Out of the Shadows

The Legacy Chronicles #4-6

by Pittacus Lore

Set in the world of the #1 New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series and featuring fan-favorite characters Six and Sam Goode, this collection is also the perfect companion to the spin-off series Lorien Legacies Reborn!

Teens across the globe have developed incredible powers known as Legacies. Although they were meant to use these abilities to help the world, dark forces have been working against them from the shadows.

Six and Sam Goode used to be part of a covert group that investigated suspicious incidents surrounding these Human Garde. Then they discovered they could no longer trust who they were working for and quit. But they’ll still do whatever it takes to protect these teens.

The Legacy Chronicles companion series follows them on this mission, and this book collects the next three novellas. Originally published as digital originals, they are now together in one print volume for the first time ever.

In Legacy Chronicles #4: Chasing Ghosts, Six and Sam try to track down a former charge who slipped through their fingers and who may now have become much more foe than friend.

In Legacy Chronicles #5: Raising Monsters, the couple must find a way to escape from an old enemy they believed was long buried in their past.

In Legacy Chronicles #6: Killing Giants, a deadly master plan is finally revealed, and it’ll be up to Six, Sam, and their companions to put an end to it before it’s too late.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Aliens, Audiobook, Short Stories

416 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2019

About the author

Pittacus Lore is Lorien’s ruling Elder. He has been on Earth preparing for the war that will decide Earth’s fate. His whereabouts are unknown.

Reviews

[Noah Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really poorly written, with the characters stumbling ass backwards through every situation, making horrible decisions and being saved by countless deus ex machinas. There's also several inconsistencies, and the action is painfully over the top for this series.

Of course I still love Six and Sam, and I'm not going to say I hated this, because it's nice to spend some time with these characters, but "Pittacus Lore" is really testing my loyalty by expecting me to be invested in a story that he clearly couldn't care less about.

[Ricky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Return to Zero is, supposedly, the end of the 'verse begun with I Am Number Four - a real shame, but not really all that surprising due to steadily declining sales over the course of this decade - I'm going to guess that, similarly, this bind-up of novellas is the last we're going to get as well. If so, though, it helps ensure that the series is looking to go out with a bang - and no doubt it already has, but I haven't read Return to Zero yet, so I really can't say for sure. But this set of three stories is a pretty cool one, following Six and Sam and Nemo and a few other new friends - most notably a guy named Max who gets swept up into all sorts of Mogadorian shenanigans - as they get taken all across the US, their powers variously drained by serums and parasites...and then what a bloody cliffhanger! For sure, this one's almost more essential reading before the final full novel than even last year's Fugitive Six was. Now, though, all I have to do is wait for my library order of Return to Zero to come in...

[Morgan Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another collection of seemingly pointless novellas. They still didn't tie into the main series, which is one of the things I loved most about these novellas. However, with Six and Sam being out for arrest at the end, I'm sure they will . This book also seemed to paint Six and Sam in a light that was so weird that it seemed uncanon. This was definitely not the strongest book in the series.

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book, but couldn't quite get into it. I'm not sure if its the plot holes or errors (talking about sudden phone numbers and "Six's telepathy"...) or the odd changes in character of Sam and Six. Or maybe I just got sick of Six never having any of her legacies. The plot was a alright, although slightly confusing when you remember its happening in tandem with the generation one series and yet somehow never being mentioned there. 3/5

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite action packed and fast paced. But I am closing in on the end of an era, and I’m remembering the old times when a collection of these novellas didn’t revolve around the same characters and storyline, resulting in just one novel with 3 chapters instead of three novellas collated into one book.

Not sure if I’m ready to take this final plunge into the Lorien saga, but for better or worse, I now only have Return to Zero left. Gosh I hope it’s good.

[Krissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐

Action packed from beginning to end! These novellas were some of the best from both series. While you technically don't have to read them along with the main trilogy, I highly recommend it. These novellas expand the world and give so much more context to what happens in the main books. Superbly entertaining!

[ella :) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok I must admit I did not complete this book, but it is one of the worst books in world history, and I am not exaggerating! Seriously don’t read this, it’s so so sooooooo bad!!!!!

