Nevermore: A Maximum Ride Novel:

Maximum Ride #8

by James Patterson

IN THE BEGINNING,

THERE WAS MAXIMUM RIDE . . .

A GIRL. A FIGHTER. A LEADER.

A SUPERHUMAN WITH A MISSION TO SAVE THE WORLD.

SHE'S GONE TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

SEEKING HER DESTINY.

AND NOW, THE END ISN'T NEAR . . .

IT'S HERE.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Adventure, Paranormal

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2012

About the author

Official US Site
Official UK Site
JIMMY Patterson Books
ReadKiddoRead

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Reviews

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

please note: this review was written when i was like 13. im so sorry. please dont judge me

Is it really called The End of Maximum Ride? Oh, well. Okay, I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY hope Dylan and Max do NOT get together. If they do, Team Fang needs to organize a group bonfire of all Maximum Ride books and get a party to go murder James Patterson.

WE.
NEED.
FAX.

I mean, seriously, 95% of all Maximum Ride readers are on Team Fang. What a wimpy 5% James Patterson will be pleasing if Dylan and Max get together. Like, end of Fax, beginning of Mylan. Or Dax. Whatever. I also hope Angel is still like she was in ANGEL and not her usual traitorous backstabbing self. I also hope Nudge has more than, what, 5 lines? She barely said ANYTHING in ANGEL. Ella, Dr. Martinez, Jeb and Gunther Hagen will also probably come back and play a big role, unless they're all dead, or something. I don't even WANT to think about it.

So, yeah. GO TEAM FANG.
Dylan + Max = BAD.
Fang + Max = GOOD.
Dylan + Maya = ...um...sure...
Iggy + Ella = Fine. Doesn't matter either way.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT HAVE MAX AND DYLAN GET TOGETHER. PLEASE.

EDIT: Yesss! It's called Nevermore, not the "End of Maximum Ride"!! Now, I have no idea what Nevermore means, but it's better than "The End of Maximum Ride". So I'm happy.

DOUBLE EDIT: Whoa, I actually really like the cover. It's pretty and mysterious at the same time. I am totally psyched for this...


FINAL REVIEW:
Oh, where to begin? Right off the bat, I'd like to say that if you haven't read the book yet, do not continue with this review. I know, I know, I'm always tempted with the spoiler brackets too, but just. Don't. You will regret it.

Now that that's over and done with, I think we should all stand back and give James Patterson a huge round of applause. He definitely ended it with a bang(literally). Way to go, James. Thanks for writing this.

Maya. Oh, Maya, Maya, Maya. I really want to smack you, Maya. I'm not ashamed to admit, that when she died, I literally whooped. Call me heartless--I just never liked her character. And the fact that Fang was getting all. . .romantic with her, disturbed me on so many levels. Um, helloooo, Mr. Fang, you're currently flirting with the clone of your ex-girlfriend. Ladies, if you ever meet a guy that does that--trust me, he's not over you. Anyways, it was an interesting death scene, but I'll get to the whole Ari thing later.

Admittedly, I was not expecting Star and Kate to betray Fang. That really surprised me. It was a cool plot twist though, and it gave them a little more depth than they had before. Ratchet and Holden were still. . .hrm, well, not as interesting.

Now we get back to Ari. I actually kind of liked that plot element, mainly because it put Jeb in a position that made him look like he actually cared about Ari, which I liked. Makes Jeb a little harder to hate, which he needs, in my humble opinion.

I was really surprised that Gunther-Hagen made NO reappearance whatsoever!! Really startled. He was mentioned at one point to Dylan, I believe, but still.

Moving onto. . .Mark, and the 99 percenters. Oh, and the ending! Joy. Hm. Weeeeell, to put it bluntly, it seemed anti-climactic. There was a huge build-up to this virus, and then a meteor explodes. Having chatted with a friend of mine, I know I'm not the only one who went ". . .wait, what?" at that part (more about the ending later). The 99 percenters seemed to be almost unnecessary--they were basically the Doomsday Group people all over again.

The Flock. Their roles in this novel really ticked me off. Nudge--her sole purpose in this book was to whine about school, go on a date, then whine about school. This make Ruthie unhappy. Dx Iggy & Gazzy--they both had really small roles. Nothing super important, which, once again, makes me rather unhappy. I wish they played bigger parts. Total--back again, but not much to do, same old, same old.
And then there's Angel. I'm not sure if I'm happy or displeased with the fact that she's Max's voice. It was a very interesting plot element, but does that mean she was the voice for all the other members of the Flock? What about her own voice? And how was Jeb able to control some things in Max's voice if it was Angel the whole time? It didn't fit 100% with the rest of the story, but I'm willing to let that slide, because at least it was explained. :P I really hated her scenes in the school, mostly because I don't like it when she suffers. Except when she's a traitor/backstabber, which she wasn't.

Prepare for ranting--now I talk about him. Dylan--beautiful; perfect; funny; popular; Max's other half; and for part of the book, a rampaging idiot who tries to kill Fang!! Oh, the joy of hormones. I'll talk about Fang more in the below paragraph, but basically, I'm a fan of him. I'm not a fan of people who punch him in the face. Although, it's about time. That fight has been coming for a while now. I'm not sure I followed why Dylan decided to go rampaging and play whack-a-car, because to me, personally, I don't think that idea was the most intelligent one on Dyl's part. Oh well. He was DEFINITELY more developed in this book than the others, and I will say, I liked him more in this book then I have in the past two. He had more depth, and I didn't want to throw the book against the wall every time he spoke, which is a plus.
The Fangalator. I was impressed with him in this book--not as sulky as he has been in the past. And, way to go Fang for manning up and going back to Max! Go him. Yay. He seemed a little more mature here then has has been--I think this book was a big step for a lot of characters--and I was really happy to have him back with Max. I don't have a lot to say about him, really, but I was pleased overall with his role.

There were some characters brought back in this book that have previously had a bigger role then they did in this one; mainly Dr. Martinez and Ella. Dr. Martinez was mind-controlled by Jeb for part of the book and she was working at the school on Angel. Other than that, and a few spots at the end, she didn't do much. Sadly.
Ella was there, and she was a-okay. No mention of her getting wings or anything. Hrm. She DID kiss Iggy though, and that was fantastic!!

The whole paradise thing was pretty cool. There were a few chapters in that area where I was deliriously happy--Faxness and Paradise, what more could a reader want? Clearly, more. I should've smacked myself upside the head for thinking that it would be a happy ending. As I said earlier, I found the ending to be anti-climactic. I was a little let down that there was no virus and a meteor just exploded above the earth, raining down chaos and fire and blahblahblah. Ahem. Pardon me for not finding that as cool as it would be if all their skin rotted off their bodies. Especially Dylan! That would be cool. One thing, though--at the end there, it gave NO confirmation to whether Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge and Ella survived. We knew that Dylan, Fang, Max and Angel survived, but it didn't confirm to whether the rest of the flock lived. O_O I really hope they lived, I really, really hope they lived.
Once again, I roll my eyes at the concept that there are tons of other mutant kids--but now living on an island with the richest guy in the world! Okay, I'll shut up now.

Finally, before I bring this review to an end, I must talk about Max. Max, what shall we do with you? For quite a while in the middle of the book, I was prepared to grab my pen and replace Max's name with Bella Swan. Goodness gracious, Maximum, could you quit your whining? It was the helpless maiden all over again. HOWEVER, it wasn't as prominent as the last book, and I was thrilled with that. She definitely pulled it together and had limited boy-sob-fests. Which was good. Very much so.
She ended up realizing she loved Fang (;D), and realized that Dylan was not her man. I loved, loved, LOVED that. As you all know, I'm a Fax supporter. ^-^ Really, though, she could've stopped going on about Dylan's gorgeous looks and just pulled it together sooner. Ah well, she's not perfect. Far from it.
I was positive she was going to die in this book--and she did, sort of. Not completely. I thought she was dead for about 3 minutes there, but I was too shell-shocked to actually do anything about it. Fortunately, Max was not dead, just...floating! Or something. In shock, probably.

I may have missed some things I wanted to talk about, seeing as it's pretty early in the morning as I'm writing this, so if I did, I'll come back and edit later.


On a whole, I would give this 2.5 stars. I liked some parts, and disliked others. It wasn't my favorite book, but I didn't hate it as much as, say, Final Warning.
I'm going to go back and re-read it again in the next couple days, when I'm not so excited and reading really fast in case there are any bits I missed. I do tend to do that.

Thanks for reading my review. I'd love to know if you guys agree with me, or what your opinions are!


~Ruthie~

PS: Now that I have the book in my possession, I really do think Max looks like an old lady on the cover. She's got. . .white hair. . .

