Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Review - I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies)
Welcome to the wonderful world of John Smith; average teenager and... alien? That's the tale Pittacus Lore tells us in his debut novel I Am Number Four. Okay, so Pittacus Lore isn't his real name; he's a pseudonym, a combination of the minds of Jobie Hughes and James Frey. And as for the significance of the title - the cover of the book tells the very simply story behind that: there were nine aliens, three are dead, and John Smith is next.

What made you pick this up?
Well, there was this little thing in a free magazine that described this book as being Smallville meets Heroes. Um, yes please! I didn't quite get it at first, but the alien thing kind of does it. Also, working in a bookshop and seeing the delightful cover (the UK one is black with the same orange symbol as on the cover shown to the left, and gold writing for the cover and author - very cool!) every single day I was in work was too tempting. So I bought the book, after reading quite a bit of it in work to (a) fall in love with the story and (b) crease the spine a little bit.

How does this compare with other, similar books?
Okay, in terms of plot and the idea, I prefer this book. It's a lot stronger, because it doesn't leave a lot of doubt for everything happening - as in Gone, where you're not sure what's happening. However, the character's aren't as loveable as I've found people to be in other books, and I wasn't as fond of the style of writing, but there was technically nothing wrong with the writing, or the characters. It was just how I felt about them.

So... was it enjoyable?
Oh yes, very much so. I think if I had a choice about the matter, I wouldn't have stopped reading it at all. Only thing is I had to work... and eat... and sleep. And I think my family have this thing where I'm supposed to talk to them at least once every couple of hours. The book was almost too good to put down. But yeah, like I said, life goes on. Unfortunately.

What can we expect from this series?
Well, if you believe the rumours, five more books. And if you believe IMBD, a movie. Yes, a movie. It's in post-production, due out in February 2011 (as far as I know.) Staring Alex Pettyfer as John Smith and Dianna Agron as the delightful Sarah. (So there's a reason for the girls and a reason for the guys to go see it!) I recommend reading the book before the movie comes out, of course. I hate knowing the plot in adaptation mode before I read it, and now you have lots of notice! And who knows, there may be a whole load of popularity around this series after the movie - get there first!

1 comment:

Mariya Koleva said...

Oh, I went to see the film. Quite accidentally, in fact. It was my husband's turn to pick the film of the week, so he picked it up. I'm glad I saw it - it was fresher than expected. And, being neither a guy, nor a gilr (anymore), I still found somebody there ;-) - Timothy Olyphant as Henry.
I'm glad the book is enjoyable, too.