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The Power of Five #1-5
The Power of Five Boxed Set, #1-5
Power of Five Books Complete Set 5 Books Collection by Anthony Horowitz Author of Alex Rider Power of Five Power Of Five Books 5 Classic Books The collection of books by Anthony horowitz author of Alex Rider. Read Power Of Five 5 Books Set £ 44.95 Brand New Titles in This Set Raven's Gate Evil Star Night Rise Necropolis Oblivion
- GenresFantasy
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About the author
Anthony Horowitz
338 books20.8k followersAnthony 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 30, 2015
My god. Where do I begin? These books... They're beautiful. They're unlike anything I've ever read before. I've been a huge fan of Anthony Horowitz since I was 9 years old and I picked up my first Alex Rider book. Ever since then he's never failed to impress me. Alex Rider was just as perfect while I was growing up, I really enjoyed them. And then once I finished with that long series, my dad brought me these about two years ago and I was just hooked right from the first page. They are just as amazing and as suspenseful as all of Anthony Horowitz's books.
But what kept me having a hold on his books were that this series seemed to have matured since Alex Rider. Alex Rider was about a 14 year old boy who was hired by the secret services to go through spy missions that even adults find hard, they used him because no one ever suspects a child to do something like that.
And then I moved onto this series where, again, a teenage boy goes through something even an adult would never dream of going through. But Matthew is slightly different from Alex. Alex, although his parents were dead, had been brought up by his Uncle (who died in the first book) but still had his kind of housekeeper/guardian to always be there and look out for him. Matthew had no one. His parents were killed in a car accident when he was a very young age and ever since then he's had no one and has gone through a rubbish life. His aunt is useless and hates him, he's been mixed up with the wrong type of friends and in the first chapter he's arrested for stealing and then sent off to live with a strange woman that nearly works him to death.
And ever since Matthew's parent's death, he's blamed himself for the accident. Because all his life he's known he was different. Right from the moment his parents died, Matthew has known he had some sort of power or psychic ability. His parents were on their way to a wedding, Matthew had just had a dream of them all crashing in a car and, being only young, told them he didn't want to go. They left without him and died in the car crash by themselves. He lived because he refused to go. He believes that was his fault and he should have told them about the dream. And he's had to live with that his whole life.
Each of these books were gripping. I'm just going to point out that Oblivion came out four years after Necropolis, so it's a very different book compared to the rest. My favourite book out of the first four was definitely Raven's Gate. Because in Raven's Gate, Matthew wasn't the leader of the Five, he wasn't someone with special abilities, he wasn't special or someone to take notice of. In Raven's Gate, he was a criminal sent away on a project to try and help kids with problems like him. He was just a child. Matthew couldn't use his powers in the first book, he barely has control over them throughout the series until the last two. I liked that about him, because he's not your average stupid protagonist that always makes the wrong decisions. Matthew is actually quite clever and does exactly what I would do in that situation. I can actually relate to him.
What I love about this series is that each character is really well developed. They all have their own extremely complex background story and unique characteristics. Their almost realistic. Scarlet and Matthew are just two teenagers who were getting on with their lives, they both had their own realistic backing story and they began with being completely ordinary. Scott and Jamie aren't so ordinary. They were the only ones in the five that actually knew they had powers before anything happened. The two of them were abandoned as babies and have been passed around from family to family, always sticking together and using their mind manipulation skills to talk to each other in secret. This just created an even stronger bond between the two and they were inseparable. And then they finally ended up in the hands of someone who owned a theatre where they then spent the rest of their time using their powers for shows and to make money.
Each book is an introduction to a new member of the five. Raven's Gate was purely based around Matthew, Evil Star introduced Pedro, Nightrise was based around Jamie and his mission to hunt for Scott after he is kidnapped by the Nightrise corporation, and Necropolis is based around Scarlet as she is also captured by the Old Ones and the other four's mission to get her back.
Necropolis was Anthony's biggest mission before Oblivion came out. Because the main character was... A girl. Dun dun duuuuurn. Yeah, that's right. All of Anthony's books are mainly about teenage boys. Scarlet is a girl. He did originally have her as a boy but wanted a change for once, so she became a girl. But he gave her the same toughness as the rest of the five, if not she was even more intimidating and powerful.
