The Power of Five: Oblivion [Hardcover]

It's been a long wait for the final instalment in this series. But it was worth it. This is a remarkable series. From the dark and perplexing mystery of Raven's Gate onwards, the books went from strength to strength. For me personally, the series peaked with Nightrise; the taut spare writing, the brooding atmosphere and the almost unbearable tension were breathtaking.
I felt Necropolis was slower to get going, partly because Scarlett was less vividly drawn as a character, but also because the reader was now being spread across a number of points of view. This is an issue that dogs Oblivion too. It was inevitable, as we need to follow all five characters - and yet another point of view is added with Holly. But in Oblivion, although this makes the story long (this is a huge and heavy tome in hardback, all 668 pages of it) the switching viewpoints never make the story slow. It is thrilling from beginning to end; you never quite know where the story is going. Although there are mysterious clues and dark foreshadowings along the way, the tension of how the tale will play out is maintained right to the final pages.
At the end of Necropolis, the gatekeepers had been confronted by the Old Ones in Hong Kong and come close to being defeated. They had scarcely met before they were attacked and Scarlett was wounded. With a typhoon tearing Hong Kong and the temple apart, they had no choice but to flee back through the door. Injured and in disarray, they didn't have time to agree a destination and so they were scattered across the globe; Brazil, England, Italy and Egypt. As if that isn't bad enough, the fabric of time itself has been torn and in Oblivion the gatekeepers emerge ten years later to a very changed world.
Like in the other books in this series, Horowitz shows he is a master of thriller writing. He rarely wastes words, each description conjuring a clear picture, each step in the adventure carefully woven in. The male characters are as consistent and strong as in the previous books - each of the four male gatekeepers feels like someone you know well. We could do with some more vibrant and kick-ass girls, but they are the one thing that's lacking here.
If you've forgotten the previous books (it has been a long time!) there is just enough information in Oblivion to jog your memory without boring you. It's a nail-biting adventure; it is dark, violent and at times really bleak. The novel shows a lively social and environmental conscience which adds to it greatly in my opinion. And the ending is both moving and satisfying.
Recommended for teenagers (12 +) and adults who enjoy teen books.

It's a long time coming, Oblivion, and by heck is it worth the wait. Horowitz proves once again that he is a master of his craft, providing a chilling tale of the end of the world. His prose is, thankfully, far less "and now we'll pause for some irrelevant information that the character isn't going to know but I'm putting it in to show that I do my research", a personal bugbear of mine that carries over from his previous series, Alex Rider, and far more tense for it. There will be reviewers that comment on some things they don't get (I'm pretty sure we'll never get all the answers to this one, like just how the hell they managed to jump 10 years ahead) but in the end, they don't matter. Oblivion is a powerful, dark work that leaves a bittersweet taste in the mouth by it's end, and yet doesn't feel bad at all.

we've waited a long time for this book and horowitz does not disappoint. the book was completely enticing from the first word and you instantly fall into a world ruled by the old ones. you'll laugh and if you're like me, you'll cry and you'll feel hollow after finishing it but they say all great things must come to an end. i would have loved if we had another book but a great writer knows when to stop. i've never been one for flaunting a book or an author but the book deserves every single piece of praise it gets. the book was completely descriptive and fluent, so much that you felt you were a spectator in the battle of the old ones. the characters become more developed and i feel head over heels in love with matt, only to leave me shattered for me to turn that very last page. i read the entire 674 pages in 3 hours and i just couldn't seem to put it down. i even dreamt about it! i just hope by the time you've finished reading this, you'll be convinced enough to press that little 'add to basket' button but if you're not and you just scoff and switch tabs you're losing out on an amazing end to an amazing book series. x