The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

Star Trek notwithstanding, when you get taken to another planet and they all write and speak English without the benefit of any translation device or other plot device, I don't think much of the writer or their opinion of their readers.

This book seems to be written for 8 year olds by a 12 year old.
I swear Patterson probably wrote this in one sitting. Zero creativity at all.
It's just a knock off of other stories already out there, but in particular Men in Black. I mean take a look at the book cover. A pretty similar resemblance to Heroes don't you think?
Good news is you can finish this thing in 1 or 2 sittings. If Patterson thinks he is creating the next "Harry Potter" his bank account and his publisher are going to be seriously disappointed.

I found Daniel to me an exciting and page turning book. Very enjoyable and well worth it.

After completing the current books in Patterson's Maximum Ride series, I was told that I should read the latest "teen" novel by James Patterson (and Michael Ledwidge), The Dangerous Days of Daniel X. Like Maximum Ride, Daniel X will be a series of at least three books. But Patterson and Ledwidge will have to release the next two without me.

Daniel X is a fifteen year old orphan with some supernatural powers. These powers; shape shifting, telekinesis, and the ability to create animate objects out of nothing, are needed as he is an Alien Hunter on Planet Earth. For eons, Earth has been inhabited by aliens, and a good portion of them are evil. Daniel, orphaned when his parents were killed by an alien called The Prayer, uses a "hit list" (called The List) left to him by his parents, to track down and kill the bad aliens. Naturally, as such lists are numbered, the closer you get to #1, the aliens get more difficult to dispatch.Skipping ahead on The List, Daniel determines he is ready for #6. But that particular alien is well aware of his approach and his weaknesses. And he is waiting for Daniel.

I realize that this book is targeted to the 7-17 reader, but I had a very difficult time relating to or caring about Daniel. I think that it was mostly due to knowing that somewhere along the line, Patterson will get heavy-handed on some ecological topic. While that did not appear in this novel, you know that it is coming. He is addressing global warming in Maximum Ride, and I *think* that they will be addressing global population in this series, based on some throw away comments late in this book (they did address child labor in this novel). But my other issues with this book are probably very silly; where does Daniel get the money to live and eat? Why isn't he taking some time to improve his powers with the lower numbered aliens, while moving up The List? A weapon that kills his parents seems to only give him a "flesh wound" *? For the most part, I think that this book may hold the interest of most 7-17 year olds. But it certainly holds no interest to me

* - my thow away "Monty Python" reference :-)

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but James Patterson was one of the writers, so I had to read it! Here is a good synopsis about the book on the inside cover:

"Daniel's secret abilities --- like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to re-create himself in any shape he choses -- have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn't have a normal life. He is the protector of Earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond anyone's imagining."

David has "the list" of the worst aliens, which includes the assassins that killed his parents. As a young kid, he doesn't understand his abilities, but as he gets older he realizes the importance of his skills and how important he is to keeping Earth safe. He believes he is alone in his battle, but finds out that you can go home and find yourself again.

My first thoughts about this book was that this was another 'kill the alien" book, but it's much more than that. The alien hunter part of the story is only a small part of the book. We see a boy grow and learn about himself and what part in the world he is meant to be a part of. The history of his family and where they came from (another planet) is a moving part of the book that facinated me. The speech of Spock and Kirk from Star Trek comes to mind when reading this book for me: "The needs of the many - outweigh the needs of the few or the one!"

I would recommend reading this book and the sequel that will be coming out soon! Patterson has been careful of the language and content of the book to allow anyone from 10 to 100 to read the book!