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carmeno_o 's review for:
The Rise of Nine
by Pittacus Lore
I am number Four was great. Really great. Excellent first novel and set the series up for greatness.
The power of six was good. Not as great as the first book, but I found it extremely interesting to see how different Cépan's protected their Garde differently. While it wasn't as action-packed, I enjoyed it just as much.
The Rise of Nine Wow. Just wow.
Number Nine
Never would have thought I could like a character more than I liked Sam, but Nine did it to me. Sam is still one of the best, but damn… Nine is a different kettle of fish.
One great thing about this series is how different all the characters are. John (#4), while I like him, can get irritating at times and makes it impossible to forget he is a sixteen year old. Every character so far has put up with his wishy washy behaviour and saw it as a strength. Nine was the first one that viewed John the same way the readers do, irrational.
For the majority of the book, Nine and Four were partnered up together while the rest of the Garde were elsewhere. This allowed their clashing, yet complementary, personalities to flourish.
Nine would stand up to John and tell him when his ideas were pathetic, when John was being too sentimental and when he was ignoring the Garde’s main duty; to bring Lorien back to its former glory.
This was a breath of fresh air and it was lovely to see a driven character who was not starstruck in the presence of another Garde.
Another great thing about Nine is that he recognised that Earth was a good planet, and made the most of his time on it, but never lost sight of what his end goal was. He fought for what he believed in and would give Six a run for her money in a fight.
The Rise of Nine had a great plot, and I would have enjoyed it no matter what, but Nine definitely made the journey a lot more enjoyable and entertaining.
Good on Pittacus for writing a character like Nine that would stereotypically be rude, but actually has a kind soul that is always up for a fight.
Number Four
John improved dramatically within this book and I think that is largely to do with the influence Nine had on his character.
While he was whiney and irrational at times, it was lovely seeing him mature and think things through before acting. It saved them a lot of hurt and allowed for things to roll out as smoothly as things can in this series.
I think separation from Sarah, Sam and Six is exactly what he needed. Nine wouldn't let him lean on him too much, and Four was used to being a dependant. Through the course of this novel he became more individualistic which allowed for the character improvement we see in "The Fall of Five."
Number Six
This character is nearly impossible not to like. Her determination, strength and compassion are enticing.
Reading her point of view was very interesting and highlighted even further the drive she has to succeed, and the selflessness she has when it comes to the Garde.
But after a few characters from her POV, I realised it was not one I enjoyed reading. She lost her 'six' voice and seemed a little similar to Mariana's POV despite acting differently when it is from others POV. That might sound confusing, but when you read it I'm sure you'll understand what I'm saying.
In other words, her thoughts didn't seem like sixes thoughts. I don't think the author wrote her POV as well as the others, but it was still a good read.
Final Thoughts
This book was so good that I had to stop reading it half way through because I got too sad that this would be the only time I could experience these books. Every time I read these after, I will know what is coming. To me, that says a lot about how good this book was. None of the other books bestowed this feeling upon me.
The power of six was good. Not as great as the first book, but I found it extremely interesting to see how different Cépan's protected their Garde differently. While it wasn't as action-packed, I enjoyed it just as much.
The Rise of Nine Wow. Just wow.
Number Nine
Never would have thought I could like a character more than I liked Sam, but Nine did it to me. Sam is still one of the best, but damn… Nine is a different kettle of fish.
One great thing about this series is how different all the characters are. John (#4), while I like him, can get irritating at times and makes it impossible to forget he is a sixteen year old. Every character so far has put up with his wishy washy behaviour and saw it as a strength. Nine was the first one that viewed John the same way the readers do, irrational.
For the majority of the book, Nine and Four were partnered up together while the rest of the Garde were elsewhere. This allowed their clashing, yet complementary, personalities to flourish.
Nine would stand up to John and tell him when his ideas were pathetic, when John was being too sentimental and when he was ignoring the Garde’s main duty; to bring Lorien back to its former glory.
This was a breath of fresh air and it was lovely to see a driven character who was not starstruck in the presence of another Garde.
Another great thing about Nine is that he recognised that Earth was a good planet, and made the most of his time on it, but never lost sight of what his end goal was. He fought for what he believed in and would give Six a run for her money in a fight.
The Rise of Nine had a great plot, and I would have enjoyed it no matter what, but Nine definitely made the journey a lot more enjoyable and entertaining.
Good on Pittacus for writing a character like Nine that would stereotypically be rude, but actually has a kind soul that is always up for a fight.
Number Four
John improved dramatically within this book and I think that is largely to do with the influence Nine had on his character.
While he was whiney and irrational at times, it was lovely seeing him mature and think things through before acting. It saved them a lot of hurt and allowed for things to roll out as smoothly as things can in this series.
I think separation from Sarah, Sam and Six is exactly what he needed. Nine wouldn't let him lean on him too much, and Four was used to being a dependant. Through the course of this novel he became more individualistic which allowed for the character improvement we see in "The Fall of Five."
Number Six
This character is nearly impossible not to like. Her determination, strength and compassion are enticing.
Reading her point of view was very interesting and highlighted even further the drive she has to succeed, and the selflessness she has when it comes to the Garde.
But after a few characters from her POV, I realised it was not one I enjoyed reading. She lost her 'six' voice and seemed a little similar to Mariana's POV despite acting differently when it is from others POV. That might sound confusing, but when you read it I'm sure you'll understand what I'm saying.
In other words, her thoughts didn't seem like sixes thoughts. I don't think the author wrote her POV as well as the others, but it was still a good read.
Final Thoughts
This book was so good that I had to stop reading it half way through because I got too sad that this would be the only time I could experience these books. Every time I read these after, I will know what is coming. To me, that says a lot about how good this book was. None of the other books bestowed this feeling upon me.