The Power of Five
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| Author | Anthony Horowitz |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Fantasy, horror, thriller |
| Publisher | Walker Books |
| Published | 2005–2013 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
The Power of Five (also known as The Gatekeepers in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by British author Anthony Horowitz and published between 2005 and 2012. It is an updated reimagining of Horowitz's Pentagram series, which the author had left unfinished in the 1980s. The series is published in the United Kingdom by Walker Books Ltd and in the United States by Scholastic Press. The novels deal heavily in the occult and examples of things such as human sacrifice and blood rituals are major plot elements, such as in the first book, where the protagonist, Matthew Freeman, is hunted by a Cult who want to conduct a blood sacrifice on him to blast open a portal using a combination of nuclear physics and black magic, to unlock another dimension which is holding a group of ancient evil demons captive.
Plot overview
The series focuses on five children: Matthew Freeman, Pedro, Scott Tyler, Jamie Tyler, and Scarlett Adams, a group of fourteen-year-old children (all five children turn fifteen in Necropolis) who are destined to defeat mystical entities known only as "the Old Ones" who ruled for a long period of time ten thousand years ago. Matt is the appointed leader. The Gatekeepers won in the past through allowing Sapling, the third Gatekeeper, to sacrifice himself; and upon Sapling's death, his future incarnation, Jamie Tyler, was sent into the past to reunite all the Gatekeepers and repair their strength to defeat the Old Ones. The Gatekeepers also won because the Old Ones do not understand Scarlett Adams' powers. In the present day the Gatekeepers have been reincarnated as modern day teenagers because the Old Ones are about to escape the world they were sent to and rule over humanity a second time. The books focus on the modern day children trying to defeat the Old Ones again.
The Five
Matthew Freeman (Matt)
Matt is the leader of the Five. Like the other Gatekeepers, Matt lost his parents very early on in life; in his case, they died in a car crash on their way to a wedding. Matt feels he is responsible as he knew the accident would take place due to Precognition. Matt was taken in by his mother's half-sister but became a juvenile delinquent and was arrested after breaking into a warehouse in Ipswich, when one of his friends stabbed a guard and ran away. Being too young to go to jail, he was given a choice to join the LEAF project, in which he was sent to live with a woman named Jayne Deverill, who is secretly part of a witch coven that attempts to free a group of evil beings called the Old Ones by opening a gateway known as Raven's Gate. Matt foils their plans with the help of a journalist named Richard Cole, who becomes a brother-like figure to him.
Matt travels with Richard to Nazca, Peru, where there is a second, gigantic gate which the Old Ones will break through. Matt, despite finding Pedro (a Peruvian slum boy who turns out to be the second of the Five) fails to stop their release, but injures the King of the Old Ones with a Psychokinetic blast before he is knocked unconscious. Matt is healed by Pedro and they remain in Nazca with Richard and local historian Joanna Chambers. He later meets Jamie and Scott Tyler, two (assumed) Native American twins. Matt finds out that the last of the Five, Scarlett Adams, had been taken to Hong Kong by the Old Ones, and therefore sets out with Jamie to rescue her. Matt is successful at finding Scarlett and the Five are briefly united but an agent of the Nightrise Corporation shoots Scarlett in the head, seriously wounding her. They escape but are separated, each of the Five ending up in a different part of the world.
Matt winds up in Brazil alongside Lohan. While they struggle to survive, Matt learns his future from the Library within the dream world. Although he is horrified by what he learns, Matt accepts his fate and works to reunite the five Gatekeepers in Oblivion, Antarctica, where the Old Ones have made their base. Matt eventually sacrifices himself to help Scott and the other Gatekeepers; he is tortured by the Old Ones before Richard performs a mercy killing and kills him with a Tumi knife. Matt is then replaced by his previous incarnation, also known as Matt. Once the Old Ones are killed, Matt's body is buried in Oblivion, and his past self disappears into the restored dream world where it is implied that his past and present selves have become one.
His powers are precognition, psychokinesis and astral projection.
Pedro (Found in Book 2 - Evil Star)
Pedro is one of the last descendants of the Inca people who once ruled Peru. He used to live in the Peruvian highlands, near the river Chillon, until it burst its banks and drowned his whole village. Just like Matt, Pedro blames himself for having survived while his family died. Pedro travelled to Lima with several flood survivors but ended up living in a shanty town and became a beggar and a thief. Matt recognised him as one of the Five after Pedro saved him from being beaten up by corrupt policemen and assists him in finding the second Gate at Nazca. Pedro can only speak Spanish and Matt only knows English, but in their shared dream world they speak the same language and can communicate without difficulty. He later learns basic English.