The settings in these books are amazing. They are all described beautifully and each book is in somewhere completely different. I hardly need to travel the world because these books do it for me! Honestly, Oblivion was based in so many different locations. And Anthony likes to visit the places he writes about so he can actually experience what it's like. And most of Oblivion is set in Antarctica... Yeah Anthony went to Antarctica just to write this book. That is what you call a committed author!
Each book is just as gripping as the next, I was a little sad reading Nightrise because Matt wasn't in it so much. You know when you get attached to that one protagonist and then it suddenly swaps? It was the same when I read Demon Thief after Lord Loss in the Demonata series by Darren Shan because suddenly Grubbs was gone and there was this new kid I had to see the story of. It's a little annoying when you suddenly have a new guy to be in the mind of. But it turned out alright in the end, Jamie is actually pretty cool and I liked him. Even if he was just annoying with how much he wanted to get to Scott, but you could understand why because Scott was his twin brother and he all had left.
The series does have you asking so many questions. Especially at the end of Necropolis, and then I had to wait two-three bloody years for Oblivion to come out. But it's all worth it in the end because Oblivion really blew me away. Honestly, it's so powerful and has you thinking about it for days afterwards. The one thing I had against Oblivion was how long it was. I had to take a rest in the middle of it to read Light by Michael Grant because Oblivion really exhausts you out by how long it is. It's almost disheartening at the same time as enlightening when you see the size of the book. It's HUGE. And has so many words on each page! Okay, I'll admit. It does get a little boring during the middle, but then suddenly picks up pace before dropping it again. But I completely understand why, it must be hard to fit all that detail into the one book. You'll understand if you've ever read it.
The series is a unique idea. Again, it's teenagers though. Why teenagers? I understand it's to appeal to the target audience reading this book, but honestly... They're kids. Oh well, at least this series proves this since, even though they have all these fancy powers, no one listens to them anyway. And the Old Ones actually sound quite creepy. The human race doesn't even realise when the Old Ones are taking over because they do it so slowly and so cunningly, making the human race actually tear itself apart by causing poverty and famine. It's beautiful.
So yeah, these books are extremely gripping and I honestly couldn't put them down until I was forced to for about three years while I waited for Anthony to get his arse back on track and write Oblivion. But it was honestly worth it in the end because these are really beautiful books. The only problem I had with them was how long Oblivion was. It was a lot of work to get through all that, even if it was worth it in the end. I have read the first four books of the series twice and honestly, I'm gonna have to read them again because they are so complex I've forgotten everything again! And I just want to experience it all again because this series was such a joy to read.
But what kept me having a hold on his books were that this series seemed to have matured since Alex Rider. Alex Rider was about a 14 year old boy who was hired by the secret services to go through spy missions that even adults find hard, they used him because no one ever suspects a child to do something like that.
And then I moved onto this series where, again, a teenage boy goes through something even an adult would never dream of going through. But Matthew is slightly different from Alex. Alex, although his parents were dead, had been brought up by his Uncle (who died in the first book) but still had his kind of housekeeper/guardian to always be there and look out for him. Matthew had no one. His parents were killed in a car accident when he was a very young age and ever since then he's had no one and has gone through a rubbish life. His aunt is useless and hates him, he's been mixed up with the wrong type of friends and in the first chapter he's arrested for stealing and then sent off to live with a strange woman that nearly works him to death.
And ever since Matthew's parent's death, he's blamed himself for the accident. Because all his life he's known he was different. Right from the moment his parents died, Matthew has known he had some sort of power or psychic ability. His parents were on their way to a wedding, Matthew had just had a dream of them all crashing in a car and, being only young, told them he didn't want to go. They left without him and died in the car crash by themselves. He lived because he refused to go. He believes that was his fault and he should have told them about the dream. And he's had to live with that his whole life.
