[The Power of Five: Necropolis] [Author: Horowitz, Anthony] [July, 2013]

The Power of Five #4

by Anthony Horowitz

Hong Kong has been taken over by the Old Ones and has become Necropolis, City of the Dead. Once in, there is no way out… Evil has been unleashed on the world and only five children – with special powers – can save it. Matt and the other three desperately need to find Scar, the final Gatekeeper, who has been trapped in Hong Kong, where puddles of water turn into puddles of blood, where ghosts, demons and hideous creatures stalk the streets. Matt has no choice but to follow her. Now, both imprisoned, their only hope of survival is to reach a secret door in the Man Ho temple. But even if Scar can find her psychic power, it may already be too late.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Horror, Adventure, Supernatural, Thriller

Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Anthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.

On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...

Reviews

[Shaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

"The door opened and Audrey Cheng came in. She was wearing a tight jersey that showed off the shape of her body - round and lumpy."

That ending! Wow.

This book started off quite slowly I think. With most sequels, there's usually a casual introduction of about 50 pages or so which just refreshes where the story is at between the two installments. In this novel, I feel like that 'introduction stage' lasted almost 200 pages. Despite how that sounds, by no means did I think it was a boring first half of the book, it made sense to the story to have a longer introduction period as we're introduced to a new protagonist in this book.

There were a few new characters that I really enjoyed reading about in this one. Father Gregory for one definitely made my skin crawl which was the idea it seems. Also I really loved Lohan, he definitely reminded me of Fin (Finn?) from 'Nightrise'.

The climax in this was my favourite so far.

Can't wait to see how this series wraps up in the final instalment 'Oblivion', which has almost 700 pages! I've read a lot of Anthony Horowitz's books and all of them have been less than 450 pages long so this is exciting. So much content.

[Chris Horsefield · Rating 4 out of 5]

nthony Horowitz has given us tons & tons of classics, and The Power Of Five show absolutely no signs of a weakest link.
'Ravens Gate' was a great starter for the series, introducing Matt Freeman as the lead character. he is an orphan who seems to have special powers, and is sent to a sinister village in England where he finds a plot that seems to involve him. He also finds the Nexus, which is an organisation paranoid with keeping him safe. Along with Richard, a journalist who helps him remain alive.
'Evil Star' still kept Matt as the main character but introduced Pedro, a street urchin with the power to heal things. This book was alot faster paced then Ravens Gate as Matt & Pedro escape around Peru from a man named Salamanda, and leads to a grand finale at the end.
'Nightrise' got off to a very fast paced beginning with twins Scott & Jamie Tyler, who have the power to read peoples mind.
They are almost immediately attacked and separated, and Scott is captured.
It took me longer to get into this book then with the others as it seemed to be constantly action, with no source of explanation.
All this changes almost completely from the moment Jamie gets into the Juvenile prison. And almost all is explained along with alot of things from the other two books. Jamie travels back in time and witnesses the strength of the Old Ones (which are creatures from since the dawn of time, and sole perpose is to bring misery to Humanity), and the end of the book finishes off perfectly.

Then you get to 'Necropolis', and almost immediately you are sucked in.
The story is about girl Scarlett Adams and her journey from England to Hong Kong, the soon to be Necropolis, and is in a trap set by the Old Ones.
The company Nightrise is working on the Old Ones side, and they have large influences all around the world.
The Nightrise companies base is inside Hong Kong, a city with it's intire populisation being mass killed and replaced by supernatural shapshifters which walk the streets along with other creatures.
There is only one mafia related group of people fighting against the evil doing and there mainly working in secrecy, but that changes when Scarlett arrives.
Meanwhile Matt, Pedro, Jamie, Scott & Richard must try to find Scarlett, with the Nexus' help, Matt, Jamie & Richard set out for Hong Kong
Once there they get the help of a gangster leader to infiltrate the almost dead city.
But a massive storm is heading straight for Hong Kong, thanks to Scarlett who has the power of wind on her side.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not exactly sure what is going on here, Mr Horowitz, but it seems that this series is getting more disappointing as it goes along. The first few chapters were certainly interesting, and I was pretty gripped, but after that, things became incredibly bland and tiresome. There was a lack of suspense and a lack of a decent plot, especially one that inevitably pulls me in from the word "go"

I feel the book is way too long for the excruciatingly tedious story, and my imagination came grinding to a halt. There was no stimulation in this story, or drive, to make one even mildly interested as to what happens next.
The characters lack depth, and quite frankly, I didn't actually care about any of them. I honestly think that this series being written over five books has been a mistake.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarlett's power is great and also, I love her. But will someone please make sure Scott is okay.

[AziaMinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Rating : B

Better than the third book but not the first. On to book 5!

[Len · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume four in the Power of Five series. The Gatekeepers, the group of teenagers fighting to save the world from the evil Old Ones, become involved in the search to find and rescue the fifth and final member of their group and help her to join them in their great struggle.

Scarlett Adams is unaware that she is a Gatekeeper. To Scarlett she is only a fifteen year old schoolgirl and completely unaware of the danger she is in. Until the day comes when she joins a school trip to St. Meredith's Church in Shoreditch, opens an old door that shouldn't really be there and steps into a terrifying adventure.

The author throws every creature of horror he can think of into Scarlett's story - apart from vampires, I don't recall a single bloodsucker haunting the shadows. There are zombies, mad monks, shape-shifting lizards that can turn into a human simulacra, a swarm of malignant flies, big tentacly things, something partly human armed with large pincer claws, all controlled by the horrifying Old Ones.

As the four Gatekeepers from volume three pound after Scarlett, she is whisked away to Hong Kong, thinking she is going to join her father. Unfortunately, the Fragrant Harbour is no longer so fragrant anymore. The Old Ones have taken it over and turned it into a city of mind-controlled puppets. As the Gatekeepers continue their pursuit all Hell breaks loose, almost literally, when one considers the original home of the Old Ones.

Will Scarlett be rescued? Can the Gatekeepers become the quintet they were meant to be? Or will the Old Ones triumph? It is a breathlessly fast-moving, often violent - comic book style violence but still no shortage of blood and body parts - fantasy novel for young adults. While best enjoyed as part of the Power of Five series, it is readable as a stand-alone.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright. I thought this was brilliant, conceptually that is. I appreciate that this is a YA book so I won't pick on the flawed storytelling aspects. I'll just say that this is Horowitz's second attempt at writing the series (1st attempt in the 80s under the name 'Pentagram') and as such he has plenty of time to mull an ending for the series. Or so I hope.

The book is a bit of a joke, they chase Scarlett around the world and at the end they're all separated again. I wouldn't mind except this means they'll only come together right at the end and I wanted to see more of the planning aspects sketched out in the chapter 'Council of War'. Chaos said they would take forever to find each other so I assume the doors are broken, which is a shame, I really enjoyed that mechanism.

I took issue with Scarlett's power. Weather control is fine, nothing mind blowing and Horowitz certainly showed it's potential power in this book, but... she can't be the strongest. That's not okay. Matt is the leader. He is the 'first of the five'. I thought there was a reason that Horowitz never defined his power, I thought he was unpredictable; without limits.
And I wouldn't mind, except...weather? Hardly an active power. Unless we're talking lightning. It took 24 hours for the dragon to fall on the Necropolis. By the way I loved The Dragon's Eye idea, very clever.

Although I think it's unlikely because Horowitz doesn't like taking risks I want Scarlett to die at the beginning of the next book. She was badly wounded by the gunner and if PastScar came through I would feel that it was more realistic that they take down the Old Ones.
But on that note: I know Horowitz tries to create the feeling of world-encompassing evil, he even succeeds in some areas. But even still; Nightrise shows the Old Ones to be merely powerful (rather than near-invincible) as they are overcome by mortal weapons. That's right. The Gatekeepers aren't even strictly necessary.
I feel that he undermines the idea of an 'epic' evil but I don't think that's a bad thing: It's feasible for the five to overcome such entities but he'd have to pull off some spectacular writing in bk5 if he wants to make the epic vibe believable and satisfying. And I don't think he has it in him.