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT: I finished! Below is my review of pretty much the rest of the series. Writing a review on just this book would be too hard.

Before I even begin, let me begin by apologizing for what I'm sure will turn into a rant. I'm sorry.

First off. Nevermore. What the heck was James Patterson thinking? The first three titles ("The Angel Experiment," "School's Out -- Forever," and "Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports") were great. They were definitely, definitely unique. I could even live with "The Final Warning" (although, let's face it, it was anything but final). But once he started naming his books by the names of the main characters, the titles just lacked excitement and general appeal. A book called MAX wouldn't attract my attention if I just happened to run into it at the bookstore.

Secondly. Oh jeez. I know this is what most people are saying/thinking about this book, but I'll say and think it anyway: Fang had BETTER get his sorry butt back to Max and ditch Maya. Maybe even kick Dylan's butt. Maybe even throw Maya and Dylan IN a ditch. I would go so far as to say it was poor - no, absolutely absurd - planning on JP's part to spend the first, what, six? books building up this close-to-perfect, adorable, and maybe even funny relationship between Max and Fang. To bring Dylan into this series and virtually cut Fang out of the picture was cruel and foolish. It was just stupid, that's what it was.

Thirdly. Where, where, WHERE did the real flock go? I miss the old flock. Angel was cute, she was nice, and she adored/looked up to Max. Gazzy was also cute, he was funny, and he actually blew things up once in a while. Nudge talked a lot, she supported Max, and she was INVOLVED in the story. Iggy, heck, he blew things up left and right, he annoyed Max, and he messed around with everyone. Fang, well, he was Fang. He was untouchable, strong, serious, and yet passionate about the flock. Max. She was a freaking awesome, back-sassing, butt-kicking, sarcastic leader. In Angel, she was too busy whining to Dylan about Fang and being a lump of mush who needed to GET HERSELF TOGETHER. She didn't even beat anyone up in Angel, did she? That's just not the Maximum we know and love. And Total barely said a word in Angel. James, sir, you need to take a gander at your first few Maximum Ride books and fix what you've destroyed. Because it's gotten out of hand.

Fourth. The plots have grown increasingly less believable and bearable. I mean, at first it was being chased around by mutants, narrowly escaping death's grip, taunting the Erasers, and mouthing off to Jeb. And now? It's speeches on global warming and organizations that somehow plan to take over the world's human population through its minds. What happened?

Fifth. Dylan is, what? Eight months old? Maybe nine or ten months by now, I'm not sure. Max is fifteen YEARS old. That is a difference of approximately 170 months (around 14 years, give or take a few months). I do believe it would make more sense for a fifteen year old girl to date/fall in love with a fifteen year old (hint, hint: Fang) boy. Dylan should not love Max. Maya would be a more suitable girlfriend for him, since she is closer in age, and Fang isn't in love with her. At least, I don't think Fang is in love with Maya.

Sixth. I'll shut up now. I can't tell you how many long hours I've spent both ranting and drooling over this series (after reading book 4 and beyond, most of my time has been spent ranting, rather than drooling). Sorry for rambling. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go re-read the original three books in order to regain my sanity. Thanks for reading.

[Booknut 101 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bah-humbug!

Where to start, where to start? Let's start with Fang going all goo-goo eyed over Max's clone, Maya:



Then Max thinking "squirrel thoughts" about Dylan:



Maya dying and Fang thinking "shit she died, well I better go rejoin my old flock and suck up to Max":



Fang being all like "Max, I love you - this is about you and me":



Dylan being all:



This book isn't even about saving the world! Heck - it's a love triangle/teen drama with a dash of sci fi!! Who CARES about Fang's regrets?! Who CARES about Dylan's love issues?! Who CARES if Max can't pick between the two guys!

Because, dear readers, there are more than TWO GUYS ON THE WHOLE FREAKING PLANET!! When will the heroine just wake up and see "Hang on a sec. These guys are both stupid and I should find someone else!"

So the plot was all kind of:

- Max's POV: Whine about Fang and make Bambi eyes at Dylan
- Fang's POV: Feel all tingly when talking to Maya, but feel guilty about it 'cause of Max
- Dylan's POV: Max Max Max Max Max Max Max Max Max...
- Angel's POV: AHHHHHHHH!!! Someone HELP ME! Ooh, I can see the present as well as the future!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!
- HALT. Actual plot occurs. There is a 99% plan going on. Evil scientist stuff...AGAIN.
- Max's Pov: (see previous)
- Fang's POV: Maya dead so now speaks 'gruffly' and makes 'intense gaze' stuff at Max
- Dylan's POV: (see previous) + Shit I hate Fang why can't he go die in a hole?!
- Angel's POV: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
- Mention plot briefly
- Max's POV: (see both previous mentions)
- Fang's POV: ...
- Dylan's POV: ...
- Angel's POV: AHHHHHHH- oh, forget it!

And so on.

And at ANY POINT did it mention that Max had grey hair?

NO.

NADA.

Also...what is Nevermore? The book didn't even MENTION the WORD!!

ME NO COMPREHENDE!!!

This book had pained me. Greatly. I will now have to find a GOOD book and recover from this harrowing experience!


______
Pre-reading Review:



My reaction exactly!!

I can't stand how this series is now about three things:

1.) Max and her issues

2.) Fang and his whole "I think we're better apart things
3.) Dylan and his puppy dog tailing of Max

In other words it has turned into a cross between Bold and the Beautiful and Twilight.

And the fact this series has been dragged out over 8 books? What is this?!! The series would have gotten 5 stars had it ended in Max (Book 5). Fang + Max, the flock is happy, the world is saved. But no. Just keep on adding books!! I totally scan-read the last one. And that cliffhanger? It wasn't even a cliffhanger! To me it was more like "Oh, we need an excuse for another book so here is a totally boring cliffhanger. Angel is captured. Again. The world needs saving. Again." END THE SERIES. Please. For good this time!!

Don't get me wrong. I loved the first lot of books. I was obsessed! But now, I think the series needs, needs, NEEDS to be drawn to a close and to concentrate on the REAL plot - like the first couple of books did. They were about SAVING THE WORLD. NOT, about WHICH GUY DO I CHOOSE.

Please Nevermore. I don't care if Max is 80, with grey hair (cover?!) and Fang decides to relocate to Mexico. Just END THE SERIES WELL. Save the world and let us go back to our lives!!

[Kaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

YES! THE END!
I thought I would NEVER hear it!
Thank you, Mr. Patterson, that you FINALLY PUT THIS SERIES OUT OF ITS MISERY.

I mean really... who continues a series for 8 BOOKS? (At least a dying series) (don't comment on that)

Its not that I don't love these books ('cuz I do) but the plot died miserably back in book four, then was unfortnuatly birthed into the hell that is NO FAXNESS back in book six.

Lets just say this better make up for the crap that was the last two (or four).

Saying that, I have a few ... Requests.
1. Fang (FAXNESS BABY!)
2. Dylan dies
3. Maya dies

And I think we're cool here? Yep. As long as ALL of this happens, I'll be happy :)

...

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

***FINAL RATING: 3.35 STARS***

CATCHALL
Was this book perfect? Not by a long shot. But did I absolutely love it? Yes. It had a ton of problems—don't get me wrong—but my overall satisfaction with the book was high. I do wish that some parts had been done differently, and that some of the problems had come to better solutions. But despite this book's problems, yes, I did love it. It was a fun and quick read in between some of the heavier stuff I've shouldered lately.

THE HEROINE
MAX
So, Max. The first time I read about Max. She was awesome. The freaking epitome of badassery. And as the series progressed—she didn't necessarily get that much worse, but there was some sort of decay. In this book I felt like she was a bit on the whiny side and didn't really focus on the big picture, but more on the little things. Even so, I don't think I could ever hate Max. By the very end of this book anyway, she seems to grow into herself.

THE LOVE INTERESTS
FANG
I love Fang. I always have. Because he's so strong, and yet also vulnerable. And I think that's the way a lot of people are, to be honest. And even though he's more of the strong and silent type, he also isn't afraid to express his feelings when he needs to. He can be incredibly, extremely sweet, and I love that. Furthermore, even if his head isn't always in the right place his heart is. Fang is easily my favorite character in these books. Easily.
DYLAN
I don't like Dylan. To begin with, he's very—bipolar. Extremely so. He'll seem to be sweet one moment but rampaging angrily the next. No one who isn't bipolar does that. I basically can't stand him and am glad I don't have to breathe the same air as him. I dislike him that much, yes.

THE OTHER IMPORTANT PERSON
Directly translatable to "I was too lazy to think of a good header"
ANGEL
Angel is definitely an important character. She's the one who can see the future, and that becomes important in the way this story unfolds. However, something really weird is revealed about her that doesn't make any sense and it just—no. I didn't like it at all—it seemed like a weak attempt to close a plot hole while it actually just created more. So, nice going.

