Necropolis (Power of Five) by Anthony Horowitz

Necropolis (Power of Five) by Anthony Horowitz
Buy Necropolis (Power of Five) by Anthony Horowitz at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Loralei Haylock
Summary: An excellent fast paced thriller, ideal for boys but equally enjoyable for girls. If the rest of the series is up to the same standard as Necropolis it is easily one of the best action thriller series for teenagers around.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 400	Date: October 2008
Publisher: Walker
ISBN: 978-1844286225
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Things start to go wrong for fifteen-year-old Scarlett Adams when she goes on a school trip to St Meredith's Church. Since she was thirteen she's been having dreams, strange and vivid dreams about four boys. She knows their names, Matt, Scott, Jamie and Pedro, and knows that, somehow, she has to meet them. So when she sees Matt in St Meredith's she follows him through a doorway and finds herself magically in Ukraine.

There she learns the truth about herself – that she is a Gatekeeper, one of the five with the power to stop the Old Ones, ancient and evil beings who want to see the world destroyed. But the monks in Ukraine, led by the monstrous Father Gregory, want to hand her over to them. Scarlett escapes, and finds her way back to England, but her disappearance is all over the news, letting the Old Ones know exactly who and where she is. They lure her to Hong Kong, a city they have been taking over, slowly killing it until it's completely under their control.

Meanwhile, Matt and the others have also seen the news. They are the other four Gatekeepers, and they need Scarlett if they are to stand a chance of defeating the Old Ones once and for all. But they know going after her means risking capture themselves. Matt knows it's a risk they have to take.

Anthony Horowitz is a master of fast paced action and suspense. His books race between exotic locations, intense fight scenes, narrow escapes and dramatic showdowns towards a climactic final battle you know will leave you cheering. If you pick one up it's difficult to put down again.

Necropolis certainly completes every thriller reader's checklist, but doesn't fall into the traps some thrillers do. Horowitz gives plenty of time to character development and even the obligatory reminders of what happened in the previous books don't bog down the prose. He achieves a perfect balance between action and character.

Necropolis is easy to read and exciting. The action and mainly male cast make it ideal for boys, but Scarlett is a strong female character so the girls will enjoy it too. If you know of any reluctant readers The Power of Five series might be good books to start them on. If the rest of the series is up to the same standard as Necropolis it is easily one of the best action thriller series for teenagers around.

If thrillers are your thing the Alex Rider series, also by Anthony Horowitz, is certainly worth a look. You might want to try Danger Zone: Ice Claw by David Gilman, and Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series is also great.

My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Necropolis (Power of Five) by Anthony Horowitz at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Necropolis (Power of Five) by Anthony Horowitz at Amazon.com.

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