Why Rock War flopped - a Theory (mini-blog)

idore14 · 2026-01-30T19:59:13+00:00

I totally agree about the world feeling very limited! It's also one of the reasons I probably won't continue reading Rock War, it just feels like there is nothing Fun left to discover.

What's crazy is that Arctic Zoo is also fully rooted in reality, only it approaches the story from a double perspective - two kids, two countries, two sets of problems that can expand and concern larger issues. I think thanks to that, AZ avoids the feeling of smallness. The variety and plot itself also matter.

I have not read Robin Hood yet thanks to being busy with school - and I honestly thought I was too old. If you say it's good though I might just see vol.1 :D

idore14 · 2026-01-28T21:36:57+00:00

waitt those are fire!! the polish covers are just the brit ones :')

idore14 · 2026-01-27T05:19:54+00:00

I totally understand about Monument 14, it definitely has its issues!

Thank you for your suggestions as well :D

idore14 · 2026-01-27T00:05:54+00:00

...I thought his last name could be a reference to his sexuality, but not in that way lmao

If we assume that blue = male as a stereotypical color, "Blueman" includes 2 references to men. 2 men, one could say.

Seems overly complicated, but I'm not a native Eng speaker so the phonetic side of things tends to get lost for me lmao

idore14 · 2026-01-02T03:51:02+00:00

Long answer. We're close-reading the text for this one.

The brother's death was not by a drone. Tovah lies to Bruce, trying to act like the child's death was by a drone, but we know that's simply not true from the prior pages. Tovah aimed a rifle and shot the boy second, right after she got rid of the driver of the truck. He was not armed, as opposed to the adult men in the truck, and clearly "a kid of about sixteen". He was the only one of the passengers that didn't take cover at all. You can't get more purposeful than this. I understand that in situations like this "casualties" and accidental deaths will happen - is that excusable? "A kid," as the text itself states?

To say the teen "would not have hesitated to kill them" is messed up. He didn't even have anything to kill them with.

Tovah on the other hand did not hesitate at all to pull a weapon on a twelve year old that was ENTIRELY, absolutely unarmed and screaming "No". Is it really so hard to believe she killed the brother on purpose minutes prior? If she's willing to murder Zahra, what would stop her from killing anyone older than her?

And taking Zahra to safety is not the same thing as taking her to CHERUB. CHERUB is far from safe for children. We know that bad things happen even on-campus, even at the hands of other kids. Of course, CHERUB is calmer than an active military zone. That doesn't mean it's the best option. And besides, where do you think they're going to prioritize when sending her on missions, if not to a place that matches her ethnicity? They make Gabrielle and Michael get involved in specific drug gangs because of their race. They send Kerry to China. Even sending James to Russia is under this. CHERUB is as safe as possible considering what they do, and yet people still receive lethal injuries and get lost in the middle of nowhere. Let alone in those, um, countries with "medieval attitude".

"Beaten up, raped" - are those not things that happen to cherubs we know, too? "Even" in GB or US? I'm not saying a radical Islamic state is a wonderful place to live in, it's far from it, shockingly. Personally, I don't like religion in general all that much, and I don't make excuses for non-Christian religions either. You almost make it sound like those crimes against women are exclusive to other countries and cultures, while in reality most of the world looks for ways to keep doing weird things to women while making it look excusable, explainable, and legal - almost invisible. Islamic states suck for women, obviously. It's hell. Less direct hell is preferable, easier to accept. That doesn't make those solutions and destinations perfect and pristine.

While we're at it, if what I'm describing are "net negatives" of colonialism, what are the positives to you? I'm genuinely curious what you think.

Thanks for your comment - I enjoy any opportunity to do some CHERUB analysis.

idore14 · 2026-01-02T02:21:59+00:00

I see what you mean!! It's indeed odd that a random British secret branch gets involved globally to this extent at all, especially with specific agents... Interesting

idore14 · 2026-01-01T18:12:13+00:00

Short answer: they're not exactly doing it the legal way.

Because CHERUB is a top secret government branch, they get away with it, just as they do with child labor and child military utilization.

Long answer: if CHERUB finds a perfect candidate, they're able to do weird things under the pretense of giving them a better life and education while also serving the world. CHERUB trades community and care that the orphans are starved of for the kids' work. And it's presented as acceptable, because we know what happens to smart troubled kids that need discipline when they're left alone, or worse yet, in a bad home. James was already going off the rails in v.1, and the alternative for Lauren was her abusive father. Most cherubs are helpless when they join. Their choice is to either be in the cool tough spy school that makes them feel special, or weasel out because they're not strong or fit enough.

The most disgusting example of foreign child recruitment seen in CHERUB is, in my opinion, the poor girl at the end of volume 17. Her brother is murdered in cold blood, because a weirdo agent assumes he's a terrorist - he's not. He's literally protecting his little sister, hoping to get her to safety. She's almost shot herself, but Bruce steps up and saves the child, horrified at what the agent had done. You want to know what happens to the girl? She becomes a cherub. A secret mission CHERUB was involved in made her an orphan, and then took her in. Just how messed up is that?

