I Am Number Four

By: Pittacus Lore

Narrated by: Neil Kaplan

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next.

Also included is a sneak listen to the first chapter of the next book in the series. Enjoy!

©2010 Pittacus Lore (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

It was just okay.

I’ll start with the narrator. A couple of the voices he did (the main character and his “father”) were pretty good. Most of the rest, especially the female characters, were terrible. A lot of really nasally ones, one that sounded like the secretary monster on Monster’s Inc., but was supposed to be a young, like able woman. Many sounded really nasally.

There were a few spots where an editor could have caught logical discrepancies (like someone turning invisible, and then the main character watching how they moved). The names were not well thought through (names from an alien planet being common names here). The accent of those from the other planet was supposed to sound French, but that only seemed to apply to the father figure. The author writing himself as a heroic historical figure in the story (and the planet was named after him).

The story was definitely written for a younger audience (I’d say younger teen boys)... that usually doesn’t bother me. I’m a fan of a lot of middle grade series. But this one, I could really feel it. For being written for a younger audience, there was a pretty significant number of swear words (no f-bombs, thankfully) included. Probably not more than than that age group hears in the locker rooms at school, but I don’t usually see it in books for this age.

This is a friend’s favorite series, so I bought this book and the next one when they went on sale on Audible. I’ll probably keep going, at least with the second, maybe more if I find them on a good sale or in the Plus catalog, but I don’t see myself suggesting them when people ask for book recommendations. I also won’t be having my own kids listen to them, because of the language.

Good, But Not Awesome

This is a good story. Really, my only complaints are technical ones. There were just a few moments in the story where I questioned how believable the situations were, and the narrator seem to use the same voice for a lot of different characters. These are not major flaws, but they were enough for me to give only 4 stars instead of 5. The story is engaging. The premise is really cool. And there are many, many moments that truly draw you into the emotional experiences of the characters. I can totally see why they wanted to make this a movie.

Bernie Kosar x 50

Overall, an interesting concept and fantasy world. You've already read the summary, so just add elements of 'Superman', 'Twighlight', and all other stories where a teen is developing super-powers/magic and has to keep it secret. It does have a few logic holes, but if you're into sci-fi/adventure, your suspension of disbelief will take care of those. The the narrator's best voice is of Anree, the father-figure & protector, but the females' characters were lack-luster. Idk why, but a mi'nute reference not directly related to the story was so over-used that it became irratating and distracting. 50+ times "Bernie Kosar" was stated, rather than synonyms or affective nicknames. It was funny the first 7 or 8 times. Well, I liked it enough to suck it up, listen to the entire book twice more, and decided to move on to book #2.

Love the story but the reader almost ruins it.

need someone with a stronger voice to read for John..he just doesn't capture the character the way I'd hoped

An excellent start to a disappointing series

I loved this first book. I really liked the next book. The one after that was also pretty good. As a whole, though, I do not recommend the series. The plot really degrades as you go along and the ending is TERRIBLE. That might be OK as a kid's book, but the language gets worse and worse as you go along so it is not appropriate for young audiences, either. I recommend you read the first 2-3 books and then just read the plot summary for the rest. (Then be glad you didn't waste your time or money on those last few books.)

buy the actual book

I'm sorry but the narration was just not great. The performance as John not too bad but the rest it was pretty bad, I couldn't finish listening to it and just ended up reading the actual book, which I'd give 5 stars.

amazing!!

I love this book. my brother recommended it to me and I haven't regretted a single minute. I now own the whole series :)

SUUUPER LAME DIALOGUE

The dialogue sounds like it’s from the 50’s. Definitely not how 21st century teenagers talk or interact.

For a younger crowd, not adult sci fi

What did you like best about I Am Number Four? What did you like least?

I don't want to be too harsh, as I realized this book wasn't geared towards me. It's geared towards a younger crowd. The plot is fairly simplistic, all the characters are fairly one-dimensional, etc. Not necessarily bad if you're in your early teens, but hard to get through as an adult.

What could Pittacus Lore have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Make the magic make more sense. Not a spoiler as it's explained at the very beginning, but a group of people, including the main character, can only be killed in order. Number 4 (the main character) can't be killed unless 1-3 are already dead. This isn't explained, it's just a convenient plot device. There is a bunch of stuff like that.

Any additional comments?

This might be a good book for somebody who is in their early teens, just getting into sci fi, or reading in general.

Good Story, bad narrator

I really did like the book. It was a bit childish at times, but good. However the narrator is questionable. Most character voices outside of the main characters are extreme. Women sound whiney, and others sound like cartoon voices. I wish he just read all in e same voice.