The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (Daniel X Series #1)

by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge (Other)

Overview

At first glance, Lee might seem like an average fifteen year old, shooting the breeze with his friends around a campfire, crushing on his friend Dana, sassing the assistant principal at school. But Lee has a little bit more responsibility than your average kid: he's the next Alien Hunter, bequeathed with the List of hidden alien outlaws living and lurking on Earth in disguise. All must be destroyed in order to protect the human race from eventual takeover. It's a big job for one teenager. His father had the title of Alien Hunter until #1 on the List, The Prayer, killed him and Lee's mother in cold blood. Lee was just 3. Ever since then, his supreme abilities--like being able to change shape and conjure up his long-dead parents out of thin-air--have gotten him through life, not to mention countless battles with aliens that roam the earth, hunting humans as part of an inter-planetary game.

Next on the list is #6, Ergent Seth, alternately a horribly crude, grotesque horse-headed creature and a pretentious Hollywood film director/producer. Lee's quest to search and destroy #6 leads him right into the arms of super-cute Sarah Wilson--and a deadly trap that takes him to Ergent Seth's spacecraft. It's heading for a place beyond Lee's comprehension: His home planet. For Lee is an alien too, after all. And it turns out the earth, his adopted home, isn't the only planet that needs to be saved.

James Patterson's exciting new series is full of high wish-fulfillment fantasy, humor, and of course, all of the suspense that Patterson fans have come to expect--only this time, it's literally out of this world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316030250
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	07/21/2008
Series:	Daniel X Series , #1
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 300 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Editorial Reviews

Patterson jumps on the superheroes bandwagon with contributor Ledwidge and delivers the adventures of Daniel X, a superpowered alien whose mission is to defend Earth from more malignant, threatening aliens. In his first adventure, listeners hear the typical origin story (parents killed by the most vile alien on Earth), his early adventures (growing up on his own with amazing powers) and his first real step into manhood (facing off against another alien). The story throws in a few interesting twists, but isn't particularly dynamic as superhero narratives go. The production is sparsely sprinkled with sound effects, which work quite well and add to the story, but there is a lack of consistency to their execution. However, Milo Ventimiglia makes it worth the listen. His timing and inflection match perfectly with Daniel, the first-person protagonist. He sounds youthful enough to be believable as Daniel and easily transitions to other character voices within the story. A Little, Brown hardcover. (July)

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Publishers Weekly

When Daniel was only three years old, his parents were brutally murdered by a six-and-a-half-foot-tall praying mantis named The Prayer who had come for The List, a roll of all the current alien outlaws. Daniel himself is an extraterrestrial who makes it his mission to eliminate all those on The List. As he turns fifteen, he enters high school to avoid truancy charges from the local police, who seem to think it strange that a teenager is living alone in a house he created and who travels at odd hours. There he meets Phoebe Cook who tells him her sister Allison has been abducted. He falls for her and tries to help her find her sister. Phoebe is in actuality Ergent Seth, alien number 6 on The List. The alien captures Daniel and takes him and a group of kidnapped children he uses to sell drugs for him off in a space ship to a distant planet. Ergent Seth shoots Daniel in the stomach, and while he endures "teeth-clenching throbs of agony," Daniel still manages to escape, meet a woman who knew his father and turns out to be his grandmother, make friends with a herd of elephants who can communicate with him, and rescue the children. The whole story does not track well and is way over the top for even the most devout SF fans. Daniel has a dry sense of humor that is entertaining for a while, and there is a lot of gore and gruesome murders that will appeal to some readers. Unfortunately it is the first of a planned series. James Patterson's fans should stick with his excellent Maximum Ride books. Reviewer: Kathie Fitch

VOYA - Kathie Fitch

"Lots of action . . . a fast and furious read."

Freshfiction.com

"Entertaining . . . absolutely addictive . . . a lightning-fast page-turner."

NightsandWeekends.com

"Has all the characteristics of his work for grown-ups: pace, action, mystery, and cool . . . sharp and punchy with plenty of jokes and shocks."

Sunday Times (UK)

"If THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF DANIEL X were a movie, I'd give it four stars. If it were a television show, I'd definitely place it in the category of 'must-see tv.' I couldn't put the book down!"

The Urban Intelligensia

"They could not have done better than Milo Ventimiglia as the narrator."—Audiofile

From the Publisher