THE PLOT
Le plot.

Okay, so I'm not sure where to start. To begin with, I guess, there is an insane number of plot holes. EVERYWHERE. That was probably the most annoying thing about this book and the series in general. I was constantly irritated because things were just left hanging, not tying themselves up. I'm not necessarily a fan of super-clean endings, but messy ones are even worse. Ick.

Now that we've gotten my whining aside…

Essentially, the plot in this book isn't much different from the plot of the entirety of the series. Sure, there are subplots galore. But they're not the focus, and more often than not they end up just kind of fizzling out to nothing.

One thing I will say about these books—a positive thing—is that they're incredibly quick reads and very, very fast-paced. It's easy to sit down with this book, finish it in that one sitting, and then looking up amazed at how much time has gone by. I love when a book is like that—when I can be drawn completely into its world.

Moving on from that, though, another thing I want to say is that I did genuinely and completely enjoy reading this book. The plot was fun, and kept me interested. There was a sense of urgency to it that made it even more fun, and a suspenseful quality that hadn't really been there before.

I loved it!

THE ROMANCE
I really hated the love triangle that developed in these past few books, and I'm glad that it came to a solution before the book had ended and that that aspect was not left open to interpretation in a bad way. And honestly, somehow it was done well. It actually made actual sense. I'm sounding repetitive, but after the plot holes and whatnot it was really something different to see the execution here.

THE WRITING
Ah. Yes. The writing. It's not horrid. It's unique. Max has a very distinctive and unique voice that is easy to pick up on. That part is really cool, actually. The weird part is when she says all these things that seem thrown in and random. I actually prefer James' third person writing. I'm not really sure why—I just know that I do. For some reason, it was much more enjoyable.

THE ENDING
So, the ending. It really left a lot of plot holes open, which I am just not cool with. It was intensely frustrating and annoying at once. Even so, there was a romantic quality to it that I liked and it was sweet. It was also surprisingly happy, and although there's a lot we don't know and a lot of loose strings hanging everywhere, overall I felt pretty satisfied with it.

WRAPUP
So yes, I loved this book! Though honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about recommending the series, since it has some serious problems that are un-over-look-able. And I just—can't. I probably won't be reading James' other books either, including his newest YA series, just because I feel like they get dragged out for an unnecessary amount of time. Still, never say never. It could happen.

FINE.

Find more of my reviews on Sparkles and Lightning!

--

WTF?!? 20-freaking-12?!? Are you freaking kidding me?!?

And February?!? Really?!? It's not enough to make me wait until next year, I have to wait a whole extra freaking month?!?

(And...the date of release got moved to August. Sigh ): )

Okay, that aside, Fang and Max must get back together. They belong together. Period. Elsewise I will be mad and probably never read a James Patterson book again.

I love Fang. :) He's so strong but so sweet and also just so damn hot.

Hello, I just love the cover :)

FANG + MAX FOREVER <33

[Elizabeth]

My wishes for the last maximum ride book: 1. Don't have the title be the end of maximum ride or be the name of someone in the flock useless it's iggy that I can live with/>2. TEAM FANG!!!!!! Enough said

if Max and Dylan end up together I will burn every maximum ride book BECAUSE FANG ROCKS and I don't like Dylan why didn't he die in Fang I would have been much happier if he had died but I guess than having he in the book would have pointless( Dylan sucks)

I think that title supposed to be nevermore so one wish is granted!!!

[Miranda]

God, don't let Dylan get max!!
If James Patterson ends it with dylan and max together I will seriously burn this book.
Fang is my all time favortie charicter of any book, and Max and fang my favorite couple.
Fang just plain rocks.
Dylan is just, EWWW!
Hate. Dylan.
And I still don't know about angel. Is she evil? I don't know!
I want more of the old charicters, how they used to act, I mean.
Plz plz plz don't ruin it JP!!

[Chloe R.B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

So. Exciting.!!!
I'll be sad that the whole series ends here, but I can't wait for it to come out! Nor can I wait for the cover. It should be epic.

This book had better be amazing, or I'll kill someone and then demand a re-write by Mr. Patterson.
Agh! I love Fang! Just saying.
P.S. I'll kill another person if Max chooses the D-man instead of Fang. Also, just saying.

Update: July 4th, 2011
Okay, so the there's the title! Woo! No, not really. That is not the title that I expected. Nevermore sounds like something about vampires. -_-
It doesn't sound like something our good old friend Mr. Patterson would come up with, but oh well. I'll
stop complaining and go with it.

Update: February 12th, 2012
Oh my goodness! Look at it! Look! It FINALLY has a cover! I mean, it looks like it's something from manga, and the title kind of stinks, but still.
My hopes for this book to be amazing are lowering continually. It's quite sad.

Update: September 11, 2012
After waiting so freaking long for this freaking book this is what I freaking get??? What the freak-ness!!!! No. Just no. The whole book was word vomit (with occasionally humorous Max Sarcasm thrown in) topped off with even more word vomit. PLUS. Way too fast (and I mean WAY too fast of a book).
I guess I shouldn't be surprised, what with the crappy cover and title and all -_-.
The only good thing*****SPOILER!!!***** that came from this was that Max ended up Fang. Enough said.
Mr. Patterson, let me just say I'm not very happy with you at the moment.

[Natalia]

Team Iggy.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to rant. No, not about Max and Dylan being together. Not about the title, not about the changes and how "sucky" the last books have gotten. I am ranting about you dumb trolls! I know I'm going to get so much hell for this, but I think you guys that are reviewing this series are ALL wrong. I made an account on this website just so I could say this, that's how mad I am. First off, why are you all saying Max should be with Fang? Why?! I loved the "Fax" couple up to the end of Fang when Fang left the flock. Why? Because Fang's sorry little emo butt doesn't deserve Max. Let's recap what Fang has done to hurt the flock; left them . . . twice. Then, right after he left, he automatically went to his little blog and replaced Max with get this, Max II. Let's stop here; if a boy I loved had replaced me right after he left with my clone, I could never, ever forget. Forgive MAYBE, but forget I would never, which is why Max should NEVER get back together with Fang. EVER. Now let's move to the subject of Dylan. I hated his guts. HatED being the key word. Dylan may have entered the flock quite . . . unexpectidly but he was made to love Max. Think about it from Dylan's point of view; the person you were literally made for hated your guts and loved another person who broke it off with your love, emotionally scarred her, yet she STILL loves him and is after him (kinda). Wow. POOR DYLAN! And another thing, it wasn't Angel's fault exactly she turned on Max. Yes, I hated her in Fang, but she is only six! SIX! Muntant bird kids make mistakes too :( and in Angel, she was like Max's fricking awesome sidekick! And remember, her voice made her split up the flock. NOT. HER. FAULT! She was just following in Max's footsteps by listening to her voice. Now I know that you trolls are going to say that Fang made a mistake like Angel did and he should just pull an Angel move or something. No. Fang is fourteen. He's smarter than a six year old. Duh! Anyway, so based on my rants, here is how I think Nevermore should play out: "Maya" gets killed in some freak accident (*cough cough* MAX) and Fang's little friends freak out and say it's "too risky" and that they're out. Fang runs back to the flock. They let him back in and Dylan cusses under his breathe. Fang tries to rebuild his relationship with Max , but she pushes him away farther. Dylan then pulls Max away to talk and they make out (<3) Fang sees this and freaks out. Max sees him and flies after him and they have a HUGE arguement. Max then remembers she is meant to save the world and breaks off her relationship with both Fang and Dylan. Max then saves the world with epic explosions and battles, finds Angel and Dylan becomes Max's boyfriend. The end. Further reasoning/rants: Okay so now we know my Nevermore fantasy. Like it Fax's? LOL anyway, I don't like Maya. She's annoying and I don't know why . . . oh I know: irony! Fang hated Ari for trying to kill the flock and blah blah blah but then he welcomes Maya into his flock when she did the same thing! HA! Fang is just an a**hole. So anyway, I am done. I love Maximum Ride all the way BECAUSE it makes you feel empathy, rage, sadness, etc. You guys need to know that that is what makes a book good, not the romance. Please, learn that. Okay I'm done. <3
***Sorry for being so obnoxious LOL***

[Avani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished this two-stars-worthy book.

When I found out that this book, that I’ve had on hold at the library for months and months, was available for me to pick up the very day it came out, I rejoiced.


Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure. The book to end all books. Literally-- the end of the world is upon the flock.

