Books: The Revenge of Seven. Lorien Legacies Book 5 Book Review

Hi everyone,

On Wednesday I received a fresh copy of The Revenge of Seven* (RoS), the fifth book in the Lorien Legacies series. I've spent all of Thursday to read the 314 page long adventure following our favourite characters Six, John (aka Number Four), Sam and Nine in their epic fight against the dangerous Mogadorians. I'm very proud to present you today my review of the gripping novel. The book is officially out on the 26th August 2014.

|Synopsis|

After the fight with Setrakus Ra, the betrayal of Five and the death of Eight, the Garde is yet again split up:

1. Ella, kidnapped by Setrakus Ra, is abducted into space, where she is forced by the Mog leader to bend down to his powers and to cooperate. Ella’s been told, she is related to Setrakus and he marks her with a powerful Mogadorian charm, which connects both of them. She resists and discovers a new legacy, which might be the key to his downfall.

2. John, Sam, Malcolm, Adam and Sarah receive unexpected help from the alien conspiracy blog They Walk Amongst Us. To save time, Sarah splits up from the group and goes on a mission herself. She follows a trace to the editors of the blog and is rather surprised when she finds out, who is running the website now. In the meantime, John, Sam, Malcolm and Adam plan an attack on a Mogadorian base in Washington. They crash the base and take it over. This time it’ll be the Loric who are one step ahead in the battle for earth.

3. Six, Nine and Marina are lost in a swampland but find an abandoned NASA base, that’s been used as a research centre by the enemies. They find Eight’s body there and nearly bump into Five, who regrets his actions and struggles with inner conflicts where to belong and whom to trust.

These are the three plot strands of RoS and it becomes very clear, that the Garde will face something far more bigger than they've expected. What is MogPro and why could the Mogadorians execute their long term plan in taking over the galaxy so successful without any notice or resistance from anyone? Our heroes realise the true extent of evil power and the events about to come.

|Structure|

RoS has the familiar episodic structure with changing point of views. This time, the events are mainly told by Ella, Six and John. Thanks to the simple sentence structure and use of language, the book reflects the familiar tone and is easy to read. The writing style contains a lot of direct speech, which makes the story livelier than in previous books. The reading flow feels effortless and makes the book a true page-turner.

The access to the story is flawless and events unfold at a good pace. With 314 pages this is the shortest in the series and it can be read in a day.

|Criticism|

RoS starts exactly where The Fall of Five (book 4) ended and we’re straight into the action. There are no long recap stories about recent events and the story develops quickly.

This part of the series focuses more on the Mogs and thanks to Adam, we get some really helpful insights into the mindset and behaviour of the enemy. It was interesting to read about the Mogs motivations and motifs. I enjoyed that, as with the information given the stereotypical depiction of pure evil and good is left, which gives the Mogadorians an actual reason and motivation which applies some depth to the story.

This is the second to last book in the Lorien Legacies and whilst the Mogs are highly organised and plan their invasion, the Garde feels somehow lost. I wished the Garde would mess around less and would seriously start to think about a plan. They had three books to come up with ideas and they need to pull their shit together. It feels like things aren't moving for the Garde at all and it would be very unrealistic if all of their success would come in the final book.

When John and his friends take over the Mog base, Malcolm finds video material of his imprisonment and torture. He analysis this material in the hope to gain useful information. The tortured Malcolm does indeed reveal some major facts about the fate of the Loric and how to restart Lorien. But how does he know all of this? Has Pittacus told him? But then, Malcolm would remember and would have told the Garde already after he joined them in the last book, wouldn't he? Has this knowledge maybe been planted without him knowing? It would explain why he hasn't told the Garde. Anyway, it wasn't explained why Malcolm revealed such information under torture, but obviously can’t remember, otherwise he would have told the Garde by now.

I was really annoyed by Nine this time. He isn't contributing anything useful at all, bar dump and cheesy comments, which very much reminded me of Kellan Lutz in Twilight. His jokes are inappropriate and totally out of place. Overall, Nine is rather passive, so was John. Usually, he is handled as the leader but this time he is overshadowed by Adam, who is far more organised and showed some impressive leadership skills.

I found the title misleading. Number Seven, Marina, isn't really revenging anyone, in fact, she barely has her moments. She is a bit more aggressive and offensive which made her a bit more of a fighter. I liked that change in character, as she usually is very innocent and conservative.

|The Final Book: Some Assumptions and Speculations|

I hope the final chapter in the Lorien Legacies will be longer and I'm expecting a showdown worthy of the series. Since, 2011 a title was released in August each year, so I’m hoping the last book will be out in August 2015.

• It says inside the book cover, that Pittacus has been on earth for 12 years and is preparing for the battle for earth, so he will make an appearance.


• There’s a connection between Ella and Setrakus Ra now, so I assume she will be the key for his downfall.


• This book was mainly from Six’s, John’s and Ella’s point of view, so I expect Sam and Marina, as they had a voice in previous books.


• Story-wise good will succeed over evil, but I think the Garde will fail in restarting Lorien. I think they will find peace on earth and be accepted by humans.


• Now, the title. Each of the remaining Garde has been dedicated a title, except for Eight, so I assume Eight will be closing the series. That leaves lots and lots of room for speculation. Eight has been killed, but if he is going to be part of the title, it’ll mean he will make somehow a comeback. At least his presence will be important to the plot.


• Eight will be the key in the final title, so will be the battle. I assume the noun in the title will be a strong content word that sums up the massive intergalactic fight. My ideas about a possible title are: The Battle of Eight, The Awakening of Eight, The Spirit of Eight, The Visions of Eight, The Return of Eight or The Pride of Eight.

Anyway, these are just assumptions and some play around with the hints that you can find in the book.

|Is There A Book After The Revenge Of Seven?|

Yes there is. There's definitely one more and rumor has it, James Frey considers a second book to give the Lorien Legacies a worthy ending. However, what is definitely going to happen is the series will end. Either in 2015 or 2016. But don't get upset, James Frey has released already a new addictive YA series called 'Endgame'. You can find a review of the first book here and I also met James in Bath, which you can find here.

|Final Word|

RoS was a good read and thanks to the simple linguistic structure a page-turner. Though the book captures the atmosphere and voice of previous chapters in the series, I found it a bit bland and it hasn't wowed me over (in the sense of that not much is actually happening). The Garde kids are lost and need a leader to sort them out and to come up with a long term plan instead of breaking up all over again following single missions. I still love and enjoy the series but I hope that the final book will come up with a massive WTF finale including some twists and turns, which I think the overall story really, really needs.

Have you read the books? If so, which one is your favourite? Are you excited to read about the next chapter in the Lorien Legacies next week?

Till next time,

xx CAZ xx

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*PR sample