The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

Daniel X is an alien hunter, like his parents before him. It is his job to track down and eliminate dangerous alien fugitives hiding out on Earth. He's been working his way up the List, a computer database of the aliens, since his parents died when he was just three years old. They were killed by Number One on the List, The Prayer, the most dangerous alien on Earth.

Daniel's ultimate goal is to kill The Prayer, get revenge for his parent's deaths. Born with a unique ability to alter reality and super intelligence, Daniel uses his powers to fight the alien fugitives. Aged fifteen, having successfully dealt with Number Nineteen, Daniel decides it's time to go after Number Six, Ergent Seth, and alien who counts genocide as one of his favourite pastimes.

But is Daniel ready to take on Seth? He has never taken on one of the Top Ten before. Even with his amazing abilities, and the loyal friends he can conjure with a thought, does he really stand any chance? The ensuing battle takes him from Earth to the far ends of the Universe and back again, but who will eventually come out on top?

I have read some of James Patterson's Maximum Ride series, and this first in a series about new hero Daniel X has much the same feel. Dangerous Days is a fast paced thriller adventure, with a dash of teenage angst, that sees Daniel go from peril to peril while dealing with school, girls and the truancy police.

The problem with thrillers, is sometimes they exchange substance for action, and that is certainly the case in Daniel X. The book raced from event to event at such a pace that sometimes it felt like huge chunks of the story were missing. It feels like Patterson has tried too hard to make it Bruce Willis action film exciting, and things got rushed along the way, which is a real shame because there are some great ideas throughout the book.

I think my biggest problem was that this is the first in a series. I don't mind reading light hearted, fun reads for a one off, even if they aren't that great, but to get the whole of Daniel X's story you have to invest more time and money in parts two, three, four etc. There wasn't really enough in Dangerous Days to have me waiting for the next part. I might borrow it if I happen to see it in the library, but it certainly won't make my Amazon pre-order list.

My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy.

If you enjoy fun, fast paced fantasy thrillers no one does them better than Eoin Colfer. For another great thriller adventure series try Danger Zone by David Gilman.

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