I didn't hate this book. I’d take points off for the ending, and more for just an aura, of an all-action, a let’s-just-kill-someone-off-and-do-this-here-and-that-there-because-it’ll-help-the-plot-later-on kind of attitude. I will explain this later.

We start out with the cover. Okay, fine. I opened the cover and read the inside cover flap: "One last incredible, explosive adventure with an astonishing ending that no one could have seen coming."

This is the warning that should have been projected at this point.


The prologue. Oh, the prologue. I just absolutely knew (okay, I didn't really know) that Max was going to die. I had to emotionally prepare myself now, just in case my premonition would come true later on. But I won't spoil it for you, so don't worry, you can keep reading this.

We all know Max was warming up to Dylan. I had refused to accept it in the previous book, Angel, and this was me when someone said something supportive in regard to "Team Dax".

I was totally Team Fax. Until, well, this book. Because (the following isn't really a spoiler, but I'll spoiler alert it in case you're touchy) We all knew Fang was going to come back, but I'll hide it under the spoiler anyway. Fang came back and starts being a real jerk to Dylan. C’mon Fang, Dylan has Max’s best interests in mind, dude. And then he swoops in and takes Max. Which isn’t really completely his fault, because Max is perfectly fine with being swooped up. Anyway. That, and Dylan has been there for Max this whole time, whereas Fang was just, well, not.

Aside from the Dylan vs. Fang love triangle drama, we have some of the usual end-of-the-world theories, with a new apocalypse-crazed group of people—actually, they’re not really new. They were born from the ashes of the old ones.

Overall, my criticism of Nevermore comes from two things. One, the aforementioned let’s-just-kill-someone-off-and-do-this-here-and-that-there-because-it’ll-help-the-plot-later-on attitude. This rests in one of many examples: Max’s decision regarding Dylan and Fang. I think I saw this decision coming, but the way the choice happened was completely whirlwind and out of the blue. I can’t say I disapprove, because, well, it’s who she loved in the end, but it was too fast for me to process. I felt like some things were done just to be done, and there was no point building tension. It’s something you can only understand when you have read the book. Another example: a character died (I won’t say who), and there’s a moment of grieving, but it all feels too convenient, as if the purpose of the death was to fill in a hole that contributes to the outcome of the plot, and the battle was just there as a reason to kill off that character. This is probably ultimately the reason for a lot of character deaths in many books, but this felt too much like it, because even I, a reader, could see it.

My second criticism was regarding the ending. This was typical Maximum Ride-quality book. All witty sarcasm, humor, and getting-to-the-point kind of writing. Just another doomsday plot… until the end. This ending was supposed to rock my socks.

Instead, I had a generic, oh-that’s-cool-I-didn’t-see-that-coming-at-all thing after finishing. (I feel the need to point out that the previous statement was sarcastic). When James Patterson just dumps it all out on us and then runs away. I take one star off for the anticlimactic ending, the kind of ending that makes you go—wait, what?

…and start frantically flipping the pages, thinking, no, there must be more, there must be a major cliffhanger, a plot twist, something. At least explain yourself! We don't know what happened to half the characters!

This left the reader thinking, I guess… but this just felt like it was thought up of as a neat and tidy, convenient way to tie up the complex series that is Maximum Ride.

Well, that’s it. My overall opinion of this book can be summed up in a picture.

[Kara]

If Max ends up with Dylan, and not Fang, most likely I'm going to either:
a) chuck the book out the window,
b) Punch the closest person next to me, or,
c) Both a and b combined.

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright look, Mr. James i-don't-know-what-your-middle-name-is Patterson, you gotta lot to cover in this last book if you wanna make everyone happy. And I mean a LOT.

Let me give you a recap on your "homework":

1. Please, please, PLEASE tell me what the hell Dr. Chu and Brigid are supposed to be involved with. You've made them useless little dolls that aren't irrelevant to the current story at all - come on, you REALLY thought I wanted to see them again? Pul-ease.

2. FAX. Must I explain myself one more time through your thick head? No Mr. Patterson, it is NOT a machine you use to copy something to send it to another person, that's a COPIER!! And no, it is also not a document sent over a telephone line!!!! PLEASE get them back together or else your fan base will drop and your Daniel X and Witch & Wizard books will become obsolete, amazing as they both were. If you're thinking you can make an "interesting" twist by making Max and Dylan...what's the word for it...BREED, then you're out of your mind. Should you choose to fail or worse - ignore this assignment, no teen will ever read your books again, and believe me, it's sad that Daniel X and Witch and Wizard are going to go to waste.

Side note: Patterson, I'd like you to meet Becca Fitzpatrick, who has a shorter series, Hush, Hush, but has just the amount of crap as your last 4 books.
Now, back the the rest of the assignment:

3. Make Angel the way she was before. No, not from book 5, keep going...yes, all the way from book 1, when she was adored by Max and not turned into a serial fortune teller. Your work has almost been finished since book 7, but alas, 'tis not done yet.

4. Make Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge and even Total TALK for once. You made them useless little dolls that just utter words here and there while Max, Fang, and *bleah* Dylan the stars of the show! Even Fang's Gang talks more than them - and they just appeared! Everyone LOVES Iggy, and Nudge, and Total, and even Gazzy, so make them have a say in all this! What do they think of this situation? And isn't there ANYONE ELSE besides herself Max can talk to?

5. Speaking of Max, I'd like you to meet Nora Grey, from Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush series. She reminds me of you Max, because she just keeps whining and whining about something, and when she finally gets what she wants, she throws it away! Max and Fang right now are exactly like Nora and Patch at the start of Crescendo (book 2), except in the end Max ends up with DYLAN.... (FAX!!!!!!!!)

I think that's all the "homework" you need, and think wisely about doing it, because if not your fan base will drop like flies.

[Freefallen ~ YA Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW.
YOU.
DID.
NOT.
SEE.
THAT.
ONE.
COMING.
AT ALL.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Whilst I'm happy at the way it ended, I still felt that James Patterson had a lot of things built up throughout the series which he then proceeded to place giant roadblocks in front of.

For example. This isn't really much of a spoiler, so I'm not going to enclose it. The book ANGEL (previous installment) is nothing more than a filler. Okay, maybe there's some information you need to know. Here:

"There's a crazy bunch of people trying to take over the world called the One Light. The leader's called Mark. Some are hybrids and can therefore hypnotise people. They kidnap Angel and experiment on her. They blow up Paris. Fang makes his own gang. Max falls for Dylan. Iggy and Ella fall in love."
That is pretty much all you need to know. You're welcome, I saved your behind from 300 angst-filled pages.

Speaking of Ella, the last time we saw her in ANGEL... didn't she run away? To... somewhere... to get wings? Or something like that? In THIS episode, she bounds out of nowhere all happy and smily - without wings - like nothing happened... Or did I miss something in that installment... Please correct me if so.

AH-nother thing. From Book One, "The Voice" is telling Max to save the world. WELL. Max doesn't really save the world... She just survives the apocalypse. Along with other mutants. AND- -the apocalypse we speak of... We don't actually know much about. There was about a page on how most of the world caught this big disease, and at the same time the sky tears open and the earth gets shaken up a bit. I'M SORRY. We waited 8 books for this very moment, and all that happens is whipped up in a couple of pages?

Meeeeh?!

On the other hand, I do actually love this book.

Why? SPOILERS.

THINGS I LOVE:
Max and Fang get back together. That's right. The impossible happens.

Max and DYLAN start to get on better.

Dylan completely loses his marbles and goes destructo.

Iggy and Ella are officially shipped.

Angel lives. And is actually the Voice. Creepy girl.

The Flock goes back to being the way it was.

THINGS I DON'T LIKE:
Fang's Gang gets disbanded. RATCHEEEEEEEET! 8'(

Star and Kate are baddies.

Maya dies.

Everything that ever happened in ANGEL is suddenly irrelevant.

The ending we'd been waiting for 8 books later wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

However, I gotta hand it to JP - you didn't do half bad writing these books. He deserves a round of applause! Clap clap clap.

And hey, even if you didn't like the ending - there's always FanFiction, right? ;)



Previous-Rant-Before-I-Read-It.
Maybe this isn't the last book.
Comeon, book 4 was entitled "The FINAL Warning", then the books after that launched into "Maximum Ride: The Protectors" series.
I think we're gonna have to face it guys.
FAXNESS IS OVER.
But the preview indicates that Maya might have died...
I think Mr. Patterson is planning on this series having an interesting twist at the end, but...
Maybe Dylan, Maya etc. are all part of a dream? Like in STWAOES?
Why hope.
My depression has gotten worse.
IF NONE OF YOU LIKE THE ENDING TO THE BOOK, FILM YOUR REACTIONS THEN SEND CLIPS TO ME! It'll be a great Youtube vid!!! ;D My email is dragonsinger[at]live[dot]co[dot]uk
This book needs to come out NOW.

