Daniel is just three years old when his parents die in "a pathetic little hovel in Kansas." They are murdered by an alien praying mantis, who believes Daniel’s parents possess The List of Alien Outlaws on Terra Firma. Although Daniel escapes death, the maelstrom that destroys his home causes him to find that, like legendary Dorothy, he is no longer in Kansas.

Twelve years pass and Daniel, now an Alien Hunter, is in Portland, Oregon battling Orking Jllfgna - #19 on The List of Alien Outlaws - an alien freak who is "part man, part jellyfish, part chain saw."

Daniel busts Orking’s butt.

Daniel X has super powers. He can transform himself into anything but he is particularly fond of becoming spiders and ticks. He also has the ability to transform matter at will. Daniel is uncertain about the source of his powers but he believes they are a result of his being alien himself.

Having defeated #19, Daniel decides it’s time to leave Portland and track down the nastiest Outlaw of all - Ergent Seth. Sensing that the trail leads south, Daniel strikes out for California.

Daniel arrives in California and enrolls at school in an effort to be inconspicuous. There he meets Sarah Wilson, the teen-femme fatale of this novel. Despite being enraptured and distracted by Sarah’s beauty, Daniel forces himself to stick to his initial plan and learns "there’s nothing better to get your mind off girls than thinking about aliens."

Soon Daniel locks horns, so to speak, with Seth in a battle to - what else? - save the world. The ensuing conflict eventually reaches Alpar Nok, a planet on which Daniel learns, among other things, a surprising truth about elephants.

Guess what? Earth’s elephants are alien!

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X is the first of an intended series of books following the adventures of this young Alien Hunter, this Protector of Earth. It is told in the rapid-pace style that is familiar to James Patterson’s regular audience. The narration - in the self-deprecating voice of Daniel himself - is a comfortable balance of bone-crushing horror and irreverent humor.

Readers will regret that Daniel X ends so soon. They will be re-reading the book and impatiently awaiting the second installment.