The Power of Six

I just finished reading The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (pseudonym, obviously).  I am bitterly disappointed with this second book in the  Lorien Legacies series.  In fact, I feel so cheated by the sloppy writing that I am furious with the author/editor/publisher for allowing the series to be ruined in such a spectacular fashion. 

Here's my problem.  I enjoyed reading I Am Number Four, the first book in the series.  It was fun, fast-paced eye candy.  Critically speaking, the book had some issues with quality of writing, overly juvenile content and gaping plot holes, but I was willing to overlook these flaws and just enjoy the ride.  I was intrigued because the author had created a semi-original storyline in the teen science fiction genre and the next books in the series were bursting with potential! I was so excited to read the next books and learn more about this new world and its cast of characters.

Let's just say that I am no longer excited to read the next books.  In my view, the author in The Power of Six committed the most unforgivable written act by repeatedly insulting the reader's intelligence.  I understand that the book is aimed at an audience of 15 year old misunderstood boys who just want to blow stuff up, save the world and get the prettiest girl in school.  I am not trying to hold the book to a higher standard.  But still, I have to think that even a hormonal 15 year old boy might notice that when Six (from America) finally meets Marina, Ella and Crayton (from Spain) in the Spanish countryside after taking out 20, or 30 or 100 Mogadorians (always in large numbers, always men who are presumably trained soldiers, always with superior weapons, always killed by a couple Lorien teenagers with little or no previous training - how exactly did the Mogadorians wipe out the entire Lorien planet??) ... anyway, when Six and Marina finally meet near the end of the book they have a nice little conversation.  Apparently, in English.  Even though there was no prior indication that Marina speaks any English (considering she's spent the last 10 or so years living in a secluded convent in rural Spain) or that Six speaks any Spanish.

If this were an isolated incident, I would be able to overlook it.  But unfortunately, this level of sloppy writing and half-ass plot development pervades the entire book.  I mean, give the reader a little bit of credit!  One more example.  If there are only 9 surviving children from the entire Loric race who are sent to Earth to hide out with their guardians for the sole purpose of coming into their powers, winning the war against the evil Mogadorians and saving the planets Loric and Earth, then wouldn't you expect these children to have spent the past 11 years on Earth training for this very purpose?  Or at the very least, that they would have been given a small history lesson to understand who they were and what they were fighting?  Instead, of the 6-7 remaining Loric children, we know that at least two of them (John and Marina) have already lost their guardians, have no formal training whatsoever and have an extremely limited knowledge of anything Loric.  Heck, John had to learn his parents' names from reading Henri's last letter?! 

Once again, I understand that this is teen fiction, not Governor General prize material.  But kids aren't stupid, and they deserve good books just as much as the rest of us.  I still remember when I was around 10 years old and I read a short fiction book from the library about this normal boy who by the end of the book discovered that he was adopted and his biological parents were British royalty.  But then, after all the signs pointed to the fact that he was a real life prince, the boy realized that his biological parents couldn't possibly be British royalty because he didn't have a British accent!!  I was only 10 years old, but I was furious with the author for writing such an incredibly stupid ending.  As you can tell, I'm still rather angry about the whole thing!  My point is, you can write age appropriate material without offending the sensibilities of the reader, it just takes slightly more thought and planning.

Which is really what is lacking in the Lorien Legacies series - thought and planning.  The author built a solid foundation for the series in the first book, but instead of carefully creating a detailed and internally consistent storyline, he got lazy and rushed into the next leg of the story without much consideration.  And who's to say that wasn't his intention all along?  Sure, I would love to have a great new teenage science fiction series to read over the next few years, but maybe all the author wanted was a lot of money very quickly.  In that case, well played.  Especially with the movie franchise already in full swing (although don't get me started on the movie, which is terrible for many different reasons and not worth discussing).

Okay, so I am done with my rant against Pittacus Lore.  If you are looking for a GREAT series to read in the teenage science fiction/fantasy genre (also aimed at an audience of 15 year old misunderstood boys who just want to blow stuff up, save the world and get the prettiest girl in school), I would highly recommend the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  Also fun, fast-paced eye candy, but much better written than the Lorien Legacies series.  The Lightening Thief  is the first book in the series and is definitely worth reading.