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James Patterson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many books, including Beach Road, Honeymoon, Suzanne's Diary For Nicholas, and the Alex Cross series of thrillers. More than 140 million of his books have been sold around the world, making him one of the top-selling writers of all time.
A string of gripping standalone mysteries followed, but it was the 1992 release of Along Came a Spider that elevated Patterson to superstar status. Introducing Alex Cross, a brilliant black police detective/forensic psychologist, the novel was the first installment in a series of bestselling thrillers that has proved to be a cash cow for the author and his publisher.
Examining Patterson's track record, it's obvious that he believes one good series deserves another…maybe even a third! In 2001, he debuted the Women's Murder Club with 1st to Die, a fast-paced thriller featuring four female crime fighters living in San Francisco—a homicide detective, a medical examiner, an assistant D.A., and a cub reporter. The successful series has continued with other numerically titled installments. Then, spinning off a set of characters from a previous novel (1998's When the Wind Blows), in 2005 he published Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment. Featuring a "flock" of genetically engineered flying children, the novel was a huge hit, especially with teen readers, and spawned a series of vastly popular fantasy adventures.
In addition to continuing his bestselling literary franchises, Patterson has also found time to co-author thrillers with other writers—including Peter de Jonge, Andrew Gross, Maxine Paetro, and Howard Roughan—and has even ventured into romance (Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, Sam's Letters to Jennifer) and children's literature (santaKid). Writing at an astonishing pace, this prolific author has turned himself into a one-man publishing juggernaut, fulfilling his clearly stated ambition to become "the king of the page-turners."
Two of Patterson's Alex Cross mysteries (Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls) have been turned into films starring Morgan Freeman; in 2007, a weekly television series premiered, based on the bestselling Women's Murder Club novels.
Copyright © 2008 James Patterson All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-316-00286-8
1
Windsor State Forest, Massachusetts
Ssssss.
The soldiers' armor made an odd hissing noise. But besides the slight sound of metal plates sliding smoothly, flawlessly over one another, the troop was unnaturally quiet as it moved through the woods, getting closer to the prey.
The faintest of beeps caused the team leader to glance down at his wrist screen. Large red letters scrolled across it: ATTACK IN 12 SECONDS ... 11 ... 10 ...
The team leader tapped a button, and the screen's image changed: a tall, thin girl with dirt smears on her face and a tangle of brown hair, glaring out at him. TARGET 1 was superimposed on her face.
... 9 ... 8 ...
His wrist screen beeped again, and the image changed to that of a dark-haired, dark-eyed, scowling boy. TARGET 2.
And so on, the image changing every half second, ending finally with a portrait of a small, scruffy black dog looking at the camera in surprise.
The team leader didn't understand why Target 7 was an animal. He didn't need to understand. All he needed to know was that these targets were slated for capture.
... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...
The leader emitted a whistle pitched so high that only his team members could hear it. Hemotioned toward the small run-down cabin they had surrounded in the woods.
Synchronized perfectly, as only machines can be, the eight team members shouldered eight portable rocket launchers and aimed them straight at the cabin. With a whoosh, eight large nets made of woven Kevlar strands shot out from the cannons and unfolded with geometric precision in midair, encasing the cabin almost entirely.
The team leader smiled in triumph.
2
"THE PREY HAVE BEEN CAPTURED, SIR," the team leader said in a monotone. Pride was not tolerated in this organization.
"Why do you say that?" the Uber-Director asked in a silky tone.
"The cabin has been secured."
"No. Not quite," said the Uber-Director, who was little more than a human head attached by means of an artificial spinal column to a series of Plexiglas boxes. The bioengine that controlled the airflow over his vocal cords allowed him to sigh, and he did. "The chimney. The skylight."
The team leader frowned. "The chimney would be impossible to climb," he said, accessing his internal encyclopedia. Photographs of the prey scrolled quickly across the team leader's screen. Suddenly an important detail caught his attention, and he froze.
In the corner of one of the photographs, a large feathered wing was visible. The team leader tracked it, zooming in on just that section of the image. The wing appeared to be attached to the prey.
The prey could fly.
He had left routes of escape open.
He had failed!
The Uber-Director closed his eyes, sending a thought signal to the nanoprocessors implanted in his brain. He opened his eyes in time to see the team leader and his troop vaporize with a crackling, sparking fizzle. All that was left of them was a nose-wrinkling odor of charred flesh and machine oil.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Final Warning by James Patterson Copyright © 2008 by James Patterson. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Anonymous
Posted December 22, 2008
I overlooked the fact that James Patterson isn't the best writer, because I loved the first three books in the series.
