Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

by James Patterson

Max Ride and her five friends grew up in a science lab/prison called the School. They were created as an experiment. An experiment where they ended up only 98 percent human. That other 2 percent had a big impact. These children are pretty special. But when an 'experiment' this secret and this special has escaped from the School, the scientists are pretty keen on making sure the world never finds out about them. Soon, Max and the other children find themselves on the run in an adventure beyond even their wildest dreams.

• ISBN10: 0755321928
• ISBN13: 9780755321926
• Publish Date: 4 July 2005
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Out of Print: 19 October 2006
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
• Imprint: Headline Book Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[nitzan_schwarz]

2014 cleaning my shelves challenge

[paperbackjedi]

This book sports an impressive cast of characters with a lot of potential. Max is the leader of a misfit group of reject experiments that all have wings and can fly. Acting as the guardian of her flock, she’s been living on the run with them since the day they escaped School, the place where they were bred and poked at by awful freaking scientists. However, the school catches up with them and manages to abduct Angel, the youngest of the flock and suddenly, Max and her crew find themselves on a rescue mission that just might give them the information they want most… where they came from.

Alright, so the good thing about this book is that it never stops moving. It’s one escape into another into another with bits and pieces of the story coming together as you move along. The characters are pretty great too. They each have individual personalities and abilities so it’s not at all boring. The problem, I had, though is that not all the characters are fleshed out. Of course this is the first in the series and I think they’ll be expanded on in the subsequent books. Max’s narration and her inner though process lacked a spark with me. I didn't really connect with her and I think it’s because she never stopped thinking about her next move. I never really got a feel for who she was– only what she needed to do. And yeah, that’s a character trait in and of itself, but I’d like to know more about how she felt about everything, the situation, her charges, and herself even.

The plot is pretty intriguing. It’s got genetic mutation and all kinds of cool science fiction aspects. It felt a little like X-Men honestly, at some points. And there’s a lot of things you don’t know by the end of the first book. Who started the experiments? Where did they find the kids? Why are they experimenting in the first place? And how is this going to save the world? So the plot definitely keeps you engaged and wanting more. There’s a big conspiracy to be unraveled and Patterson does it at a pace that is both frustrating and exhilarating. I just wish he spent a little more time on the characters and the emotional resonance they have with the reader. I’m not in a hurry to read more, but I’ll probably check out the rest of the books later.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

This book (and series) has a lot of hype around it, and hype can either improve or destroy my perception of a book. I tried, really tried hard to love Maximum Ride, but I didn't. I just didn't. It wasn't the character - Max was well-formed and so was her flock. I think it was the plot. The plot was everywhere. And part of my frustration with the plot went along with the fact that, for one reason or another, when I read "The Angel Experiment," I related that to the character Angel and not the obvious fact that these kids look like angels. So negative five points to me. But I still didn't love it. However, some of the best series start off with a questionable first book, and you just have to be confident that everything will come together.

I really did like the concept, though. Genetic experiments gone wrong are my favorite type of science-fiction. I will be reading more, because there are a lot of unanswered questions, but I'm not compelled to pick up the next book immediately and read it. The questions just aren't that pressing to me. The book is, as most of my read, geared towards a younger audience and perhaps things like the questionable maybe-it-will-happen? romance will compel readers to fly (no pun intended!) to book two. Or it may be that I'm just tired of the "omg who is she totally into?" sub plot.

There's a lot of running in this book, which serves its purpose, but grows tiresome. Stylistically, Patterson does keep it moving, and if there's going to be a lot of running (and flying!) around, then it really needs to be written with great flow, which Patterson definitely accomplishes.

This is great for a light, easy read. It's enjoyable, even if I didn't find it compelling. Max is a strong female lead who accepts help but doesn't grovel for it. She definitely stands on her own two feet, and it's always nice to see a protagonist like that!

((Cross-posted to my blog: The Literary Phoenix.))

[inlibrisveritas]

To me this was sort of disappointing. I have seen James Patterson's name everywhere, not to mention the amount of rave reviews I've seen for his books. I was expecting writing that lives up to the amount of fans he has, but I didn't find that here. Don't get me wrong the plot is pretty interesting and original, but the writing was...elementary. If you've ever had to read a paper written by a kid in 5th or 6th grade then you've read the style I'm talking about. It's not terrible but it's certainly not worth raving about. It's simply too easy to read if that makes sense. The chapters are super short, about 3 pages max, so while I found it unnecessary it did make me read more then I probably would have normally in each sitting. All of this makes me uncertain as to weither or not I really want to continue with this series.

The characters are...okay. They are interesting and kind of layered with some depth, but they are kind of annoying. There is character development throughout the story so that's a plus, and a little surprising given the style of writing. The interactions and conversations between the characters were off at times, but it's not consistently that way. The way the book ended makes me want to read the next one but I'm still skeptical.

I think I'd recommend this for younger teens and preteens, since it's easy to read and on that reading level. Older readers I'm not sure would enjoy it quite as much.

[ladygrey]

fast-paced is an understatement. This is an exciting book, full of engaging and unique characters. It opens a lot of doors in the story and draws you into this world, immerses you fully into everything happening to these kids, creates infuriating questions and moral dilemmas but I would highly recommend you have the sequel on hand to dive into as soon as your finished.