For the love of God don't allow the Gatekeepers to bring the Old Ones down simply by being together: 'the power of the five'. The readers deserved better than that. I know fantasy isn't your natural groove Horowitz, please put some thought into it. Surprise me.

Oh and one final thing: What the hell is Horowitz's deal with deformed people? It's as if he can't sell an evil character on intent alone. He has to bring in aesthetics to make sure that the reader is repulsed. I think that's pretty cowardly and getting really, really tired.

[Skip · Rating 4 out of 5]

15-year old Scarlett Adams goes through a portal in a London church, ending up in a monastery in the Ukraine, thereby revealing herself to the Old Ones, who want to capture the five Gatekeepers. After thwarting an attack in Peru, the other Gatekeepers divide, with Matt and Scott heading to London, where they just miss Scarlett, who is called to Hong Kong by her father, who works for Nightrise Corp. Hong Kong is being poisoned by the Old Ones, and Scarlett is captured. Matt and Scott have to earn the assistance of the Triads, in a daring rescue, while Scarlett summons the Dragon...

[Kylie Psaila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook.
Hands down this is the best book of the series so far! Kept me on edge throughout the whole book. Couldn't stop listening as I was immersed in it.
Can't wait to find out how everything comes to an end.

[Trent Mikesell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is called The Gatekeepers in the US and Power of Five in the UK. It's kind of an odd series. When the first book came out, I really enjoyed it and the second one. Then, the third book took awhile to come out. When I read it, I didn't really enjoy it, so I kind of forgot about the series. Then, just recently I saw the 4th book had come out (there are going to be five), so I decided to give the series another try. I reread the first three and just finshed the fourth one, and found that I really liked them again (even the third). They are all kind of written in a different style--I can't put my finger on it, but they are all different in some way. It's odd. Anyway, it's a good fantasy series--young readers (especially boys) would probably like it.

[Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Anthony Horowitz,
Why do you always kill me at the end of these books? They are great but WHY???? So much blood and death...God!

[Martha · Rating 1 out of 5]

"It was obvious from her appearance that Scarlett hadn't been born in England."

[Sub_zero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Señores, aquí va otra de esas lecturas eternamente aplazadas y que me he visto obligado a terminar en inglés por culpa de que su publicación en España ha sido interrumpida de manera fulminante. Una auténtica pena, ya que estamos ante el penúltimo capítulo de una saga juvenil tremendamente rompedora, absorbente e hilada de forma maravillosa que en pocas páginas hace palidecer a las más renombradas del género. Intensa, brutal, despiadada, atractiva sin tener que recurrir a artificios innecesarios ni prescindibles amoríos... Necrópolis es una novela cargada de acción, misterio y buenos personajes que apenas te da un segundo de respiro, si bien es cierto que en algunos aspectos la historia ha perdido parte de su frescura original y que determinados acontecimientos se resuelven de manera poco meditada. No obstante, nunca me cansaré de recomendarla.

[Melenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I didn't give it five stars because I did find myself skimming a few of the longer descriptions of the cities and such. Overall I found this to be a very good continuation of the series. It focuses mainly on the girl, but brings in all the other characters from the other books. I do wish they'd spent a little more time developing her powers, but I assume they will be doing that in the final book. I enjoyed the quick pace with action in most chapters. The problem I have with most teen fiction is that the first half is so slow and then the last half is all action and I did not have that problem with this book. I am quite happy with this series. Hopefully the last book will live up to the first four.

[Vanessa Wester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit slow to start, and there was a lot of repetition for those who have not read the first three books, but once it got going I loved it!

Action packed, dark and yet moving at times.

This authors is becoming one of my favourites now! :)

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarlet is the last gatekeeper. On a school trip to saint Meredith’s church, she finds one of the doors and ends up in a monastery. There, she is put in a cell to be taken to the old ones. She escapes but ultimately ends up heading in the direction of the old one anyway. The others are trying to figure out what to do next when they hear about Scarlet. They know they have to try and help her.

