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Pittacus Lore
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I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Pittacus Lore (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 8,217
Teachers' pick
See all formats and editions

The first book of the #1 New York Times bestselling series and the inspiration for the hit movie from Dreamworks!

John Smith seems like an ordinary teenager, living a normal life with his guardian Henri in Paradise, Ohio. But for John, keeping a low profile is essential, because he is not an ordinary teenager. He’s an alien from the planet Lorien, and he’s on the run. A group of evil aliens from the planet Mogadore, who destroyed his world, are hunting anyone who escaped.

Nine Loric children were sent to Earth to live in hiding until they grew up and developed their Legacies, powers that would help them fight back—and help them save us. Three of them are now dead. John is Number Four, and he knows he’s next….

Michael Bay, director of Transformers, raved: “Number Four is a hero for this generation.” This epic story is perfect for fans of action-packed science fiction like The 5th Wave series by Rick Yancey, The Maze Runner series by James Dashner, and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.

The battle for Earth’s survival wages on. Read all of the books: #2: The Power of Six, #3: The Rise of Nine, #4: The Fall of Five, #5: The Revenge of Seven, #6: The Fate of Ten, and #7: United as One.

Don’t miss the first book in the brand-new I Am Number Four spin-off series: Generation One.

Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 7
    Lorien Legacies
  2. Print length
    452 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    HarperCollins
  6. Publication date
    July 18, 2010
  7. Reading age
    14 - 17 years
  8. Grade level
    9 - 12
  9. File size
    7542 KB
  10. Page Flip
    Enabled
  11. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  12. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  13. See all details
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Popular Highlights in this book
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  1. Henri always said: the price of a memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings.
    Highlighted by 2,549 Kindle readers
  2. Pittacus Lore, the greatest of them, their leader, had assembled them before the attack.
    Highlighted by 1,557 Kindle readers
  3. “New developments have yet to present themselves. Not all the information is in. Don’t give up hope just yet.”
    Highlighted by 1,488 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, August 2010: John Smith has just arrived in Paradise, Ohio, just another stop in a string of small towns where the 15-year-old has been hiding out from the Mogadorians. Those terrifying aliens are hellbent on destroying him and the other nine Loric children who have sought refuge on Earth. The Mogadorians are picking off the surviving kids in numerical order. The first three are dead and John's number is up. Will his Legacies, his defining super powers, develop in time for him to fight against the enemy? I Am Number Four is a breathless page-turner of a sci-fi novel that will have readers rooting for the teen alien who must unleash his fire power to save himself, his human friends, and the planet. This is the first of a slated multi-book series that, judging by this first book, will help reinvigorate a traditional YA genre that's grown a bit light on strong character development. So, gear-up sci-fi fans, the battle for Earth is on and there's a new kid in town! --Lauren Nemroff

Will Hill and Pittacus Lore: Author One-on-One

Will Hill's new thrilling trilogy kicks off with Department Nineteen. Recently he was able to ask some questions of the mysterious Pittacus Lore. Read the resulting Amazon-exclusive interview below, or turn the tables to see what happened when Pittacus interviewed Will.

Will: Number Four is told to blend in but he finds this a difficult task. Being a mysterious figure yourself, has this ever happened to you?

Pittacus: I have always taken great care to conceal my identity. I change my appearance regularly. I do not speak or correspond with many people. No one has ever suspected me of being what I am, which is an alien military leader with superpowers. If anyone ever does, it will be a bad day for me.

Will: Why is now the time to write the unknown history of the planet Lorien and the Nine? What do you think the people of Earth can learn from the Lorien Legacies?

Pittacus: We are in the middle of a war to save the remaining Lorien, and to save earth. We thought the people of earth might want to know about it. I hope humanity does not make the same mistake we did on our planet, which was to be unprepared the day war arrived on a grand scale.

Will: Who do you think would win in a fight, Dracula or a Mogadorian?

Pittacus: Dracula wouldn’t stand a chance. If he tried to drink Mogadorian blood he’d poison himself. It’s would be like drinking battery acid.

Will: Number Four has his legacies as his best weapon. Do you think John could be an agent of Department Nineteen?

