Maximum Ride/James Patterson.

[MadCatta]

Ok.. Book 3... "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports"
*Major spoilers*

The first thing is something I've said before... it's just so busy. The review on the back, "Fights and flights are non-stop"(USA Today) is right. And that's not necessarily a good thing... Nothing just stops for a minute. Sure, Max and Fang have a few moments but they're short. And then something DISASTROUS happens STRAIGHT after so it's all left unsaid and they're so unsure of each other... you know? There's not a breather for the reader, and it's actually something which I'm sure COULD work...if the writing style was more mature. Like, if it was all done from 3rd person, as Fang's parts seem to work great, but Max's seem to lack maturity...

Second, the jokes. On the back, it says "...with plenty of jokes and shocks..." (Sunday Times) but there's really not that many jokes in it... There's just really a joke about how different Max's life is and sure, that's funny the first time, the second time it's ok, but by the fifth it's just getting annoying... and Patterson puts it in to every other tiny little chapter!

Now, I think the characters are good, other than Angel and Iggy, which I'll get on to now. Angel... as her name suggests, way too perfect. Ok, in the earlier two books she had more faults and used her powers unwisely as a little kid might do, but to "betray" them and be the brilliant spy... she's just too perfect.
Iggy, well, the only problem I have with Iggy is Patterson's development of him... Iggy's just the smart blind kid. Ok, he can be funny, but he's not given any maturity or anything, especially compared with Max and Fang, both his age too.
Aside from Max being a little dramatic, I'm alright with the other characters.

And of course, I've still got the minuscule chapters issue. It's just annoying and a total waste of paper.

Haven't yet got to the end, so I may modify this.

EDIT: So, read on. Jeb being her father. Come on! SO cliched and overly obvious that it brought tears to my eyes.

Oh, and all this "deception".... it's all a dream, she's your mum, she's not your mum, he's your brother, he really IS your brother, it's not a dream, you're failing, you're succeeding... it would work, if it weren't only over like, six chapters. If the lie was drawn out over a good portion of the book, it'd work. Possibly. But this way... it's just way too quick. It's almost the opposite of Paolini... sure, in the Inheritance Trilogy Cycle (Cycle? Series? Quartet? I've forgotten....) it's so long and all drawn out so much... but then you can sort of fall into the world. In Max Ride, you just sort of watch it through a window.. sped up...

EDIT#2: Oh... oh no... that... no. Dr Martinez. Of course it has to be someone Max already loves and wishes she were a daughter of... it could NEVER be some random, it'd HAVE to be someone who Max dreams of...

EDIT#3: No description. Or if it's been there, I've missed it. And that's annoying... because, while I like the "new designs" "ceremony", I can't picture it. For some reason it's in a forest for me. Right? Wrong? Not a clue. I wouldn't mind being able to actually picture it...

Mind, I'm being unfair and just picking out the faults. With some of the stuff I like. I like the new stuff bit, where there's two and a half chapters describing them. Oh, but then it has to end with Max fighting to the death... I bet she loses, and the Max II takes over for the next books. Or, y'know, Fang swoops in to the rescue.
(And surely, after making the perfect human, soon a bacteria or virus or something will evolve to kill it....)

EDIT#4: Some things I really swear I do like. Like, "And if I came back as a roach in the next life, well, at least I'd survive the nuclear holocaust." I like it when Max has that sort of comment... optimistic yet sarcastic...

EDIT#5: Wait... they had a fight-to-the-death... and it's suddenly called off, because a race is a much better means of telling who is the stronger race...?

And I don't like this SuperBoy. No emotions? Really? There's not really much point to anything without emotions...

EDIT#6: Ari was one of my more favoured characters. As a sign of how well I thought this book was written... well, I didn't really feel any emotion for his death. His second death. Maybe if we'd seen him as a cute kid, rather than just told that he was a cute kid, maybe I'd be more sympathetic. But I just don't know him as a character.

