Author: Pittacus Lore
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2010
Pages: 277
Genre: Action/Sci-fi
We may be walking past you right now.
We are watching as you read this.
We may be in your city, your town.
We are living anonymously.
We are waiting for the day when
We will find each other.
We will make our last stand together—if
We win,
We are saved, and
You are saved as well.
If we lose, all is lost.
This book was good! I could not put it down. Admittedly, I watched the new movie before I read the book, so I was picturing the cast as the characters. But the casting director (and make-up artists) did a pretty great job of making the book’s characters come to life.
So yea, this book was really, really good. I like the author’s take on the environmental issues our planet is facing. I also like that the author is writing under the pen name of a Lorien Elder. That is a fun twist. Well, if it is a pen name…
But he outlines that the planet Lorien went through a similar environmental struggle centuries before Earth did. The Loriens figured out how to clean up their planet, and they did away with violence and pretty much all other forms of nonsense in the process. In doing this, their society was split into 2 main sects. The first, The Garde, developed powers that are called Legacies to defend the planet and its people. The second sect consists of the people who didn’t develop Legacies. So that is how Loriens dealt with and overcame the environmental struggle facing the planet. Lore also discusses the planet Mogadore’s similar problem. However, the Mogadorians did not deal with their problem and they eventually depleted their planet’s resources so much that they were forced to look for resources elsewhere. Their first stop on their search for resources was Lorien, the closest life-sustaining planet to Mogadore. When the Mogadorians attacked Lorien, a few young members of the Garde and their Cepan, Keepers, were able to escape and seek asylum on Earth. Earth is the second-closest life-sustaining planet to Mogadore, so the resource-sucking Mogadorians weren’t far behind.
I thought it was very interesting that he defined both sides of the spectrum that we are ultimately facing. Will we be more like the Loriens and try to find more environmentally-friendly ways to sustain our societies? Or will we be like the Mogadorians and just take, take, take until there is nothing left?
But that is not the main reason I enjoyed this book. I really liked the main character, John. Or Daniel. Or any of the other 70 names he’s had to use. He is number 4 of 9 young Garde who escaped Lorien when the Mogadorians attacked. He has been living on Earth since he was 4 years old with his Cepan, Henri. I like his conflict with feeling connected Lorien but really only ever knowing Earth as home. He left so young and he wasn’t able to feel as attached to Lorien as Henri does. So he struggles with risking his life and fighting for something that he isn’t sure is what he wants. Also, John reminds me of Clark Kent on the TV series Smallville. In that series, you see Clark develop his Superman abilities, and that also happens to John in this book. It was pretty cool to read about his super strength and speed, and about his Chimera dog, Hadley.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It had a cool message without feeling too preachy. It had a good bit of action and suspense. And it was well-written enough that I couldn’t put it down. I read it in about 2 days. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone!!
Ratings
Cover: 3/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Individuality: 5/5
The Whole Shebang: 4.4/5
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