Pittacus: Once we have vanquished the Mogadorians, maybe that is what he will become. He certainly has some mad skills.

Will: Sarah in I Am Number Four is in love with an alien. Jamie in Department Nineteen is falling for a vampire named Larissa. What makes young love just so difficult? Do you think these crazy kids/vampires/aliens will ever make it work?

Pittacus: Love is a beautiful and confusing thing. I hope they all live happily ever after.

Will: I Am Number Four has made the perfect action sci-fi movie. What has it been like to see this come to life on the big screen?

Pittacus: It’s been thrilling and fun and very cool. We’re hoping to see all six of the books become films.

Will: What can we expect in The Power of Six?

Pittacus: Six is a powerful young woman. Mogadorians fear her. In The Power of Six, we see why.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—Despite the amazing powers that many of the people of Lorien possess, the planet was defeated and its natural resources looted by Mogadorians in a matter of days. Only nine children escaped with their guardians to Earth, where they planned to hide until they developed their powers in order to defeat their enemies and revive Lorien. The Mogadorians hunt the Nine and have already killed three of them. And that's just the backstory. When Number Four, bearing the name "John Smith," moves to Paradise, OH, he runs afoul of the school bully, falls for the most beautiful girl in town, and befriends the local alien conspiracy nerd in short order. There is plenty of great action, but the dialogue is average, as is the character development. With its interesting premises and a fast-pace telling, the story will grab readers who are willing to suspend quite a bit of disbelief. Others, who like their science fiction with a bit more science and internal logic, will have to search elsewhere.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003SE75ZS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins; Reprint edition (July 18, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 18, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7542 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 452 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 8,217

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Pittacus Lore

Pittacus Lore

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

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
8,217 global ratings
Fast, Fun, Easy Read
4 Stars
Fast, Fun, Easy Read
Synopsis: A group of children escape to earth when their planet is destroyed. And now they are being hunted down by the same aliens who destroyed their home. They also suspect that these beings also want to destroy earth. They have special powers and abilities to protect themselves. And the story mostly follows a boy named Jon Smith who is next in line to be killed because three are dead and he is number four. The children can only be killed in order. So, he has to deal with his emerging powers, defend himself from high school bullies, try not to fall in love, stay alive, and ultimately find the other kids from his planet so they can save earth.My Thoughts: I saw the movie before reading the book. They were both good, but the book is definitely better (or maybe I’m just biased). It’s told mostly in the first person from Jon’s point of view. It moved along at a fairly good pace. It felt liked it slowed down quiet a bit in the middle. But not enough to make me put down the book. Overall it was a fast, fun read that threw me right back into my younger years and made me feel like a kid all over again.
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Top reviews from the United States

Clarence Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what a book
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2024
Verified Purchase
I'm never been a reader, but I read this entire series non-stop. It was absolutely the best series of books I have ever read.
I always wished they would have continued. I love the stories. Well done, great job. I watched The movie multiple times, I am four, and after reading the series. All the books, I really wish they would have made movies out of all of them.
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PRR
4.0 out of 5 stars Easy reading
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2023
Verified Purchase
Movies that are screen written from books, are often stripped down by necessity to the normal industrial standard for production. For those that liked the movie, please don't overlook reading the real story in its depth as the Author intended. It is written for the youth market, fast reading because let's face it, attention span is often limited. However, with that said, it's hard to put the book down as each short chapter hooks the reader with enough thrills to keep reading. The paper back book could of been a better quality, but it's the market today. I was hoping for a little more depth to the writing style, though this was not written for an adult reader. Though an adult, the book was worth reading and fun, though not surprised; to discover how much better the overall story was in the book then presented in the move.
4 people found this helpful
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Karen Keyte
5.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to Put Down
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2010
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"We Were Nine. Three Are Dead. I Am Number Four."

Nineteen souls managed to escape the total destruction of the planet Lorien and of those, only nine were Garde. Nine children, little more than toddlers really, sent to Earth to remain in hiding until their Legacies - special powers and abilities that will allow them to fight Lorien's conquerors - develop. All the hope that remains for that lifeless planet, once so beautiful, is wrapped up in these children, now teenagers who barely remember Lorien at all.

