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madin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
anniemariek's review against another edition
3.0
This review has to begin with a recap of my thoughts on this series back in 2008. Trust me, it's important to the rest of this review. In middle school, I read Raven's Gate. I loved it--I thought it was creepy. I went right ahead with Evil Star, which felt totally different but better than its prequel, and also PEDRO (I may or may not have had a huge crush on Pedro in middle school. True story. But come on, guys--isn't he adorable?). Nightrise was up to par, and Necropolis equally awesome.
And then I hit a wall. The fifth and final book--at the time, I didn't even know a title--wasn't out. So I waited. And waited. And waited. I waited for four years until the 2012 release (and then some since my library took forever to get it).
It makes me wonder. Why were the first four published in succession ('05, '06, '07, '08), but there was a lull until 2012? This article says a tiny bit, but not much. It always makes me suspicious when this kind of thing happens with any series.
Honestly, I wish the book could have come out in 2009, or even 2010. I would have enjoyed it so much more back then. Now, though, the book drags a few problems with it, and some of them are on my end. The first problem is that, well, I haven't read this series since '08. This distance never does good things for my enjoyment of a series finale.
The second problem is that my tastes have changed. I'm less likely to give a good rating now than I was three or even two years ago. If I had read this a few years ago, there's a good chance I would have loved it like the rest of the series.
It's also quite possible that, no matter when I had read any of these books, Oblivion just isn't on the same level as the first four. Three/four-ish years can be a long time for any author to take a break from a series. Maybe that's an explanation.
There was also a bit of genre shift, and that threw me. The first books were all very paranormal/urban fantasy. At the end of the fourth book, though, the characters are thrown ten years into the future. Suddenly, the story becomes more of a dystopia than anything else. That bothered me, and I never could get used to it.
POV shifts are quite common in this series, and it's normal to see the story from any of the Five's POV, plus some other side characters. Oblivion introduced us to Holly, which was fine, except her narration was all in first person. Now, I've only read one series that successfully switched off from first person to third. Just one. And in Oblivion, it didn't really work. There were so many third person chapters that the random first person here and there was distracting and annoying. Also, I wanted to hear more from Jamie's side of things, but every time his storyline was featured, Holly was narrating. I'm not even sure what Holly's purpose in the story was--she didn't do anything except tag along with Jamie.
And yet, this book still managed to keep itself out of two- and three-stardom. Though it took a long, long time to get there, the climax was exciting and intense. I saw the beginnings of a cool dynamic between the five Gatekeepers (though more would have been awesome). I loved the relationship between Matt and Richard, and how it developed since the first book. The reappearance of the past versions of some of the Five was a nice touch, and brought things full circle.
Overall, my likes and dislikes balance out, making this an okay book. Again, I'm not sure if my tastes have changed and this series isn't as good as I remember, or if there's a serious drop in awesomeness between the fourth book and this one. Either way, three stars.
Similar Books: It features an ensemble of teens saving the world from an ancient power like The Lost Hero, has some paranormal elements that remind me of The Light, and it feels a bit like the Pendragon series.
And then I hit a wall. The fifth and final book--at the time, I didn't even know a title--wasn't out. So I waited. And waited. And waited. I waited for four years until the 2012 release (and then some since my library took forever to get it).
It makes me wonder. Why were the first four published in succession ('05, '06, '07, '08), but there was a lull until 2012? This article says a tiny bit, but not much. It always makes me suspicious when this kind of thing happens with any series.
Honestly, I wish the book could have come out in 2009, or even 2010. I would have enjoyed it so much more back then. Now, though, the book drags a few problems with it, and some of them are on my end. The first problem is that, well, I haven't read this series since '08. This distance never does good things for my enjoyment of a series finale.
The second problem is that my tastes have changed. I'm less likely to give a good rating now than I was three or even two years ago. If I had read this a few years ago, there's a good chance I would have loved it like the rest of the series.
It's also quite possible that, no matter when I had read any of these books, Oblivion just isn't on the same level as the first four. Three/four-ish years can be a long time for any author to take a break from a series. Maybe that's an explanation.
There was also a bit of genre shift, and that threw me. The first books were all very paranormal/urban fantasy. At the end of the fourth book, though, the characters are thrown ten years into the future. Suddenly, the story becomes more of a dystopia than anything else. That bothered me, and I never could get used to it.
POV shifts are quite common in this series, and it's normal to see the story from any of the Five's POV, plus some other side characters. Oblivion introduced us to Holly, which was fine, except her narration was all in first person. Now, I've only read one series that successfully switched off from first person to third. Just one. And in Oblivion, it didn't really work. There were so many third person chapters that the random first person here and there was distracting and annoying. Also, I wanted to hear more from Jamie's side of things, but every time his storyline was featured, Holly was narrating. I'm not even sure what Holly's purpose in the story was--she didn't do anything except tag along with Jamie.
And yet, this book still managed to keep itself out of two- and three-stardom. Though it took a long, long time to get there, the climax was exciting and intense. I saw the beginnings of a cool dynamic between the five Gatekeepers (though more would have been awesome). I loved the relationship between Matt and Richard, and how it developed since the first book. The reappearance of the past versions of some of the Five was a nice touch, and brought things full circle.
Overall, my likes and dislikes balance out, making this an okay book. Again, I'm not sure if my tastes have changed and this series isn't as good as I remember, or if there's a serious drop in awesomeness between the fourth book and this one. Either way, three stars.
