Gone is a bestselling book series written by Michael Grant.
The series is centered on the fictional Southern California town of Perdido Beach, in which every human aged 15 and older vanishes. The town and surrounding areas become encased by an opaque, inpenetrable dome 20 miles in diameter, with the physical barrier burning to the touch. The novels feature many of its inhabitants developing supernatural powers. The books follow the exploits of the protagonist/hero, Sam Temple, as he battles antagonists Caine Soren, Drake Merwin, and Diana Ladris as well as a mysterious, malevolent creature, known as the Darkness or the Gaiaphage (gai-uh-fage) (derived from Gaia, a Greek personification of the Earth, and "phage", from the Greek φαγεῖν "to devour").
The first novel in this series, titled Gone, was published in 2008. The second book, Hunger, was released a year later, followed by the third book, Lies, on May 4, 2010. The fourth book, Plague, was released on April 5, 2011. The fifth book, Fear, was released on April 3, 2012, in the United States and the United Kingdom, although it was released as early as March 23 in Australia and Hong Kong. The sixth book, Light, was released on April 2, 2013. The series – "a fun, no-brainer read directed towards teenagers" – has been hailed as "ridiculously popular" and "a sensation in the young adult world".
A planned Monster Trilogy, also known as Season Two, began on October 17, 2017, with the release of Monster. It was set four years later from the events that took place in the other books. Villain was released on October 18, 2018, and Hero was released on October 1, 2019.
Novels
Gone The story starts with the sudden disappearance of everybody aged 15 or older from the town of Perdido Beach, causing extreme confusion and chaos amongst those remaining in the town. Students Sam Temple, Quinn Gaither, Astrid Ellison, and Edilio Escobar discover an impermeable barrier cutting Perdido Beach off from the outside world; the area within the barrier is subsequently nicknamed "Fallout Alley Youth Zone", shortened to "the FAYZ". Unknown to the others, Sam had earlier discovered his superhuman ability to fire light from his hands capable of burning objects when he is afraid; after reading a journal entry by his mother Connie, a nurse at the nearby Coates Academy, Sam begins to suspect a connection to the disappearances and the barrier. While looking for Astrid's autistic four-year-old brother "Little" Pete at a nuclear power plant outside of town, the quartet discovers that the barrier's boundaries correspond to predicted radiation patterns in the case of a meltdown. Pete is revealed to have superhuman abilities in an incident where he chokes Sam, and that also exposes Sam's powers to the group, who agree to keep it secret.
Upon the group's return to Perdido Beach, they encounter vehicles bringing students from Coates Academy, led by the charismatic Caine Soren. Caine restores order to Perdido Beach with the aid of his confidante Diana Ladris and enforcer Drake Merwin, but Sam and Astrid are suspicious of Caine's motives. Caine (revealed to have the power of telekinesis), Diana (who has the ability to determine the strength of others' powers), and Drake (a violent sadist with no powers of his own) discover that when inhabitants of the FAYZ turn 15, they are confronted by something they desire before vanishing, a phenomenon nicknamed "the poof", but can remain in the FAYZ by resisting whatever tempts them. Caine also discovers that he and Sam are twin brothers that were separated at birth, with Sam remaining with their mother, a revelation that deeply upsets Caine. Quinn, who has started hanging out with Caine's friends, tells Caine of Sam's powers. Feeling threatened, Caine enlists his crew, including local bully Charles "Orc" Merriman and his lackey Howard Bassem, to kidnap Sam, Astrid (who has begun dating Sam) and Pete. Quinn frees Sam, and Astrid and Pete are freed from Drake by Pete's abilities. Caine instructs Drake to kill Astrid and Pete, but Sam saves her. Sam, Astrid, Quinn, Pete, and Edilio escape town.
Meanwhile, teenager Lana Arwen Lazar is injured in a car crash after her grandfather disappears from the FAYZ. Lana discovers she has healing abilities and uses them to recover. Lana encounters a pack of coyotes that can talk. The coyotes take her to a mineshaft, where an entity the coyotes call "the Darkness" lives. Lana encounters Sam's group and together they escape the coyotes, only to be captured by Drake and taken to Coates Academy. Caine has their hands sealed in concrete, as he has discovered that the superhuman abilities are yielded by hand. Astrid coerces Pete into using his abilities to free Sam's group and the other students held prisoner; Caine, Diana and Drake flee, with Sam burning Drake's arm off in the process. Sam's group and the Coates students - amongst them Taylor, who can teleport, Brianna "The Breeze", who can run at superhuman speeds, and Dekka, who can control gravity - return to Perdido Beach. Drake infiltrates the town and kidnaps Lana, believing she can regenerate his arm. Meanwhile, Orc and Howard decide to escape town to avoid Sam, but encounter Drake and the coyotes, who are still seeking Lana for the Darkness' own ends. Orc is mauled by the coyotes, while Howard convinces the coyotes to bring Drake and Lana to the mineshaft before fleeing. The Darkness gives Drake command of the coyotes and coerces Lana to heal Drake's arm, which regenerates as a whip-like tentacle. Drake returns to Coates Academy and Caine prepares to attack Perdido Beach before he "poofs". Unknown to Caine, Diana sends his subordinate "Computer" Jack, who is concealing his own ability of super-strength, to Perdido Beach to tell Sam how to escape the "poof".