EDIT#7: I didn't mind the tortoise twist... bit random, but unexpected.

And finally... well, I was surprised Fang didn't come back earlier. So there's points for not being predictable. But in less than a minute's reading time, they hop over to California and Arizona, meet Max's fam and catch up, and then off again. It's just too rushed.

So, if, according to Deena, it goes downhill from here... Oh well. I'll still give them a read.

EDIT#8: Mind, I do feel bad for mocking Max and the fam thing, so Patterson gets points for making me feel something for Max. And for making them seem quite real.

[Tai]

according to Deena, it goes downhill from here... Oh well. I'll still give them a read.

i do have a different opinion about that, final warning. yes. it isnt nearly as good as the others, in fact compared to the others it kinda sucks BUT. its worth it A. because its relatively a good book not the best but hey, its good. B. Because the sequel is amazing. then the sequel to that is even better so KEEP READING, seriously read past final warning, read final warning but then read the others.

[gatekeeper96]

i didn't really like Final warning or MAX. they just seemed like another way to write another book and get more money for him. they were just so borring.

[Tai]

i didn't really like Final warning or MAX. they just seemed like another way to write another book and get more money for him. they were just so borring.

i still think their worth a read, especially FANG that was good in my opinion

[bingo]

Umm ... nah, i still say Final Warning, MAX, and FANG all suck. To each their own though x/

MC - per usual, I loved the review xD Though I did find some parts funny ... the doctor guy, when they were annoying him  xD Gazzy! <3 but yeah. I mean, I liked the book because it was fun to read but you make very, very valid points. And its going to get sooooooo much worse, trust me XD

[Kaurageous_rocks]

wow awesome review MC
yeah I kinda agree with it all though iggy doesnt annoy me asmuch as max does or fang
i havnt read FW and im not gonna go looking for it either XD
the first three were really good and then the next just destroyed them all XD sooo sad 

[Tai]

yeah final warning was the low point, in my opinion James patterson saved the ship with MAX and FANG though, the third daniel X wasnt very good at all, i am looking forward to the next witch and wizard though.

[bingo]

The first Daniel X was pretty bad, too. It just sort of summed up everything wrong with Maximum Ride.

I think James Patterson thinks writing for Young Adults is like Writing For Idiots. He doesn't seem to realize kids are very aware of all the appalling mistakes he's made. Its like he doesn't even care abot the quality of his books anymore.

His new books are something like this:

Fumbled beginning/Action/Joke/Twist/Action/Action/Joke/Twist/Twist/Twist/Action/Action/Conclusion.

To be honest, it's only the "joke" bits that are worth anything.

[Kaurageous_rocks]

yeah they do kinda seem to be aimed at idiots XD
but the books (murder mystries) he writes for older people are really good
I've read quite a few of them now 

[Tai]

The first Daniel X was pretty bad, too. It just sort of summed up everything wrong with Maximum Ride.

I think James Patterson thinks writing for Young Adults is like Writing For Idiots. He doesn't seem to realize kids are very aware of all the appalling mistakes he's made. Its like he doesn't even care abot the quality of his books anymore.

His new books are something like this:

Fumbled beginning/Action/Joke/Twist/Action/Action/Joke/Twist/Twist/Twist/Action/Action/Conclusion.

To be honest, it's only the "joke" bits that are worth anything.

i do have to argue for the second one cause that was actually fairly good, but the series is more or less a B movie eusque series. i mean seriously whose bright idea was it to put king arthur in the third book.

[MadCatta]

No, I just think he thinks people under 18 don't care a bit about the style of books, it's only the plot. And so that's all his books are... a load of plot.

[bingo]

.... yeah, unwritten, unrefined plot? Hence the "twist/twist" points xD

I don't know, I've gone on the Max Ride site a couple times - it's like a giant MR Facebook. It's appalling. They don't even discuss the books.

[MadCatta]

..Yeah, pretty much xD.