[Britt Van De Woestyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow, ik ben officieel volledig klaar met deze serie? 😭 joepie!!!!!! alleen dit boek was dus best saai. 3e deel in vegas was wel leuk maar omg die bunker was zoooo saai. Wel leuke body horror, die parasiet was een leuke toevoeging. Also ghost en nemo zijn lesbians!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Margaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

i didn’t like a lot into the fire, but this one is definitely worse. at first i wanted to give it a 1 star but this book has some good things anyway...
first, this is so badly written. i don’t recognize pittacus lore at all in this, i don’t understand what happened. the writing feels so weird and really not realistic (just as into the fire). there is too much human garde characters, i didn’t remember all their names and their legacies, it was hard to keep up. and nine, six and sam??? i didn’t recognize them like they did/said things they wouldn’t have done/said in the original lorien legacies series. after being very excited about seeing a part of the garde again, i was very very disappointed...
but there is some good moments though, so it’s not totally a failure... but yeah. it’s not a real pittacus lore book to me.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three good novellas here with enough action to please. My only complaint is it seems like theyre always going on a rescue mission or being captured. Maybe needs more plot to go with it? Now for the memory aids for when I forget exactly what this was in a year or two!


Chasing ghosts starts with Sam and nemo breaking into an ATM to take some money from the bank. Then they're back with 6 and trying to find a way to locate ghost. As they're debating their options nemo gets a message from Max who has heard from ghost and asks them to meet him so they can go get her together. Max meets up with who he thinks is going to be ghost but it turns out To be Scotty who teleports them to an unknown location where they meet up with ghost and a bunch of Mogs. They give him a drink and suddenly he's ok with everything. He goes on a mission, gets a tattoo and helps out. Meanwhile Sam and Six are tracking them with Seamus and Nemo. Blindsided! Seamus is on the Mogs side with ghost and Max escapes, while elsewhere Six manages to escape to find Sam. Dun dun dun!

Raising Monsters picks up where Chasing Ghosts left off with Nemo escaping the police and swimming underwater for quite a ways. When she gets out she is helped by Dwayne and Jackie and notices her phone and wallet were gone. I thought she said her phone was already gone when she looked for it at the gas station? She borrows Jackie's phone to fill Nine in and remembers an emergency #...what? I thought she didn't know one when she was at the gas station! Reinforcements on the way . Max escapes Seamus and Ghost with some telepathy luck and gets saved by a guy named Lava. They're in the bunker in Utah. Lava and Max find Sam and Six before Sam sends a message to Nine and then passes out. They get him to the safe room and meet up with Bats. Bats and Six take Max on a mission to hear the Mogs and he gets captured. When they get back to the safe room Sam is gone, so they split up to find him. Max is with Magdelena who leaves him alone with food while checking on the egg hatching. Six and Lava find Sam in the water room with Lava's sister, Freakshow, Seamus and another boy. Sam breaks the pipes and water rushes in. Sam and Six get captured again and are both dying from a parasite. Max gets away and meets up with Nemo. Some snakelike creatures attack and they are saved by Nine and find an escape route.

Killing giants starts with six escaping her cell to find she is in Las Vegas at the show about to start that depicts the battle for earth. Max is back at the Academy where someone is using his immunity to the parasite to create an anti-toxin for Sam and Six. It is decided Max, Nemo and Nine will go on a rescue mission. Sam is being held hostage by Magdalena. Meanwhile the show starts and Eleni and the mosters turn it into a real battle. Nine takes out a bunch of monsters and saves six. Nemo and Max save Sam from dying only to have him captured by ghost and Max by Magdalena. Sam escapes and helps Nemo and Ghost who came to help Nemo when she had a change of heart. Six and Eleni have a showdown. Everyone is saved! Seamus is in custody as are the other two. Sam and Six are cleared as healthy and are packing for a vacation when they are arrested.

[Jason Kelsall · Rating 3 out of 5]

4-6 of The Legacy Chronicles. This book is made up of three novellas: Chasing Ghosts, Raising Monsters and Killing Giants.

Firstly, I’m CONVINCED these novellas - minus numbers 5 and 6 were written by a ghostwriter and not the author of Lorien Legacies or the Legacies Reborn series. The difference is too noticeable.

Chasing Ghosts: 2 ⭐️

It’s confusing to think these characters have planned massive takedowns in the past series, against bigger stakes and powerful opponents, yet can’t manage to do the simplest thing in these novellas - it’s giving three blind mice in a maze. They’re constantly walking straight into obvious sabotage situations like “hmmm…something’s not right” ERRR do you think?? It’s actually painful.

This novella does bring back the science fiction element, which is what I personally thought was lacking from the first three novellas. One thing I’m not on board with is the sudden crime, gangs, underground rings and drugs storyline.