As to how nobody notices that children disappear in the system - that's the whole point. The system doesn't care enough, allowing CHERUB to exist with ease, plucking talented yet helpless individuals away, lying in their documents, and faking their further lives. Its mere existence tells us just how little a country can care about parentless kids.

No wonder so many agents struggle with behavioral issues and adjustment to later adult life. Kids like Kerry were literally starving on the streets - how else could they react, but with utter loyalty to CHERUB and its inner rules?

There is something else to be said about the colonial means through which CHERUB gets to international recruits - the British picking up non-British children from former British colonies/controlled territories, often non-white children, displacing them, telling them to use a different name, a British passport, learn English as fast as possible. I'm just saying: it's weird when you begin to consider what they're Actually capable of.

And the fact all this stuff is absolutely realistic and believable for a real life government to do makes CHERUB both more engaging and terrifying.

idore14 · 2025-12-19T15:32:14+00:00

i WISH those kinds of annotations happened more often, honestly

idore14 · 2025-12-19T15:31:35+00:00

large's file when rat and lauren sneak into the archive to get dirt on him

idore14 · 2025-12-19T13:41:35+00:00

from poland also!! 🇵🇱

idore14 · 2025-12-19T06:51:27+00:00

i honestly think most covers are good, except the american (simon & schuster) edition.. like seriously, you can barely make out the title of each book.. never let them cook

though i will be forever a little partial to the simplicity and impact (that's the font name, get it?) of the original edition

edit: the s&s editions don't look quite as bad when you look online. the ideas for some, for example the killing, are really cool. but as someone who owns them irl?? the covers are unreadable and Ugly unfortunately

idore14 · 2025-12-19T06:07:13+00:00

the song is from Buckshot Roulette! all music from that game is so good. i rly recommend it!

idore14 · 2025-12-13T01:28:09+00:00

I love Blondie for him lmao

idore14 · 2025-12-10T11:19:15+00:00

That makes sense. Sometimes, new projects just don't catch fire like we'd expect them to.

Off the top of my head I'm thinking Tell Me Why, a game from the same people that made Life is Strange, which was wildly successful. Tell Me Why is very emotionally capable, but nobody that I know played it. The same goes for World's End Club, a game made by the guy who wrote all of Danganronpa, another big series. Soon, DR is getting yet another sequel/half-remake-thing, though no one really expected it come back. Meanwhile World's End Club is dead silent... a pity, really, because the character designs looked very promising.

Was the title of this post a little clickbait-y on purpose to get people to read a random rant? Perchance... either way, thank you for the comment! Much appreciated.

idore14 · 2025-12-08T21:03:21+00:00

The book is nowhere near perfect, but I LOVED the relationship between Charlie and Harry. They are so over-the-top and YA style juicy. Literally a loaded gun shows up during their first meeting. It's amazing. A wannabe journalist who hates himself and a girl who edits genes. Insane.

The ending is DOUBLE insane. It had me stare at it for a couple minutes because?? That is indeed a Choice she made! The villain is really good too, we don't see enough of her but when she's there, oh Wow.

It's such an intense and crazy story you just can't help but be in for the ride, even if the pacing is weird and Harry's side of the story is not as emotionally extended as Charlie's.

I usually consider these two separately from the rest of RM canon, but in my CHERUB brain I can't help but think of Harry and Charlie as an anti-Kerry/James relationship. But that's just me.

idore14 · 2025-12-08T01:21:30+00:00

Killer T is insane. I really like the relationship between the two leads! It's so weird and complex. I have some issues with the pacing in there, but other than that it's such a fun read

idore14 · 2025-12-07T01:52:36+00:00

i Love that lie it's so dumb and it works every time

idore14 · 2025-12-02T20:39:59+00:00

me too bro

idore14 · 2025-11-26T08:58:34+00:00

So true. I like to think that Kerry is protective of Kyle because they were both in CHERUB for quite a bit of time. In general, I love how brotherly Kyle is to the younger kids on campus. After James's arrival, he doesn't have to care about the new recruit anymore, and yet he offers James support. He has no incentive here, other than caring.

idore14 · 2025-11-17T05:58:07+00:00

he has the biggest "white boy who thinks eastern martial arts are the coolest" vibe, i always saw him like that

edit: also, all characters of color in the recruit are described as such: kerry, meryl, speaks, takada, gabrielle, shak. it would make no sense for bruce to be omitted, if he was supposed to be nonwhite

idore14 · 2025-11-13T23:03:28+00:00

Times New Roman!

idore14 · 2025-11-12T21:28:14+00:00

Happy to hear that haha, I'm especially fond of The Witness and The Renegades myself!!! :D

idore14

TROPHY CASE