Today’s Ypulse Youth Advisory Board book review is from Michael Hayball. If you are a publicist and would like to send our Youth Advisory Board books to review, please email me. To give our board feedback on reviews, leave a comment or write to them directly via email: youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.
YAB Review: ‘Daniel X: Alien Hunter’ By James Patterson
To be honest, I had never picked up anything by James Patterson before. The only exposure I had to his work was watching my mom read his murder mysteries by nightlight in her room. I love graphic novels however, and seeing that it has the “Mom Pedigree” behind it, I figured I’d give James Patterson’s Daniel X: Alien Hunter a shot.
The plot charmed me and disinterested me at the same time. On one hand, certain elements struck me as new and interesting, but on the whole the plot felt like it was lacking…”Je ne sais quoi,” that certain something. It’s alright though, since it was really the first installment of a bigger series.
That being said, Daniel as a character really hooked me. He struck me as an incredibly sympathetic character, who had noticeable humanizing flaws. For one, he’s only a kid! He’s young, inexperienced, and vulnerable. He’s also very lonely, since his entire family is gone. He doesn’t even have friends, so he has to create his own friends to keep himself company.
The element that impressed me the most was the artwork. Each panel looks hand-painted and beautiful. It reminded me of the comic book pages from the TV show “Heroes,” and the camera (pencil?) angles are marvelous. You can really tell Leopoldo Gout, the illustrator, really went for a cinematic look for this comic.
Daniel X: Alien Hunter is a well-put together graphic novel, and for 10 bucks, you really can’t go wrong. I will say that it is a bit on the short side, but it is perfect for short reads. I would recommend it to anyone, fan or Patterson’s books or not.
About Michael Hayball
Michael lives a simple life in Allen Park, Mi. When he is not attending Henry Ford Community College for his Associates, he can be seen chatting and socializing around campus and the local coffeeshop. He enjoys a good iced caramel cappuccino, or a regular coca-cola. Michael loves what he calls “The Blog Music,” and he was and still is raised on a steady diet of electronic music and old-school hip hop. Michael hopes to work for Spin magazine one day, and screams like a little girl every time a new issue comes to the local coffee shop.
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