Maximum Ride The Angel Experiment
James Patterson
Headline (Jonathan Ball)
Trade paperback, R164.95
Reviewed by Gail Jamieson, 31 May 2005
James Patterson is probably best known to SF fans for "When The Wind Blows",
and other readers for the Alex Cross novels, but this is a rather different
novel that is the beginning of a series.
It is aimed at young adults but not written down to them in any way. It is
about six young people ranging from the ages of 14 down to 6. They have
been helped to escape from "The School" and then left to manage by themselves.
"The School" is not your usual institution. It is a laboratory in which
experiments are performed on children and strange things are done to them.
Maximum Ride (Max), Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel are only 98%
human. The rest of them is avian and they all sport 14ft fully functional wing
spans which they can fold behind their shoulder blades and pass as normal
children.
They live in a remote house but "The School" wants them back and are
constantly trying to capture them with another experimental model - these are
called Erasers, and are are partly wolf. They have the ability to "morph" from
human to wolf and are very dangerous.
Angel is the baby and when the Erasers manage to capture her the others
must do their best to get her back.
Thus starts a wild chase that leads to New York. They split up into two
groups and must each fend for themselves. Each one is also searching
desperately for their parents and origins and they also discover new powers
they did not know they possessed.
Max is the oldest and their leader and she starts to hear voices which keep
telling her that she has to save the world. She begins to think that she is
going crazy.
This is a very readable novel which is satisfying for older readers as well.
The children are very cleverly drawn and we see a clear picture of independent
adolescents who at times would like to be treated as adults and at other times
like to be protected as they should have been in the childhood they have lost.
The story comes to a satisfactory ending without being complete. It will no
doubt continue.
Well worth reading.
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