Each of these books were gripping. I'm just going to point out that Oblivion came out four years after Necropolis, so it's a very different book compared to the rest. My favourite book out of the first four was definitely Raven's Gate. Because in Raven's Gate, Matthew wasn't the leader of the Five, he wasn't someone with special abilities, he wasn't special or someone to take notice of. In Raven's Gate, he was a criminal sent away on a project to try and help kids with problems like him. He was just a child. Matthew couldn't use his powers in the first book, he barely has control over them throughout the series until the last two. I liked that about him, because he's not your average stupid protagonist that always makes the wrong decisions. Matthew is actually quite clever and does exactly what I would do in that situation. I can actually relate to him.
What I love about this series is that each character is really well developed. They all have their own extremely complex background story and unique characteristics. Their almost realistic. Scarlet and Matthew are just two teenagers who were getting on with their lives, they both had their own realistic backing story and they began with being completely ordinary. Scott and Jamie aren't so ordinary. They were the only ones in the five that actually knew they had powers before anything happened. The two of them were abandoned as babies and have been passed around from family to family, always sticking together and using their mind manipulation skills to talk to each other in secret. This just created an even stronger bond between the two and they were inseparable. And then they finally ended up in the hands of someone who owned a theatre where they then spent the rest of their time using their powers for shows and to make money.
Each book is an introduction to a new member of the five. Raven's Gate was purely based around Matthew, Evil Star introduced Pedro, Nightrise was based around Jamie and his mission to hunt for Scott after he is kidnapped by the Nightrise corporation, and Necropolis is based around Scarlet as she is also captured by the Old Ones and the other four's mission to get her back.
Necropolis was Anthony's biggest mission before Oblivion came out. Because the main character was... A girl. Dun dun duuuuurn. Yeah, that's right. All of Anthony's books are mainly about teenage boys. Scarlet is a girl. He did originally have her as a boy but wanted a change for once, so she became a girl. But he gave her the same toughness as the rest of the five, if not she was even more intimidating and powerful.
The settings in these books are amazing. They are all described beautifully and each book is in somewhere completely different. I hardly need to travel the world because these books do it for me! Honestly, Oblivion was based in so many different locations. And Anthony likes to visit the places he writes about so he can actually experience what it's like. And most of Oblivion is set in Antarctica... Yeah Anthony went to Antarctica just to write this book. That is what you call a committed author!
Each book is just as gripping as the next, I was a little sad reading Nightrise because Matt wasn't in it so much. You know when you get attached to that one protagonist and then it suddenly swaps? It was the same when I read Demon Thief after Lord Loss in the Demonata series by Darren Shan because suddenly Grubbs was gone and there was this new kid I had to see the story of. It's a little annoying when you suddenly have a new guy to be in the mind of. But it turned out alright in the end, Jamie is actually pretty cool and I liked him. Even if he was just annoying with how much he wanted to get to Scott, but you could understand why because Scott was his twin brother and he all had left.
The series does have you asking so many questions. Especially at the end of Necropolis, and then I had to wait two-three bloody years for Oblivion to come out. But it's all worth it in the end because Oblivion really blew me away. Honestly, it's so powerful and has you thinking about it for days afterwards. The one thing I had against Oblivion was how long it was. I had to take a rest in the middle of it to read Light by Michael Grant because Oblivion really exhausts you out by how long it is. It's almost disheartening at the same time as enlightening when you see the size of the book. It's HUGE. And has so many words on each page! Okay, I'll admit. It does get a little boring during the middle, but then suddenly picks up pace before dropping it again. But I completely understand why, it must be hard to fit all that detail into the one book. You'll understand if you've ever read it.
The series is a unique idea. Again, it's teenagers though. Why teenagers? I understand it's to appeal to the target audience reading this book, but honestly... They're kids. Oh well, at least this series proves this since, even though they have all these fancy powers, no one listens to them anyway. And the Old Ones actually sound quite creepy. The human race doesn't even realise when the Old Ones are taking over because they do it so slowly and so cunningly, making the human race actually tear itself apart by causing poverty and famine. It's beautiful.
