Maximum Ride: The Final Warning - James Patterson

I started reading the Maximum Ride books when I was 13 or 14, and really enjoyed the first book, bought the second book, which was also good, and read the third. When I saw the fourth book, despite being 18, I decided to read it. And I was severely disappointed. James Patterson is normally seen as a good and trusted thriller author, but it's hard to see why when he churns out a boring, monotonous plot like the one in this book.

The ...
...by Max, are encouraged to see the U.S. government who offer them protection. When this is refused, Max leads her flock to Antarctica to help a group of scientists research the effects of global warming. While there, they still manage to be captured by an evil-director who wants to sell the children to the highest bidder to be used as weapons in war. Hang on, wasn't that a subplot occurring in the last book? And the one before that?

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I started reading the Maximum Ride books when I was 13 or 14, and really enjoyed the first book, bought the second book, which was also good, and read the third. When I saw the fourth book, despite being 18, I decided to read it. And I was severely disappointed. James Patterson is normally seen as a good and trusted thriller author, but it's hard to see why when he churns out a boring, monotonous plot like the one in this book.

The basic plot is the flock of homeless human-avian hybrids, led by Max, are encouraged to see the U.S. government who offer them protection. When this is refused, Max leads her flock to Antarctica to help a group of scientists research the effects of global warming. While there, they still manage to be captured by an evil-director who wants to sell the children to the highest bidder to be used as weapons in war. Hang on, wasn't that a subplot occurring in the last book? And the one before that?

This shows a flaw: it's repetitive. It's predictable. And that is hardly ever entertaining, especially when it's as rushed as this novel is. While the previous books were somewhat quick-paced, it only added to the enthralling roller-coaster ride from danger to danger. Here, it seems like Patterson decided that the children needed new skills (like magnetism, or camouflage) and decided to throw them in chapter after chapter in an un-exciting way. I mean, can you really get excited about someone discovering they can draw a can towards them on a private plane, for Gods sake?! The skills aren't even useful: they never once feature in the main plot to escape the baddies or save people. What was the point of them?

Whereas in the first book, and, to a lesser extent, the following two books, had plenty of action and humour to keep the plot-line ticking over, this has basically none. Some of the best parts of the previous books were the sarcastic and snide comments from the main characters to their captors ("We both know your parents aren't missionaries." "Well for God's sake, don't tell them - they'll be devastated, thinking they were doing the Lords work and all."). In The Final Warning, Patterson just summarises what happened (then followed Nudge chattering none stop, Fang looking bored etc.). It just made that section pointless, too be honest.

So, in The Final Warning, the plot is going nowhere, at a too-fast pace, with uninteresting events that are supposed to grab your attention. It fails. Badly. The ending is so anti-climatic, it leaves you blinking in shock for a moment before you realise that that was it.
Patterson should have saved his time and just written "then they all escaped while the bad guys were killed whilst proving that global warming is a bad thing. The End." It has the same excitement as his version.
I thought that authors wanted to write to entertain the public, but it seems that Patterson just wanted to write a book as quickly as possible with as little energy as possible. Methinks that he just wanted his cash advance from the publishers.

But the basic (and boring) plot isn't the main problem. The main problem is that during the whole length of the book, it felt like I was being lectured about the evils of the human race and how we are destroying the planet with pollution. It gives the ins-and-outs of global warming which is a necessary part, but really, does Patterson need to preach to us as well????! That was the nail in the coffin, to be honest. I can deal with a life-les plot, but when the author is preaching to you constantly, it's too annoying to enjoy anything, and cringe worthy.

But maybe I'm being too hard on it. Though Patterson suggests that the book is for anyone, it really is aimed at teenagers due to the easy language used, and I'm no longer a child. So maybe I was out of the demographic, therefore spoiling my impression.
It also is an American citizen writing to what may be a primarily American audience. And the Americans are possibly not as aware of global Warming as the British are as the government doesn't officially believe it is happening. Therefore, the whole concept may have been new to the audience (or possibly the author), so the constant berating and mention of it may have been necessary and more informative over the pond. If it was a foreign concept to the reader, the whole theory may not be as annoying overall as I found it. Don't get me wrong, I believe in human induced global warming, and find it really interesting and I fully support protecting the environment (I'm going to be studying environmental science at university so I'd be up the creek if I didn't) and find it an important issue, but reading about it in this book just made me cringe. I can think of half a dozen sources which would give you a better insight into Global Warming without making you want to scratch your eyes out like I felt like doing while reading this.

I kind of believe that if you weren't familiar with global warming and its associated effects, you would find the book more enjoyable and readable than I did. However, maybe you should just avoid. Just to be on the safe side. 

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