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.
- Maximum "Max" Ride is a title character and the primary protagonist of the series.
- Fang is 14 years old (15 in the last three books). He is second-in-command of the Flock and Max's best friend (and later her boyfriend).
- Iggy is 14 years old (15 in the last three books). He is usually sarcastic, 5'11", has pale skin, strawberry blonde hair, very light blue eyes, a wingspan of over 14 feet, and is blind.
- Nudge is 11 years old (12 in Fang, Angel, and Nevermore), has brown skin, and has wild, long, dark brown hair.
- Gazzy (or The Gasman) is 8 years old (9 in Fang,Angel, and Nevermore) with blonde hair, blue eyes, tan/light brown wings with a 10 foot wingspan.
- Angel is 6 years old (7 in Max, Fang, Angel, and Nevermore), with blue eyes and curly blonde hair. Angel is also the biological sister of The Gasman (Gazzy).
- Dylan is an avian-human hybrid who joins the Flock in Fang. He is said to be Max's "perfect other half."
- Total is a black Scottie whom Angel saves from the Institute at the end of The Angel Experiment.
Maximum Ride is an incredible series following the adventures of a family of flocked kids just trying to survive. Just normal, everyday winged children. With powers. And a winged, talking dog. No biggie.
This series is very enjoyable. A great production of Mr. Patterson's labor.
“Holy [Insert your choice of a swear word here]," said Fang stunned.
I always want to scream a little bit in frustration whenever I see James Patterson's name on anything, and it's all because of this stupid book. Over the years, Maximum Ride has kind of stuck with me as an example of precisely how to eviscerate a genuinely intriguing premise with poor writing, shell characters masquerading as people with depth, and general word-vomit. It truly feels as though Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment exists basically for Patterson to announce to the world that he thinks teenagers are idiots. And what's depressing is that this isn't even the only poorly written drivel that Patterson has put out there. In my experience, that's almost all that he ever writes.
to Destroy a Decent Premise
I remember the first time I found Maximum Ride, I remember being really enamored with the idea behind it. A group of kids who were experimented on and escaped? Experiments that resulted in the kids having bird characteristics, wings included? This book sounded great. And I think Patterson knew that about his premise.
What I think he also thought was that if he just word vomited a terribly written book with a decent plot idea behind it, he'd make a lot of money off young readers. And yeah, that's exactly what he did. Because this book is both terribly plotted and terribly written. But the idea that started it? Yeah, that was pretty good.
Perhaps it was easy for Patterson to pump out a batch of novels by putting minimal efforts into the writing. But it left us with some of the most painful writing I've ever seen in literature. He never really put any depth into anything and this always bugged the hell out of me. This book and series always felt like a way of saying teenagers didn't deserve well thought, profound, or intelligent fiction. It felt like he just wrote it with the sole purpose of making money.
Disappointment
If you're looking for anything worthwhile in this novel, you're not going to find it. Maximum Ride is very clearly written by an old man who doesn't remember what it's like to be a teenager. His main character, Max, is meant to be an edgy heroine. But instead, she reads more like a little girl trying too hard to be cool and never really succeeding. There's no depth or dimension to any of the characters. Often times, instead of following an actual plot, Patterson has a habit of spiraling off into random pointless events that add absolutely nothing of substance to the novel as a whole.
I can't believe the number of instances where we are subjected to the most random and useless scenes in the lives of these characters. And it all seems to be solely for the purpose of padding the novel with extra pages. You could skip multiple chapters and still not read anything pertaining to the overall plot. Skipping even more chapters takes nothing away from anything you read.
The plot, itself, isn't bad. I actually really liked the premise when I first picked it up. I also kind of liked the world that Patterson built. But barring those initial concepts, there's not much to applaud about this book. Nothing he ever writes really does anything impressive with these themes and ideas. You get bare-bones plots and characters, leaving you feeling like you read an empty shell of a book. And yet the blurb that enticed you to pick it up in the first place had promised you so much more.
Just...Skip It
This book series is the sole reason behind my absolute distaste for anything with Patterson's name on it. It genuinely bugs the heck out of me that he's getting other authors published with his James Patterson Presents. I know first hand how vapid his novels are and hate that he's putting his name on the works of others. Granted, I would never judge another author's writing capabilities by another author's books, but I can't help the grating feeling I get whenever I see his name on a book. Maximum Ride made it incredibly difficult for me to take this author seriously at all.
The story as a whole amounts to what is basically power-written drivel, devoid of any substance at all. And it's a real shame because I truly do believe that the premise had a lot of promise. It's just a shame that it all turned out to be a pitiful waste. I think, ultimately, that I'd love to see a similar premise written by a more competent author who actually cares enough to spend the time and effort to really develop both plot and characters.
TLDR; Maximum Ride is a desultory waste of time and money, despite sounding interesting on paper.
Trevon Bierria Period 1 October 31, 2013 Maximum Ride Book Review
Maximum ride is a book of action and suspense. It is a about a flock of six humans with wings. They were created in a lab, but eventually escaped and now they live on their own away from civilization. The scientist from the lab from which they escaped are called white coats. The white coats have also created other half animal half human species. They created a half dog half human animals that work for them known as bouncers. These bouncers are trying to capture the flock. While the flock is enjoying a day outside picking strawberries, one of them gets captured. She is the youngest female and her name is Angel. The erasers take her back to the lab where they first escaped. The leader and oldest of the flock, Max, dedicates herself saving Max from these white coats.
I recommend whoever likes a book with a lot of fighting and adventure to read this. Throughout the book the flock travels a lot and they fight a lot of erasers. You should read this book because it has a great story line to it. This book is worth reading and it will keep you on your toes.
This is a great book. When I first started to read it I immediately became interested. Max is the leader of the group and she is pushed to her breaking point. This story really tests her leadership, and she shows the characteristics that every leader should have. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to see what real leadership and heart is.