[Deema · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay.. i really hope this is NOT the official title..
TEAM FANG!!! TEAM FAX!! enough said. i mean, i don't hate dylan, but he does NOT go with Max, he could go take Maya for all i care. and FANG MUST COME BACK!! if fang doesnt come back and fax is not together once again..... ill probably rip all of james patterson's books :)

[Filippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT EDIT EDIT. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. SCROLL DOWN PAST ALL THIS OLD STUFF TO READ IT. SPOILER FREE.


Oh, Max, Max, Max.
Where did it all go wrong? (well...we KNOW where it went wrong, but let's just keep with the rhetorical).
After so many years of reading these books, investing my time, heart and soul into them, its all come down to this.

Every Maximum Ride fan will tell you straight that this series has plummeted downhill faster than Max on overdrive since The Final Warning - it's just an accepted fact. And yet still we've stuck with it, hoping and praying something can be salvaged from the train crash that Patterson has made of.

First, let me get one thing absolutely straight; I adore these characters. Utterly, truly love them. With one notable exception, to whom I will get to later.

What I hate is what James Patterson has done to them, and to the MR series as a whole. The first three books were fantastic. I fell in love with Max's personality, and plunged face first into her world. Gripping, thrilling, God-damned hilarious - just brilliant.
Then we get book 4. We all know what an abomination that was.

It picked up at book 5 - our Max was BACK. Less of the lecture, more kick-butt action MR does best. (Alongside some Faxness ;) ) We forgave JP his FW failings, and took it as a momentary blip that was in the past.

And then book 6. Oh, book 6. Where to begin?
Well, put it this way, I read it in Waterstones on the day of its release, desperate to find out what happened. And somehow the book ended up being thrown to the other side of the room, whilst angry sales assistants glared at me.

What happened to our beloved characters? Where was Nudge/Gazzy/Iggy's roles in the story? Since when did Fang and Max turn into gloop?
JP completely tore away their personalities, and threw them into situations which just wouldn't have happened. It was a betrayal, not only to the readers, but to Max.

Book 7 was worse, if that is indeed possible. Just an appalling plotless drivel that again took all characters OOC.

And now, fellow reviews, there is only Nevermore that can sort out this stupid mess, and bring back our Max. And sadly, I dont see it happening. I think the main problem is that James Patterson never planned that the fans wouldnt like the whole Fang/Dylan/Max saga. Oh, it worked for Twilight and The Hunger Games. What he didnt realise is that it would just fall flat in MR.

Because, blatantly, we HATE Dylan. I'm pretty sure I can say that on behalf of 99.9% of the fanbase. We don't like him, don't see the point in him and sure as hell don't want Max with him.
Max and Fang were just an unquestioned constant in the novels. We didnt WANT a triangle - there was absolutely no need. And its just ruined the whole thing.

The worst part about it is that its looking increasingly likely she'll end up with Dylan.
In her recent 'blogs' its clear JP is trying to persuade the readers to take to him. The readers are simply not.
Take this recent 'blog update' by Max:

"I've told you what I've been obsessed with lately. And you've made it clear what you've been obsessed with: why does everyone want to MURDER Dylan?"

^See?

Besides the whole Dylan thing, there are far too many loose ends that need to be tied up properly in this book. I don't trust JP to at all make a success of them.
Nevermore - like it's title - is looking more and more like a complete disappointment, ending the series on a complete low.

And I ache for it, I truly do, because I love the characters, and their world so much. They've been done a complete injustice by their author, which is surely the biggest sin a writer can committ.



UPDATE: I've just been reading the preview chapters and I want to HURL. Its the biggest load of rubbish I've ever read. I want to grab each character and shake them until they either die *cough* MayaDylan *cough* or get back to the characters they were.

One chapter its all Max going gooey eyed over Dylan, but oh, isn't she supposed to love Fang? But oh, Dylan smells so good and his eyes are blue like the sea and blah blah blah.

And the next its all Fang going gooey eyed over Maya, but oh, she's not Max even though she looks like her. But oh, being with her is so magical and blah blah blah.


EVERY. SINGLE. CHAPTER.

Where's my kick butt Max and Fang? Believe me, I have hormones too. But funily enough they dont make me turn into a pathetic mush. It's sickening, really.

Oh, how I hate you James Patterson.




EDIT EDIT EDIT!!!!!!

Okay, guys. Nevermore was released on August 2nd in the UK. It's now 2am the next day and I've just finished reading it.

To be honest, the only coherent thought I have about it is: DA FUQ WAS THAT?

I swear, the whole thing was a bit of a blur.

I suppose the main thing is: was it good?
Well, maybe. Like I said, I don't really know what to think of it at the minute. And I was so ready to hate it. But to say I liked it is maybe stretching it a bit. I think I was content with it.

This was the end. Every ounce of love, hate and frustration we fans have been building up for years was riding on this book. This was the make or break of how the series will be remembered.

Personally, it could have been a lot worse. It really could.

The first half, though, I was all ready to throw into a bonfire adorned with a James Patterson Guy on top whilst I danced around the edge waving 'The Angel Experiment' in the air. It was exactly the drivel we've been putting up with ever since Dylan entered the scene. (Oh Dylan. How I hate you)

However, it began to change half-way through. It's like it was almost back to the Maximum Ride of old. The characters were almost IN character (you tried, Patterson). But like I say; almost.

I much preffered the Max of this book to the Max of, say, everything after book 5. She still had her OOC moments, of course, but every now and then there were glimpses of the kick butt girl we know and love.
She reminded me why I ever loved the series in the first place.

I'm not going to comment on the whole Max/Fang/Dylan fiasco, because I don't want to ruin it. I won't even give away whether I'm crying with joy or am currently hunting JP down as we speak. If you really cant wait to find out what happens though, drop me a message and I'll let you know.

Ah, the ending. I guess this is what the whole thing was about, right? The official Facebook page made such a hoopla about it being the END of MAXIMUM RIDE. She was going to DIE, DEAD, FOREVER.

Did she? Well....spoilers ;)

No seriously though, that ending was weird. So rushed, unexplained, oddly set out. At times I was staring at the page thinking WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE PEOPLE?

Did the end justify the story? Jury's out on this one I'm afraid.

Did the end justify the means? With Maximum Ride, always.

Now, I'm going to post those ten questions we were promised would be answered in Nevermore. I won't give away those answers, but I will post my own reactions alongside.

1.Who will Max finally choose--her beloved Fang or steadfast Dylan?
No comment.

2.Who is The Voice Max hears in her head?
I admit, I was surprised. And completely unconvinced.

3.Which Member of Fang's Gang will betray him?
Ah, Fang's Gang. How I hated you all. All I'll say here is: memberS

4.Whose side is Angel really on?
Will we EVER know who's side she's on? Okay, maybe I'm being a little unfair here, because Angel goes through hell in this book.

5.Is Jeb trying to protect Max and the Flock? OR is he working for the bad guys?
As with Angel, I don't think we'll ever really know.

6.Will Iggy ever regain his sight?
What a strange question.

7.Why did the Flock evolve to be able to breathe underwater?
Clever. Quite clever. It makes sense now.

8.Will Iggy and Ella ever be together?
Like I'm gonna spoil the fun for all you Eggy lovers out there :)

9.Is the apocalypse the result of human folly and hatred, a disease, a natural disaster, or an invasion from outer space?
I have NO idea. Like I said, the ending was a bit of a haze. Personally, I think it was aliens. Just 'cause.

10.Can Max really save the world?
Could YOU save the whole world?

11.And the most important question of all: who will die? (You didn't think it would end with out someone dying, did you?)
Oh happy days, oh happy DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYS


And make of that what you will.
I'll probably write a proper review once everyone's had the chance to read the book.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: Maximum Ride and her flock of mutant bird kids have been through a lot, but this (allegedly) final adventure brings some crazy twists. A love triangle starts when Max's significant other Dylan clashes with her old flame Fang. Worse yet, Ari, an old nemesis from the past, is on a rampage to kill Fang! However, the worst part is that some unfortunate individuals are on the warpath to annihilate all non-mutants, which amounts to ninety-nine percent of the population. With her little sister Angel imprisoned, Max and crew are being attacked from all sides. Can they rescue Angel and Fang, and stop humankind from becoming largely extinct?
(If the above doesn't make sense to you, you obviously aren't a fan of the series.)

Story: 4/5
For the most part, this has an engrossing, exciting, edge-of-your-seat story. There are quite a few twists and turns, so you don't really know what will happen next. Where it falters a bit is the ending, which seemed a bit too "pat" and unclear.