This last book was clearly an attempt for the author to try and reclaim some of his former glory. It was as if he went back and said, "hey, I did so well with that series, why don't I try to get some more money off of it?" So he added on another book and pretended like it was part of the story line all along.
And what, might I just ask, was with the global warming speech? It made no since what so ever! If I wanted someone to harp at me about killing the earth, I'd go to school. It didn't go with the other three books. She had a voice in her head telling her to save the world, crazy dog people and robots chasing her, and mad scientists trying to kill her all because they didn't want her to make a speech on global warming? What was the point of the first three books? He could have just made a banner saying "Don't litter" and hung it across his balcony. But no, he decided to waist our time instead.
Great. Thanks. No littering or dog people and robots will hunt me down and teach me a lesson. Got it.
Ugh...
8 out of 18 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.this series is my *pause for dramatic effect* NEW FAVORITE. its even better then twilight - I'm not even kidding. saying it's my favorite is a big step for me - LOL - because before i read twilight i had many MANY favorites but twilight quickly jumped to the #1 spot in the "books i've read" reading list i keep up in my head. i had no doubt that it was going to stay there in the #1 spot for a long long long long long time - if not forever. but then came the maximum ride series and as i read it i mentally made it climb the list of books until it bumped twilight right down to numero dos. this book is very interesting, exciting, and unpredictable. i think the part i loved the most is the writing style. even if the situation they were in was the worst they had faced yet, james patterson managed to make me laugh (out loud) at the funny things that the members of the flock said. i was so into the story as i was reading it was unbelievable. i loved how it was written in max point of veiw and how the reader wasn't part of the story but wasn't out of it either. it grabbed my attention from the very first page and didn't let go. it was about adventure and misunderstanding and confusion and mystery and near death fights and high speed chases and flying. and its about them realizing that family is the most important - even when your family consits of 5 mutant bird kids. i recommend the rest of this series ( i havn't read MAX yet but im sure it will be great) and also the host if you like science fiction. if you can't find anything to read then check out my b&n page for more books that i recommend :)
7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.A_girl_with_a_story
Posted March 21, 2009
I LOVED the first three books of this series, and when I heard there was a fourth book coming out I was super excited! I got it the day it came out, read it, and haven't touched it since. The first three books were very well written, and very funny. Max is a hilarious character! The action was pretty good and it was a good story line. The third one was a little weird, there were so many plot twists, but I still liked it. However, this fourth one was just disappointing. I mean, global warming is a great cause and all, but is this just going to become yet ANOTHER "don't pollute!" and "save the environment!" things? I mean, is this why the flock was created is to stop global warming?...I wasn't really too impressed by this book. I've seen how this author can write, and if he's out of ideas then just STOP writing and don't ruin a great series. I think you should leave global warming and (in this case) maximum ride apart. If James Patterson thinks we should be more aware of global warming, then he can write a book about global warming that people can read if they want to. But for us Maximum Ride fans, we just want the witty, action packed stories we fell in love with in the first three books.
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 28, 2008
After how AMAZING the rest of the series was, I couldn't believe this book. It was one of the worst books I've read in a long time. The plot was ill-formed and the sole purpose was to blatantly discuss global warning by exploiting characters we love. If you liked the rest of the series, leave it at that and don't let this book ruin it for you.
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.eBook-Junkie
Posted December 12, 2009
I Also Recommend:
I got the first book as a free download and then I was captured, trapped, just had to continue the story. It flows very well and then I bought the set for my son and he couldn't wait until the next book. We hear that there is another book coming out can't wait. I would recommend the whole series for young teens and adults as well.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I've generally enjoyed the Maximum Ride series, despite the fact that they all seem to read exactly the same, each lacking its own individual plot. They're enjoyable and engaging, all the same. This last book, however, dropped the bar completely. I felt trapped in to reading propaganda about the environment, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the previous books. Patterson attempts to wrap up the series with this book, and does a horrible job of it. In fact, he's already released yet ANOTHER book in the series. Some series should just end.
