Review: The Rise of Nine - Pittacus Lore

The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore, published by Penguin on 30th August 2012

Goodreads synopsis:
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They caught me in New York - but I escaped.

I am Number Six. The Mogodorians want to finish what they started.

But they'll have to fight us first.

Review:
This is one of my favourite series of all-time!  It's addictive and gripping and the long wait between books is unbearable.  'The Rise of Nine' is the third instalment in the Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore and yet again was a heart-stopping and pulse-pounding read.  I literally couldn't put it down.  There's edge of your seat action from the word go and it's compulsive reading for fans of the series.

The story is this time narrated by three characters: Four, Six and Seven, so we're treated to multiple perspectives of events.  Four is with Nine and Six and Seven are together along with Ten, so the story switched between the two viewpoints.  A different typeface was used for each narrator but it perhaps would have been easier to have had each chapter headed with the character's name as it sometimes took me a couple of seconds to work out who was now speaking.  Four has always been my favourite character but he has to take a little bit of a backseat to what seemed to be the main story of Six and Seven's hunt to find Eight.  It's great to see them all gradually coming together.  I can only imagine what it's going to be like when all of them are reunited.

I really like the way that they are learning more about each other and their own abilities. Their legacies compliment each other and when they are fighting as a group they are always stronger and more powerful. Their greatest foe so far is revealed in the book and he turns out to be a formidable enemy who it's going to take their combined strengths to defeat.

We don't get to see much of Sam and Sarah which was a shame as Sam in particular is another of my favourites.  It's interesting having two humans in the mix though as they are so much more vulnerable than the others but still determined to do their fair share of the fighting. 

The story is spread over a wide geographical range, skipping from Chicago, to India, to New Mexico.  The part of the book set in India was especially good, as they try to track down Eight.  He turned out to be unlike anything I'd imagined.  He has really powerful legacies and has learnt to survive on his own after the death of his Cepan.  There's hints of a romance developing between him and Seven which I hope is explored further in the future.       

I can't wait to see if Number Five makes an appearance in the next book in the series.  As far as I know, there are another three books planned so lot's more action and adventure still to come.  It's the event of the year when a new book in the series is published so I'll be counting down the days until the next one.