Writing: 4.5/5
What James Patterson has done well previously in his Maximum Ride novels, he continues to do excel at in this final volume. Max's humorous narration, as well as the comic-book-esque action sequences, are just as good as they have been since The Angel Experiment.

Moral Content: 3.5/5
Patterson has kept it clean throughout this series, and this mostly stays true to that trend. No sexual content, save for kissing and two teens sharing a bed in a non-sexual way. Profanity is limited to about three or four--if that--misuses of God's name, and euphemisms such as "freakin'" and "mofo". The violence is mostly non-graphic, though one scene features someone being impaled through the neck, which revolts the mutant bird kids so much that one of them becomes ill. Though evolution is mentioned, there is also talk of meeting God after dying, which makes this a religious mishmash, though neither school of thought gets too much talk.

Conclusion: As Maximum Ride, which I have been following for over half a decade, draws to an end, I have to say that it feels slightly lackluster...but only slightly. Though this isn't a grand finale like Percy Jackson and the Olympians had, it also isn't anywhere near the dreck that was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Fans of James Patterson's mutant bird kid saga should definitely read this; Nevermore brings the saga to a mostly satisfying conclusion.

Score: 3.75/5

[Donovan]

It's called "The End of Maximum Ride"? I certainly hope that's a working title because it's pretty lame...


(New Update): Oh, good.


Warning: the rest of this update is nothing but spewing, just FYI.
I'm not evens sure I want to read this anymore. What really annoys me is that James Patterson is a sellout. I mean, seriously, it's turned into a book with teams for the two guys. Like Twilight. I honestly don't care who Max ends up with. I liked the series a lot more before that plotline came in.

[Aarone · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay....

NOOO!!! WHY THE END!!! THESE BOOKS ARE AMAZING...

i thought the this book would be called IGGY or GAZZY or NUDGE or MAYA or ELLA or JEB or DYLAN or TOTAL or some other character... jk but most likely i thought iggy. soooo.. im sad, these books ARE AMAZING!!!!!

anyways.... if max gets with dylan im gonna burn this book and JP better watch out!!!! (ALL MAX FANS WILL BE MAD!!!)

TEAM FANG!!!!! (whoevers team dylan is stupid (if such a team exists))

cant wait til november...

(what if he made a spin-off series :O) <--maybe he will *gasps*

what would i read after this... o rite there are still other books (mortal instruments, nick flamel, tiger saga)

THE END OF MAX IS NEAR!!!!!

one more question... will anyone die??????

AND MORE TOTAL!!!

*****************************************************************************************

REVIEW IS HERE

There are spoilers! So watch out!

First spoiler: FAX. THERE IS NO DYLAX.

Okay, there is a 4 star rating because it wasn't as good as the other books and JP didn't give us enough of the supporting characters.

Here's what happened:
Fang is Public Enemy #1.
Total the dog got more screentime than Gazzy. WHAT!?!?!? Ella was barely in the book. Jeb got his ass kicked... again. Dr. Martinez became Mrs. Tour Guide to Paradise. Also, if Iggy is blind, is it safe for him to be jumping off a cliff? Anyways, Angel survives but she becomes blind and her wings get clipped. We find out that she is the Voice. I know, Christina Aguilera is not the Voice. Boohoo. I thought that Jeb was the Voice. But Angel is fine. Ari come back to life again, and got killed... again, and his Erasers died... again. Oh and Maya dies and she says she loves Fang. And two members of Fang's group betray him.

Also

I'm sorry to burst anyones bubble, but JP gives us no answers on if Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, Ella, and Mrs. Martinez survive. I would like to know!



She's not impressed. Neither am I.

The ending was nice. All we know is that Max, Fang, Dylan, and Angel survive and are the Next Generation of the world because the world was destroyed. And JP gives us a sneak preview of his new book. I don't know if I'll read it yet.

Anyways this was a fun, entertaining, fast-paced, ending to the Maximum Ride. It's been a fun ride :D

[Amelia]

I think That Fang and Max were so perfect and JP totally screwed up by having him leave. Dylan is alright, but honestly, Fang and maya, its like i want to tell him
Dear Fang,
Your only with Maya because you still Love Max and she is an exact copy.
Sincerely,
Me

And also Dylan is ok, but, not with Max, I mean, I guess I would be fine if they got together, but, they don't work together as well as Fang and Max.

Dylan and Max.... Whatever Max, You SHOULD be with Fang
Max and Fang..... YAY!
Fang and Maya.... You're in denial, Fang
Iggy and Ella.... aww, thats too cute :)

Also, I agree, the first three books were really good, They had more action, now the flock lives too casually... maybe that will change and the last book will be really good...
But does anyone else laugh at the name CSM.. the coalition to stop the madness, oh yeah, thats INTIMIDATING, the five year olds called, they want their cheesy association name back.

[April*procrastinator and proud* · Rating 1 out of 5]

...I'm very confused as to HOW James Patterson felt that this was a good ending to this series that I very much enjoyed (up until Angel of course.) But I'm pretty sure he took a bunch of the random ideas he came up with in all the books and smashed them together to make this big blob of.... of... I don't even know. But I think he should rewrite this book (and Angel while he's at it.) so it's not so freaking all over the place.

[Tilly · Rating 1 out of 5]

The end isn't near, it's here

2.5 stars.

Where do I begin? I was very excited for this book and had high hopes for it, keep that in mind.

First off, NEVERMORE was always going to be well written. It's James Patterson for goodness sake. That dude could make the back of a cereal box captivating.

But I'm certain I'm not the only one who feels that NEVERMORE, was a bit of a let down in other aspects.
It started by Max almost swooning over Dylan, with hardly a mention of Fang or even 'her baby' Angel, who had previously been bird-kidnapped. It was purely Max getting drawn into those 'aquamarine' eyes, with almost no worry about Angel. She didn't even properly mourn her until a little later in the book. (Granted, she did have a cry later. With Dylan.)

Then it cuts to Fang's gang, where we have some secondary characters that could have been amazing, but we didn't really hear much about them sadly, just like in Angel. That was a shame. But, then who returns, again? A certain wolfy-kid who just happens to be Max's half bro. Yeah that's right, Ari-Jesus is back, for a third time. Honestly, couldn't we have had a better villain? I'm tired of Ari.

Then some more stuff happens (Clone death, treason, blah) . And Angel's point of view is added to the chapters.

I honestly have no qualms with the Angel chapters. They were haunting, damn scary and I want a whole book of them.

Back to Max. More stuff happens that is pretty much irrelevant, like a candlelit dinner in a tree house, with her PERFECT blue eyed beau. I think that's my problem with Dylan. Or should I say my other problem. My first problem is that he came between Max and Fang. My second problem is that he's perfect and it's boring. He's a one dimensional character in my opinion. Every secondary character in the book pretty much adores him, and even Max is pulled in for a part of it. I don't know if Mr Patterson wanted to make us love Dylan or hate him, but for me, it was the latter.

Cut to Angel. The whitecoats have experimented on her like Iggy and she's lost her sight. I did not see that coming, that bit was good. Jeb and Max's mom turn out to be traitors; haven't we been here before?

Back to Fang. A voice in his head tells him to be with Max. So he goes to her. He falls off a cliff beforehand. (I am really glad Fang and Max ended up together though!)

Dylan becomes majorly pissed and he sulks upstairs. Until the next day when Max and Fang realise they love each other so he goes off and Dylan Hulk-smashes the town.

More stuff happens, they find Angel, hear more about the doomsday group, yawn.

This plot, over the course of MAX to NEVERMORE I think, has been the most tedious. In THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT it was literally; we're bird kids and we kick ass and discover we have powers. Then it turned into, global warming is bad. (I preferred the first books)

Once they're all home, Ari -I mean Jesus Wolf- knocks on the door. Apparently Fang has something in his DNA to help science with finding about Immortality. Yes. So he must die!

Fang, obviously refuses to get a noose for him, so the Flock all kick butt like old times! Except it didn't really feel the same, I don't think I even read the familiar old words 'Roundhouse kick'.

Ari dies again (But no doubt, he'll have survived the apocalypse somehow. Kidding.) then Max's mom turns up in a copter. She makes a really unconvincing argument about how she had her mind controlled by Jeb. Max asks Angel if she's being truthful, and Angel says she is.

Blah blah, they go to a place called Paradise, minus Dylan, things are looking good for the Flock, but then Dylan somehow finds them on an island in the middle of nowhere, and announces that the apocalypse is coming. The kids get into the caves, except Max, Fang, Angel and Dylan.

There were a few pages that kept me hooked after that, about how you should live every day like it's your last and I enjoyed that.

