Maximum Ride
James Patterson
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2005 Little, Brown & Co.
ISBN: 031615556X

The Angel Experiment.

Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, Angel, & Maximum: Six kids who are pretty normal in most ways -- except that they’re 98% human & 2% bird. Riding the wind, their wings are an amazing gift... & yet, their world can morph into a nightmare in a single instant. For when the bloodthirsty Erasers -- half men, half-wolves genetically engineered by sick and sinister scientists -- kidnap little Angel, the Flock embarks on a rescue mission that will change them forever. From Death Valley to the bowels of the New York City subway system, 14-year-old Max leads her five feisty “family” members on a journey full of nonstop action, adventure, & soul-seeking -- not to mention a little bit of saving the world on the side.

Sr. Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

It's been five years since James Patterson first enthralled the mystery reading public with the fabulous When The Wind Blows, & two since its fantastic sequel The Lake House. Now he takes us on another wonderful exhilarating journey in Maximum Ride -- one that will leave the first-time readers absolutely stunned... & the ardent Patterson reader glued to the pages of the work... as always.

The blurb proclaims Maximum Ride to be a ‘Young Adult Series Book’, & at the outset itself let me reveal -- this is not a cent/percent sequel. True the myriad characters are there -- but the plot setting & theme is entirely different such that the book stands on its own. So it really doesn't matter if you haven't read the earlier two -- no reading pleasure is lost.

Maximum Ride starts with a letter -- the type of beginning we saw in Suzanne's Diary For Nicholas & Sam's Letters To Jennifer. All similarities end there. This letter is a warning -- from Max which basically says to read the book at your own risk -- for what you are about to read might just happen to you.

What follows is the extraordinary tale of even more extraordinary “people” & their fight against even more extraordinary “people” known as Erasers. So what makes these “people” so special? Well, the nice guys are well, not humans per se & they have the ability to fly. & the evil guys, the Erasers, are part human/part wolf. & the greatest enjoyment the Erasers have is in simply devouring the bird-humans. & when one of the bird-humans -- Angel -- is captured by the Erasers it is up to Max & her gang to rescue her from the evil clutches of the Erasers.

As usual, the action is steady, suspense-laced & thick-paced. Maximum Ride succeeds as a good adventure. Mr. Patterson, if you are reading this, ever thought of releasing a computer game version of Maximum Ride? It sure would find many a taker. I enjoyed the book tremendously, & as like any other Patterson work, e-x-t-r-a-o-r-d-i-n-a-r-y.

More from James Patterson:
Lifeguard
4th of July
Honeymoon
Hide & Seek
Four Blind Mice
The Jester
The Beach House
The Big Bad Wolf & many more!
(09/25/05)

Narayan
2005©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org