Although he is closest to Matt, Pedro is paired with Scott Tyler, whom he is trying to help heal until they are separated. He is able to survive and escape imprisonment from the Old Ones by using the skills and knowledge he had gained from his life in Lima. After he is reunited with the other Five Gatekeepers and they defeat the Old Ones, Pedro enters the restored dream world with the other Five.
Pedro is physically identical to Manco Capac, the son of the Sun god and one of the first founders of Incan society, according to Incan mythology. Pedro's previous incarnation was known as Inti. His power is that of healing via Radiesthesia, and Astral projection.
Scott and Jamie Tyler (Found in book 3 - Nightrise)
Native-American twins Jamie and Scott Tyler are two of the Five Gatekeepers, and are the main protagonists in the third book in the series, Nightrise. Jamie and Scott are orphans who, after several failed fostering attempts, ended up with an abusive guardian known as 'Uncle Don' where they were forced to work as part of a magic act in Reno, Nevada, USA. After a performance Scott is kidnapped and both physically and mentally tortured by the sinister Nightrise Corporation at a privately owned juvenile prison called Silent Creek, in the outskirts of Nevada. Jamie is rescued by a tribe of Native Americans and creates a plan to free Scott. He is too late to rescue Scott and is injured while escaping from the prison. While he is injured and close to death Jamie is transported to the past, during the war against the Old Ones ten thousand years ago. He learns that he and Scott are Gatekeepers, and that he has replaced his previous incarnation Sapling, who had been killed.
After helping to seal the Old Ones in the past, Jamie is returned to his time, where he is able to track down Scott. Jamie arrives in time to stop Scott, who had been brainwashed into killing a popular Senator. The two of them escape through a network of hidden gateways and arrive in Peru where they meet Matt and Pedro. However, Scott is still mentally damaged due to his torture and despite Pedro's healing abilities he becomes unbalanced after being separated from Jamie. When all of the Gatekeepers are scattered, Scott ends up captured with Pedro in Italy and Jamie appears alone in England. As the others work to reunite in Antarctica, the Old Ones take advantage of Scott's mental state and convince him to betray the others until Matt sacrifices himself, allowing Scott to realise the error of his ways. To make amends Scott sacrifices himself to bring the other Gatekeepers together, after which he dies and is replaced by his previous incarnation, Flint, allowing Jamie and the other Gatekeepers to defeat the Old Ones. Jamie and Flint then enter the restored dream world with the other Gatekeepers.
Jamie and Scott are identical twins and members of the Washoe tribe. Their previous incarnations are Sapling (Jamie) and Flint (Scott). Jamie and Scott have the power of astral projection and Telepathy (including mind control), particularly between each other, at times exhibiting Morphic resonance.
Scarlett Adams
Scarlett is the fifth Gatekeeper, and is the main protagonist in the fourth book Necropolis. She appears to be Eurasian, or completely Asian, but was adopted by Europeans and lived in Dulwich. Her parents divorced and moved to other countries, leaving Scarlett behind to complete her studies. Her father, Paul Adams, worked for the Nightrise Corporation and convinced Scarlett to fly to Hong Kong to see him, although it was a trap as the Old Ones had control of the city and knew she was a Gatekeeper. However, Scarlett was able to escape temporarily with help from a man called Lohan and a group of Triads known as the White Lotus. The Triads also try to smuggle Matt and Jamie into the city, but they were betrayed and separated.
Matt and Scarlett were both captured and held prisoner by the Nightrise Corporation, but escaped with help from the White Lotus triads during a powerful typhoon that Scarlett had unconsciously summoned. The Five are briefly united at the Tai Shan Temple, but Scarlett is shot and seriously injured. When the Gatekeepers are separated she ends up in Cairo, Egypt with Matt's friend Richard Cole. The two of them narrowly avoid becoming unknowing suicide bombers and head to Dubai where they hope to find a plane to take them to Antarctica where they can reunite with the other Gatekeepers. They rescue the pilot of an airbus from the mad king of Dubai and are the first of the Five to arrive at Oblivion, Antarctica. After the defeat of the World Army at Oblivion, Scarlett and Lohan sneak into the Old Ones' fortress and find Scott, but are unable to stop him from sacrificing himself. Once the Old Ones are defeated, Scarlett joins the other Gatekeepers in the restored dream world.
Scarlett bears a strong resemblance to and is described by some as Lin Mo, the Chinese goddess of the sea. Her previous incarnation, also called Scarlett but known as Scar, found Jamie when he was transported to the past. Scarlett has the power of Weather manipulation, including forecasting, as well as astral projection.
Other Characters
Richard Cole
Richard is Matt Freeman's guardian after Ravens gate. He worked as a journalist for a small newspaper before he got fired. When the five get separated after going through the door in Hong Kong Richard follows Scarlett and vows to protect and stay with her. At oblivion, when the Old Ones are torturing Matt they take Richard up to the podium so Matt can watch Richard be killed, but using the knife the Inca's gave him he kills Matt, to save him from a lifetime of torture. Richard ends up in a small village with Holly, married and with one son that he called Matt. It is thought that when he dies he will live in the dream world.
Books
Raven's Gate
Fourteen year old Matthew Freeman is living in Ipswich with his aunt, Gwenda Davis ever since his parent's death in a car crash, which he somehow prophesised. Matthew has been living with the guilt of not warning his parents about their upcoming death. Since then, he has become a juvenile delinquent, but one of his thefts goes horribly wrong when his cowardly friend stabs a security guard in the back and flees. Matthew is arrested and given a choice between jail and living in the country with an old woman named Jayne Deverill. Matthew should have chosen jail, as he quickly discovers that the village he has been sent to is actually inhabited by a coven of evil witches who are seeking to free a horde of demons known as the Old Ones who were somehow imprisoned by Matthew himself thousands of years ago, along with four other children. Matthew defeats the villagers and reimprisons the Old Ones, but has to live up to his responsibility as a Gatekeeper – one of the Five – when he learns a second Gate is opening in Peru.
Evil Star
The evil at Raven's Gate has been sealed again – but a second, more powerful Gate is opening, this time in Peru, South America. Matthew is sent there by the Nexus, the society formed to fight the Old Ones, whose job it is to protect Matthew and the Gatekeepers. Matthew and Richard Cole, a journalist who saved his life at Raven's Gate, travel to Peru but from the start things go horribly wrong. Richard is kidnapped and Matthew himself is robbed – but Matthew quickly realises he has found a second Gatekeeper, by the name of Pedro, the boy who was trying to rob him. Matthew and Pedro join up with the last Incas, who it turned out kidnapped Richard whilst trying to rescue Matthew. Matthew, Richard and Pedro are reunited, and together try to close the Gate. However, they fail and the Old Ones are released upon the Earth.
Nightrise
Jamie and Scott Tyler are both telepathic twins living in Nevada who perform telepathic acts. According to Horowitz's official website, Nightrise is like nothing he has done before.[1] Matt Freeman, Pedro and Richard Cole feature only briefly in this book; more important is the introduction of a new heroine (Horowitz's first female hero) named Scarlett.[2] She is mostly seen only in the past section of Nightrise, and is set to be the main protagonist in the fourth book of the series.[3] Nightrise was officially released on 2 April 2007 in the UK and was then released in the USA on 1 May 2007. The first chapter was hidden in Horowitz's website in August 2006.
The story concerns the adventures of Jamie Tyler trying to find his brother Scott Tyler, who was kidnapped by an evil corporation named the Nightrise Corporation, but before Jamie can find his brother he must enroll at the Silent Creek Prison to find more information about Scott's whereabouts. However his situation turns from bad to worse as he is catapulted ten thousand years in the past and faces the full horror of the Old Ones with the other four Gatekeepers. The five of them defeat the Old Ones and give the world a new start... but soon after he returns to the present time, Jamie discovers all about who and what he is. Jamie realises that the end of the world will soon arrive, just like it did ten thousand years ago... He must meet with the other Gatekeepers, but is there enough time left?
Necropolis
Hong Kong has been taken over by the Old Ones and has become Necropolis, City of the Dead. Once in, there is no way out… Matt and the other three desperately need to find Scarlett Adams, the final Gatekeeper, who has been trapped in Hong Kong, where shape-changers and possessed humans stalk the streets. Calamity befalls Hong Kong and hope soon turns black for humanity. The Old Ones are luring the Gatekeepers into the Necropolis by holding Scarlett hostage in Hong Kong. Matt and Jamie go to Hong Kong with Richard Cole to try and thwart the Old Ones' plan, but Scarlett discovers her power all too soon. Scarlett's power is to control the weather, whereas the Old Ones presumed that she could only forecast the weather. Scarlett's power is the strongest one of all of the Five, as Matt realises, when Scarlett unleashes a storm so powerful that no-one can stop it. By holding onto her, the other four children and each with a guest survive the storm and make it into a church. The Five can use special doorways built into churches which the Five can use to teleport around the planet. The Five all go into the doorway, but Scarlett is mortally wounded by a stray bullet. To make matters worse, the Five have no fixed destination in mind, which results in them being scattered across the face of the planet not knowing where the other gatekeepers are.
Oblivion
The last book reveals Jamie ended up in Saint Boltoph's Church in England. The other four Gatekeepers are scattered around the world, with Scarlett and Richard Cole ending up in Giza, Egypt. Matt and Lohan Shan-Tung end up in the Basilica de Nossa Senhore de Nazare in Belem, Brazil and Pedro and Scott ended up in the Abbey of San Galgano in Italy. The gatekeepers were unable to travel elsewhere through the doors, since they were locked up by the Old Ones in Antarctica. Ten years have passed since the destruction of Hong Kong, and the Old Ones have revealed themselves to the world, causing strife and suffering. Meanwhile, Jamie is in London, escaping with Graham Fletcher and Holly, but get caught by cannibals. They escape to the Nexus with their lives, and Jamie receives a message from Matt and goes to the doorway, getting attacked by the giant spider and dogs. Graham is shot, but Holly and Jamie make it to Oblivion.
Scott is converted to the Old Ones by Jonas Mortlake and to prove his loyalty, he breaks Pedro's little finger. While Pedro remains in the jail, Scott is well-fed. However, Pedro escapes from the prison with the aid of the servant Giovanni. They watch Giovanni's whole family get massacred by the Old Ones just as Mt. Vesuvius erupts. Pedro goes to the Vatican, where the Priests want to kill him for using 'ungodly powers' but Pedro cures himself from the poison by drinking dirty water. He still is terribly weakened and needs medical help, and throws himself through the doorway with the help of a janitor.
Matt and Lohan escape from the mines, and deciding he is going to leave Matt behind, Lohan runs for the helicopter, but it is locked by Matt, who had read his life book and knew what he was about to do. At Oblivion, Scott and lures Matt and Richard into captivity. Richard works out the purpose of the tumi Inca knife and plunges it into the tortured Matt, killing his present form but bringing his past form 10,000 years into the future to continue the fight. Scott soon regrets his decision and in a final act of repentance unlocks the doors, allowing the others to travel to Antarctica, but in the process killing himself.
As the war slowly destroys humanity, humanity forms a resistance to them, the "World Army." Baker, President of the United States, is opposing this resistance, leading to all out warfare with rebels and government forces. Behind it all are the Old Ones, manipulating events from Antarctica, where they draw humanity with promise of easy victory, when in reality Matt has a vision revealing the resistance's defeat. Unfortunately, the resistance leader, Commander Cain, refuses to listen to him. The World Army suffers terrible casualties and is compelled to retreat, while Scarlett and Lohan manage to sneak past the Old Ones front lines.
Meanwhile, Scott's past form travels to the future along with Matt's form and they steal a jeep, driving into the Old One's fortress. Flint hands Jamie his sword, and Pedro gets two of the knights' swords for Scarlett and him, and the five are able to defeat the Old Ones once and for all, sucking the Old Ones up a tear in space along with several nuclear bombs fired by the World Army. Then they have their final meal together, during which, Matt (the one from the past) announces that Flint and himself are leaving Oblivion and he asked Pedro, Jamie, and Scarlett if they would follow him into the dreamworld for the first and last time. After they leave a boat comes to pick up Holly, Richard, and Lohan so they can return to the Nexus. They see that the Traveller survived the battle at Saint Meridith's.
Then Holly, Richard, the Traveller, and the Nexus go to a village not to far from where Holly's original village was. Then over time everybody notices that the world is starting to heal itself. The birds return, the river clears, and the plants grow instead of shrivelling up and dying. Holly tells us that both Richard and herself sometimes go into the dreamworld and they see the five gatekeepers and that the once bleak and barren dreamworld has had the color restored.Then Holly and Richard live the rest of their lives waiting for when the time comes that they go into the dream world and never come back.
Horowitz has stated that he had researched global warming for this novel.[4] This book took just over four years to write.
References
External links
- The Power of Five official website
- Official Anthony Horowitz website
- The Power of Five official facebook page
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