So yeah, these books are extremely gripping and I honestly couldn't put them down until I was forced to for about three years while I waited for Anthony to get his arse back on track and write Oblivion. But it was honestly worth it in the end because these are really beautiful books. The only problem I had with them was how long Oblivion was. It was a lot of work to get through all that, even if it was worth it in the end. I have read the first four books of the series twice and honestly, I'm gonna have to read them again because they are so complex I've forgotten everything again! And I just want to experience it all again because this series was such a joy to read.
December 24, 2021
Read this book way back in September...
To cut it short if you haven't read it yet you are wasting your ty reading boring stuff..,z😎Read this book way back in September...
To cut it short if you haven't read it yet you are wasting your time reading boring stuff..,z😎
To cut it short if you haven't read it yet you are wasting your ty reading boring stuff..,z😎Read this book way back in September...
To cut it short if you haven't read it yet you are wasting your time reading boring stuff..,z😎
October 8, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
I think the funniest thing about my absolute, unquestioned adoration for Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz is the fact that I don't typically read or enjoy anything that falls into the genre of horror. And I think it's fair to say that this novel definitely falls into that category. This was perhaps the first dark novel of this nature that I ever fell in love with. To this day I am overly fond of Raven's Gate and the series that it belongs to, which I do occasionally find rather baffling considering the fact that horror is not something I usually care to waste my time reading.
But with Raven's Gate I never once felt as though I was wasting my time. In fact, I've always been incredibly invested in the life and journey of the main character Matt, a young boy living with his mother's half-sister after the untimely death of his parents, who has always somehow managed to find trouble ever since. When an egregious mistake that involves the attack of a security guard, Matt is shipped off to a small village in the country as part of a government program to keep him out of prison. Unfortunately, Lesser Malling and his new guardian are not quite who they seem and soon Matt is in more trouble than he could have ever imagined.
Ironically, for how much I love this novel, I imagine I'll forever do a rather paltry job of selling it. I find it's somewhat difficult to describe how amazing the series is without giving away some pretty important spoilers. But basically it all comes down to the gatekeepers, of which Matt is currently unaware that he is one. It is this single fact that leads him down dangerous and scary roads to learn things he never imagined could be true about the world he lives in. There is a great evil that must be defeated, but one he knows precious little about thus far.
In my experience with this book, I can definitely see why someone might not love it. I recall recently looking at the reviews and feeling baffled by the fact that it's not more highly rated, but the truth is that the series does get off to somewhat of a slow start. And while I may have fallen deeply and desperately in love with the story, the plot, and the main characters I cannot really blame others for feeling as though it's difficult to get into. But if you can get into it, you leave reading the series utterly blown away. Raven's Gate is just the beginning, with Matt at the center of a plot to return an evil to the world that will destroy life entirely as we all know it. He may not yet be aware of who he is, but he will certainly find out soon.
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I think the funniest thing about my absolute, unquestioned adoration for Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz is the fact that I don't typically read or enjoy anything that falls into the genre of horror. And I think it's fair to say that this novel definitely falls into that category. This was perhaps the first dark novel of this nature that I ever fell in love with. To this day I am overly fond of Raven's Gate and the series that it belongs to, which I do occasionally find rather baffling considering the fact that horror is not something I usually care to waste my time reading.
But with Raven's Gate I never once felt as though I was wasting my time. In fact, I've always been incredibly invested in the life and journey of the main character Matt, a young boy living with his mother's half-sister after the untimely death of his parents, who has always somehow managed to find trouble ever since. When an egregious mistake that involves the attack of a security guard, Matt is shipped off to a small village in the country as part of a government program to keep him out of prison. Unfortunately, Lesser Malling and his new guardian are not quite who they seem and soon Matt is in more trouble than he could have ever imagined.
Ironically, for how much I love this novel, I imagine I'll forever do a rather paltry job of selling it. I find it's somewhat difficult to describe how amazing the series is without giving away some pretty important spoilers. But basically it all comes down to the gatekeepers, of which Matt is currently unaware that he is one. It is this single fact that leads him down dangerous and scary roads to learn things he never imagined could be true about the world he lives in. There is a great evil that must be defeated, but one he knows precious little about thus far.