Raising Monsters: 4 ⭐️

This novella was so much better than the last four. I said above that I don’t think this author wrote novellas 1-4, because this one is so main series coded (unless the author saw the reviews and got their ass back in gear). There’s more science fiction elements, more suspense, better locations and a little less blundering into obvious situations - it’s overall just better.

Killing giants: 4 ⭐️

Just like Raising Monsters, this novella is much better than 1-4 by far. I’m still not sure why there’s such a noticeable difference, but this is the level I expected in all of these novellas, not just the last two.

The crime, drugs, cartel storyline that was so focused on in novellas 1-4, just abruptly stops in novella 5 - it’s like the author (or a ghostwriter, I’m convinced) tried to take these novellas in a different direction, but it just didn’t work (I agree) - the backtracking of this in novella 6 was real; just trying to brush the storyline off and mention it in passing towards the end for continuity. I’m just go glad the story got back on track and was actually reading like the main series, because I was so disappointed in the beginning of these novellas.

Do I think the last two novellas made up for the other four? No. Do I think these novellas were needed and added anything to the main series plot? Also no.

[Toddles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers below!!! Do not pass go if you don't wanna know some detail!!!


Chasing Ghosts:
Picking up right where the other novella left off, on the run from the government and hunting down the missing kids, Six and Sam head to Alabama to rescue them and figure out why the Mogs are behind everything that's been happening and how they are back in play. With double agents Galore and both sides swirving each other, no one can be trusted, and you're left wondering about everything little thing. Everyone is in danger.

Raising Monsters:
After coming together, all of our friends are scattered again and in precarious situations, with some being captured, experiemented on and tortured. The race is on to find each other again and come together to figure out what was implanted in 3 of the Garde's brain, why it's affecting them and why the Mogs are trying to take away their legacies. It was a lot of running, thrills, and tense moments. At this point, it's all about the chase. Whom is chasing who is always changing, so it keeps you on the edge.

Killing Giants:
Revenge and power! That's what it's all been about. The Mogs are getting revenge from the war, blaming the Garde for killing their people. In retaliation, they attempt to steal their legacies from them. After the long haul, everyone ends up in Las Vegas, where a new show is premiering about the war. New genetically created monsters are created to wreak havoc. Six, Sam, Nine, and the kids come together for an intense battle to save the city and themselves. If they lose their powers, they die. If they die, everyone loses.
It ends with some question marks that i assume will be answered in RETURN TO ZERO, the last book of the series.

Ps, I still like the novella series better than the main trilogy. Feels more like the OG series.

[Cameron · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is awful. The first 2/3 is nothing but try to rescue someone, fail and get trapped, try and escape only to become a prisoner again. Rinse and repeat. Like 5 times. Every time an explanation or connection is going to be made every single character simply shrugs it off and says "you'll see", "it's a long story", or just doesn't explain at all. A vatch of human garde band with mogadorians and humans doing awful things for no reason that is ever explained with out ever getting repercussions or chastisement for their awful actions. Every problem could be solved almost instantly but the characters choose to let their enemies get away and live for no good reason, and get away with everything. They could just call in a bunch of friends to help but insist on small forces of kids who's powers suck and can't help at all. Meanwhile the people eith actual dangerous and useful powers barely help at all. The majority of the book is nothing but word vomit about things we already know, conversations that have no purpose at all, or terrible jokes. All of the characters are nerfed. They all suck at using their powers. Monsters and people that should easily be defeated take forever to defeat and are let to continue their rampage. Six and Nine easily handled these people and situations in the previous series but in this they barely accomplish anything or find out anything. They find experiments that stop their powers and then just as easily find a solution without any connections or larger purpose. This small side story is exactly that. A pointless side mission with stupid decisions that has no purpose. What's the point of this story?

[Jia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowowowow, I haven't read from this series for months, at first I was worried I would forget everything while reading this book! I just can't wait to get my hands on "return to zero", I think we can all agree the book cover for it is beautiful!

Also, who else thinks that if Sam weren't in the book, Six and Nine would make a fantastic couple. I mean, like cmon, they have so much in common. Badass, funny, strong af and loric. Although Sam's cool, I kinda wanna see em together, they could be like the power duo.

This book made me respect Six on a whole new level, like damn. This girl grits through the pain of broken bones. I'd probably be bawling like a baby.

Also, I enjoy the POV of the actual Gardes so much more than the human ones, they're so much more interesting, I kinda find the human ones boring.

Also, what's Marina, five, ten and four up to, like I'm so curious, it's like the authors forgot about them...