At Perdido Beach, Sam anticipates Caine's attack and makes plans to defend the town. He sends Edilio to the power plant to recover a cache of guns, as well as security footage from the time the FAYZ was created. Sam shows the footage to Astrid, revealing that Pete had created the FAYZ in order to prevent the power plant from going into meltdown. The battle begins with Caine's goons distracting Sam while Drake and the coyotes take a class of preschoolers hostage, along with their carer Mary Terrafino. Sam, Quinn, Edilio and the formerly captive Coates kids join forces to rescue the preschoolers; Orc, who survived the coyote attack and had subsequently transformed into a tall, gravel-skinned being, fights Drake to a stalemate. Caine confronts Sam before Jack can tell Sam how to survive the "poof", and the two soon disappear as they turn 15. The duo encounters a vision of Connie, who invites them to return to her. Both boys refuse, with Sam declaring that he has work to do in the FAYZ. Connie transforms into a manifestation of the Darkness, which gloats that Caine will come to it willingly, before disappearing. The boys return to the FAYZ; Sam is the first to recover and coerces Caine and the Coates students to retreat, but Caine declares he will return. Later, student Albert Hillsborough organizes a Thanksgiving dinner for the town and Sam encourages the residents of the FAYZ to stick together. Meanwhile, the coyotes' pack leader takes Caine to the Darkness.
Hunger Three months after the end of Gone, Sam has become mayor of Perdido Beach, but struggles with the responsibilities of protecting the town. Food supplies are dwindling, exacerbated by the presence of mutated carnivorous worms called "zekes" that prevent access to crop fields and only partially alleviated by Quinn's idea to begin fishing the nearby ocean. Other children are beginning to discover their mutant abilities, including Duck Zhang, who can control his density, and Hunter Lefkowitz, who can emit deadly microwave rays. Little Pete is also starting to reveal more of his powers, including the ability to create life. Tensions between mutants and non-mutants escalate after Hunter accidentally kills his roommate Harry with his powers during a confrontation between Hunter and the anti-mutant Zil Sperry. Zil and his posse, dubbing themselves the "Human Crew", capture and attempt to lynch Hunter before being forced to disperse by Orc. Albert, having learned from Lana of a cache of gold near the mineshaft where the Darkness lurks, travels there with Quinn and Lana to obtain the gold with the intention of using it to make currency for the FAYZ. Lana, traumatized by her encounter with the Darkness, abandons them to attempt to kill the Darkness by detonating LPG in the mineshaft. The Darkness, which calls itself the gaiaphage and whose physical form is revealed as a mass of green crystalline particles, subdues Lana.
At Coates Academy, Caine wakes after having spent the past three months in a fugue state following his encounter with the gaiaphage and makes plans to seize control of the nuclear power plant. While performing reconnaissance, Drake captures Orsay Pettijohn, a mutant with the ability to view people's dreams. Diana manipulates Jack, taking refuge in Perdido Beach, to help Caine in accessing the computers at the plant. Caine and his crew assault the power plant and shut off power to Perdido Beach; Sam, having realized Caine's plan, rushes to confront him. Caine realizes that he has been manipulated by the gaiaphage, as it needs radioactive uranium from the power plant to "feed". Forced to submit to the gaiaphage's will, Caine takes the uranium to the mineshaft, damaging the reactor and permanently cutting off power in the FAYZ, and leaving Drake behind to stall Sam. Caine also sends Bug, a mutant with the ability of camouflage, to bring Orsay to the mineshaft in order to determine the gaiaphage's objectives. Drake coerces Sam into allowing himself to be tortured by threatening to trigger a reactor meltdown. Sam is rescued by Brianna, who severs part of Drake's tentacle, but Sam is left close to death; Drake retreats to join up with Caine.
Bug tells the children of Perdido Beach Caine's plan in exchange for food. Edilio takes Orsay to the mineshaft, and Orsay relays to the children of Perdido Beach the gaiaphage's desire to "feed". Astrid speculates that the gaiaphage came to Earth in a meteor strike that hit the power plant 13 years prior, that the radiation both sustains the gaiaphage and has caused the mutations, and that the gaiaphage has been manipulating Pete, Lana, and Caine with the aim of creating indestructible physical forms for itself capable of resisting the children of the FAYZ. Edilio and Dekka travel to the mineshaft to find Lana under the influence of the gaiaphage. Lana shoots and critically wounds Edilio before retreating into the mineshaft, while Dekka is attacked by coyotes. Caine, Drake, Diana and Jack arrive, soon followed by Sam, Quinn, Brianna, and Duck (Sam having reasoned that the gaiaphage is unprepared for Duck's abilities). Drake, now loyal to the gaiaphage instead of Caine, attacks Diana. Enraged, Caine defies the gaiaphage to throw Drake and the uranium into the mineshaft before collapsing it, but realises that Lana must be rescued to save Diana. Using Duck's powers to tunnel into the mineshaft, Caine and Sam confront the gaiaphage, which is "feeding" on the uranium. Duck sacrifices himself by having Caine throw him at the gaiaphage while he uses his power, creating a void that sucks in the gaiaphage. Lana is freed from the gaiaphage's influence and heals the children of their injuries, and Caine and Diana depart.