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

I am number four

I hate how much I enjoyed this book. This was definitely a guilty pleasure. It's a young adult novel. It's childish. It's often silly. It's extremely clichéd. It has huge gaping holes in its plot, and it made me role my eyes a lot. However, I kept listening because despite all of that it was entertaining and kept me engaged.

Another surreal aspect of this book came about halfway through when I googled the author and found out he is the 'Million Little Pieces' guy. I never read that book, but I distinctly remember Oprah Winfrey tearing him a new one on national TV for being a liar back in the early 2000's. That has no bearing on the quality of this book... It's just weird.

Neil Kaplan does a good job narrating this book, but at times he gets a little goofy (for lack of a better description). I'm not sure if this was his fault or the writing, but its of little consequence. He's a better than average narrator.

Bottom line; I'm not going to jump through any hoops to continue this series, but I'm not opposed to the idea. I'll probably get around to it eventually.

Starts off a Great Series

Story:
Honestly, I think this book deserves a three star, but I'm giving it a four because the second book is really good, and you do need to start with this one. My main problem with this is that there is a really sappy cliche romance going on throughout most of this book that just makes me gag, but there are a couple of great battle scenes.
Blood and Gore:
The aliens in this book turn to dust once they are dead so there isn't really any blood, PG.
Swearing:
The main character and his father swear a couple times a chapter, but no f-words.
Sex:
None.
Overall:
Just keep with this book, and book 2 is definitely a five star book. Really enjoyed it. Recommended for 12 and up.

One that just catches your interest

I felt like I was taking a chance when I downloaded this one. Now that I finished it in record time ( because I could not put it down ) I am sad it is finished. I read somewhere that this is a TEENS story wrapped around SI-FY. Okay that is true but to miss this one is to really miss something. I am 59 and simply glad I took a chance. I hope there are a bunch more of them coming out as a series.

Annoying book we wanted to like

My 11-year-old and I like to listen to books during the commute. We've LOVED the Bartimaeus series, Leviathan and Behemoth, and countless others--and so wanted to like this book...but the hero was so irritating, stupid and never learned--that character transformation that happens in all great stories just didn't. At every turn, our hero could make the right call, reach above himself, pay attention at the very least! But he didn't, choosing to go into a ridiculous moony thing over his girlfriend. He did redeem himself at some point in the final battle scene but my son didn't even feel like finishing it--after putting up with the inanity for many hours. I really wanted to like this book, and was willing to put up with a poor narrator--what other said about his female voices was right on--but add ANY other voice than the 2 main characters--all done with a very heavy hand. He just basically made the other characters sound like they were mentally deficient. Or had a bad cold. All the time.
Yes, true love blah blah blah, but done so poorly. Teenage angst--but in comic-book style. Mostly the disappointment was the main character who just could never get over himself---and himself sure wasn't very compelling. I'd skip it. Get the new Bartimaeous "Ring of Soloman" instead, or the first 2 books in the Leviathan series--both terrific listens.

A whole lot worse than I thought was possible

When this showed up for sale, I picked it up. The synopsis looked good and I needed a book. I still regret the purchase. This is one of the worst books I've read in ages. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief to an amazing degree sometimes, but this book demanded too much of me. It was as if the author forgot parts of his own mythology. The magic and science of Lorien are interesting, but ultimately inconsequential. The bad guys were cartoonishly awful. His characters (none of which I found remotely relatable) acted bizarrely for the sole purpose of moving the plot along. If you're going to have an unrealistic plot, you need for your characters to behave realistically. The level to which the authors failed in this endeavor is hard to overstate. And (I'm sorry, but I just wanted to scream this the whole time this book was playing), who tries to escape from baddies from Mogadore by moving to a state that literally has a city called Mogadore?

I'm familiar with Neil Kaplan's work in some video games he's done. You can hear that he is a gifted voice actor, but the only voices passable in this were Four's and Henri's. The other characters sounded like caricatures and every single one of the female characters he voiced sounded utterly vapid. Granted, the writing didn't help these female characters, but the voice put it right over the top.

My $5 were not completely wasted, however. My nine-year old son really enjoyed this. He's begging me to purchase the next in the series. I refused. He can just go get it from the library and read it himself. I'd rather be thrown to the Mogadorians than hear any more of this.

Good idea but overly dramatic writing style

I found myself moaning as the main character would describe the world around him. Perhaps I am simply a little too old for this book, but it seemed that everything was very literal, black and white and that every experience was either the end of the world or the most amazing joyous experience ever. Kind of like listening to a teen, I suppose.
Still, I was interested and will likely try the second book when it arrives.

Intriguing storyline -a better read than listen

I am on my third listen to this book now. It is a very entertaining book and does not require a lot of deep thought to enjoy it. The second book in the series is excellent as well.

The narration leaves a lot to be desired. However, I am in a situation where I have very little time to actually read, but listen to audio books two to ten hours a day and I consider the story good enough to override the issues I have with the narration. The reader uses unique voices for the characters and I enjoy his reading for the main character. A number of the voices used (girlfriend, best friend, jocks, etc) were incredibly annoying....to a nails on chalkboard level. However, he is consistent and you definitely know who is speaking, which is really important in audio books. I do think these parts of the narration distracted from the telling of the story, but I still enjoyed the book very much.

There is an underlying push for environmental concerns in the book. At times, it distracts from the story...almost like a commercial break. I'm not sure that potential alien domination is a good motivator for reducing your ecological footprint, but the message isn't wrong...just doesn't flow with the story.

Overall, worth a credit if you are looking for a bit of Sci-Fi entertainment.

Weak plot

The book is more for young adults, who can relate to the melodrama and are probably more forgiving of the weak plot. It doesn't make sense that children and their guardians (aliens) escaping to Earth to hide from the enemies aren't more prepared to fight. Also, how do their enemies (described as bald albinos in sunglasses and trench coats) not attract attention on Earth as aliens? If you can ignore those incongruous points, the book is light and entertaining.

A little too...performed

The book, itself, is actually pretty good. A good start to a movie franchise (if they don't screw it up). But... There were way too many times where I got the feeling that the editor inserted words just to make the descriptions longer, and I found myself saying "get on with it." That alone, isn't the only reason for the "four" stars though. Neither is the title. *grin*

The reason I wrote this review is the narration. The narration is 85% good, 15% horrible. Over-acted. Or to use the words of the narrator - "Performed." Not read. Not narrated in such a way that the characters, voices and inflections seem plausible. But HORRIBLY overdone in a few cases. Don't skip it because of this, but you will immediately know what I'm talking about when you hear these specific characters.

Narrator is awful!

I bought the book and then downloaded the audio book-everyone raved about it and I must say the reader/narrator was just awful. He ruined the book, making it sound mundane! I nearly did not finish listening to the book. His reading style was not impressive, I was rather underwhelmed; as many of you know the reader either MAKE or BREAK a story well...he broke it into a million pieces. I barely got through it!