I really enjoyed this instalment. I love Scarlet’s character and her power is cool. I also liked that we got to see more of what the old ones were doing to the world in this book. It has really built up my excitement for the last one. The ending was also quite unexpected which I enjoyed. I don’t think there was as much character development in this book apart from a but with Scarlet but the world building more than made up for it. The environment is getting more and more complex with the old ones taking action but it is all really clear to picture with the descriptions. This has been a great series so far.

[Miki_cchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to see that the brave Scar from Night rise has become a girlish Scarlet this time. Well, her power is strong, though. The next chapter will be the final one. What will happen? (audiobook)

[Mariya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just realized this is book four and that I was supposed to read book three :/

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard the audio version of this book, superbly read by the series' narrator, Simon Prebble. Though I missed some of the story (my wife had borrowed it via Borrowbox) I certainly heard enough to enjoy it. The pace is generally terrific, in spite of some slower patches. In the really big scenes, Horowitz excels.

[Alex Desta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people would say that the main idea/plot of a damsel in distress being saved, people having powers, and people uniting to destroy monsters used in this book and in this series is pretty cliche. But in my opinion Anthony Horowitz takes these cliches and creates five books of pure genius.

In this series there are five kids, Matt Freeman, Pedro, Scott Tyler, Jamie Tyler, and Scarlett Adams, and their destiny is to defeat mystical monsters known as the Old Ones who ruled the earth ten thousand years ago. The Old Ones were defeated by these five and now they have emerged again and these five have been reincarnated to defeat them...again.

In Necropolis we find out about Scarlett Adams, an adopted Chinese girl who lives in London. She finds out about her true identity when she walks through a door in a church and ends up at a monastery in Ukraine. She barley escapes, and after this incident her parents get divorced and she moves away with her dad to Hong Kong who got a job at a company called Nightrise, who is affiliated with the Old Ones and has orders to keep her there. When the other four catch wind of this they hurry their way to Hong Kong, literally a dying city. Fortunately they rescue her, but when escaping Hong Kong they go through one of the same doors that Scarlett went through before, and they end up scattered/separated around the world...again.

In a nutshell Necropolis is a very good book for people who like fantasy, fiction, thriller novels, and is also a dramatic set up to a 200,000 page series ending book. Even though the story line seems a little old Horowitz revives it to make it more dramatic and entertaining.

[jia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It isn't that bad but then I was so overloaded with work that it took me a long time to finish it that I just felt like I want to give up reading, I realised that in a time of overloaded work I had to read a REALLY good book that won't let me put it down instead of something like this.

I admit that Necropolis with comparison to the other books in the series, this one is definitely much gritter and darker which kind of made it have such a depressing mood but I do understand that since the end is near isn't it?

Well, I should be happy because it is set in Hong Kong exactly where I am currently living but I'm not all that enthusiastic when I finally get to read it because it doesn't really explore the beautiful places that Hong Kong it has to offer instead I feel like Horowitz choose places that I even have no heard of or been too. He includes "The Peak" but not in detail, and since the dark elements are present it doesn't contribute much to the setting.

The fighting scenes are a bit too cliche as well, kind of makes it so childish. The characters seem incapable of decision-making and seem too well stupid to make the right decisions. C'mon there's five of you guys, it's not just Matt. Use all your brains guys!

And to an extent, there is no surprise factor that I've been looking forward too. I kind of predicted almost everything that happened here, I was definitely looking out for more. I mean it took me a long time to finish this, that's a sign that it's not that good enough because even with heavy school work I can finish a book in a day if it's that good.

[Karen Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth member of the Gatekeepers is about to be discovered: Scarlett Adams, the adopted Asian daughter of divorced British parents. Scarlett's father works for Nightrise in Hong Kong, and when she is accidentally revealed to be one of the Gatekeepers, he sends for her. Matt, Scott and Richard travel from Nazca in Peru to try to stop her from going there, and they are hounded by the Old Ones every step of the way. The Gatekeepers powers are increasing, but Matt worries that they will never be able to match the powers of the Old Ones, especially since Scarlett seems to have no real power at all other than the ability to predict the weather. Hong Kong is where the Old Ones have set up operations, and their presence and their minions is slowly poisoning the city and killing its people -- turning it into a necropolis: a city of the dead. Can Matt and Scott find a way to rescue Scarlett from Nightrise and avoid being killed or captured by the Old Ones? Lots of the trademark Horowitz action and suspense, good for 6th grade and up!

