Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown, 2011
Pages: 245
Genre: Action/Sci-fi
Previous Maximum Ride Novels: The Angel Experiment, School’s Out-Forever, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, The Final Warning, Max, Fang
In the seventh book in the bestselling series, evil scientists are still trying to convince Max that she needs to save the world, this time by providing the genetic link in speeding up the pace of evolution. Worse, they’re trying to convince her that her perfect mate is Dylan, the newest addition to the flock. The problem is that, despite herself, Max is starting to believe it.
Fang travels the country collecting his own gang of evolved humans, but the two separate flocks must unite to defeat a frightening doomsday cult whose motto is Save the Planet: Kill the Humans. And this time, the true heroine, for once, might just be little Angel.
First of all, I get it. The planet is dying and humans are the reason. No matter how many ways you spin it, this is true. But let me tell you about the way James Patterson spins it.
This series is about a group of 7 kids from ages 7 to 15. These kids have wings. Max and her “flock” were cooked up in a laboratory. I say cooked up because they were test-tube babies and the scientists who were creating these babies spliced their DNA with avian DNA. That’s right, birds. And apparently these scientists created these “bird-kids” to save the world… from humans.
In this book, we meet the newest addition of mad scientists who believe they can end/save the world. This group is known as the Doomsday Group. Cheery, right? Well actually they seem to be. They target children and somehow whenever you are around them, everything just seems right. They talk about ending pollution and cleaning our resources. Their demonstrations begin with videos of deer drinking from babbling brooks and kids frolicking in meadows. However, they also make you feel peaceful about the idea of the total annihilation of the human race, minus “Generation 77” of course. This Gen 77 is another, much larger, group of ‘modified’ kids (and not just bird-kids, mind you). And supposedly the world will not survive unless they kill the humans.
So, that is how James Patterson spins the environmental crisis that faces the planet. I almost wish this series had ended a few books ago. I love the characters so I keep reading to see what’s happening with them, but the books are starting to get preachy. The first 3 or 4 were great, it was a new way to look at our situation and I really enjoy the characters. And let’s face it, James Patterson can write a book that is easy to get wrapped up in. But now it’s kind of repetitive.
You may ask why I don’t just stop reading them, if I am so done with the series. But I really do love the characters. Max is a pretty bad ass girl. She is 15, has a 15 ft wingspan and is supposedly destined to save the world. That’s pretty awesome. Fang is 15 and moody and supposedly hot for a gangly kid with wings. Iggy, also 15, is blind because of experimentation, yet has a better sense of direction than most of the other kids in the ‘flock.’ Nudge is 12, super girly, can hack just about any electronic device, and a kick ass fighter (well, they’re all really good fighters…). Gazzy is 8 and knows everything there is to know about explosives. His name is really Gasman because his gas smells really bad, and I think that’s hysterical. And finally there is Angel, the namesake for this 7th book. Angel can do it all it seems. She can fly, breathe underwater, read minds, control people and kick your butt. And she looks like an innocent 7 year old Shirley Temple while doing it. How could I not love these kids? So that is why I can’t stop reading these books. And that is the only reason I would recommend this book to anyone. I 100% recommend the first 3 books in this Maximum Ride series. But after that, well, you have to like to read as much as I do.
Ratings
Cover: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Individuality: 4/5
The Whole Shebang: 3.8/5
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