This isn't even an opinion on the book anymore, it's just my opinion on the series. lol.

[Jeanie Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book even though I somehow read it out of the order of the series. I understood what was going on; however, I recommend reading the series in order. Some references did not make sense because I hadn't read previous books.... My fault.

The storyline in this book seems to focus on the power of true friendship and how even friends struggle with disagreements. I liked how wounded heroes were still valuable members of the group (Nine) and not just supporting the main characters on the sidelines. When it comes to love stories, Six and Sam are a somewhat unlikely pair but their differences help them to fit like puzzle pieces.

What I did not like: how outlandish the monsters were. I understand in books like this things need to escalate. Go big or go home, but can things be hinged even minutely in reality?

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the same time that the writing felt shoddy and technical, there were parts that legitimately held my interest. I always like when Nine shows up, As he is easily one of my favorite characters. And though you want to like the characters if Max, Nemo and Ghost, sometimes there are just too many moving parts and too many characters that they get lost in the shuffle and you just don’t really care what happens to them. The ending left off for another book, of course, and I’m wondering if they’ll ever bring John or Marina back into the fold. The only way to find out is to read the book when it comes out. But first I have to read “Return to Zero” and with how shoddy the writing was in this book, I think I might take a break from Pittacus for a book or two.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Our expectations weren't high after the first set of novellas in this spin-off series were absolutely terrible, and these weren't much better. But, the end of the final novella in this set seemed to set it up to tie into the final book of the spin-off series, so we'll see if it gets any better! The first two novels of the Legacies Reborn series were better written (although not as good as the original Lorien Legacies series), so...fingers crossed. At least these sucky novellas are over! Continuity errors, typos, the writers clearly forgetting about the powers the characters have and not utilizing them...very cringey.

[Melissa Rumble · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the action and characters but I gave it a 2 star because it didn't correspond to the previous 3 novellas.. lots of plot holes and mistakes in the book.. For example one mistake is it mentioned a character using telepathy instead of telekinesis which is what they actually used. It was like whatever happened in the previous books was forgotten.. in one scene the character said she didn't know Nine's number to call for help. But in the next book, she suddenly knows it. Plus they make Six seem weak when she is one of the strongest Garde.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the "I Am Number 4" series. The follow up series "The Next Generation" I found quite enjoyable if less engaging. The "Legacy Chronicles" companion series to the "Next Generation" series is okay if you are already into the series but not really an essential read. This final volume is a bit fragmented and not that engaging. Probably it would have best to leave it alone at the conclusion of the "I Am Number 4" series.

[aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's a sad day when i admit to not enjoying the series with two of my favorite characters from the oG series as much as i enjoyed the series with the all-new characters.
sam, six, and nine are all so out of character with the previous two constantly needing help and being portrayed as damsels while nine plays the savior.
the new characters and plot developments were actually intriguing but i can't rate this higher when it besmirches my faves in this way.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving The Legacy Chronicles: Out of the Shadows 3 stars marks the first time I've done so to a Pittacus Lore book since I read the original I Am Number Four book all the way back in 2011. So, I can only say that I just liked this book. But another book I got for my 3oth birthday was Return to Zero, the third and final book in Pittacus Lore's Lorien Legacies Reborn series. It will be my next book to read. And hopefully, I'll be able to give it a 4 or even 5-star rating.

[Isel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean... It was okay. Not my favorite but okay. Plus it might be because it has been awhile since I read the first books.
The writing felt different too. I might be imagining it but to me it felt... Off. I don't normally notice that stuff which makes it doubly weird.
Okay, book though.

[Andrew Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is still great, but definitely felt a little weird with the drug stuff and what not. But that final fight was incredible. I need some network to pick this series up for at least a half faithful adaptation. 4.5/5

[lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mogs better not escape again; still miss original garde but IT'S FINE.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories. I love seeing Sam, Six and Nine in action. I would love to see more of the Garde featured in these stories. But the new human garde are pretty good too.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating 3.5 stars

I enjoyed this trilogy much more than the three before it, but I did feel like the story was all over the place, and certain things weren’t explained well enough.

[Mikaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Six and Nine are being written poorly as the series goes by??? Way more talking, less action scenes.

[Viktoria Van der bilt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goddamn awful. Definitely the worst thing that happened to Lorien Legacies. Storywise, not only did this feel like a parallel universe but this also managed to destroy fan favorites. Such a waste.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from my local library. I enjoyed reading it. It is three novellas by the author. I have read other novella books by this author and liked them too.