4 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I really liked the first three maximum ride books, but this one was by far the worst book. It was REALLY bad. It had nothing to do with the plot of the other books and had horrible villains. It was only about global warming and was just an all-around bad book
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.KnightRider
Posted November 25, 2008
I appreciate James Patterson proclaiming the issues of global warming...but I was expected the book to have more in it. I thought there was going to be some great romance between Fang and Max, but there wasn't. I also thought the book was going to be longer and explain more. Maybe the next book in the series will be better than this one.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 25, 2008
When I got this book, I was so excited and expecting it to be like the three other books in the series, but it was a huge disappointment. Max and Fang kiss near the beginning, and then there is no other mention of their romance. Why mention it if it isn't going to be expanded on? Also, the book was way too pushy and preachy about global warming. I know it's a problem, but making the plot all about that lost the integrity of the series and lost my interest. Even the characters seemed like they weren't true to the way they were in the series previous books. Hopefully, book 5 is better but really don't waste your time or money on this book.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The plot was weak and barely had any relevance to the other three books. I don't know why the characters were in Antarctica. James Patterson put way too much of his political views into this book instead of his usual creative twists and turns. I was very disappointed. The books seem to get worse and worse.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.this one was the first book i read in the max ride series. i didn't realize it was the 4th one. my friend finally told me. i thought this one was the worst in the series. no action and global warning. boring. fang ditches max after she runs away(again). i hated it
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 25, 2008
Ever since I read the Angel Experiment, I've been totally addicted to the series. I waited in anticipation for this book but it proved to be a huge disapointment. The first three books were written very well and had a great plot, but this one felt like it was rushed and written as an after thought. James Patterson is an amazing author but it seemed like he gave up at the end. I think this was supposed to be the last book in the series, but it left far too many loose ends. Hopefully Patterson will write another book to redeem this one.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 3, 2008
This book is great. It does show progression between Max and Fang and those who didn't capture it, well have little patience and live in the now generation. Anyhow, many complain the book was short perhaps because it was such as good read. I couldn't put the book down but did find growth in the flock, relationship progression and a quest. Max and Fang display typical adolescent inner struggles among other qualities. I really like this book.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 11, 2012
I will try to say this without ruining the rest of the series...
I have read the entire Maximum Ride series at least 879,463,684 times. I have always felt this book didn't belong. It doesn't fully connect with the rest of the series. Sure there are comments and remarks and memories about what happened in here but thats it.
I feel given my expertise in this series is that you could read the entire Maximum Ride series except this book and still fully understand everything. James Patterson, i love u man and i m a HUGE fan, but i feel this is one of your lesser works. Sure this still feels like a Maxium Ride adventure. Twists and turns, plot twists, and excitment at mostly every turn. And the occasional emotional scene. But still... Why write this how u did or at all? I just don't quite understand.
I m not saying "don't read this book, it's not worth my time." This book is still a great read. It will still keep you guessing what will happen next. Butkeep this review in mind.
Fly on,
-Fang Just kidding ;-)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 5, 2012
i think this is one of james patterson's best book because of all the action and thriller at breakneck speed
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 1, 2012
I love this series but this book is a low for Patterson
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 21, 2012
This book is no exciting and its the worst book ive ever read!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 17, 2012
The series (books 1-3) were very exciting reads. I can't say the same for this particular book. The premise of the storyline was noble and all, but there were several issues with it:
1. The length of the story was just way too short. Not nearly long enough to give the new characters any feeling of realness. Also, the plot felt very rushed at the end.
2. The main bad guy, the Uber-Director, could have been easily the scariest foe the team had faced.....could have been. Tupperware called and they want their containers back.
3. The topic of global warming is a noble cause and one that should ne addressed.....but instead of weaving it into the story, Patterson tried to weave the flock into his commentary on this new crisis. It's great that he tries to reach out and make the readers feel that action is needed...but not by soapboxing.
For my $9, I expected a lot more of what I got in the first three books and was pretty disappointed by this outing. Hoping that this was a one-off and the rest of the series returns back to form.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.hello19815
Posted March 15, 2012
I really loved it and highly recommend the whole seires
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 12, 2012
This was OK i didnt like it as much as the others, i hope MAX will be better!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
"Three cheers! Max is one of the smartest, strongest, funniest heroines around." - Diane Garrett, Diane's BooksIn this breathtaking new story from the astonishing imagination of James Patterson, a girl has to save herself from an army assembled just to capture her-and maybe save the planet while she's at it.
Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control government experiment. Max and the other members of the Flock-six kids who share her remarkable ability-have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists ...