James james james... WHY!?!
i love the maximum ride books (ignoring the 4th one because well lets be honest its more like a brochure for global warming with max as the narrator.) so i had very high hopes for this book, even after the massive disappointment that was "the final warning" the idea behind the book was great. a young boy with the power to create. change himself into a flea if he wants to and even summon up his parents and imaginary friends for advice... but besides that...it was another let down. the story seemed rushed, thrown together, more like something you'd read on one of those forum websites where people make up their own stories based on someone elses ideas. and upon finishing the book what greeted me? three or four exerts from upcoming Daniel x books. making me wonder if dearest patty is just trying to increase the size of his wallets bulge.
Patterson and Ledwidge grab onto the reader's attention and don't let go for a second, propelling one along at Warp Factor Six
Over the past few years, James Patterson has done yeoman's work on a number of fronts to encourage young adults to read, namely with his Maximum Ride novels. He and co-author Michael Ledwidge have just published a new series, one that will appeal to fans of science fiction and that has just enough action --- and charm --- to appeal to teens and those who still wish they were. The lead-off book is THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF DANIEL X, and it's a good one.
It kicks off, appropriately enough, with Daniel X's backstory, or at least some of it. Daniel is a 15-year-old alien from outer space whose purpose-driven life is dedicated to eradicating monstrous beings from other planets, called Hunters, who see Earth as a candy dish ripe for the plucking. Daniel's parents were murdered, apparently by The Prayer, first among equals of a group of alien outlaws whose goal is to eliminate all life on earth.
Comic book fans of all ages are familiar with the themes of parental loss --- Superman, Batman and Spiderman are but three fiction icons who lost one or both parents to evil --- and science-fiction aficionados will recall the good-and-bad-alien-in-our-midst themes from any number of sources ("Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" from the original "Twilight Zone" series comes most immediately to mind). Before their apparent demise, Daniel's parents left their son a list of the aliens he needs to eliminate if he and his adopted planet are to be safe. And how is he supposed to do this? Daniel has powers, chief among them is the ability to manipulate molecules. There is some sort of vague limitation to it, however, and Daniel himself is still testing that out, so it is interesting to see what will work, how and against whom.
In this inaugural volume, Daniel is both the pursued and pursuer of an alien baddie named Ergent Seth, who is Number Six on The List. Daniel moves from Portland, Oregon, to Glendale, California, where he enrolls in high school, acquires a girlfriend who gives new meaning to the term "girl trouble" and makes an involuntary interstellar trip across space where the biggest surprise of all awaits him, even as he moves toward an ultimate confrontation with Ergent Seth and takes another step toward his destiny.
This sounds like a lot --- and it is --- but Patterson and Ledwidge grab onto the reader's attention and don't let go for a second, propelling one along at Warp Factor Six. Much of the book is graphically violent, but no more so than what you'd find in your average video game, and Daniel gives fair warning at the beginning that things will get a bit rough before the ride is over. And as a bonus, THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF DANIEL X features three chapters from the next installment in the series. All that, and the authors even include a plug for THE ILIAD by Homer, arguably the first military thriller. Does it get any better than that? We'll have to wait to find out.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
From J. Kaye's Book Blog
In Daniel X, the aliens look human.
The earth's most deadly alien criminal comes looking for a list. It's not just any list, but one that shows the most dangerous alien criminals and Daniel's parents have it. In the process, they are killed over this list and Daniel escapes, but barely. Daniel is also an alien with special powers.
Years later, Daniel acquires this list of criminals. He's able to create his imaginary friends and together they go after these aliens.
Both my kids loved the book and gave it a 5/5 rating.
To dumb to be called scifi
Although the Patterson books have been steadily going downhill ever since he decided to take on co-writers, I am always hopeful the next one will at least be an easy, swift read. But this one??? It is by far the most collosally stupid story ever written. And I love science fiction. I can't believe his publisher allowed this embarrassing thing out of the office. I guess they just figured there would be a certain amount of revenue simply because of his name. But there is no way this would have flown if submitted by anyone else. Makes one think Mr P was smoking something funny to even come up with such a bizarre idea for a story.
Dreadful
What a disappointment. This is a dreadful story. Surprised Patterson associates his name with this junk.
(85 reviews)
