The Dangerous Days of Daniel X Review

Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
Author(s): James Patterson

ISBN: 0316002925 EAN: 9780316002929
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Reading Level: Young Adult

Average Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

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The greatest superpower of all isn't to be part spider, part man, or to cast magic spells--the greatest power is the power to create.

Daniel X has that power.

Daniel's secret abilities -- like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to recreate himself in any shape he chooses -- have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn't have a normal life. He is the protector of the earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond what anyone's imagining.

From the day that his parents were brutally murdered before of his very eyes, Daniel has used his unique gifts to hunt down their assassin. Finally, with the help of The List, bequeathed to him in his parents' dying breath, he is closing in on the killer.

Now, on his own, he vows to take on his father's mission--and to take vengeance in the process.

User Submitted The Dangerous Days of Daniel X Reviews

November 19, 2008
Patterson and Ledwidge grab onto the reader's attention and don't let go for a second, propelling one along at Warp Factor Six
Over the past few years, James Patterson has done yeoman's work on a number of fronts to encourage young adults to read, namely with his Maximum Ride novels. He and co-author Michael Ledwidge have just published a new series, one that will appeal to fans of science fiction and that has just enough action --- and charm --- to appeal to teens and those who still wish they were. The lead-off book is THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF DANIEL X, and it's a good one.

It kicks off, appropriately enough, with Daniel X's backstory, or at least some of it. Daniel is a 15-year-old alien from outer space whose purpose-driven life is dedicated to eradicating monstrous beings from other planets, called Hunters, who see Earth as a candy dish ripe for the plucking. Daniel's parents were murdered, apparently by The Prayer, first among equals of a group of alien outlaws whose goal is to eliminate all life on earth.

Comic book fans of all ages are familiar with the themes of parental loss --- Superman, Batman and Spiderman are but three fiction icons who lost one or both parents to evil --- and science-fiction aficionados will recall the good-and-bad-alien-in-our-midst themes from any number of sources ("Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" from the original "Twilight Zone" series comes most immediately to mind). Before their apparent demise, Daniel's parents left their son a list of the aliens he needs to eliminate if he and his adopted planet are to be safe. And how is he supposed to do this? Daniel has powers, chief among them is the ability to manipulate molecules. There is some sort of vague limitation to it, however, and Daniel himself is still testing that out, so it is interesting to see what will work, how and against whom.

In this inaugural volume, Daniel is both the pursued and pursuer of an alien baddie named Ergent Seth, who is Number Six on The List. Daniel moves from Portland, Oregon, to Glendale, California, where he enrolls in high school, acquires a girlfriend who gives new meaning to the term "girl trouble" and makes an involuntary interstellar trip across space where the biggest surprise of all awaits him, even as he moves toward an ultimate confrontation with Ergent Seth and takes another step toward his destiny.

This sounds like a lot --- and it is --- but Patterson and Ledwidge grab onto the reader's attention and don't let go for a second, propelling one along at Warp Factor Six. Much of the book is graphically violent, but no more so than what you'd find in your average video game, and Daniel gives fair warning at the beginning that things will get a bit rough before the ride is over. And as a bonus, THE DANGEROUS DAYS OF DANIEL X features three chapters from the next installment in the series. All that, and the authors even include a plug for THE ILIAD by Homer, arguably the first military thriller. Does it get any better than that? We'll have to wait to find out.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

November 19, 2008
From J. Kaye's Book Blog
In Daniel X, the aliens look human.

The earth's most deadly alien criminal comes looking for a list. It's not just any list, but one that shows the most dangerous alien criminals and Daniel's parents have it. In the process, they are killed over this list and Daniel escapes, but barely. Daniel is also an alien with special powers.

Years later, Daniel acquires this list of criminals. He's able to create his imaginary friends and together they go after these aliens.

Both my kids loved the book and gave it a 5/5 rating.

November 17, 2008
To dumb to be called scifi
Although the Patterson books have been steadily going downhill ever since he decided to take on co-writers, I am always hopeful the next one will at least be an easy, swift read. But this one??? It is by far the most collosally stupid story ever written. And I love science fiction. I can't believe his publisher allowed this embarrassing thing out of the office. I guess they just figured there would be a certain amount of revenue simply because of his name. But there is no way this would have flown if submitted by anyone else. Makes one think Mr P was smoking something funny to even come up with such a bizarre idea for a story.

