The Kid Sensation Series: Books 1-3

Publisher's Summary

Get the first three books in the Kid Sensation series.

Sensation (Kid Sensation book one)

Like millions of other kids, Jim grew up wanting to be a superhero. Unlike most of his contemporaries, however, Jim actually had the goods: a plethora of super powers that would have been the envy of any meta on the planet. But when his tryout with the Alpha League - the world's premiere group of supers - goes disastrously wrong, Jim basically becomes an outcast.

Two years later, Jim is still bitter about what happened to him. However, he soon finds himself the centerpiece in an odd turn of events that gives him a second chance at his dream. It’s a lot for one super to handle, even with a smorgasbord of abilities. But if saving the world were easy, everyone would do it....

Mutation (Kid Sensation book two)

Having saved the planet and earned a place with the world’s premiere superhero team, Jim (aka Kid Sensation) is preparing to attend the prestigious Academy, where teen supers from every corner of the globe learn to master their abilities. At the same time, however, he is approached by a mysterious government organization that wants Jim to work for them - and they won’t take no for an answer.

Moreover, at the Academy itself, an insidious and highly contagious virus is running amok through the student population, striking at the heart of their abilities. Students are losing control of their powers, with lethal consequences....

Infiltration (Kid Sensation book three)

Having a surfeit of super powers is great for battling bad guys and saving the world, as Jim (aka Kid Sensation) is finding out, but less useful in dealing with day-to-day situations - like bonding with his superhero father, adjusting to a team environment, and coping with what might be perceived as a growing rivalry between himself and another teen super. On top of all that, despite having a serious girlfriend, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to a new female super he’s just met.

At the same time, some villain has just gotten himself a new toy: an unknown weapon of tremendous power that is able to strike without warning. It quickly becomes clear that the only way to stop this new evil is from within.

©2013 Kevin Hardman (P)2018 Kevin Hardman

Puberty and Superpowers

Ok, this is a coming of age story, and my headline might have been a little misleading, but Sensation is about a young man struggling to find his place in the world. Given that he has super powers that makes his task a little harder than most.

The book is a great straight forward good vs evil/ hero vs villain tale, but it really goes much deeper than that. It has, as Shrek would say, LAYERS. One might think that Kid Sensation is overpowered, but I really look at tis book as a text for what Superman would go through as a young man. I think a great point the first book makes is how he deals with rejection and being an outsider in a community that is already beyond regular humanity.

The action is great, and there is a mystery regarding a mole that will keep you guessing. Naramore does a great job narrating this book.

Book 2:

I generally start off with any perceived problems, and here are a couple: The book does start out a little slower than I'd have liked, but that is just set up and prep for the rest of th tale. There were a few parts that I had trouble understanding why things did or did not happen, such as when the kids were attacked. . . no one retaliated? Had one of those kids been mine then somebody would have been nibbling on their liver. Hardman seems to just be hitting his stride as a writer, as the book really picks up and gets to be fun and exciting. Any fan of superheroes would love this book.

Mikael Naramore does a great job narrating, he clearly puts his all into the process, and gives each character a unique voice, and their personalities shine through and apart from one another. This is a fun book, part 2 in a series, and you'll hope there are many more to come.

Book 3:

Hardman has continued to build up his heroic world. Kid Sensation is back in this third book. Naramore' narration, already great, has somehow continued to improve. I really think he is beginning to get into the swing of the series, and his enjoyment of the material really shows. The series itself is straitup popcorn chewing superheroics like you'd see on the big screen.

I do have one small nitpicky problem, and that is the way the story is set up. For the most part it seems very much like two seperate self-contained stories. They do tie together, but it just comes off like two short stories put together. Nothing wrong with that, I just think either idea could have been fleshed out into a full length tale to stand on their own. Hardman's writing is as fine and sharp as ever, and he is very aware that he might be writing for an audience that does not consist solely of adults, and he keeps it toned for a YA audience (just like most comic books). I would like to see Kid Sensation face a real rival of a villain later in the series, every hero needs a good nemesis.

Over all another top notch tale.

Get it, read it, love it.


This is a great book for Young Adults, my teens listened with me as we drove, and they really enjoyed the series. I really reccomend it for kids and adults, and fans of comic books or their movies will enjoy this set as well.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

awesome superheroes

This is a wonderful audiobook series narrated by Mikael Naramore, who does great voices for all of the characters in the Kid Sensation series and really brings that whole world alive for the listeners. Kevin Hardman's Kid Sensation series is a wonderful, action packed, suspenseful, full of surprises series that is awesome for middle graders and young adults, or anyone that likes superhero stories. The main character Jim, has it all, smarts, all kinds of super powers, but he is a teenager and thing don't always turn out the way he plans, sometimes that is good sometimes that is bad, it is a learning process even for superheroes.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A Great Collection

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, and found it very entertaining. How often do you get to follow a super hero from the start of his career? Well that's what you get in the first three books of this series. The main character, Jim, is just sixteen and is learning how to be a team player, how to be a boyfriend and how to save the world. It's is a lot of fun watch him make his way in this new world, threw in the suspense, action and some very intriguing characters and you'll be marathon listening to all three books.

Great fun for comicbook fans.

A great listen. A unique, but familiar universe. This is fun for the whole family.

Super Teens to the Rescue

I've been a comic book fan since I was in University (don't ask, but it was a LONG time ago), so this series was kind of a natural for me. Like a comic book run, it's very much one story with consecutive issues, rather than three stand-alone stories, so buying it as a box set is kind of a no-brainer.
I love the stories; the teen angst, the idea of a supers' "academy", the hero "games" and the regular battle royal sequences against super villains. In this series, Kevin Hardman has taken the feel of the classic comic book and translated them into a novelized format and narrator Mikeal Naramore has captured the wonder and suspense of the genre in this Audible version.

rather surprised how good it was

Im glad that i chose to purchase this one
on a whim. I've always loved superheroes so this was an easy out of the box pick. but it was indeed a pleasent surprise when i discovered it wasn't a half bad book. not perfect mind you but very entertaining. i highly reccomend reading this one. it'll hook you like harry potter if the wizards were superheroes.

A wonderful fantasy story for all ages.

BOOK 1 : Sensation

A young man, brought up by his gifted grandfather and mother has an eventful time, when he attempts to acquire accreditation to enter the academy for the gifted.
To be a teenager is bad enough, but to have super abilities, made life a very difficult time, especially when someone else was out to get you.

BOOK 2 : Mutation

As usual, there is always the good guys, trying to combat those that want to assume authority, without going through the normal process, or for the good of all.
This episode shows a group of supernatural students, doing what they could, to be schooled in learning to work for a better world. That school's environment is taken over by those that have evil intent.
How it all comes down is a good story, and is worth reading, or listening to via the audiobooks for this series.

BOOK 3 : Infiltration
Yes life as a supernatural youngster isn't easy. Trying to fit in with the age group, sorting out feelings about a dad that had only recently come back into his life and fighting to save the world from a villain, who may have found the key to world domination. Life sometimes can get a little bit hectic.

Although, some would say this is a teenage saga, I believe a lot of adults that are attracted to the supernatural storyline will love this series.
Having listened to the audiobooks for this series, I found the narrator's enhancement of the story, by use of various vocalizations for different characters adding that extra dimension to an otherwise epic story.

Very well done

Wasn't sure when I started but I was very quickly won over to the whole world he created here. The characters were fleshed out and took on a life of their own. Mikael Naramore did a fantastic job of bringing life to everything and keeping you engaged throughout. Very much looking forward to the rest of the series and recommend it to anyone with even the faintest love for superheroes.

loved it

great characters awesome story lines, really liked that key information was repeated in the second and third books. it was very helpful and done well.

Enjoyable series

Book 1. My first read from author Kevin Hardman was amazing! The second super-hero book I've read in the last year I'd say that about, the other being Serpent by Trish Heinrich (this one might be the better of the 2). I love the character creation & development and the super-powers explanation early in the book, enough, you have to read the book!
Book 2. My second read from author Kevin Hardman was amazing! Excellent narration.
Book 3. My fourth read (I had to read Extraction between book 2 & #) from author Kevin Hardman was amazing! Well-written super-hero sci-fic/suspense, with well-developed characters. I look forward to reading more in this series. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. On to Book 4! (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

Great (Sensational?) value in this start to series

The most important question with any collected edition is whether or not the individual books are worth a listen as otherwise it still isn't good value, thankfully the three books in this collection are all enjoyable listens and another good jumping on point to this superhero world that the author has created.

