By Pittacus Lore

Penguin, out now

The surviving Loriens band together to battle the Mogadorian threat…

It seems as if “Pittacus Lore” has taken notice of some of the criticisms levelled at the previous book in the series for this third instalment: there’s a sensible use of three different fonts to indicate the trio of narrators, and once you’ve cottoned on to who’s who, it’s very useful – and in the climactic battle, presents the new perspectives without losing the first person narration.

The violence level has also been adjusted: the Loriens still use their powers in what some might see as a reckless manner, but at least in this book, they’re only being used against either each other, or definite threats (Mogadorians or humans clearly identified as working with them). There’s one instance where an innocent human is plucked from a helicopter before it’s crashed which I suspect wouldn’t have happened in the earlier books.

As far as the story goes, this is definitely a time of regrouping after the battle which revealed a lot about what the Mogadorians have planned for the Earth at the end of the previous novel. The Loriens have all been brought up very differently, which sparks a number of conflicts between them, not all of which are resolved by the end of the volume.

Verdict: Definitely not the place to start reading, but for fans, this expands the characters, and poses more questions.  6/10

Paul Simpson

Click here for our review of the first book, I Am Number Four

and here for the review of its sequel, The Power of Six

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