[Fergus Lees · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is in the "survival" category.

I chose this book because I was driven by the previous books in the series and how they left you in suspension after each book. Also the series was at first recommended by my friend who let me borrow the book to give it a try. After I started, I had to finish

I really liked this book because it introduced me to horror at a mild level, it also had pure chaos that made me think and wonder how they would survive. Also there was slices of mystery and it had me attached to the characters so if something happened to the characters I would feel their emotions.

The some things I didn't like about the book was that some parts were stretched out a lot further than they needed to be and it made it seem like the author wanted to make the story longer so when people went to buy the book it would be a good long one. Although this only was rare and is well worth the buy.

I would recommend this book to people interested in a little bit of horror in ages 12-15

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't have the same feel as the others in the series. I loved the first three, especially the last two, but this one didn't do it for me. I didn't feel like I connected with the characters this time around. I feel like the book focused too much on the plot and creating action, and not enough on the characters. Scar, for example...I liked her 'old-self' in Nightrise better than this new Scar. I really didn't feel like she had any personality. Even Matt and Jamie, my two favorite characters seemed dulled down, overlooked almost. Richard was still himself, though there wasn't really much of his character. I didn't really feel any character development. This story was hollow, and took me a long time to plow through. I hope the last book is better, that's all I can say.

[Declan Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fourth book in the series. We see the introduction of our first Heroness. Matt thought as leader he was the most pwerful of the gatekeepers. But just like any woman, hell have no fury. The ultimate power of the fifth gatekeeper is about to be unleashed. However her path will not be easy, she is locked down in Hong Kong, soon to be Necropolis, there are eyes everywhere, she is alone, in a city so large no one cares, there is only one path. This book will have you literally sitting on the edge. Will the five gatekeepers come together in time? Let's hope they haven't overlooked one last trap....

[B.G.M. Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading the Gatekeepers/Power of Five series because I'd tried Horowitz's Alex Rider books, finding his new series to be more adult -(or at least YA)oriented.
As the series has progressed, the stories have become less about strange things happening in our normal world and more about the supernatural taking over our world, so this book features a bizarro-world Hong Kong with evil creatures possessing most of the population. As the climax suggests the heroes are about to snatch victory from near defeat, Horowitz spins things again to set up a cliffhanger leading to Oblivion as the final in the series.

[Vonetta Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book we find that Hong Kong has been taken over by the Old ones and has become Necropolis! That is right the City of the Dead.Once you are in Necropolis there is no way out. This sucks for our final Gatekeeper Scarlett Adams. The Old ones are luring the other Gatekeepers to Necropolis by holding Scarlett hostage. So now everyone is coming to save the damsel in distress. Matt is back and along with the other three Gatekeeper's try to find Scarlett and they all head to Hong Kong. But is Scarlett really in distress?? Scarlett is being held captive but she discovers her power all too soon. More at www.bookbesties.com

[Chiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel happy for them that they found the last gatekeeper named Scarlett, but it is also quite bad for her to be living with a bunch of people that aren't even people in Hong Kong where the air is polluted and the water is poisoned. They got her and then they were separated again.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Twas alright. This series had a "spark" in the beginning but it's definitely lost it by now (or I'm just simply too old for it). It wasn't bad, the plot still managed to surprise me at some points, and I'm still going to read the last book just to see the series through to the end*, but I didn't care for it or the characters all that much.

EDIT months later: no, no I'm not. I read the Wikipedia plot summary and even that bored me, thank goodness I didn't try the actual book.

[Kuroi · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dad bought me this book without either of us knowing it was the fourth in a series. I was still hooked though, because it was dark, creepy and set in Asia. The heroine is likeable and the scene where Matt climbs the ladder of swords is awesomely cool. I'm definitely reading the next one. Oh, and the edges of the book are the some colour as the cover, which helps.