View source for A Hero's Quest (Gladiator Boy) by David Grimstone

{{infobox1
|sort=Hero's Quest (Gladiator Boy)
|title=A Hero's Quest (Gladiator Boy)
|author=David Grimstone
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=The first book in the Gladiator Boy gets everything off to a nice start. However, the cliffhanger makes it feel like half a book, and shouldn't be considered unless you intend to buy the whole series.
|rating=2.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Maybe
|pages=144
|publisher=Hodder Children's Books
|date=July 2009
|isbn=978-0340970515
|website=http://www.gladiatorboy.com/
|cover=Grimstone_Hero
|aznuk=0340970510
|aznus=0340970510
}}

Decimus Rex is kidnapped by slave takers and taken to gladiator school, where he'll face off against other kidnapped children. They form friendships, even though they'll eventually be rivals. Naturally, they're scared, but there's an element of excitement too. Who knows what the future holds for any of them?

The ''Gladiator Boy'' series is brimming with potential. It's action-packed, dramatic, and perfect for confident readers to imagine themselves in the same position (and be glad that they're not). David Grimstone's writing style helps keep the tension ticking over. The writing is also of a higher quality than the average series. Everything about the book suggests that it could be a firm favourite. Unfortunately, there's a massive 'but'.

Unnecessary cliffhangers are Bookbag's biggest collective bugbear in children's books. ''A Hero's Quest'' takes it to a new level. The action doesn't pause on a dramatic note, it just stops in the middle of a scene. With four short chapters, nothing much has even happened in the story before it stops. Everything is still largely at the scene-setting stage, rather than having any significant plot, much less having any sort of conclusion. I might prefer standalone books to series, but if a series has distinct episodes I can live with that. ''A Hero's Quest'' just feels like half a book.

If ''A Hero's Quest'' was the first four chapters of a longer book, I'd be thrilled to carry on reading. With the possibility of four more unsatisfactory conclusions, before finally getting to the sixth and final book in the series, it's not something I'd want to gamble on, nor is it something that I can really recommend. It's a shame, as it could have been a book to rave about.

My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.  We also have a review of [[Gladiator Boy vs The Living Dead by David Grimstone]].

[[Powers (Annals of the Western Shore) by Ursula K Le Guin]] is aimed at slightly older readers, but it's accessible enough for a confident reader with enough patience. [[Dark Angels by Katherine Langrish]] also has a historical air to it, but with a touch of fantasy thrown in for good measure.

{{amazontext|amazon=0340970510}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=0340970510}}

{{commenthead}}