Hardcover, 224 pages
English language
Published July 21, 2008 by Little, Brown and Company.
The first action-packed adventure in a new blockbuster series from James Patterson, the world's bestselling thriller writer...Fifteen-year-old alien hunter Daniel X is on a mission to finish the job that killed his parents – to wipe out the world's most bloodthirsty aliens on The List. At the number-one spot, The Prayer is Daniel's ultimate target. With mind-blowing skills like telepathy and the ability to transform and create, Daniel's got more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Along with his friends Willy, Joe-Joe, Emma and Dana, Daniel hunts down the aliens on The List one by one. But as he battles towards his top target he can't forget one thing: he's got a host of aliens to fight, but on their lists there's only one name at the top... and that's his.
nicely written for the pre-teen male, but I think i will skip the other in the series.
At first, the one distinct thought this book gave me was, "What the...?" The topic of this book - an adolescent alien hunter searching for his parents' extraterrestrial killer - is somewhat of a departure from Patterson's usual mystery works.
However, as I progressed through this book, I started to really enjoy it. Patterson's lending of a sassy demeanor to his main character produces an excellent sense of adventure (not to mention that the kid's powers of creation are pretty darn cool).
While the story progresses nicely, Patterson leaves some very loose ends. The Prayer - the beastly thing that murders Daniel's parents in the opening chapter - isn't seen again through the rest of the book (the great majority of the story revolves around Daniel's hunt of alien #6, Seth). This may mean Patterson intends to continue this story elsewhere, but it didn't seem terribly clear.
Overall, Patterson's writing …
At first, the one distinct thought this book gave me was, "What the...?" The topic of this book - an adolescent alien hunter searching for his parents' extraterrestrial killer - is somewhat of a departure from Patterson's usual mystery works.
However, as I progressed through this book, I started to really enjoy it. Patterson's lending of a sassy demeanor to his main character produces an excellent sense of adventure (not to mention that the kid's powers of creation are pretty darn cool).
While the story progresses nicely, Patterson leaves some very loose ends. The Prayer - the beastly thing that murders Daniel's parents in the opening chapter - isn't seen again through the rest of the book (the great majority of the story revolves around Daniel's hunt of alien #6, Seth). This may mean Patterson intends to continue this story elsewhere, but it didn't seem terribly clear.
Overall, Patterson's writing style (including his trademark 1-2 page chapters) and his craft of an intriguing story make this an excellent read.