In my experience with this book, I can definitely see why someone might not love it. I recall recently looking at the reviews and feeling baffled by the fact that it's not more highly rated, but the truth is that the series does get off to somewhat of a slow start. And while I may have fallen deeply and desperately in love with the story, the plot, and the main characters I cannot really blame others for feeling as though it's difficult to get into. But if you can get into it, you leave reading the series utterly blown away. Raven's Gate is just the beginning, with Matt at the center of a plot to return an evil to the world that will destroy life entirely as we all know it. He may not yet be aware of who he is, but he will certainly find out soon.
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August 5, 2018
This series leaves me a bit frustrated... I mean, I enjoyed reading it, but it bothers me that during most of the story, they barely know how to control their power. I was expecting that each of them would be able to master the fundamentals of their power by the end of the book in which their characters appear, but some of them seem like they have no idea why or how their power is triggered until the last book. Because of that, they appear as preys with no hope during the whole story. It's dark and doesn't make you feel too good.
And the end is too... biblical for me.
So... yeah, I'm not sure what to think about it. I liked it, but at the same time, I didn't. Strange feelings.
And the end is too... biblical for me.
So... yeah, I'm not sure what to think about it. I liked it, but at the same time, I didn't. Strange feelings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2021
Write a comment..Perhaps, the first set of books that perked my enthusiasm for reading. I thank my English teacher for reading us the first chapter of Raven's Gate and introducing me to one of, if not, my favourite authors. These books are a mix of mystery, suspense, and science fiction, hurdling you into a mess of powers, mystical beings.
These books perked not only my interest, but sucked me into a fantasy world of no other. A light read for any age, in my opinion, they do their very best to keep the reader at the edge of their seat
These books perked not only my interest, but sucked me into a fantasy world of no other. A light read for any age, in my opinion, they do their very best to keep the reader at the edge of their seat
January 5, 2023
By far my favourite fantasy series! These book are what got me through the bullying I endured in primary school, it was my favourite series and I fully recommend the books to anyone who loves a good action/fiction book(s).
April 9, 2024
Geared more for young adults but when in the mood for a more nostalgic read, these fit the bill. If you like something that takes you away from reality, enjoy a series and are a fantasy lover, then look no further!
September 2, 2019
I think it was a great series. Probably the best books I have ever read! Especially the first and the last book!
October 15, 2019
Why is this guy not promoted? His books are infinitely better than other generic crap like Daniele puke steele, however john grisham is worth the money, dare i buy them cheap
January 13, 2021
Once you start reading these you literally can't put them down! Also never understood why it said books for boys because I loved this when I was younger??
May 6, 2024
Such a great series
August 23, 2024
These books were absolutely amazing. I enjoyed going on such an amazing journey with The Five. I love Anthony Horowitz
April 4, 2016
Horowitz is always highly readable, and this is obviously a pet project. The books are set all over the world – England, America, Peru, Hong Kong – and in the far-distant past, and it's all very fast moving and engaging. There is the familiar niggle – how come a bunch of (not all that powerful) kids has to save the world? And the thing is with this series – they don't. Our world does not survive. This tacks on a dystopian future to a magic kids book and it's quite chilling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2023
I really enjoyed this series! The pacing and action built up over the course of the 5 books and I was eager to see what happened next. It definitely got darker as the books progressed, and I was all for it. These books remind me of Matthew Reilly, except I found that I read these slower than Reilly's books.
March 24, 2025
This series is an emotional rollercoaster to say the least, the characters are all amazing but there are A LOT to remember (not all of them are important so there's no need to panic about remembering everyone). Overall I absolutely loved this series and I'd definitely say it's worth reading!
September 4, 2014
If you like mysterious books, then this is the series you have toy read
May 12, 2018
the best series I have ever read in my life. Every page is filled with so much intensity and the plot developed perfectly with alot of unexpected twists. Even though it was an action sequel, it will pull on your emotional heartstrings. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! I am just surprised no one in Hollywood has picked this up to make it into a movie.
June 1, 2018
I REALLY enjoyed the series. The betrayal was done so well at the end of this book. I never saw that coming!
To describe this book, there is one song, that sums up the mood perfectly:
To describe this book, there is one song, that sums up the mood perfectly:
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews