Review of ‘Rise of the Six’

Posted on November 1, 2017 Updated on October 28, 2017

All born on the same day, Joey Foust and his five friends share more than the same birthday. Raised as a normal boy, in a normal town, Joey knows, though, that he is far from normal, and he’s determined to discover the secret that his parents have been keeping from him for nearly eighteen years. Finally, on the 18th birthday of the ‘Preston Six,’ he begins to see behind the veil that has been over his life from the beginning, when he finally enters the Watchers Wood and witnesses something that shouldn’t be possible. When he later takes his friends into the woods, they encounter Harris, a man who knows their history, and is part of a group that has been trying to protect them from Marcus, an evil genius who wants them, especially Joey, for what they represent, the key to immortality.

Rise of the Six by Matt Ryan is the first book in an intriguing series that is an unusual combination of sci-fi, fantasy, and adventure. It follows Joey and his friends as they are transported across dimensions to other versions of Earth, in some where zombies have arisen and taken over, in each, fighting for their lives as they strive to stay one step ahead of Marcus and his minions.

You have to read this book carefully. The action moves swiftly, and things pop up, often with little explanation until much later. Ryan has woven a fantastic tale that makes your usual coming-of-age novel pale by comparison.

I give this one four stars, and look forward to the sequels.