I am Number Four

Lorien Legacies, first book.

I saw this one on a bookstore and I liked what I read on the back cover.

So i took a note and searched it online, and found out that there was a hype already. It's going to be a movie next year. The more I read about it, the more I want to read it. The synopsis sounds really good and it's the kind of stories that gets me hooked, but I was really worried that I might not enjoy it as many readers gave a negative review.

But I bought a copy anyway.

Synopsis:

There are nine of them. They came here to grow up, awaken their powers, train, meet back up, and return to rebuild their home planet. But they are hunted by the ones who doomed their planet. Their best protection is to remain separated, so that as long as the first in line was alive, the others will be safe. But number one was killed in Malaysia, number two was murdered in England, and number three was hunted down in Kenya. And as the book title says, he is number four. He's next.

But as long as they lay low, and stay hidden from their hunters, they can live among us. Only they must be prepared to leave their current lives and make new identities and keep one step ahead from their hunters. However, John Smith, Number Four's current identity, felt too at home with Paradise, Ohio. He made great friends and fell in love, although he knows it is best not to. His powers are awakening, and the hunters are closing in. And if he does not leave, he'll put everyone in mortal danger.

Review:

Since this is the first of a six-book series, there are a lot of introductions as they settled down in their new lives. As the story goes, John's history is slowly explained. We also see how he deals with the whole "alien" thing while trying to be normal. He goes to the local high school and deals with the stereotypical jock nemesis, nerdy best friend, and his cheerleader crush.

It feels like a long introduction, but then the action comes along. John has superpowers. And he uses it on the ones trying to kill him. But when the time came that he realizes that there's no other way to run or hide, only to fight, it goes all downhill from there. I felt no adrenaline at all. The way that the biggest fights were written felt like it was in slow motion, boring even. And I was actually yawning. But it looks good in the movie though:

Look! It's Alex Rider and Quinn Fabray!

I can understand how those negative reviews came out despite a rather promising story. It lacks the goosebumps moments and the sad ones are not heartbreaking enough, but overall, the book was still good. The series, despite the rather anticlimactically dull fight in this book, still looks promising. I still root for it to become a great series, because the idea is much too good for me, and I hope that the next installments would be much better than this one.

The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Alchemyst, The Magician, The Sorceress, The Necromancer

The series is all about Sophie and Josh Newman, fifteen year old twins, and how they got caught up in the secret magical world of ancient beings and immortal humans. Since I already blogged about the first book, this one will be about the next three.

Synopsis:

With the very high likelihood of being the twins in the prophecy, they continue their quest to awaken their powers and master the four elements. To do that, they seek Elders and immortal humans who mastered at least one element. The thing is, if the prophecy was to be fulfilled, the great new age of the Elders will be prevented, so naturally, the Elders will be out to stop the twins.

But Nicholas Flamel still has some allies: immortal humans that can help prevent the end of the human age. Across the first four books, both the twins would both be Awakened, Sophie would master three elements, and Josh, two. However, time is still running out for Nicholas and his wife, Perenelle, who has her own set of allies and enemies as she tries to escape Alcatraz. As long as they do not recover the Book of Abraham, their cling to immortality wavers.

Review:

One of the major point of the series is to introduce and mix mythological and historical figures and make them exist in our society today. The author has given these characters a fresh twist so they will actually be quite interesting to read. From Roman, Norse, Egyptian, Irish, and even Micronesian mythology; to Joan of Arc, William Shakespeare, and Billy the Kid; the author managed to mix them all up.

They travel a lot, considering that in the course of the series, they had been from the Golden Gate Bridge, to the Eiffel Tower, to Stonehenge, and back to California in just six days. They also battle a lot. The battles here are done with magic. The immortals use their auras to conjure, control, or blow stuff up; and the Elders, well, their actual power from their respective mythology.

So far, the series has been great. However, every time a book ends, there won't be much of a closure, and a lot of unanswered questions will still remain. Like I said, the series moves at around two days per book. So if you're interested on reading this, be prepared for a total six books, and a very long wait.