The Power of Five

The Power of Five is a series rewrite of a supernatural thriller series by Anthony Horowitz, author of the New York Times best-selling series Alex Rider; there are currently four books rewritten:

Raven's Gate
Evil Star
Nightrise
Necropolis
Oblivion (Set for a 2012 release.)

The story focuses on five 14-year-olds (Matt Freeman; Pedro, Jamie and Scott Tyler, and Scarlet) who are the reincarnations of five beings who saved the world from the Old Ones, evil spirits who once ruled the world using demons to instill fear on the people by sealing them away into certain parts of the world. Unfortunately, an evil organization wishes to unlock those parts to release the Old Ones onto the world once more and become rulers of the world. Now it is up to Matt, Pedro, Jamie, Scott and Scarlet to prevent the world from falling into darkness once more. It's a lot Better Than It Sounds.

Ravens Gate: Matt Freeman is sent to a nice village after being arrested for stealing from a warehouse as part of a government program. However, things are not as they seem as a series of strange events leave him in strange danger. He cannot escape, he cannot contact anyone, and the roads out of the town loop. Along with a journalist called Richard he meets, he discovers the townspeople are trying to unleash the Old Ones that once ruled the world. Oh, and Matt finds out he is destined to save the world with his newfound telekinetic powers. Eventually they win. The novel as a whole seems inspired by Lovecraft and is essentially a fantasy horror story.

Evil Star: Matt and Richard travel to Peru to find the next of the Five. Richard is kidnapped. Matt meets a boy called Pedro who winds up being one of the Five. They find a lost city. The book climaxes with Matt and Pedro leading an army of Aztecs to break into a miltary compound. Matt goes God Mode with his powers and kills the Big Bad. However the convoluted plot to resurrect the Old Ones using a satellite works, and Matt can only watch as they escape into the world. This book has a more fantasy themed plot.

Nightrise: This book focuses on Jamie and Scott, telepathic twins who work at Reno Playhouse in Nevada. One night, they are attacked by mysterious assailants. Jamie manages to get away, but Scott isn't so lucky. The former is saved by Alicia, who works for presidental candidate Trelawney and needs Jamie to help her get her son back. With the aid of Trelawney, Jamie gets into the prison where Scott is being held and, with the help of a local Native American tribe, liberates the underground torture chamber where the telekinetic kids are being held. When he is shot, Jamie is transported to the past, where he meets up with the past reincarnations of the Gatekeepers and defeats the Old Ones. Back in the present, he finds Scott in the hands of one of Nightrise's members, Susan Mortlake, who has manipulated Scott to shoot Trelawney. Jamie manages to deflect the blow and the twins escape. They enter through a passageway and find themselves in Peru, where Matt and Pedro are.

Necropolis: Scarlett is introduced here. Scarlett goes on a school trip to an ancient church for her art class. It is there that she sees an apparition of Matt pass through an unusual door at the end of the hall. She follows him, only to find herself in Ukraine and in the hands of a satanic cult called the Monastery for the Cry for Mercy. She manages to escape, only to be plastered all over the news and revealed to Nightrise. Meanwhile, Matt and the others plan to save her when they are attacked by zombie-like monsters, who kill Professor Chambers. It is then that Matt and Jaime split up from Scott and Pedro and head to England; but the two are too late, seeing as Scarlett is on her way to Hong Kong, which is about to turn into a necropolis. In Hong Kong, Scarlett senses something is amiss; her suspicions are confirmed when she is saved by the Triads, who reveal to her just what she really is.

