Maximum Ride
The series is a reboot of Patterson's earlier novels When the Wind Blows and The Lake House, which were aimed for older audiences.When Angel is abducted, the rest of the Flock searches for her while fighting a number of obstacles including physical ailments, natural disaster, the wolf-human Erasers, and the evil scientists at the experimental lab called "The School".The Flock is attacked by a group of bionic robots ("M-Geeks") at environmental awareness shows in Los Angeles and Mexico City.Later, the government enlists their help in finding out what is destroying hundreds of ships and killing millions of fish off the coast of Hawaii.The Flock travels to Africa where they meet Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagen, a former Itex worker, and Dylan, another human-avian hybrid designed to be Max's "perfect other half".They split up after a tragedy, and Max begins investigating a new enemy called the Remedy and his Horsemen who are working to kill off the remaining population.Max and Fang have a daughter, Phoenix, and after sheltering during a five-year-long nuclear winter, settle in the ruins of Machu Picchu.The School Library Journal called the book an "exciting SF thriller that's not wholly original but still a compelling read".He called the book "filled with every possible comic book/Saturday morning cartoon cliche" and described Patterson's writing style as "uneasy" and Max's dialogue as "horribly fake".[2] In January 2010, the webcomic Penny Arcade poked fun at James Patterson based on the description found on the back of the first book.[3][4] The second book, Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever,[5] was criticized for being "disappointingly anticlimactic and violent," although Total's character was praised for being "sure to entertain."[5] Booklist delivered a positive review, praising Patterson's "ability to write page-turning action scenes" and noting that he "leaven[ed] the suspense with some surprising humor.[10] However, the film entered development hell with the resignation of director Catherine Hardwicke in 2012 and the death of screenplay writer Don Payne in 2013.