Author: Pittacus Lore
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 440
Series: Lorien Legacies #1
Rating: 4.5 stars
From the book jacket:
Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books - but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya.
I am Number Four.
I am next.
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When I first picked up this book at Barnes & Noble and read the jacket cover, I thought it looked fascinating. Now that I've read it, I can say that I was absolutely right.
The author, using the pseudonym Pittacus Lore, wastes no time in plunging readers into the story of the Loric people and the Mogadorians. Lorien and Mogadore are two of the eighteen life-sustaining planets in the universe. The closest one to them is Earth. Nine Loric children and their guardians (called Cêpan) traveled to Earth after the Mogadorians destroyed their planet. These nine children are the future of Lorien, its only hope of someday being restored to what it once was. They are protected by a charm, so they can only be killed in order. One, Two, and Three are dead. Four - alias John Smith - knows he is next on the list.
There's one problem. John and his Cêpan, Henri, are living comfortably in Paradise, Ohio, and John has started fitting in for the first time ever. He's also come closer than ever to revealing who he really is, because he's receiving his Legacies - the "superpowers" that come naturally to Loric Garde (the ones who aren't Cêpan). He has a girlfriend, Sarah, a best friend, Sam, and a life that he actually doesn't want to leave. Enter the Mogadorians.
The action in this book was incredibly intense. Once I started, I did not want to stop - I had to keep going and find out what happened next. I'm not sure when Book 2 comes out (although according to the website, it will be called The Power of Six), but as soon as it does, I want to read it. I Am Number Four is coming out as a movie (starring Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron) on February 18, and I want to see it so I can see what they did with it, although rumor is it's quite different from the book. At any rate, the insane action in the book should translate really well to film.
But I digress. The plot was amazing, sure, but the characters were great. I love Henri, and Sarah, and Sam, and Six (S, S, S, haha), and of course John is the star of the show. I wish a couple of them had been developed a little more, but the cast is still amazing and they just came to life in my mind. Love, love, love.
Long story short: READ THIS BOOK. My one complaint is that the writing got to be a little more tell than show in one or two places and I wanted more of the characters, but aside from that, this is the best sci-fi action novel I've read in a long time and among the best novels overall that I've read recently, too. It's so awesome!
Links:
Official Lorien Legacies website
