The Power of Six starts weeks after the events of I am Number Four. The climatic battle that destroyed the school of Paradise, Ohio has the authorities believing that John Smith, Six and Sam are terrorists. Now the three, along with their shape-shifting "pet" Bernie, are on the run from every law enforcement agency as well as the Mogadorians.
This gives ample opportunities for plenty of action, narrow escapes and lots and lots of chances to show off our alien heroes powers, their "Legacies".
John spends much of his time dealing with the death of his Cêpan, Henri, his guardian here on Earth. Losing the only father figure he has ever had in his life has left him shaken. His training far from complete and without anyone to help explain the changes that his Legacies has brought on or the artifacts of his home planet of Lorien that are no in his possession.
Six does her best to impart the training and knowledge that she has picked up during her long run alone, but whether or not that will be enough haunts John.
The adventures of our main trio aren't the only story to be told in this book. We also get to meet number seven of the remaining Lorien refugees, Marina.
Hers was actually the story I found the most interesting. I'm not going to go into spoiler territory but she has to face the fact that the pressures of running and hiding from their enemies may have become too much for her Cêpan and the logic of not sticking around in one place becomes all too obvious. Some may find a thinly veiled commentary on religion in their story and may not care for the opinions that are implied if not stated out right, but it gave some depth to what could have been an uninteresting piece of the story.
The ending too, again no spoilers, is a frantic race through the last few chapters spanning two continents, several battles, even introducing more characters and laying the ground work for the next book! I almost felt out of breath trying to keep up.
My major criticism with this book is the same as the previous in that the author is a little too far removed from the target age group and has a very limited grasp on their habits and speech. (Or maybe it's me, I dunno, have they started using "wicked" again?)
Once you get past this, and you accept that you aren't reading the next American classic, it's a fun adventure with super-powered kids and some of the action scenes beg to be put on screen. I'll be honest and tell you that I liked the film adaptation of I am Number Four and I'd love to see another in the series, though I would be concerned that you couldn't really do all that is in The Power of Six justice. I'm afraid much of my favorite part of the story, the story of Marina, would get severely trimmed.
The Power of Six is an improvement over its predecessor and a fun read. If you've read I am Number Four and liked it even a little, then this is a must read.
The Power of Six will be in book stores August 23rd.