November 14, 2008
Dreadful
What a disappointment. This is a dreadful story. Surprised Patterson associates his name with this junk.

November 14, 2008
Not good science fiction or even fantasy
Star Trek notwithstanding, when you get taken to another planet and they all write and speak English without the benefit of any translation device or other plot device, I don't think much of the writer or their opinion of their readers.

November 13, 2008
Book is written for 8 year olds
This book seems to be written for 8 year olds by a 12 year old.
I swear Patterson probably wrote this in one sitting. Zero creativity at all.
It's just a knock off of other stories already out there, but in particular Men in Black. I mean take a look at the book cover. A pretty similar resemblance to Heroes don't you think?
Good news is you can finish this thing in 1 or 2 sittings. If Patterson thinks he is creating the next "Harry Potter" his bank account and his publisher are going to be seriously disappointed.

November 13, 2008
Daniel X
I found Daniel to me an exciting and page turning book. Very enjoyable and well worth it.

November 11, 2008
Thankfully, it is a fast read
After completing the current books in Patterson's Maximum Ride series, I was told that I should read the latest "teen" novel by James Patterson (and Michael Ledwidge), The Dangerous Days of Daniel X. Like Maximum Ride, Daniel X will be a series of at least three books. But Patterson and Ledwidge will have to release the next two without me.

Daniel X is a fifteen year old orphan with some supernatural powers. These powers; shape shifting, telekinesis, and the ability to create animate objects out of nothing, are needed as he is an Alien Hunter on Planet Earth. For eons, Earth has been inhabited by aliens, and a good portion of them are evil. Daniel, orphaned when his parents were killed by an alien called The Prayer, uses a "hit list" (called The List) left to him by his parents, to track down and kill the bad aliens. Naturally, as such lists are numbered, the closer you get to #1, the aliens get more difficult to dispatch.Skipping ahead on The List, Daniel determines he is ready for #6. But that particular alien is well aware of his approach and his weaknesses. And he is waiting for Daniel.

I realize that this book is targeted to the 7-17 reader, but I had a very difficult time relating to or caring about Daniel. I think that it was mostly due to knowing that somewhere along the line, Patterson will get heavy-handed on some ecological topic. While that did not appear in this novel, you know that it is coming. He is addressing global warming in Maximum Ride, and I *think* that they will be addressing global population in this series, based on some throw away comments late in this book (they did address child labor in this novel). But my other issues with this book are probably very silly; where does Daniel get the money to live and eat? Why isn't he taking some time to improve his powers with the lower numbered aliens, while moving up The List? A weapon that kills his parents seems to only give him a "flesh wound" *? For the most part, I think that this book may hold the interest of most 7-17 year olds. But it certainly holds no interest to me

* - my thow away "Monty Python" reference :-)

November 5, 2008
A book for all ages!
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but James Patterson was one of the writers, so I had to read it! Here is a good synopsis about the book on the inside cover:

"Daniel's secret abilities --- like being able to manipulate objects and animals with his mind or to re-create himself in any shape he choses -- have helped him survive. But Daniel doesn't have a normal life. He is the protector of Earth, the Alien Hunter, with a mission beyond anyone's imagining."

David has "the list" of the worst aliens, which includes the assassins that killed his parents. As a young kid, he doesn't understand his abilities, but as he gets older he realizes the importance of his skills and how important he is to keeping Earth safe. He believes he is alone in his battle, but finds out that you can go home and find yourself again.

My first thoughts about this book was that this was another 'kill the alien" book, but it's much more than that. The alien hunter part of the story is only a small part of the book. We see a boy grow and learn about himself and what part in the world he is meant to be a part of. The history of his family and where they came from (another planet) is a moving part of the book that facinated me. The speech of Spock and Kirk from Star Trek comes to mind when reading this book for me: "The needs of the many - outweigh the needs of the few or the one!"

I would recommend reading this book and the sequel that will be coming out soon! Patterson has been careful of the language and content of the book to allow anyone from 10 to 100 to read the book!

October 27, 2008
Ho-hum
Entertainment for all ages, which is how this book was advertised, does not mean boring. The Harry Potter books are a good example of a storyline that all ages may enjoy.

In the first few pages, I thought this might be similar to the Odd Thomas books by Dean Koontz, but this was not to be the case. With chapters being 1.5 to 4 pages long and larger than typical print size, I am glad I didn't pay $20 for this.

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