Imagine a school that selects only the cream of society: the smartest, the fastest, the best. There, students have access to cutting-edge technology, highly qualified teachers, and an incredible variety of extracurricular activities. On top of all that, the facilities are wonderful, enough to make even the most exclusive private schools envious... There's just one catch: at the Center for Applied Villainy, students are trained not to become lawyers or doctors, but villains. No more petty street thieves. They will be the elite of villainy, those who will endanger entire cities, who will frighten the most powerful rulers... And to that end, COVA has prepared a rigorous curriculum: six years of studying landmines, weapons of mass destruction, and world domination. With absolutely no contact with the outside world, it's precisely at this school that Otto Malpense, the ideal candidate for the world's supervillain, ends up. At thirteen, he's already running the orphanage where he lives and has devised an ingenious plan capable of outwitting even the most powerful man in the country. But the idea of spending six years trapped on a tropical island, with no communication with his family or friends, doesn't appeal to Otto, and he soon discovers he's not the only one dissatisfied. So, Otto and his new friends—a genius with a photographic memory and pure white hair, an Asian expert in martial arts and logic, a beautiful and dangerous world-famous diamond thief, and a playful expert in advanced technology—team up to achieve the only feat never before achieved at COVA... Escape. A thrilling and dangerous adventure, COVA: Orientation Center for Applied Villainy is the first book in the series and will delight fans of the child prodigy Artemis Fowl.