Then, it was 'the end'. The world was pretty much gone, apart from a world of trees, ocean and stuff. Angel, Max, Fang and Dylan survived, and they were saying how this world was meant for them, and it was the time of the Bird Kids.

None of the remaining Flock even questioned whether Nudge, Gazzy and Iggy had possibly survived in the cage, or fussed over how they were going to find them. That was my main rage point.
The book was left on an ending where we had no idea what happened to three of the flock. Granted, they weren't the main members, but I really wanted to know exactly what happened.

For example; did Angel ever fully regain her sight? Was Max reunited with Iggy and co? Angel was the voice in Max's head, was she the voice in the other flock members'?

I don't mind unanswered questions with a short series, or just a stand alone novel, but COME ON. It's Maximum Ride, it's such a long series. ALL I WANT ARE ANSWERS.

To be honest, I wish that there had been the death of a flock member. Then I would have felt more emotion towards this book.

We had to wait a year and a half for this.

Now, this review is kind of angry, so sorry if you had to read it and you're now angry too, it's just I had to vent my rage somewhere.
I've tried to combine this with good things, like the Angel chapters and Max/Fang getting back together, but there just aren't many good things in my opinion.

I'm devastated Maximum Ride, a series that I've been hooked on forever, has ended, especially with an ending like this.

[Ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review was written when I was thirteen, so if it seems a little...immature, that's why! I'm going to leave it as it is, though. It sums up the raw anger coursing through my soul when I had finished reading this book. ;)

-----

I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT!!!!!!! FAX! FAX FAX FAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously. I think I'm dying. I just finished rereading Angel and I....argh!!! THIS SERIES HAS THE WORST LOVE TRIANGLE OF ALL TIME!!!

WHAT???!?!?!?! IT'S NOW COMING OUT IN AUGUST?!?!!?!? GOODREADS AND THE END OF ANGEL BOTH SAID IT WAS FEBRUARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCREAAAAMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOO!!!!

Oh, there's a cover now? Meh. This one's just a bit....silvery. I mean, for the hair. Hopefully she did not experience so much stress as to turn her hair grey. (I assume that's Max on the cover.)

I. HATE. YOU. JAMES. PATTERSON. OR WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS HORRIFIC CHANGE OF EVENTS, THUS SHATTERING LIFE AS I KNOW IT FOREVER.

Reread Fang....not a good idea...

So, the first book had about 100,000 ratings. This one has not even half that. Sad.

*UPDATE: READ*

I really wish I could have loved it. I do. I really, honestly do.

But I didn't.

The more I think about it, which I don't particularly want to do (that is why I've delayed writing a review), the more I realize how much Nevermore disappointed me. True, one of the biggest (if not THE biggest), most agonizing love triangles I've ever read was resolved--and Max ended up with the right boy. But how it happened was not at all satisfactory. Maya dies, so Fang decides to go back to Max, and, voila--he suddenly knows that he loves her?? And she just abandons Dylan to be with Fang?! Not that I really like Dylan, still--but that's harsh. And the ending. Just, what the heck?! The whole series was about how Max was going to save the world. She was MADE to save the world, or so we were told. And then a meteorite, or whatever it is, crashes into the earth and kaboom, most of the population is dead and Max is all, "Oh, la dee da. Most of the population is dead, but we're fine, we have gills and wings." What about all the other people you met? What about the poor schmucks who lived on the rest of the earth? What about the kids you met at the various schools you've been to? You heartless....$#@.

There were too many things left unresolved from the earlier books. For example, what happened to Anne, from the second book? Was Sam really an Eraser, or not? What happened to him? Total, who was one of my favorite characters, was sort of abandoned. The romance took up a lot more of the book than was really necessary. One good point, though, is that Fang was no longer described as "dark" every other sentence. I was about ready to tear my hair out about that. And the rest of the flock was also abandoned, more or less. Iggy never gets any funny lines anymore. Gazzy hardly ever makes use of his "talent," nor does he blow stuff up. Nudge is totally self-absorbed, no longer the sweet little girl she used to be. And she goes out on a date with a sixteen year old. That's so gross. She also wanted to get her wings hacked off, in this very book, and James Patterson did not deal with that, either. Apparently the end of the world is enough to make you forget to resolve any petty details you may have left hanging. At least Iggy and Ella got together, which was sort of cute. I wish they'd mentioned Ella's dog Magnolia, though.

There were many other silly, unnecessary things in this book which made me want to scream. I was so excited about this book. I was in agony about the love triangle. And then James Patterson took my excitement, anticipation, and hopes that Nevermore would redeem the crap that was the last two books, jumped on it with cleats, ran it through a shredder, stuffed the mutilated remains into a garbage bag, and threw it off the Empire State Building. That's how disappointed I was.

I'm still attached enough to Max and the rest of the flock (and still in love with Fang, I guess--the old Fang) to give this two stars. I'm just not willing to accept that it's over and not as phenomenal as I expected and wanted.

(But by the way, I DID learn a new word. "Clowder." In the words of Max, "look it up. You'll learn something.")

[Peanut Butter Jelly Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

BEFORE READING NEVERMORE:

Dear James Patterson:

First of all, I really, really hope you wrote/are writing this book yourself. Not with a bunch of crap ghost writers who don't know Max and her gang and clearly never read the books, since they made Max all damsel-y and the flock all whiney. It seems after the first three you got tired of the Flock.
RIGHT THERE YOU KNOW WHEN TO STOP A SERIES.
But really, you wanted to milk it, didn't you? You sicko, you knew we'd never be able to resist not knowing what happened to Max and the flock next!

I hope you tie up all these loose ends. Because really, when you think about it, you could have ended the series with STWAOES if you'd just gotten Max to accept Fang. Everything was tied up at that point. But no, you just had to open it up again for your pathetic excuse for a fourth novel!

I'm glad you've decided to end the series. This is wonderful growth. I'm sure you made a lot of $$$ off the last couple of plotless MR books, and I really hope that Nevermore is AWESOME. End this baby with a bang!

But I do appreciate that you brought MR to the world in the first place. What would we do without the flock? For that, I thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Also, I like the cover.

Sincerely,
A Rabid Fan

P.S. Oh, and JP? Make it good. No pressure or anything.


EDIT- POST-NEVERMORE
My first thought after reading the last page of the epilogue of this book


WHEN exactly did Maximum Ride become so... intense? Thought-provoking? Deep?? JP must have hired a different ghostwriter for this book. It was really unsettling. And the ending? WTF was up with that? I had no idea what was going on there.


Granted, I was very very glad when Fang and Max got together. However, I did NOT appreciate how Fang was first like, "OMG Maya let's make a fresh start together!" and then when Maya died (I hate when love triangles are resolved by someone dying) he turned around to Max, and, both disregarding the reasons they had split in the first place, proceeded to make out in a "honeymoon" suite (although, that bit was VERY swoony). I thought the coming back together should be a little slower, a little more realistic. But since Max is a SUCKER, she jumped right back into Fang's delicious arms and.... *swoon* But ANYWAY, disregarding the fact that I may or may not have also done that (I'm not feminist material, I guess :P), I wish it was a little more like their love in the first 3 books; slowly falling for each other-again.

But then Dylan went INSANE and started attacking Fang, and I was like JAYSUS CROYST SUPERSTAR . But you know, Fang just rolled with it, even though he didn't know why the hell Dyl was attacking him, like a boss. But supposedly Fang isn't as strong as Dylan. Which I strongly do not agree with.

FANG as usual was SWOON-WORTHY. *sigh*

So, final thoughts? This book was much better than the last couple. But not at the level of the first three books. Worth your money, a sort-of mind-blowing but not quite satisfying ending, and for me a bittersweet ending. I discovered Max and the flock almost three years ago, and I've read the series over and over since. I'm sad to see them go. But all good things must end.

And so ends the story of Maximum Ride.

[Hyman]

You people are WRONG!!! Max is destined to be with Dylan! Dylan is the perfect other half for max! Fang is a selfish boring Loser! he left max, he replased her for maya. Max deserves deserves Dylan, hes strong, funny, and has a better eyesight than Fang. JP was right to separate Fang and Max. Dont you see how max fits perfectly besides Dylan.


Dylan Rules!!!!

[Sabrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this out of pure loyalty. I began reading the Maximum Ride series when I was in middle school and had just figured out I had a love for books. I've matured or something because this book was off the walls terrible.


DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE A DIE HARD MAXIMUM RIDE FAN
Lets start with the storyline: The 99 percent Plan was laughable. This entire book made me laugh and not in a good way. I don't think I've disliked a book this much since.... m-m-Marked

8 reasons this book failed.
1. Max is a annoying narrator, flopping between guys more than a person blinks.
2. Plot drops from other books seem to be not important at all as long as Max gets her "boytoy"
3. What happened to Izzy being able to see? Another plot drop
4. Characters besides Max, Fang and Dylan all were in la-la-land because they aren't in this book AT ALL
5. Unbelievable romance worse than Twilights
6. Fang is a weird jealous boyfriend even though he left Max for his clone and a ENTIRE new flock
7. Dylan is like...two years old? yeah, enough said
8. Apocalypse bull shit
9. Ari is back AGAIN
10. Nudge dating a ...15 year old at twelve? Great parenting Max A+




Why did James Patterson make eight books WHY. I think this series could of been OKAY with like four books, it could of ended with the global warming stuff for all I care. Anything but this, ANYTHING. Max is the most whiny, teenage girl I have ever read. She makes Bella look deep. Dylan is all rainbows and butterflies and uh, two years old? and Max doesn't think it's a tad wrong he wants her? Fang is a jealous boyfriend for no reason. He left Max, he was practically dating her CLONE. Than all because Maya dies he's running back to Max and telling Dylan to back off.
I laughed.
Izzy, Gazzy, Nudge? I'm sorry they weren't in this book, this was about "Max" in the spotlight

The world is ending and not one person cares. Max is off eating food in a tree house with a two year old and Fang is off... being selfish? somewhere.
I just can't with this book, this book should have never been released.

P.S I'm sorry if I offend anyone who genuinely likes this book, but it really wasn't my taste at all.

[Phosie]

'Nevermore'? Really? Can't he think of a more imaginative title than 'Nevermore'? Oh well. It's still cool :P AND WAY BETTER THAN THE END OF MAXIMUM RIDE DEFINITELY!!!
I'm assuming that this book is going to be *very* long. I mean, maybe not *very* long but at least kind of long. There are soooo many things that need to be explained. Like, was Sam from School's Out Forever an Eraser or not? Where did Dr. Martinez and Jeb and Ella and Dr Gunther-Hagen? WHO'S GOING TO DIE, DYLAN OR FANG?!?!?!? (Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease not Fang! NOT FANG!!!)
Oh, and if Dylan doesn't die, he should at least stop stalking Max and be with Maya instead. I mean, they're both clones, right? Dylan was cloned from that other guy named Dylan who died in a car crash or something, right? And they're probably closer to the same age. DYLAN IS EIGHT MONTHS OLD!!! SERIOUSLY!!! HOW CAN MAX BE WITH SOMEONE WHO IS FOURTEEN YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS YOUNGER THAN HER!!!

Anyway, if the book ends with Fang being dead and something cheesy like Dylan kissing Max, I will DESTROY the final three books. The first five books are fine, because there was NO SUCH PERSON AS DYLAN THEN.

Oh well.

EDIT: OH MY GOD!!! I JUST READ THE SNEAK PEEK FOR NEVERMORE!!! (Well, I read a summary of it.) OH MY GOD IS MAYA GOING TO DIE? SERIOUSLY? IS JAMES PATTERSON REALLY GOING TO DO THAT?!?!?!
Argh, I wish he hadn't pushed it back to august... *sob*

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is going to be a very hard review. On one hand, the book in general fell somewhere between The Final Warning and Angel. On the other hand, I can't really bring myself to give it a bad review.

Ok. So first of all, it wasn't that bad if you set goals. Mine were 1) FAX!!!!!!!!! and 2) no one important dies. Luckily, both of these happened. Unfortunately, just because those two expectations were met doesn't mean the book actually made complete sense. It was a bit like that whole the-last-months-were-a-dream-wait-no-they-weren't-yes-they-were-never-mind-oh-and-by-the-way-max's-arm-works-again thing in the second or third book. If you don't look too closely, you can skim right over it and move on. As soon as you try to understand it, you're just like, "...What?" Which is sad, because it was the end. There will be no clarification. That was IT. One chapter really bothered me, which was the whole "I'm dead now but hopefully I contributed to the world and please save the environment and corporations are bad" monologue. And then she wasn't actually dead. I feel really bad saying this, because I wanted so, sooooooo badly for this book to be good, but the ending made zero sense. Also, as a final note on Fax, I was glad that happened. But that scene at the end was just kind of creepy. I mean, they're what, fifteen? *shiver*

Basically, it's good on a superficial level. As soon as you look too closely (or really try to understand anything at all), it's really disappointing. *sob* This book unfortunately did not deserve my fangirling (or begging my parents to take me to Target 15 minutes before it closed to get it).

Would I recommend it? If you really like the characters, it at least ties up a few loose ends with them, but it also leaves a few questions. If you're looking for a super-amazing plot, than don't even THINK about reading it. I guess I would only recommend it if you need a sense of closure (series-wise, not necessarily character-wise).

And, I nearly forgot. What was that garbage at the end with the "One girl's story ends, another is just beginning" thing? I was like, "I just finished a series that I've been waiting to finish since March... and YOU'RE ALREADY TRYING TO SELL ME ANOTHER BOOK?????" That was low. Really, that was pathetic. Absolutely terrible.

[Shay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I thought this book was Horrible. I think James Patterson didnt give his fans the ending they deserved.
( SPOLIER ALERT!)
Where to Start.
#1- It was more about the whole stupid "Love Triangle" thing then saving the world.
#2- Besides Max, Fang, And Dylan, the rest of the Flock are Barely in it. Character development wise he kinda went backwards.
#3- The only Fight scenes, there are only two, combined lasted maybe 10 pages.
#4- Besides saving angel they never once go after the "Bad" guys.
#5- Dont even Get me Started on the whole Fangs DNA thing. I mean WTF? Where did that come from and what does it have to do with anything else thats ever happened in the Books.
#6- For the last Two Books Max hasnt been able to figure anything out when it comes to the whole Dylan Fang thing. Then all of a sudden as soon as Fang Shows up shes with him, I mean it happens Just Like That, nothing gets explained or anything. Then Dylan go's all Crazy, like seriously Grow UP.
#7- So half of Fangs Gang go all Bad Guy, Maya dies and then he leaves the rest and their never mentioned again. What happened to them? Did the Die? no one knows.
#8- Then most Importantly, In THE END, when the world IS ENDING, they do NOTHING just sit by and let it Happen. Again WTF? The whole series is about them supposedly saving the world and IN THE END THE DO NOTHING!
#9- The whole book was esentaily PIONTLESS, After that ^
Nothing from any of the other books Is Tied up, your left with a whole shit ton of lose ends. The Whole Book is rushed and leaves you Unsatisfied. But what really sucks is towards the middle you start to get your hopes up, start thinking that He didnt completely ruin it and then A few Chapters later you realize you were WRONG. I was rolling my eyes throughout the whole begging with the whole Dylan Max Situation. But what pissed me off the most was All of James Patterson's Interviews, where he Brags about how amazing it is and how all Maximum Ride fans should be pleased with how it ended, When It is actually an EPIC FAIL! And I Hate That hes acting like he's Gods Gift to the Writing world when he completely screwed this Up.
In closing I'd like to add that when I finished this Monday I actually wanted to BURN my copies of 4-8, and probably would have had my Mom Let me, It was That BAD. :(
To say the least I am One Disappointed EX- James Patterson Fan.

[Kate Jackson · Rating 1 out of 5]

*This will most certainly have spoilers*

What the fuck did I just read?

Nothing made sense whatsoever. There were so many loose ends; I didn't think they would be tied up in the first place but this book just left even more loose ends. The end left me completely confused, so max didn't save the world, it was destroyed by nature and Angel was the voice all along? WHAT?! The ending was the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever read. First of Max not saving the world pretty much shows all eight books were a waste of time. If natural causes destroyed the earth then why was there the 99% plan plotline in the first place! And Angel being the voice? I don't even want to go there. It crossed my mind a few times but I immediately cast it off as it was completely ridculous and would never make sense whatsoever. But there you go. We never found what happened to the rest of the flock, they weren't even mentioned! Was Jeb good or evil? Not mentioned. This book was just a load mushy romance, I love Fax as much as the next person but that was back in the first few books. Dylan, well Dylan I've never liked, never will like and honestly Im disappointed he didn't die. (I did laugh when Maya died though.) Everything with the gang was left unanswered and didn't even get me started on Fang having immortal DNA.

So there you go. For me this series ended with book three and I will never ever read 4-8 again. I do not recommend this book to anyone as it is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. I didn't even talk about character development, relationships etc. But that was awful too. Just don't bother putting yourself through the torment, instead read this short summary:
Dylan doesn't die. Max doesn't save the earth. The flock survives (I think.) Max and Fang end up together. Iggy and Ella end up together. Who knows what Jeb is. Angel is the voice. The world crashes and burns and all the mutants live on in this new world (I think) and god knows what happened to all the humans.