Zero Override

Author: Steve Blackman

Adventure stories (Children's / Teenage)

Published on 2 July 2026 by Scholastic in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 288 pages
196 x 130 x 22 | 198g

i, Robot meets Alex Rider: a high-stakes adventure

debut for readers of 10+, featuring a group of young underground

hackers who steal from the rich in a world populated with bots

and AI.

“An action-packed techno-thriller set in

a very believable near-future dystopia. This was a really exciting

read blending adventure, mystery and action in perfect measures

... a stellar debut.” - Christopher Edge

“A propulsive, high stakes thriller filled with

espionage and heists - this is the book of my dreams!”

- Wren James

“Great fun, super-sharp and optimistic.”

- Ross Welford

In a near-future London where humans and humanoid bots live side

by side, a sophisticated virus is infiltrating the national system.

If it uploads fully, every intelligent machine in the country

- from home assistants to hospital bots to android enforcers -

will shut down.

Zero, a thirteen-year-old hacker whose day job is to sneak into

high-security server rooms and 'liberate' funds from undeserving

corporations, has a serious distrust of bots - and no real interest

in saving the world. But the virus threatens the life of Grace,

his younger sister, who - as a result of the car crash that killed

their parents ten years ago - now has a machine heart.

No one will work harder than Zero to stop the upload. Except perhaps

Andi, a mysterious humanoid bot who has appeared with secrets

of his own. Zero doesn't trust him. He doesn't even like him.

But with only hours on the clock, the only way to protect Grace

might be to partner up. And along the way, he must come up against

MI6 - and unravel his own past...

A fast-paced, page-turning adventure full of punchy action,

intrigue, a hero to root for and a memorable cast - both human and

android.

The pace, thrills and stakes of spy novels like Cherub

and Alex Rider, but from the rebellious angle of a Robin-Hood-style

underground organisation.

Tackles the hot and ever-growing topic of AI head on, asking

thought-provoking questions about what it means to be human in a

world of intelligent machines.