‘I am Number Four’ Pittacus Lore

Hi folks! Welcome back 🙂

This weeks novel was ‘I am number four’ by Pittacus Lore. Now I’ll be very honest, I normally    despise sci-fi novels but this one wasn’t as scary and technical as I thought it was going to be. This is almost completely because it’s more of a teenage novel, but I admit that I was completely lulled into the adventure so it can’t be that bad! I should probably point out that ‘Pittacus Lore’ is not the real author. It is merely a nom de plume, so luckily there was no unfortunate child who was christened ‘Pittacus’, though I’m sure it could happen! The authors who collaborated on this book are really James Frey (A Million little pieces)* and Jobie Hughes.

We discover that Pittacus Lore is in fact an elder of an alien race known as the Lorien (possibly a nod to JRR Tolkien?). Now bear with me, this gets a little technical. A decade before the story begins the Lorien race was virtually wiped out by aliens called the Mogadorians. During a huge battle with the Mogadorians, the Lorien managed to save nine young Garde (Warrior Loriens, who have special powers) and their Cêpan (Trainers) by sending them off in their last spaceship to Earth. The planet Lorien was completely destroyed and a decade later the surviving nine are now being hunted down on Earth. providing the nine remain apart they are protected by a charm which means they can only be killed in numerical order. As the blurb reads ‘they killed number one in Malaysia, number two in England, and number three in Kenya. I am number four’. And it is here where the story begins.

 In 2010, number four goes by the name of John Smith. He wasn’t always John Smith, in fact he’s a different person every few months, as he and his Cêpan Henri are constantly moving from town to town in order to live undetected from the Mogadorians. One sunny night in Florida, John is at a boat party and the Lorien symbol on his leg begins to burn. It burns whenever one of the nine are killed and he now knows that the first three are dead. He’s next on the hit list. He and Henri move again this time to Ohio, and for the first time John makes proper friends who get caught up in his battle for survival as number four.

The novel’s concept is relatively simple once you get your head around the complicated alien names. It’s very easy to read because it is aimed at a younger more teenage audience. However, in a lot of ways the simpler descriptive language at times makes the concept much easier to follow and doesn’t make the structure of the novel too dense. The story is set when the nine Garde’s are beginning to grow up. John is not only faced with the maturing of his Lorien Legacies or powers (in his case the power to withstand fire, and ability to talk to animals), but also the daily trials of being a teenager. It is in Ohio where John meets his first girlfriend Sarah. The mystery and tension of the concept is complemented greatly by the normality in which John finds himself, and makes John character relatable and accessible despite being an alien! John discovers both his alien and teenage life with as much confusion and then understanding as the reader. He is as shocked as us when his hands suddenly start to glow on his first day at school, and this makes the story much more absorbing for us readers who don’t feel like complete outsiders as in many sci-fi stories.

For John, being prepared for battle and to leave at any moment to flee an evil alien race is very ordinary, and it is keeping to the routine of daily life he finds the most challenging. John never usually tries to make friends as he knows he may need to leave at any time, however in Ohio he meets girlfriend Sarah and tries his best to preserve as much normality as he can so he can stay with her. Trouble is, now that the Mogadorians are hunting number four, his life is more dangerous and complicated than ever before. Normal life as we all know it becomes an awakening for John and something worth fighting for.

For John’s new alien obsessed friend Sam and the lovely Sarah, normality is something they are far too used to. Especially in a town with only a population of 5000 people. As they both become closer to John they realise he is different, with the help of unexplained events such as, say, John miraculously saving Sarah from a house fire without receiving as much as a scratch! They also go through an awakening with John as it is revealed to them that life does exist away from Ohio and even the Earth, and it starts with their new (alien) friend.

The story’s climax results in a predictable clash with the Mogadorians who eventually find John, their number four. It is a real question of fight or flight for John who has sacrificed his anonymity and safety by remaining too long in Ohio. He may have friends, but he now also has a battle to contend with. Like Harry, Ron and Hermione, and also Lyra and Will Parry, who have gone before them, only by uniting in friendship and courage do John, Sam and Sarah make it to the end of the tale alive.

The story has a very open ending, and after putting the book down I wasn’t surprised to see that Frey has penned its sequel ‘The Power of Six’  which will be hitting bookshelves in the not too distant future. And after reading ‘I am number four’ I think I will definitely be buying a copy, as the blurb is equally as intriguing as its predecessor:

‘They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed. I am Number Seven. One of six still alive. And I’m ready to fight’. Sounds good!

As I pointed out in the beginning, I rarely warm to any form of science fiction (except the X files, but come on, it’s the X files!) so I was surprised how addicted I became to this adventure, especially when I found it was written by Frey*! I’m pretty sure the fact it appealed to me is down to the fact that it was very ‘youthfully’ written shall we say. However you shouldn’t be put off by that, despite its simplicity in places it doesn’t mean that any grown-up like myself (ahem) wouldn’t enjoy it as well!

My rating: ****

My next read is ‘Room’ By Emma Donoghue

Nats xx

'Pittacus Lore' James Frey

*I will in the future blog about James Frey (same author) and his book ‘A million little pieces’. It might shed some light on his need for using a pseudonym! Watch this blog! N x

‘Flying Dutch’ By Tom Holt

Well hello, and welcome to the first proper book blog post! Hope you’re sitting comfortably 🙂 I shall begin.

