Book Review: The Power of Six

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Despite the fact that I read a couple dozen novels a year, almost exclusively Science Fiction, I don't review them. To tell someone about a two hour movie they might like is easy, they may even add it to their rental queue, and invest the time in, but books are different. Readers take weeks, sometimes months to read, and people are very particular about it. They often have a specific genre or list of authors they follow and they are very ridged about trying new things.

I am writing about The Power of Six, because it is one of the best books I've ever read, the second book in a series of six, that I discovered because of a movie. This book is the sequel to the book/movie I am Number Four. I am one of those picky, selective readers, but this movie was so interesting to me that I had to know the whole story. I had to see what they left out of the movie and of course what happens next! The movie did pretty well, but the chances of a sequel are diminishing by the day, and the book may be the only chance you have of learning what happens to John, Sam, Sarah, and Six.

Reviewing a book is a lot harder than I thought, I keep finding myself using spoilers and nobody wants that! Instead I'll give you a brief synopsis and you can decide for yourself if it's something you want to know more about. The Power of Six starts off where The first book and the movie leave off. It details the next step in John's journey, but at the same time introduces you to another of his kind, tucked away in hiding. This book focuses less on introductions and more on the journey and purpose behind everything that has happened, but as the authors say, this is only book 2 of 6, so they by no means answer everything. You are also left with another cliffhanger that won't be resolved until book 3, The Rise of Nine, debuts in August of 2012.

Like the first, this book has everything, love, hate, action, humor, drama, aliens, war, etc. It is simply put the most interesting thing I have ever read, and I did so in 10 days. This series is incredibly intelligent and thought provoking and has even inspired me in my own writing. I have never seen or read anything like it and it has truly encompassed me. I find myself talking about it to people all the time and even as eloquent a speaker as I am, I can't describe it with any justice. You just have to see it for yourself, and I can promise you, even if it's not your style, it will open your imagination and have you feeling like a teenager again, wishing you were fighting right along side John, Sam, & Six.

Die Hard 2: Die Harder

Starring: Bruce Willis, Dennis Franz, & William Sadler
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

It's a sad commentary, but every year around the holidays I start thinking about John McClain. That is how ingrained media has become in our minds. This week I decided to watch Die Hard 2 for the 8 millionth time, because unlike most sequels, I found it to be better than the first. Not to say that the first isn't a classic film, but the second one has two things the first lacked. First, Director, Renny Harlan, who is the master of action films, completely unappreciated, and a man who has given me hours of excitement. The second thing is the supporting cast, which features the likes of Dennis Franz from NYPD Blue, Fred Thompson of Law n' Order, and of course veteran character actor, William Sadler. Willis once again is brilliant as John McClain and gave the 90's a true action hero! The Die Hard films are the frame work by which all modern action films are compared and if you skipped the second one, because it was a sequel, you're an idiot! This is a can't miss movie for action junkies.

Things That Hang From Trees

Starring: Deborah Unger & Cooper Musgrove
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

I decided to give this film a chance, because it really is an intriguing story. Set in 1969, in a small town in Florida. An alcoholic father has abandoned his wife and child. The child is slow and has all kinds of problems, so the mother is forced to open up a business. In 1969 what kind of business does every small southern town need? You guessed it, a sex shop! It's a different plot and seemed like it would be a very interesting story, but looks can be deceiving. They hire writers to make the "official" description of the movie, so it sound great and you'll go see it, and in this case they got me. This has got to be one of the slowest and most pointless movies I have ever seen. Everyone is portrayed as stupid, the film is choppy and makes no sense, and on top of that it's just a total bore! They fooled me, don't let them fool you! Avoid this one!

Another Gay Movie

Starring: Michael Carbanaro & Jonah Blechman
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Ok... Leave your joke in the comment box, I'm sure it's hilarious. As for this movie, it WAS hilarious... at first... but it quickly got old. Its about four gay friends, the summer before college, on a mission to get laid. Along the way they meet their fair share of weird characters and it's pretty much the same as 1000 other coming of age teen comedies, except for the gay part... This movie has some really funny parts, especially the interaction with the lesbians, THAT was classic! Unfortunately, they continue focusing on the one subject, and the jokes just stop being funny after about twenty minutes or so. It's a cool idea, it's a gutsy film to make, and I give praise to everyone brave enough to be a part of it. It probably would have been good if it wasn't so narrow-minded.

Hesher

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, & Natalie Portman
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Hesher is a strange story that only works because of a terrific cast. The story follows a family who is suffering from a tragic loss. A mysterious stranger shows up and takes refuge in their garage and in his own twisted, fucked up way, tries to help. That's what we were told, but I didn't see Hesher as anything more than a nuisance to the them. It's unbelievable that no one would have called the cops on this guy! Anyway, ignoring the weak story and obvious plot holes, this movie was good because of its cast, plain and simple. JGL continues to be the most under-appreciated talent in Hollywood. I guess that's what happens when you start out on a sitcom. Newcomer Devin Brochu in his first major role was amazing as TJ, he's gonna be a big star one day. Even Natalie Portman, who I don't usually like, was great! Hesher isn't the best story ever written, at times it's slow, at others it just doesn't click, but the amazingly talented cast manages to keep your interest and makes this one worth seeing.

Whisper

Starring: Blake Woodruff, Josh Holloway, & Sarah Wayne Callies
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

I chose this little known film for two reasons. First, for a B-Movie, the cast is terrific! Second, the best horror films are the ones with evil, sadistic, kids. What's scarier than a kid who goes around killing people? In Whisper, David is a kid of fortune, but very introverted. At his birthday party, he's kidnapped and held from ransom, but he's not really the prisoner, they are! I tried to like this movie, but honestly I didn't. The cast was excellent, but the film moves very slowly, very little actually happens, and when it does, you already knew it was coming. It wasn't an awful movie, and this cast is certainly appealing, but something just doesn't click. I'd avoid this one if I were you.

Prison Break: The Final Break

Starring: Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, & Sarah Wayne Callies
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

For 4 years, Prison Break was the smartest, grittiest, best casted, and best written show on Television. While badly harmed by the 2007 writers strike and low ratings, this show never did get the recognition it deserved. When Paul Scheuring created the show, he wrote a story he'd planned to last six season, however in the middle of season 4, he pulled the plug. Scheuring decided that the show had become a farce of itself and would not longer continue. In the final 15 minutes of the last episode of season 4, they jumped ahead 3 years to the ending Scheuring had originally envisioned, and it left fans with millions of unanswered questions. They were outraged and besieged the network with letters. The result, the events of a hypothetical season 6 were condensed into a 90 minute movie. The movie was a return to the shows beginnings and was terrific! While season 4 did get stupid, this would have been a fantastic season and an amazing way to end the show. Of course when you condense 24 episodes into an hour and a half, it's going to be rushed and have holes, but they do a nice job of trying to explain everything and ultimately do give the fans the closure they desired. This was the smartest show I've ever seen and no matter what this cast does for the rest of their careers, it will never compare to the incredible job they did on this show and in this movie.