Oh. I'm worried yet intrigued. *goes to MR homepage*

[Tai]

.... yeah, unwritten, unrefined plot? Hence the "twist/twist" points xD

I don't know, I've gone on the Max Ride site a couple times - it's like a giant MR Facebook. It's appalling. They don't even discuss the books.

haha well they do know how to get sidetracked for sure, but from someone who actually has an account (me.) they do actually discuss the books but they discuss a whole lot else as well good site in my opinion

[MadCatta]

...My review on Final Warning
Major Final Warning spoilers!!!
So.... The voice wasn't Jeb. That doesn't really surprise me. It'd be MUCH too simple if it WAS Jeb...

It does slightly annoy me that they can have massive fights and come off without anything serious. I mean, a broken arm hindering one of them quite a bit whilst fighting would make it more interesting and more exciting, and I'm going to say more real, not that this can ever be translated to real life...

Total and his wings. What a great coincidence. That's gonna mean Fang and Iggy will have more time for their wonderful fights in which they don't really get hurt. I really don't like Total, not any more. He's been done in a style reminiscent of old cartoons I used to watch and enjoy in the slapstick sort of way. Nothing subtle or clever about them. What is he? A talking dog. Runs about with a load of kids. And he's the most civilised out of all of them! How freakin' hilarious. And JP first had Total down as Angel's dog, but do he and she have a special connection? Nope. Been ignored.

Fang is a bit too emotionless. And he's not. Why doesn't he get annoyed when Max is jealous about Brigit and not being so nice?

Then the book is "all" about global warming. Brilliant. Most people who know me know I'm quite saving-the-world myself and being green and all is what I like... This book? It's like JP wrote it for the sole reason of getting kids to be green and preach about global warming. Max doesn't believe in it then suddenly, after a freak hurricane, she does! What about all the facts? The global temperature has risen by nearly 1 degree Celsius since 1880 (since the industrial revolution), mostly in the past few decades. Hell, he could have explained that the 1 degree DOES make a difference. Things like how the Arctic could be looking at its first ice-free winter in 2040. How in 80 years, the temperature could have risen by 5 degrees Celsius. The oceans are getting more acidic and that's not good for the sea life.

And the long long speech. Not even written that well. And Max doesn't have any passion, and to get people wanting to be like her and wanting to save the world, she needs passion!

Gazzy and his SuperFart. Childish. Unnecessary. Not to mention pretty damn stupid.. mind, if he wrote it with his nine-year-old son in mind...

These last three things are petty, I know. But they matter to me...

1 - There's no acknowledgements. Not one thing that tells us if JP has talked to any scientists or not, so everything he's said about global warming could be bull.

2 - In the back of the British edition, it has "Saving the World, Wings Not Required: Did you know..." and five facts. The first is how much rubbish us Brits throw away. Second, how many plastic bags are used every year, and thrown away. Third, how much waste us Brits throw away. Fourth, glass doesn't decompose in a short time (only he used the word "break". Doesn't have the same effect...) and at last, how much an average Brit throws away in their lifetime. Repetition? I mean, he could have used two of those slots for telling about how turning your thermostat down one degree saves about 300kg of CO2 every year. Turn off unnecessary devices. Find a different energy source, like begging your folks for solar panels or a wind turbine, as they even make sense economically. And only used one slot for the recycling issue that was barely hinted at.

3 - The interview at the back... well, I don't like JP. He's overly arrogant and up-himself.
"My theory about getting people to read is that the best way to do that is to give them  books they can't put down. That's what Maximum Ride is all about; they just can't put it down. The pages almost turn themselves."
Ok, now if a reviewer wrote that I'd dismiss it for being too fluffy and fancy. But JP has written it. And maybe if JK Rowling wrote it, well, I'd see her differently. But it's like the Beatles saying they were bigger than Jesus. It's actually pretty true. With Max Ride... I put it down twice to do maths homework, in for in a week's time. I went to Scotland when I was half way through. Didn't miss it.

[/Rant]