Similar Books: It features an ensemble of teens saving the world from an ancient power like The Lost Hero, has some paranormal elements that remind me of The Light, and it feels a bit like the Pendragon series.
bungler's review against another edition
3.0
i really couldn’t tell you if i read this one or not when i was just a wee child but......he really went all out with it and i respect that. crazy stuff at the end of the world, but it all bundled up pretty neatly in the end. idk.
meganandsally's review against another edition
3.0
This series is way too long to get in motion. I get that each previous book described each and every character of the gatekeepers. But it’s like the action was on stand by until this book. This book is filled with actions that the five gatekeeper do to get reunited.
However, the best part was the last. It was frustrating to know that Matt knew how it was going to end but didn’t say anything about it. And it just made the end more spectacular. The deaths in the end are really unexpected, especially Matt’s. So I read this and I was stunned. I found this book unbearably long and slow. I’m not a fan of the series. But the ending hurt and hard. The sort of piece Richard and Holly achieved, the five gatekeepers in a sort of heaven. The ending was epic and perfect. But, as I said before, it was a long way to get here. Too long for me and that’s why this series is a 2-3 stars series. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
However, the best part was the last. It was frustrating to know that Matt knew how it was going to end but didn’t say anything about it. And it just made the end more spectacular. The deaths in the end are really unexpected, especially Matt’s. So I read this and I was stunned. I found this book unbearably long and slow. I’m not a fan of the series. But the ending hurt and hard. The sort of piece Richard and Holly achieved, the five gatekeepers in a sort of heaven. The ending was epic and perfect. But, as I said before, it was a long way to get here. Too long for me and that’s why this series is a 2-3 stars series. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
yetibagetti's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
queenb13's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, which surprised me because I started this series in middle school and I'm now in 12th grade, so the writing style and maturity aren't really matching my age anymore. The subject matter was very mature, however. Throughout the book, you encounter drug trafficking, slave trade, and torture. Even though they're horrible things to consider happening to people, it was smart of Horowitz to acknowledge the terrible things humans inflict on each other and incorporate them into the story; it made it much more real.
As far a plot itself went, I really enjoyed it. Obviously the concept is amazing, although I did find many of the plot twists predictable. I mainly read it for the characters; I loved all of them especially Matt and Richard. Maybe it's because we've been with them since book one, but those two remained my favorite. I can't say I liked Lohan as a person, but as a character, I found him very compelling, and I thought it was smart of Horowitz to have at least one "good" character who wasn't doing good things simply for the sake of doing good. The ending, even though I expected it, broke my heart. Not that this has much to do with the actual story, but I loved how there was zero romance in this series! It made it so much more real in my opinion; the four boys barely knew Scarlet, so it would make no sense for one of them to randomly be like "I like you!", and it allowed more focus on each character's individual struggle and growth. The story wasn't about teenage love; it was about war, nobility, and sacrifice, and those subjects are brushed aside so often by authors trying to convey their characters "true love" for each other. The five kids are trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world and battle ancient monsters - they don't have time for romance. All in all, I really enjoyed this book, despite it being a bit predictable. The story was dark and gritty, I loved the characters, the action scenes were well written, and the antagonists - Old Ones and humans - were appropriately chilling.
As far a plot itself went, I really enjoyed it. Obviously the concept is amazing, although I did find many of the plot twists predictable. I mainly read it for the characters; I loved all of them
Spoiler
even Scott - he had such a horrible life and he came through in the end, even though he knew it would kill himSpoiler
I can't say I saw the five going to live in the dream world though; that one caught me by surprise, and was arguably one of the saddest aspects, since Richard was left alone to remember everything he had seen and done.jlevans's review against another edition
5.0
Uh wow, okay. Throughout reading this book, I'm gonna be honest, some parts felt unnecessary. It felt too long and could have been condensed. There were also scenarios that I thought were unrealistic (don't think I'm being dense, I mean unrealistic as in I don't think that's how people would react). However, the ending more than made up for it. It's heartbreaking, but in a good way. I wasn't too keen on the replacement of two characters, and I want to know whether they exist in the dreamworld too, but I suppose they would have to, considering Holly and Richard's visits. I'm quite exhausted after reading Oblivion. On reflection, I've been reading these books since I was about eleven or twelve, and it's been an amazing journey. They effectively introduced me to reading, I suppose. But this book is not without its faults. Still, I'm deeply saddened that the Power of Five is over. I can't quite believe it.
charonlrdraws's review against another edition
5.0
I remember starting this series many years ago and I've re-read the first four books many times and now having finally finished it I just feel a little lost now.
This will always be my favorite book series always and nothing will ever change as I've grown to care about Matt, Pedro, Scarlet, Scott & Jamie so so much and of course Richard who was with them till the end I got angry with a few characters while reading this book infact I had to hold back my tears in the end the ending was bittersweet but this book has destroyed me in a good way and I will re-read this series again no doubt about that despite how much it'll sadden me knowing the fate of two particular characters I will find myself going back into it.
This will always be my favorite book series always and nothing will ever change as I've grown to care about Matt, Pedro, Scarlet, Scott & Jamie so so much and of course Richard who was with them till the end I got angry with a few characters while reading this book infact I had to hold back my tears in the end the ending was bittersweet but this book has destroyed me in a good way and I will re-read this series again no doubt about that despite how much it'll sadden me knowing the fate of two particular characters I will find myself going back into it.
linnaea's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The most miserable book I've ever read. Just a list of disasters and apocalypses that never ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, War, Slavery, Trafficking, Police brutality, Violence, and Murder