Those who sent the nine to Earth were well aware that the dark and menacing destroyers of their planet, warriors of the Mogadorian race, would surely follow. The children are each hidden on Earth with an adult guardian, someone who can help them learn about their powers. They are separated, each moving frequently and having absolutely no contact with the others. The senders did all they could to protect the precious group, binding them and shielding them with the most powerful of Loric charms. The children can only be killed in a specific order. If a Mogadorian attempts to harm a child out of sequence the damage will bounce off the intended victim and destroy the Mogadorian instead.

Number One died four years after the children reached Earth, when Number Four was nine-years-old. Number Two followed three years later. Now Number Four is fifteen, attending high school in Florida and living under the name Daniel Jones. A new scar has just appeared on his ankle, the third such scar. It means Number Three has died. It means Number Four is next. It means it's time to run - again.

I can understand, to a certain degree, reviewers who gave this book less than a perfect rating. There are a few (not many, but a few) instances where the dialogue is stilted and overall the level of the writing (while above average) never reaches the brilliance of something like Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games. For me though, none of that mattered. I liken this book to the very best works of Michael Crichton. After you've finished reading it, you can sit back and nitpick at flaws. But while you're reading I Am Number Four, it's too compelling, the action too relentless and the story too gripping, to do anything but become completely lost in the world of the book. I wanted to read it in one sitting so I could find out everything and I wanted to ration the pages so it would never end. I loved this book.
5 people found this helpful
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Guy Venturi
5.0 out of 5 stars A world under attack sent 9 children to another world to hide with a guardian each.
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2023
Verified Purchase
Travel was devious to hide the path. It took a long time to get their as each child aged and grew in disguise and self protection methods. To further protect them, they were separated with no contact or knowledge or where the others were located.

To help the future of the species to survive, all were charmed with a protective spell that required that they had to be killed in order or it would not work. A seal was binded on the left ankle. A circle would appear on the right ankle of the survivors each time one was killed in order. If they gathered together, the order protection would cease.

Frequent relocation and identity changes were required. Small towns were chosen because strangers asking questions stood out. But high school is challenging enough for anyone without being the new guy every few months. Bullying targets made it hard to avoid being noticed. And some noticed the good looks of the new student.
2 people found this helpful
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The Food Audit
5.0 out of 5 stars Way better than the movie
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2023
Verified Purchase
I purchased this book after seeing the movie and it took me on a fantastic fictional journey through a very well narrated and constructed world. This book is what really sparked my enjoyment in reading as a teenager. I have finished the entire series now!
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Tara Humber
5.0 out of 5 stars I Am Number Four sweeps you up and hurls you...
Reviewed in Canada on April 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
I Am Number Four sweeps you up and hurls you through a vortex of alien worlds and creatures, hidden in plain sight until they burst forth. All the while bringing our emotions on a whirlwind ride!
I love it!
I'm starting the next book right away!
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Aline Juliana Grellmann
5.0 out of 5 stars O livro é super leve!
Reviewed in Brazil on May 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
Muito bonito, leve, e as páginas são amareladas. Linguagem inglês: fácil para intermediário! A história é muito legal, recomendo :)
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Aline Juliana Grellmann
5.0 out of 5 stars O livro é super leve!
Reviewed in Brazil on May 21, 2023
Muito bonito, leve, e as páginas são amareladas. Linguagem inglês: fácil para intermediário! A história é muito legal, recomendo :)
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SimoGinko
3.0 out of 5 stars Buono
Reviewed in Italy on June 30, 2022
Verified Purchase
Racconto molto ingannevole ma che prende il lettore, l'autore è un vero artista
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佐藤　譲
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrible story but I couldn't stop reading
Reviewed in Japan on March 24, 2024
Verified Purchase
Why, and how?

It's always in our view.

Page turner.

Anyway I enjoy the reading.
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Alkalid Nualdir
5.0 out of 5 stars libro o película
Reviewed in Spain on October 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
No lo he llegado a leer, pero lo haré, aunque esté en inglés, aunque ya haya visto la película.Estaría bien que lo sacaran en castellano, la saga completa.
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