How the Mogadorians "Turned" Five: Five's Betrayal, by Pittacus Lore
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Author: Pittacus Lore
Title: I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: Five's Betrayal (Lorien Legaices: The Lost Files Book 9) Genre: science fiction The tales of the Lorien Garde continue to dribble out from the pen of “Pittacus Lore” (also known as the writing team of James Frey and Jobie Hughes). Oddly out-of-order, the three prequels (called “100-page novellas” by the publisher, though more accurately 70 pages each with 30 additional pages of teaser) comprising the saga of the nasty boy at position Five conclude – perhaps – with the publication of Five’s Legacy (full title I am Number Four: The Lost Files: Five’s Betrayal (Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files Book 9) – must’ve been a sale on colons that day). Five’s Betrayal slots in between Five’s Legacy and The Fall of Five (which was published a year previously). In Five’s Legacy, Five continues to rationalize falling in with the Mogadorians, the ultimate badhats of the Lorien series. It’s fairly clear that Hughes/Frey have read up on brainwashing and the Stockholm Syndrome, both of which feature prominently in the tale – in fact, quite a bit of the plot seems to be patterned on the method by which Brody was turned in “Homeland.” Clearly, Cody (as he prefers to be known) has a weak personality that was exacerbated by the lack of training he received from his Cêpan, Rey. Be that as it may, Five is written as a familiar moden trope – the pudgy loner who spends most of his time playing video games in a dimly-lit basement; just the kind of teen of whom neighbors eventually say something like “He wasn’t a bad kid, just a little strange. I never dreamed he’d do something like that!” to a TV reporter after the latest school shooting. Talk about your playing to type… This episode of the series fits uneasily in its slot, causing at least continuity problems and general loss of willing suspense of disbelief. For instance, the great Mogadorian leader Setrakus Rá has the power to break the Lorien Legacies – so why doesn’t he kill each of the Garde when he encounters them? And just when did Five create that nasty monster who guards his chest in The Fall of Five? Five’s Betrayal is just enough out of sequence to be dissonant and a little bothersome in the simplicity of its concept. It’s most assuredly the lightest of what’s already a pretty lightweight saga that continues to drag out past its sell-by date. It’s probably the only entry in the Lorien canon you can afford to skip. That's very likely why HarperCollins almost immediately shoved the two Five stories into a "new" book they call The Hidden Enemy, sandwiched around John's Return to Paradise. all content copyright © 2001-present by scmrak
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