Written by: Pittacus Lore.
Published by: Penguin/Razorbill.
Format: Hardback.
Released: 30th August (28th in the US).
Rating: 5/5.
Official synopsis: "Until I met John Smith, Number Four, I'd been on the run alone, hiding and fighting to stay alive. Together we are much more powerful. But it could only last so long before we had to separate to find the others ...I went to Spain to find Seven, and I found even more, including a tenth member of the Garde who escaped from Lorien alive. Ella is younger than the rest of us, but just as brave. Now we're looking for the others - including John. But so are they. They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They caught me in New York - but I escaped. I am Number Six. They want to finish what they started. But they'll have to fight us first.
Becoming something on an annual event, the Lorien Legacies books come a long and surprise me every time. Just when you think they can't get any better, they do. And The Rise of Nine has completely and utterly blown me away. It's taken I Am Number Four, and The Power of Six and said, "hey, we can do better than that" and boom. Here it is. Gone is the sometimes clunky and awkward dialogue (there's still a bit but then there are in most books, right?) and the story seems to be coming together beautifully.
The book kicks off a day after the concluding events in the previous book, The Power of Six. The Garde are coming together, slowly. They are grouping. Six is with Seven (Marina) and Ten (Ella), along with Ten's Cepan, Crayton. Together they are on a mission to find Number 8 in India. And Four, he's with Nine, still in America recuperating after the events in the last book. Still scattered to the four corners of the globe and getting closer to each other, they've never been in far greater danger. The Mogodorian leader, Setrakus Ra is on Earth, and he means business.
But now, not only are they facing the threat of the Mogodorian's, but they have a new enemy. One a little closer to home, and one that they would never of dreamed of... And it just so happens, they are working with the Mogs as a team... Danger really is on all sides!
I really do think I'll struggle to get out just how much I love this book. I know I gushed in my reviews for I Am Number Four and The Power of Six when they came out, but The Rise of Nine is in a league of it's own. It's epic. It has this feeling while reading it that I just can't explain. It's an exciting book. There have been moments with the two books past that you could skip and it wouldn't really damage the story at all, but with this one, every single page has it's purpose and you can really feel it. The plot in this book seems so much more thought out and thrilling. I really did not want to stop reading at all. It flows so well - the writing is so much smoother.
The characters themselves are also starting to become more fleshed out. They seem to be coming into their own. Discovering new Legacies, and just generally growing up.
The book is told from three points of view. Four, of course, Six, and Seven. I was hoping we'd get a bit from Nine but maybe it's a bit too early in the series. Maybe book four? Again, something which does annoy me is this whole Pittacus Lore being a Loric Elder and actually being the one writting it, but when it's written in first person I think this idea really detracts from the story. I do think the books benefit from being in first person, the action sequences in this book certainly have you on the edge of your seat and feeling like you're right there, being shot at by Mog cannons and the like. Minor details, I know, but still! I did say in my review for The Power of Six that perhaps they're all one person and will merge at the end... Who knows? It's just a theory.
And the conclusion. WOW! Just... Wow! I so want to know what happens next, but I am slightly annoyed with the last page. It just ends. I want more. Now! Argh! The wait for the fourth book is going to be such a pain! Such a freaking pain! But I'll sit here quietely, patiently, and one day we will know what happens to the Loric children and their poor ruined planet.
Overall, an utterly addictive read that I cannot recommend enough - seriously, just check the series out! You will not regret it. My thanks go to Sarah over at Puffin for actually bringing these books to the UK! You are amazing! And thanks of course to Puffin for the gorgeous review copy. You guys know how to make a book look so stunning!
Anyway... AUGUST will see the release of the third book in Pittacus Lore's Lorien Legacies. Titled The Rise of Nine it is so far away that no cover art or synopsis has been released! But then that's how the rest of this post is going to pan out... None of them have covers or synopsis' and one doesn't even have an official title yet!!
"The setting will be the Mediterranean, in the Bronze Age, a few thousand years after Torak’s adventures. It is such a rich, spectacular, exciting world to inhabit (and one I’ve loved since I was a child) – a time of chariots, ocean-going ships, slaves, warriors, myths and magic. My main character is Hylas, a goatherd, a thief and an outsider. His story starts in the mountains of Greece where in a single night, his world is overturned, setting him on a journey that will take him far from the mountains and across the seas. Like Torak, Hylas will form lasting bonds with animals... A dolphin, a lion cub and a falcon will all weave in and out of the stories."
