''Necropolis'' is a fantasy novel by British writer

Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the ''Alex Rider'' series, and ''T ...

. It is the fourth novel in his ''

The Power of Five ''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ...

'' series. The book was released in the United Kingdom and Australia on 30 October 2008, and it had sold 190,000 copies worldwide before Christmas 2008.

Plot

On a school field trip to St Meredith's Church,

Scarlett Adams This is a list of all the antagonists and protagonists in '' The Power of Five'' series by Anthony Horowitz. The series chronicles the war between the Old Ones and the Five Gatekeepers. The Five are Matthew Freeman, Pedro/Inti, Scott and Jamie ...

finds herself magically transported to a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, where she is captured by

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

who worship the Old Ones. Scarlett escapes and returns to St Meredith's. The media storm resulting from Scarlett's disappearance alerts Matthew Freeman in Peru that Scarlett is the new Gatekeeper. Matt, Jamie Tyler and Richard Cole travel to London, but narrowly miss meeting Scarlett. The Nexus informs them that Scarlett's father works for the Nightrise Corporation and has taken her to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, a city that is suspected of housing the Old Ones. Matt, along with Jamie and Richard, travel to Macau in search of Scarlett, on the advice of the Nexus. Scarlett arrives in

and is looked after by a Mrs. Cheng, who turns out to be a shape shifter from the Old Ones. Scarlett is rescued by a member of the Chinese Triads, Lohan Shan Tung. Lohan attempts to help Scarlett escape Hong Kong, but her father betrays her to Nightrise. Scarlett discovers her power is weather control when the shock of her father’s betrayal causes her to create a powerful

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

, which approaches Hong Kong. Matt, Jamie and Richard meet with Lohan's father Han Shan-tung, who agrees to help them infiltrate Hong Kong. Matt allows himself to be captured by the Old Ones and is taken to Scarlett. Jamie, Richard, and Lohan rescue them and take them to the Tai Shan Temple, where they manage to get through the typhoon with Scarlett's help. The Chairman of the Old Ones reveals the Old Ones' plan to turn Hong Kong into a

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

, or city of the dead. The Chairman is killed by a stray wooden sampan caught in the typhoon. Pedro and Scott arrive in Hong Kong through a magical door. When Scarlett is shot in the head, she loses control over the typhoon, which explodes with all its might. The Five Gatekeepers, Lohan and Richard manage to get through the door before it is destroyed. The novel ends on a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

as Chaos, the King of the Old Ones, prepares to commence the war to conquer the planet and wipe out humanity.

Comparison with ''Day of the Dragon''

''Necropolis'' is a re-write of the 1989 novel ''Day of the Dragon'', which is part of Horowitz’s unfinished ''Pentagram'' series. A noteworthy difference from the original novel is the gender-swapping of the lead character Will Tyler to a female counterpart called Scarlett Adams, who is also Horowitz's first female literary hero. According to Horowitz, this change resulted a complete rewrite of the original.

Reviews

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave a mixed review, saying, "There is not much action in the book," but called the storyline "one to marvel over." ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' likewise praised the book for its tense, action-driven plot.

References

External links

The Power of Five official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Necropolis (2008 Novel) 2008 British novels Novels by Anthony Horowitz British fantasy novels Walker Books books