Rise of the Elgen

Michael Vey, Book 2

By: Richard Paul Evans

Narrated by: Fred Berman

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Michael must save his mother - and protect his powers - in the electric sequel to the number-one New York Times best-selling Michael Vey, from Richard Paul Evans.

Michael was born with special electrical powers - and he’s not the only one. His friend Taylor has them too, and so do other kids around the world. With Michael’s friend Ostin, a techno-genius, they form the Electroclan, an alliance meant to protect them from a powerful group, the growing Order of Elgen, who are out to destroy them. The leader of the Elgen, Dr. Hatch, has kidnapped Michael’s mother, and time is running out.

After narrowly escaping an Elgen trap, Ostin’s discovery of bizarre “rat fires” in South America leads the gang to the jungles of Peru, where the Electroclan meets new, powerful foes and faces their greatest challenge yet as Michael learns the extent of the Elgen’s rise in power - and the truth of their plan to “restructure” the world.

©2012 Richard Paul Evans (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Wow! Wow! Wow! It just got even better.

Would you consider the audio edition of Rise of the Elgen to be better than the print version?

Have not read book, but I think this Narrator is hands down part of the success of this book for me.

What other book might you compare Rise of the Elgen to and why?

Nothing like it, that is what makes it so good.

What about Fred Berman’s performance did you like?

His ability to portray so many characters so distinctly and with such personality, even the females. He is 5 stars!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The name is great!

Any additional comments?

I am a parent and this book is the kind of book I want my children to read. No swearing, sex, or even excessive/unnecessary violence. Great life lessons taught in an exciting story.

Better than the first but still room to improve

The first Michael Vey book was almost too painful to finish. The interesting premise gave way to a cliché after cliché for a majority of the book. I stuck it out though and I was rewarded with a very satisfying ending.

I was so impressed and had such high hopes that the story would continue as it had ended that I bought the Rise of the Elgen immediately.

I was not disappointed with the main story line in book 2. The series definitely skews younger than a lot of YA, so while it was simple I still enjoyed the way Michael and his team interacted, set about and achieved their goals in the story.

The only problem is the villain and Elgen story line. The egomaniacal Dr Hatch is a caricature of every super villain you’ve very seen/read. He’s one of the painful clichés set up in Book 1 that unfortunately had to carry through.

Worse still, the book completely flat lines in act 2 when we switch to omniscient narration following Dr Hatch for about five chapters. I almost gave up the book it dragged so painfully reading half as a boring school tour of the Elgen facility and half as a CIA primer on prisoner of war torture (which gave it a very weird vibe.

As I said the main plot with Michael was pretty simple and the sizeable Elgen diversion felt like it was in there to make up pages.

The story did fortunately revive but the author sacrifices the impact of a powerful concise ending to drag it out for a bit of a cliff-hanger – a personal peeve of mine.

Yes, I enjoyed it, yes, I’ll probably read it again (I still wouldn’t’ read Book 1 again where the good doesn’t outweigh he bad) and yes, I’ll read the next book but Rise of the Elgen is far from perfect so it will never become a favourite.

Fussy readers beware but it’s worth a go.

Good tead for my 12 year old

I heard about on the series from Glenn Beck; and am always looking for good books to read with my boys. My younger son (12) and I are enjoying the books (1 & 2). My 15 year old is not really too interested in continuing, at this point, in the series.

WOW!! Love this!!!

Would you listen to Rise of the Elgen again? Why?

Yes I would and will.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rise of the Elgen?

The whole thing. Love the excitement, the intrigue, the whole story line.

Family car trip pleasor!

Would you listen to Rise of the Elgen again? Why?

Fun story with lots of adventure the entire family can appreciate.

Who was your favorite character and why?

After reading all the books in the series, you feel like all the characters are friends of yours.

Any additional comments?

This book made the 6 hour car ride seem to fly by. When we had to stop for driving breaks, the kids complained that the book had to be stopped for few minutes and were anxious to start it again as soon as we were all back in the car.

Got my son to like to read

My son hated to read, then his teacher recommended this book, he could not put it down and i bought the audio book as well so he could listen to it. he has read and listened to all of the series so far and loves it. We recently went on a road trip and he suggested that we listen to it in the car, and i can say that it is well written and keeps you interested if you are 15 or 40.

Michael Fey is a pleasure!

Richard Paul Evans' book Rise of the Elgen is a pleasure to listen to and no doubt in my mind, a great story to read! Have enjoyed reading,or listening about Michael Fey and his powers and his adventure.

This book is exciting and really good listen to.

My mom and I both enjoyed listening to this book. It was suspenseful and gave us something to look forward on the drive to school.

Great book

I loved it! Narrator is very engaging. One of the best series I have listened to. Can't wait to hear the next one.

love this

i started listening to these books with my 13 yr old son on long commutes. im addicited to them and now listen without my son. the narrator's voice is one of the best i have heard combining so many different accents. get book series for teen boys and 45 year old mommas