The over-abundance of powers that Jim (aka Kid Sensation) has at his disposal compared with most heroes in the world of these books could easily end up being a lazy way to get round any difficulty if not handled properly, but the author manages to avoid falling into this potential trap with sensible limitations on the character, at other times using it as a plot point with how he interacts with other heroes and also the consequences of him being too reliant on his own powers. It will be interesting to see how the author deals with this issue in future books because it might become more tricky to get the right balance as Jim becomes more experienced with his powers.

The narrator did a good job with these books, his tone was clear throughout and was sufficiently distinctive with the main characters that it helped to draw me into the stories that much more.

Overall, this collection is a good entry point to this superhero world although Mouse's Tale also works very well in that respect too.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

A cool mix of YA and superman

Sensation
This is a world where super powers are not quite as uncommon as our world, it is a cool mix of YA and superman.
Jim is a normal teenage boy with all the usual teen issues to deal with, along with something extra, he seems to have more superpowers than all the other heroes put together and this doesn't make his life any easier.
I really enjoyed this book and didn't want to stop listening, unfortunately life got in the way and I had to take 2 sittings to finish the book.

Mutation
Now that Jim (aka Kid Sensation) has proven himself one of the good guys, he can finally join the Academy with the other teen supers and learn more about using his powers. However, when he gets there he finds that someone is using the place for a more nefarious purpose.
I really liked Jim, though he comes across a bit cocky, like most teenage boys I guess.

Infiltration
Kid Sensation is is really growing into his powers and getting better at combining them and coming up with plans to get out of any situation. This is particularly useful when he has to go undercover as a villain to find out how to battle a particularly powerful threat to the world and to the Alpha League,
I started this straight after finishing book 2 as I wanted more from Kid Sensation and his world. I really enjoyed it and was sorry when I finished.

Fantastic

This is a fantastic box set. Kept me awake most nights until I finished it. Absolutely amazing characters and brilliant storyline. I couldn’t get enough. I need he next one.
The narrator is spot on as always. Edge of the seat stuff.
I highly recommend this box set.😹😻👆

Sensational book

Wow so glad I discovered this series, I just loved it and was hooked from the very start. It has everything you could want with a for good story - action, plot twists, mysteries super powers, family life, good guys and bad guys. What's even better is in this one book you get three great stories for the price of one. So what's stopping you from getting it?

Book one Sensation- A teenage boy finds himself talked into trying out to become a super hero but having previously tried out before where it ends disastrously he know he has his work cut out for him. To make matters worse there is also a bounty on his head, it's a good job he is a shape shifter. Things get really serious when a team of super villains start to target him.

This was a great story and a really good introduction to the characters and there individual powers.

Book two Mutation - Jim and his friends are off to super hero academy to learn how to become better hero's. School life is hard enough but add in a group of teenagers with powers and things are bound to go wrong. Then pupils start losing control of there powers and the virus seems to be spreading. Can Jim save the day?

I love the twists this book takes and the way Jim has to out smart his deadly foes and with all the action it keeps you listening. You could easily see this being made into a film.

Book three infiltration- With super heros popularity waning slightly from a few mishaps lately they decided to hold a charity competition between the teen super heros to boost morale. So Jim not only has to compete in the televised event but he also has to take down a mystery force that keep setting of bombs all before someone gets hurts and as the main targets seems to be his father he had better hurry.

I think this was the weaker story out of the three as there was a lot of information about the teenage trails which was fun but it took a long time before Jim engaged the hunt for the bad guys. Still worth listening too though.

I really liked the narrator and he definitely helped bring each of the characters to life.
I can't wait to start the next book in the series.

More a boys story.

This seems to have been written with a youth audience in mind. May get better as it goes on but not to my liking.