Tropes used in The Power of Five include:

Abusive Relatives: It is revealed in Matt's backstory that when he was taken under the 'care' of his Aunt Gwenda and her boyfriend, they spent all of his inheritance; after they lost all his money, they started beating him up. In Jamie and Scott's backstory, when things start to go bad for their adoptive parents, they start abusing them to the point where Scott snaps and tells the father figure to 'go hang himself'. Considering that the twins have the power of telepathy and mind control, this ends very badly. Oh, and let's not forget wonderful Uncle Don...
Action Survivor: Richard. Small-town journalist drawn into saving the world because Matt once called out telepathically for help. But he has followed Matt all over the world and done his best to protect him, without the benefit of training or powers, and is still alive as of the Downer Ending of Necropolis.
A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: Scott and Jamie don't like to read minds for exactly this reason.
Aristocrats Are Evil: More like rich people are evil.
- Though to be fair, there is a billionaire in the Nexus.
Burn the Witch: Pulled off cruelly at the end of Raven's Gate.
- With nukes!
Chosen Ones: The Gatekeepers
Cliff Hanger: The fourth book ends this way; what makes it worse is that the next book isn't due for another couple years...
Cool Old Lady: Professor Chambers. As it turns out, however, the cool factor isn't quite enough to fend off the Old Ones.
Cosmic Keystones: The Gates.
Dark and Troubled Past: Played straight with Matt, Pedro, Jamie, and Scott. Subverted with Scarlett, whose had the nicest life out of all five Gatekeepers.
Deadpan Snarker: Richard Cole.
Downer Ending: Evil Star, and Necropolis. Nightrise, less so.
Eldritch Abomination - The Old Ones.
Empty Shell: Scott, at the end of Nightrise.
Even Evil Has Standards: The Triads may smuggle drugs and serve as assassins, but they're not about to let the Old Ones take over the world so easily.
Family-Unfriendly Death: Mrs. Deverill. Her skin is eaten away by acid.
Five-Man Band: The point of the series. The characters are as follows:
- The Hero -- Matt, as well as being The Big Guy, whether he likes it or not.
- The Medic -- Pedro, whose power is to heal.
- The Lancer -- Scott, generally messed up after a healthy spell of Mind Rape.
- The Heart -- Jamie, although mainly for his brother who is seriously messed up. (see above)
- The Chick -- Scarlet. Also a human weather machine. The most powerful of the five, though she (currently) can't control it.
Flashback Nightmare: Scott.
For the Evulz
Green Rooming : The story starts off with Matt, who then vanishes after book 2, gets a brief mention in book 3, and then is gone for the first half of book 4.
I Just Want to Be Normal: All five of the kids wish this at some point.
- Richard occasionally does this too, as it's implied he has some role in taking down the Old Ones.
Intergenerational Friendship: Matt and Richard's friendship could be viewed this way.
La Résistance: The Nexus.
More Than Mind Control: Susan Mortlake does this to Scott in Nightrise.
Mugging the Monster: Occurs early in Raven's Gate with Matt's new foster parent. She's a witch.
Nebulous Evil Organization: Nightrise
Post Dramatic Stress Disorder: Probably in several instances, but most notably with Matt at the end of Evil Star.
Refusal of the Call: Matt tries to do this several times, but no avail. Why? Because he and the others just can't fight fate.
- This inevitably leads to a 'The Call Knows Where You Live' scenario in Raven's Gate. Poor, poor Mallory...
Reincarnation
Schedule Slip: One book was released a year between 2005 and 2008 (albeit with a few months' difference). As of April 2011 Anthony Horowitz is about to start book 5 and is aiming for a 200,000 word count, so it could be years before it materialises.
- As of May 2012, it's finished and has been edited. Just waiting for the proposed Oct release now.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Scott, With Good Reason. Poor guy.
Spiritual Successor: To Anthony Horowitz's unfinished Pentagram series from the 1980s.
Talking in Your Dreams
Tastes Like Friendship: In Evil Star, when Pedro and Matt first meet; granted, Pedro tried to steal Matt's watch, so...
Town with a Dark Secret: Lesser Malling.
Twin Telepathy: Jamie and Scott.
Twin Theme Naming: Subverted in Jamie and Scott's case; their first names came from the box in which they were found and their last from the doctor who checked them out.
Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World: Minus the going to school part, at least after Raven's Gate.
World Domination: The goal of Nightrise.
You Can't Fight Fate: Rule number 1 of this series.
- There is even a Librarian who guards the records and life stories of every being that's ever existed. Naturally, he isn't very helpful, at least in Necropolis.