So, my most recent read has been a comedic jaunt through Tom Holt’s ‘Flying Dutch’, and what good fun it was too! I was introduced to Tom Holt through one of my oldest friends who very helpfully is an English Literature student at Oxford, so she knows her stuff! For the best part of twenty years Holt has been writing very clever but also very funny novels, with ‘Flying Dutch’ being one of his earliest releases as part of the ‘Dead Funny’ omnibus.

It’s a modern look at the tale of the Flying Dutchman, who as original legend has it, was a 17th century captain who set sail around the cape of good hope and never returned.  For many hundreds of years people have believed that his ship still haunts the ocean, and there have been supposed sightings of the phantom vessel as recently as 1942. No-one today knows what became of this ship if ever it were real. However, in Holt’s adaptation it’s a simple case that the captain and his crew accidentally gained immortality after mistaking elixir of life for beer, like you do. They have therefore had no choice but to sail the oceans for 500 years. An unfortunate side effect is a horrendous odour, so extreme that passing ships divert their routes to avoid the stench. It oddly ceases every seven years for a time before returning. As a result the sailors re-appear from their oceanic travels once a decade (obvious explanation for those sightings!) when they are temporarily no longer smelly! There’s no real problems there, but the trouble is that before leaving on his final and never-ending voyage, ‘Captain Vanderdecker’, the main protagonist and undoubtably the fictional embodiment of the original Van Der Decken from legends, set up a life insurance policy which is now worth enough to bring down the world economy. It is the National Lombard Bank’s best kept secret, and their only hope is that one day they will find the infamous Vanderdecker on shore leave and convince him to sign over the policy before he turns up dead and they have a multi-trillion dollar pay-out. Enter Jane Doland, a miserable English accountant who after stumbling across this horrendous policy and truth, is given the task of tracking down Vanderdecker. Purely because she has absolutely no sense of smell of course. Are you with me? (if not this synopsis might help)

Tom Holt

It’s a fantastically complex, yet stupidly clever and comedic concept which I think is so characteristic of many of Holt’s novels. What I find brilliant is his ability to firstly take such an already popular legend and reinvent it completely, and secondly turn it into an exciting read which even involves accountancy! You don’t need to have any real working knowledge of the Flying Dutchman to immediately understand the predicament the captain and crew find themselves in, and similarly the story doesn’t demand you know anything about accountancy (phew!). Just that you appreciated the disaster a 600 year old life insurance policy could bring! I think it’s the light-hearted and very personal way in which Holt addresses his readers which helps break the confusion barrier.

For example, in chapter 2  Jane Doland and is on the tube thinking to herself and we as readers are partial to all she is thinking. However, Holt is sure to tell us ‘Do not get the impression, just because Jane is forever talking to herself, that she is not quite right in the head….Jane has a lot to do in this story, and you should not be put off her just because she soliloquizes. So did Hamlet. Give the poor girl a chance’. It is a funny and comforting address which throughout the novel creates a sense of fun. It’s a serious business that Vanderdecker and his crew have to help avert a nuclear disaster, but still totally hilarious that in doing so they are left wandering naked in a sleepy Scottish village after their clothes have been vaporised!

The story is littered with these comic elements and characters, such as seaman Sebastien who jumps from the crow’s nest everyday in a bid to outdo his immortality, and everyday is anguished at his failure to kill himself. The immortality test cat who causes a train disaster while sleeping on the tracks and walks away unharmed. And Antonious, completely void of independent thought, or any thought for that matter! The characters are lovable and when they are called to save the day you really hope they will succeed and give you a good laugh in the process! But there is an underlying seriousness in the novel.

A key part of the narrative is to do with the science of immortality and its consequences. When en route to save a continent from vaporisation Vanderdecker finally begins to hope for death, realising that 500 years has been more than enough life anyone could handle. For once he’d be happy to die, but merely ends us absorbing enough radiation to cure his stench. We never get to find out whether and antidote to the elixir is invented and the jovial ‘And they all lived happily. Ever after.’ ending was my only grimace with this novel. After all the trials and tribulations we go through with Vanderdecker I felt like I wanted him to find closure as a character. How can there be closure when your destined to live for all eternity? However, the message is that despite all that happens in his never-ending life, Vanderdecker is happiest when sailing aimlessly with his crew. And with Jane ending up aboard Vanderdecker’s ship, I suppose if they do live happily ever after it’s not the worst thing that happened in a novel.

My Rating: ****

My Next read is Pittacus Lore ‘I am number four’

Nats xx

Bonjour

Well hello!

So…heres the book blog! Hoping to get blogging about all the books I’m reading. I’m hoping this will not only encourage me to read faster, but also begin a much more balanced literary diet. I might like reading 5 crime thrillers in a row,but I understand that is a potential recipe for boredom on here! I hope I’ll be inspired to read different genres more regularly. That’s the theory anyway!

I’m currently trundling through Tom Holt’s ‘Flying Dutch’, a modern take on the legend of the Flying Dutchman. So far very clever and funny. Will hopefully get its review up here next week!

I hope if you choose to follow me here you’ll enjoy it. Please comment on future posts!

Nats xx