Today I read the book “Rise of the Elgen” by Richard Paul Evans. It’s the sequel to another of his books, “The Prisoner of Cell 25.” I enjoyed reading both books, though I would have preferred if they were written in third person. The first person did allow me to understand the main character’s emotions better than I would have otherwise, though. Michael, the main character and therefore the most developed and complex, is an electric child, along with many others involved with an accident at birth. This causes many problems, and while at first it may seem that he is one of a kind and the real danger to society, others are involved and his electricity may make him a larger target than first suspected. Dr. Hatch recruits him to the Elgen in “The Prisoner of Cell 25,” though he, Taylor, and a few others escape to form the ElectroClan. In the sequel, they try to run from Dr. Hatch and rescue Michael’s mother, a kind and hardworking woman who has been captured as Michael’s bait. Every member of the ElectroClan as the children work to find Mrs. Vey, supposedly aided by a mysterious group who sometimes help them and sometimes lead them into trouble. They must decide who their friends and enemies are while running from Dr. Hatch’s dangerous forces into an even larger, better-defended safe base to rescue Mrs. Vey. The author gives his readers the answers, but keeps the information that would actually be useful in deciphering the results a mystery; no one knows whether the group is helping them or not until the group does. The outcome of the book is a mystery, and the suspense kept me reading. The author’s amazing techniques made “Rise of the Elgen” an amazing book I really enjoyed reading. I would rate it 9/10 and recommend it for readers under the age of 20.
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