The Gatekeepers #4: Necropolis

by Anthony Horowitz

Book Overview

The stakes get higher in #1 NYT bestselling author Anthony Horowitz's latest masterpiece.As the fourth novel in the spellbinding Gatekeepers series begins, the world is under the greatest threat it's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439680034
• ISBN13: 9780439680035
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Length: 389 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.8" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Great

This book is a great book. And I think that buying it from the UK was a great choice, at least it was for me. The book has high quality paper, and the dust jacket. And if you are looking at this book it probably means you've read the books before this one in the series so I think that you'll enjoy this book just as much as the other ones.

Gatekeepers series EXCELLENT fiction

Another well-written, informational, and captivating series book for Anthony Horowitz "Gatekeepers" fantasy/science fiction books. Already cannot wait for the next book....

great gift

I bought this book at the request of a friend. She had read the previous books and liked them. She was so happy to receive this latest one and started reading it immediately.

A Spectacular Continuation of the Gatekeepers Series

I love reading Anthony Horowitz's work. If you read enough of his books--which I have done--you start seeing trends in his writing style. For example, he often alludes to real-life brands for products like guns, cars, equipment, clothing, etc. He also tends to utilize characters with high power in society a lot, which was definitely prominent in the Alex Rider Series. You see that in this series numerous times as well. Another example (I find too many I want to share): Often times, Anthony Horowitz will depict his villains as ugly in some manner, probably to accentuate a character's evil vibe. It's not that these patterns are bad--I gave the book five stars--I just point these out because an author's modus operandi is a significant aspect of his/her skills. In Anthony Horowitz's case, his modus operandi works marvelously for his stories. Necropolis is no exception. The action is exciting and engrossing, but never tiresome or repetitive. It's fast-paced. It's inventive. It's descriptive, which brings me to another point. Without spoiling anything, Necropolis is a very suitable title for the book. While reading the book, I found myself amazed at how descriptive and imaginative Anthony Horowitz is able to write. Necro, a Greek prefix meaning death, and polis, a Greek suffix meaning city, combine to form a nightmarish scenario in the book. Anthony Horowitz conveys this nightmare. I could imagine myself witnessing his settings firsthand. This book is also slightly more ominous than the previous ones...you can just tell from the cover. Things are eerie, like straight-out-of-F.E.A.R-the-video-game-eerie. But hey, that's what makes it good. Don't be looking for too many answers if you read this. There's still at least one book more. He also leaves you with a big cliffhanger as well, but it ends satisfyingly enough so that you're not questioning yourself as to what will happen every minute after you finish. Read and enjoy...it took me about half a day to finish.

Plenty of Suspense to Keep the Pages Flipping

The fifth Gatekeeper, Scarlet, is paying no attention as she crosses a street in Dulwich, trying to get across to her friend Aidan. It's too late when she sees the van bearing down on her, and she's struck. But at the last possible fraction of a second before impact, she's shoved to safety by an unknown man who runs away before she can thank him or identify him. From that moment on, Scarlet's life is turned upside down. In NECROPOLIS, the fourth installment in Anthony Horowitz's The Gatekeepers series, we finally come to know the fifth and final Gatekeeper. Unfortunately for her, she is being actively pursued by the Old Ones. Even more unfortunate, her father works for the Nightrise Corporation, the shadowy front group of the Old Ones. Enduring their own trials and tribulations in South America, Matt and the rest of the Gatekeepers realize they must get to Scarlet before the Old Ones do, for all five are needed to win the war being waged. They make their way to England only to miss Scarlet by mere inches as she is whisked away to Hong Kong with her father. The Nexus, protectors of the Gatekeepers, convene and agree that Matt and the rest must journey to Hong Kong and retrieve Scarlet. As they make their way and encounter deception to thwart their plans, Scarlet is imprisoned beneath the Needle. With the aid of the Triads, Matt and Scarlet prepare to flee the Needle but encounter agents of the Old Ones blocking their path, and the conclusion finds the five dispersed around the world at the precise time they are needed together, for the Old Ones are ready to strike their commanding blow. NECROPOLIS is easily the best Gatekeepers novel thus far. The introduction of Scarlet Adams, the fifth Gatekeeper, adds a new dimension to the story and really helps to round out the cast. In fact, she doesn't seem out of place, or even new to the story. She simply feels as if she's been there the whole while, lingering in the periphery and awaiting her turn to step out. Once again, Horowitz brings the characters and the action of NECROPOLIS to life in a style that opens up like a film on the page. The attack on Professor Chambers's home in South America plays out before your very eyes, and his vivid detailing of places and scenes, especially in Hong Kong, make it easy to see the city without becoming too descriptive or overblown. Horowitz has crafted a story with an incredible pace, one that keeps pages flipping but does not fly so quickly as to outdistance its own suspense. And there is plenty of suspense, literally from the opening paragraph when Scarlet is hit by a van, to the intense closing pages that set up what is destined to be an explosive final book. --- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard