Book Review: Michael Vey – The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Book 1), The Rise Of The Elgen (Book 2), Battle Of The Ampere (Book 3), Hunt For Jade Dragon (Book 4).
Author: Richard Paul Evans
My son started reading the Michael Vey books shortly after book 1, The Prisoner of Cell 25 was released. After reading the first book, he eagerly awaited the subsequent books to be released. There are currently four books available in what’s scheduled to be a seven part series.
In the past, my son has recommended other books for me to read, including the Fablehaven series. At times I’ve been hesitant to read some of his recommendations thinking maybe they would be too childlike. In the case of Fablehaven, I was wrong. I loved the series. Part of what made it so fun was discussing he book with my son and the conversations we’d have about the characters and the pot.
With any recommendation I always ask him how the book compares to other series we’ve read, like Harry Potter and Fablehaven. If my son says the book compares favorably to either of these I trust him and know it’s going to be a good read. As he was reading the Michael Vey books he kept telling me I needed to read them too. I asked how they compared to Harry Potter and Fablehaven and he said better than Harry Potter but not quite as good as Fablehaven. High praise. Even with this high praise, it still took me several months to start reading book 1.
Once I started reading the book though, I was hooked. Normally I write a book review for each book, but I this case, I read the four books so quickly I decided to write just one review. While I don’t think the books are as good as the Harry Potter series or the Fablehaven series I did enjoy the books, as evidenced by the speed that I read the four books.
Without giving too much away, Michael Vey has special powers and finds a girl at his high school that has similar powers. Michael and his friends start a club called the Electroclan to learn more about their powers and do good. Michael and his Electroclan later learn that there are others that have similar powers but are working with people with the opposite agenda, to create havoc and rule the world.
Michael and the Electroclan soon go to war with these opposing parties and travel the globe trying to stop them from overtaking the world. While the plot is exciting and the characters, specifically Michael and his Electroclan are very likeable, there are some areas where the outcomes and strategy are pretty simple and easy to predict.
I did find myself rooting for Michael and his team. I felt like I knew them personally and it was painful for me when bad things happened to them. Even though the plot was sometimes predictable, I enjoyed the book very much. As with Fablehaven, what I enjoyed most was discussing the book with my son. He would quiz me on different characters and the plot to make sure I was reading and paying attention and he had fun providing teases for upcoming chapters and aspects of the plot.
I recommend this book to anybody that likes a fun story and likes the classic tale of good versus evil.
Book 5 is scheduled for release later this Fall. Competition between my son and I will be high to be the first to rea the book. I look forward to many conversations with my son about the book and our favorite Electroclan characters.
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