I read the book with my English class and it's not what I expected. I thought it was going to be a bit more virtual reality, but either way, it was a very good message. I pretty much suspected Jack the whole time, ever since he was near the control panel. And Dominic....I'm happy he realised the important thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Louise.
85 reviews
July 7, 2018
I had high expectations for this book and it actually succeeded unlike some books for me. It had a nice build up with an unexpected ending. Another Malorie Blackman thriller. Perfect for modern technology/technicians enthusiasts from age 9/10+.
14 reviews
January 7, 2023
I think Malorie Blackman really could do better as the person sabotaging VIMS is rather obvious, by the way they were acting. I really think that the object blocking Ray's pipes was very surprising and I did not think that it would have been pulled out of it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Danielle.
69 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2017
The person I suspected of being the sabateour was in fact behind the issues with VIMS, but I was not expecting the twist at the end. Another good book from Malorie Blackman
3 reviews
May 2, 2018
Really cool!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
13 reviews
June 17, 2020
I would've loved this book when I was 15/16. It's still a very interesting read and I would highly recommend it for children!
4 reviews
July 30, 2020
Suspense at every corner. When I read the last page, i sat there for, like, 10 minutes staring at that page
8 reviews
April 27, 2021
Not engaging enough. i think there is going to be something shocking or exciting but nothing really jumps at me with this book :(
Profile Image for Andrew.
224 reviews32 followers
May 13, 2021
This was published 20 years ago, and it shows! It all felt a bit formulaic and obvious, rather than the exciting thriller promised on the cover.
Profile Image for Shego.
2 reviews
June 10, 2022
I found the protagonist of this book to be pretty annoying, but the ending did have a surprising twist.
Profile Image for Amy.
114 reviews52 followers
April 2, 2013
I reviewed this on my blog as part of Malorie Blackman month- during March 2013 reviews are of books by her- click here for them all- you can see the GIF's that aren't included in the review there!

I was sort of bordering between 2.5 and 3 stars for this one as I can't really think of as much to say...
I finally decided on 3 stars as it did hook me from the one-page 1st Chapter. I did get an idea from page 1 of the book and that was nice even it didn't all ring true after that. It wasn't just 'there's not something right here...' as detail was put into other things that maybe only confused me! :L

Dominic wasn't exactly a reliable narrator. He was quite honest but sometimes it got confusing as you didn't understand it- the drive from the character just didn't work as effectively in this book. Human nature was explored and it was interesting to discover Dominic's motives and also his disability. I did pretty much wish that Dominic was my little brother. Then again if I was I'd probably stop him doing half the stuff as urgent as it was!

The technology is at least slightly more realistic (I gather that this is because it was written as futuristic but I've been wrong!) I mean technology being a slight failure as it's quite advanced mechanically...
I can't fault that as I don't think it'll mean it's as dated as other books!

...GIF... the review continues on my blog as linked above!
Profile Image for Anna.
242 reviews2 followers
August 7, 2019
An interesting storyline, that really only picks up in the final chapters. I found the narrative voice hugely irritating and just found myself getting increasingly annoyed with the sometimes overly obvious and overly stupid narrator. Whilst I realise this is aimed at children, it will not be my choice to teach it in my English lessons, as I feel it would only be patronising to my pupils. It was endurable, but not something I would want to endure again.
Profile Image for Leo Margetts.
314 reviews1 follower
May 4, 2019
This great book is all about a boy calledDominic and how his mun invents a machine that nearly kills him. At the beginning Dominic and his best friend decide to go and spy on his mum when she is doing a presentation of her new invention which is called VIMS. Firstly, VIMS is thought to be a harmless machine but when a unknown person manages to take control of VIMS Dominig and his mum just escape with their lives. At the end of the story VIMS's hacker is found out to be Dominic's dad- Jack.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Helen .
858 reviews38 followers
June 18, 2015
Dominic is a typical teenager with far from typical issues - his Mum's robot tries to kill him!
I guessed fairly early who was behind the sabotage, and that it was to do with the pipes, but I'll confess I hadn't worked out the exact root of the motive.
A well-paced story, full of action and intrigue.
Profile Image for Ellafran5.
23 reviews1 follower
August 7, 2013
This book is amazing and takes a very unexpected twist at the end.
Profile Image for Katrine Schroll.
1 review
April 4, 2014
This is one of the most horrible books i have ever read, i only finished it Because it was mandatory. Just don't read it. Seriously this is the worst book ever!!!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews

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