James Patterson - "Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment"

James Patterson is an author I discovered maybe a year and a half ago. Now, thanks to bootsales, I own nearly all his books. I first picked up a copy of "Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment" at the supermarket as I was looking for something to read and it looked interesting. I can't say this about a lot of books, but "Maximum Ride" was so intriguing and interesting I literally stayed up all night to finish it. I couldn't put it down.

Like many of his other books, it is a thriller; but with a sci-fi/fantasy twist.

There is a sequel to this book, but unfortunately I've yet to read it. It is however on my must have list. I did go back and read two other books by Patterson that were about a girl named Maximum as well: "As the Wind Blows" and "The Lake House". Apparently, he wrote these two earlier in his career, and both were again wonderful. But the character (though having the same name) is slightly different in the "Maximum Ride" series. He just based the new character on the one of the previous books.

If you are looking for an easy read that will leave you captivated and unable to get a decent night's sleep till you finish the book then I highly recommend this book.

 

I see him everywhere, but I've never actually picked up one of his books. Those kind of glossy, bold covers are a bit of a turn-off for me. That's a bit unfair, I know. As the old maxim goes, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Alas I do that all the time, same with Dan Brown or Andy McNab. Anything where the author's name is bigger than the title I have to treat with some suspicioun. Is it just cashing in on a successful name, or is it a great novel in its own right?

 

With James Patterson you'll get a great novel. They are written simply (best way I can describe it) so it is easier to read them quicker. I will probably do a thread one day soon about the Alex Cross mysteries as well. You probably would be more familiar with those as two of them were made into movies as well: "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came A Spider."

Of his body of works I haven't read but two of his books (that I know of) and everyone I have loved and will re-read again. Most I end up reading in a day or two (max 3) as they are so enthralling that I just don't want to stop reading so I can find out what happens next.

I understand what you mean though about the name thing though, which is probably why I have yet to try any Dean Koontz books as well.

 

Sometimes the name being bigger is justified, sometimes it's a truly great author whose name deserves to stand the test of time for consistently writing some of the best works of fiction out there. But sometimes it's the name that sells and they could pass off any half-arsed shit for a huge advance. Stephen King's another example of that I'd say....

 

you know i've never ever read anything by Stephen King. I just don't understand the interest personally. I've seen a couple of his movies I liked: The Green Mile, Misery, Delores Claibourne. But I just don't see ever sitting and reading his book. Definitely over-sold.

I guess for me, I didn't really know who James Patterson was. I hadn't heard of him nor did I make the correlation to the movies even (which I had never seen because I wasn't interested in seeing an Ashley Judd/Morgan Freeman movie) I just sort of stumbled onto his work, and then I even avoided like the plague the two books that WERE made into movies because I wanted to see what else he had to offer. So far, I have yet to be disappointed.

 

I just finished "Maximum Ride: Schools Out Forever". These books I find to be an 'easy' read. I finished it in less than 3 days and it only took that long because I had to sleep and do things other than just read. Definitely an excellent continuation of the storyline. Again leaves you hanging on a plot twist, and again I'm patiently waiting for the next installment.

 

Despite having some absolute crap (Hearts in Atlantis, Cujo, Carrie) a lot of Stephen King's work is actually quite readable. His masterpieces are the Dark Tower series, and I'd say The Stand. IT would come a close third.

Never read any of James Patterson's books besides Along came a spider (before the movie came out - actually I didn't know there WAS a movie until I read this thread).

 

The movie was alright but not nearly as good as the book. It's not an exact story but more of an adaptation really. Left out heavy integral parts of the over all storyline of his books as it never mentioned what Alex Cross was like as a person so it left the storyline very flat, in my opinion.

I'm a definite fan of the Alex Cross detective series too. Just chose to do the thread about the Maximum Ride books.