The newest entry in the Daniel X series by James Patterson (Maximum Ride) novelizes the graphic format title of the same name, and expands Daniel's adventures in Japan as he hunts down some of the top 10 baddies on his List of Alien Outlaws.
Although he may seem like a teen boy, Daniel X is really an Alpar Nokian, a member of a nearly extinct alien race. He hunts aliens from the List with his power to manipulate atoms and create anything imaginable. Weapons, disguises and virtual friends and family all appear with hardly a thought. He needs every trick in his arsenal when List aliens Number 7 and 8 plot to enslave teens throughout the world mentally by using their company's video games. Even worse, they're working with top evil alien Number 1, codenamed The Prayer. Daniel both fears and desires him the most because he is "My parents' killer... my ultimate nemesis... the darkest stain in all my nightmares." He finds a surprising ally in the son of 7 and 8, Kildare, who helps him again save the world from a threat they never expected.
Game Over melds intriguing elements for Daniel X series fans: aliens, fantastical abilities, video games and saving the world. The Japanese setting provides opportunities throughout the narrative to interject cultural references and foreign words. The graphic novel's ending is a bit stronger and has the benefit of riotously colorful illustrations. The novel version, however, adds a few twists. --Jessica Bushore, veteran Ohio public librarian