Melyssa Malinowski (Children's Literature)
Tyrannosaurus: Improved Model (a.k.a. Tim) is one of Britain’s top secret military projects. The new Prime Minister sees no use for Tim and orders the project to be terminated. In the process, Tim escapes and accidentally terrorizes the streets of London on his way to a safe haven in the ocean. Once there, he meets the Kraken, who tells him that he must now become the defender of the Earth. The Kraken explains that Tim is needed because something awful is about to happen. That awful thing comes in the form of Professor Mallhide, a researcher in nanotechnology. Using himself as a lab rat, Mallhide evolves into a “post-human” and becomes part of the nano swarm. Under the misconception that he is going to save humanity from all of its ills, he stalks the city of London, absorbing bugs, small mammals, and eventually people. It is up to Tim to stop him. They battle, and Tim is not strong enough to beat Mallhide, but manages to damage him with a beam of light from his roar. Enter the conduit. Chris is just 15 years old, but a misstep in a museum lands him with a bracelet that he cannot take off. The bracelet glows and heats whenever he is near Tim or Tim is in battle. Chris, aided by his friend (and the professor’s daughter) Anna Mallhaide, helps humanity join together and give Tim the energy to defeat Mallhide for good. This story was entertaining but convoluted. After a slow start, it picked up and wove all of the seemingly extraneous story threads together. I would recommend this for the science fiction crowd. 2008, Razorbill, $4.99. Ages 14 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 1))
London is in big trouble, and only something really, really big can save the city. Professor Mallahide has invented a swarm of nanobots to be at his total command. When he gives himself up to the swarm, he becomes a monster that will absorb anyone or anything that stands in his way. Apparently indestructible, the world is readying an attack that will destroy all of Great Britain unless another solution can be found. The answer is a humongous re-engineered dinosaur known as TIM—Tyrannosaurus: Improved Model. A teenager just discovering his strength, Tim's not all that bright, but he knows his job is to defend the earth from Mallahide's swarm. However, even he can't stand alone. Teens Chris and Anna are his back-up team, especially Chris. He's been selected by a mystical bracelet to be the channel between the human race and TIM, the Defender. Are they enough to stand up to the evil swarm? Or is the earth finally doomed? Despite a wonderful concept, this book doesn't live up to its premise, and lacks appropriate character development. It can also be confusing, jumping around from one scene to the next. This may be entertaining for some, but the book could have used some judicious editing and another draft before publication. 2008, Razorbill/Penguin, 288p, $19.99. Category: Science fiction. Ages 12 to 15. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Paula Rohrlick (KLIATT Review, March 2008 (Vol. 42, No.2))
He’s green, he’s 100 meters tall, and he’s humanity’s best hope when a swarm of nanobots created by a mad scientist threatens to take over the world. Tim (which stands for Tyrannosaurus: Improved Model) is a secret military project created by the British. Chris, a 14-year-old on a field trip to the British Museum, acquires an ancient bracelet that links him to Tim and helps channel Tim’s power. Chris must also come to the aid of his classmate Anna, the daughter of the mad scientist, in a battle at St. Paul’s Cathedral between Tim and the swarm, before the world unleashes a nuclear strike at Britain in an attempt to stop the swarm from spreading. Enthoven previously demonstrated his wild imagination in The Black Tattoo. Here there’s less horror and more humor, along with lots of action, as each of the protagonists discovers his or her vital role in saving the world. Fun escapist fantasy. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2008, Penguin, Razorbill, 288p., $19.99. Ages 12 to 15.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, March 2008 (Vol. 61, No. 7))
Newly elected Prime Minister David Sinclair is startled to learn that Britain has been developing a secret weapon, Tyrannosaurus: Improved Model (Tim), which has now outgrown its underground lab facility but has yet to show any true military promise. Sinclair pulls Tim’s funding and transfers it to Professor Mallahide and his nanotechnology project. Bad move. Tim isn’t about to go quietly into any dark night, Mallahide is a predictably deranged scientist focused on world domination, and the stage is set for a smackdown between mega- and micro-forces, with the fate of the world at stake. Artlessly woven into this B-movie plot are the requisite humans who save the day—fourteen-year-old Chris, who wears a magic bracelet, clamped on his wrist by a weird museum guard, that focuses human energy on Tim’s behalf; and Mallahide’s daughter Anna, who knows what dear old Dad has been up to. This may supply some light and cheesy entertainment for Godzilla vs. Whatever devotees, but the attacking swarm of ’bots won’t offer much to hardcore sci-fi fans, and overall Enthoven’s take on nanobots and cloning makes the first season of Star Trek look wildly sophisticated by comparison Review Code: M -- Marginal book that is so slight in content or has so many weaknesses in style or format that it should be given careful consideration before purchase. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2008, Razorbill, 288p.; Reviewed from galleys, $19.99. Grades 6-8.

Arlene Garcia (VOYA, February 2008 (Vol. 30, No. 6))
Unbeknownst to most of Britain, a top-secret organization has created the ultimate super soldier, a dinosaur-like creature named Tim. Finding no practical use for him, as well as being a little frightened of the monster, the new prime minister cuts off funding to the project and redirects the money to Professor Mallahide's nanotechnology program. Meanwhile on a museum field trip, teenager Chris encounters a mysterious object that attaches itself to his arm and cannot be removed. Tim, Mallahide, and Chris are destined to come together in a battle that will determine the fate of Great Britain and of the Earth itself. The novel is the first in what looks to be a series and does not quite know yet what it wants to be. There is simply too much going on in this science fiction-fantasy-action-adventure hybrid to keep track, and although it is all fun in an afternoon-movie-blockbuster way, nothing is really believable and there are far too many matinee clichTs. Mallahide is an all-too-typical, mad-scientist villain, Chris's character is never really well developed, and Tim seems vacuous instead of innocently un-human. Tim is supposed to be the focus of the novel, yet he disappears from the action for chapters at a time. Reluctant readers will enjoy the fast pace of the book, but for now, series fans would do better to wait for the next Pendragon or Percy Jackson adventure. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P M J (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2008, Razorbill/Penguin Putnam, 288p., $19.99. Ages 11 to 15.