Series in the Spotlight: Maximum Ride by James Patterson

In this Series in the Spotlight, I review the fast-paced thriller: Maximum Ride.

Hooked from the first page, I sprinted through the first few books, lapping up the action, the humour and the great characterisation. I laughed with the characters, I cried on their shoulders and I was just loving the whole thing.

The story follows Max and her "flock", who are being chased by the very people who created them. Yes, I said created. They are actually a human/avian combo, born in a lab, with wings, sharp eyesight and other random powers. You join them as they race around the globe, avoiding the monsters the scientists have sent out to kill them, and in the meantime, trying to discover who their parents were. It was action packed, fast paced and humorous; perfect for those who aren't so keen on reading meaty books.

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There was actually a fair amount of violence: lots of fights, punch ups and shooting, but actually, over the first three books, only one person actually died. Also, Patterson's style of writing is cheerful, chatty and not very descriptive, so there was no really gory scenes.

However, Max does use a fair amount of language, (such as cr*p and b*gger) but nothing really severe. There weren't any sexual scenes, references or anything, making it suitable (once you get past the language) for all ages.

You may be asking: "Why the bad rating, then?"but there were two fundamental flaws with the series on the whole. The first being James Patterson's writing style. Whilst it was easy to read, informal and joking, it gradually became too repetitive and monotone, as there was no shift in the writing. Even though the plot changed, they were still being attacked every five pages or so. The same sarcastic quips from Max became tiring, and it felt like I was just reading the same thing over again in each book, but just with a different villain.

The second disappointment was the fourth book in the series. It was all about climate change (which is a good thing to be explaining to kids) but the villain was undeveloped (that was an understatement, because despite a big build up, the criminal was unintelligent and "lame", and gets killed in a predictable fashion) and there wasn't any real plot. Patterson brought out a super henchmen and some really cool soldiers, but they were quickly abandoned and weren't used throughout the whole miraculous "escape". I could go on for hours about it, but put basically: don't read the forth book.

However, the first three books were a delight to read (despite the repitive language) and would appeal to those who like funny action books.

 I just thought I add that I haven't actually read the rest of the series; so the rest may be great, but I got to a point where I thought that it just wasn't worth it to continue reading. However, many people have assured me that the fourth book was a one-off and the rest were great... I can't pass judgement, really.