The ''SOS Adventures'' series is a trilogy of

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

novels written by

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

author

Colin Bateman Colin Bateman (known mononymously as Bateman) is a novelist, screenwriter and former journalist from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Biography Born on 13 June 1962, Bateman attended Bangor Grammar School leaving at 16 when he was hir ...

, released between June 2010 and March 2011. The novels surround teenager Michael Monroe and his adventures with a team of international environmental rescue operatives, known as ''SOS''. The first novel in the series was

longlist A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

ed for the children's Northern Ireland Book Award 2010–11.

Characters

* Michael Monroe – fourteen-year-old

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

and newest member of the ''SOS'' team. * Katya – teenage member of ''SOS''. * Dr. Jimmy Kincaid – pop-star

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...

founder of ''SOS''. * Mr. Crown – ''SOS'' team member who specialises in combat. * Bailey – ''SOS''s helicopter pilot. * Bonsoir –

strategist A strategist is a person with responsibility for the formulation and implementation of a strategy. Strategy generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions. A strategy ...

and language expert for ''SOS''. * Dr. Faustus – ''SOS''s

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

''Ice Quake''

''Ice Quake '' is the first novel of the ''SOS Adventures'' series by Northern Irish author, Colin Bateman, published on 3 June 2010 through

Hodder Children's Books Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

. It sets on Baring Island (aka ''Banks Island'') in the

Canadian Arctic Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories a ...

. The novel was well received and

ed for the children's Northern Ireland Book Award 2010–11.

Plot

Michael Monroe, a teenage orphan boy, accidentally burns down his

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

, St Mark's Retreat, by setting a fire in one of the many disused

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

s. As a result, he is expelled from his sixth school in as many years and leaves on the bus the next morning, to be handed over to the

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...

. During this journey, however, the driver loses control of the bus and drives into an icy lake. Monroe then proceeds, along with the

head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

Vincent Armoury, to save the lives of the school's debate team, who were on their way to a competition, before they all drown. When Armoury is hit in the head during the operation, Monroe pulls him from the water, administers the kiss of life and passes out. Monroe's heroic effort in the rescue of twelve children results in him coming to the attention of Doctor Jimmy Kincaid, millionaire owner of a team named ''SOS'', which engages in risky rescue operations on a worldwide scale. Monroe's first mission is to search for the missing "Eden" satellite, which had been measuring

greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

in the

Earth's atmosphere The atmosphere of Earth is composed of a layer of gas mixture that surrounds the Earth's planetary surface (both lands and oceans), known collectively as air, with variable quantities of suspended aerosols and particulates (which create weathe ...

. Deployment for the mission doesn't go to plan and Monroe ends up stranded in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

with fellow teen-aged ''SOS'' member, Katya, who somewhat resents his presence on the mission. While trying to succeed where the adults have failed, the teenagers run into armed men, wolves and a twice-the-usual-size

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

''Ice Quake'' characters

* Jordan Nappaaluk – native of the area who goes missing * Vincent Armoury – head-boy of St Mark's * Rachael – ''SOSs resident teacher

Reception

The novel was well received. Kieran Fanning from the ''Inis Magazine'' called this novel the "adrenaline-racing, breath-taking adventure" and considered its strengths to be "the dialogue and the lively banter". Fanning found its "characters and relationship ..too similar to Jimmy and Claire's from '' Titanic 2020''", with an exception of "wisecracks and one-liners ..with ateman's

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

wit". The Clare County Library stated that the children of the area found its characters "clever, funny and very resourceful" and awarded the novel a score of ten out of ten.

''Fire Storm''

''Fire Storm'' is the second novel of the ''SOS Adventures'' series by Northern Irish author, Colin Bateman, published on 7 October 2010 through Hodder Children's Books. Janet Clarke from the ''School Librarian'' magazine called the novel an "action packed thriller", finding it "fast paced and entertaining"; stating that the characters were plausible and the relationship between Michael and Katya was "relaxed" and "friendly".

Plot

The ''SOS'' team was founded by pop-star millionaire, Dr. Jimmy Kincaid, who founded the organisation to assist in environmental rescue on a worldwide scale. Within this organisation, an elite team known as the ''Artists'', derived from ''Action Response Team'', exist and Michael Monroe is promoted to this group, despite being ''SOS''s newest member. The novel takes place on the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n island of New Ireland, where the missing scientist, Dr. Anna Roper, who is on the island doing "vital" research into both the

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

and

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, was last seen. The ''SOS'' team, including Monroe, set out to find her. However, the team encounter a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on the island.

''Fire Storm'' Characters

* Joe Kabui – fourteen-year-old Filipino boy whose father is killed by bandits. * Dr. Anna Roper – missing scientist and the reason that the ''SOS'' team are on New Ireland; sister of Jimmy Kincaid. * Tracker Mark – tracker.

''Tusk''

''Tusk'' is the third novel of the ''SOS Adventures'' series by Northern Irish author,

, published on 3 March 2011 through

Hodder Children's Books Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

Plot

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

for some rest. Michael Monroe and Katya, however, are sent to join a team of unruly youths under the tuition of ex-

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

Major Calvin Hunter; to both protect a member of his team, future

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

Peter Windsor, and to improve their survival skills.

''Tusk'' characters

* Major Calvin Hunter – ex-commando and leader of the expedition. * Peter Windsor – future king of England.

References

{{Colin Bateman Novels from Northern Ireland * 2011 British novels British crime novels British children's novels 2010 British novels Novels set in Indonesia Novels set on islands Hodder & Stoughton books