When I read them back in 2008, I could not put down the first three Maximum Ride books. I loved the characters, the plots, and found them really suspenseful, but not over-the-top dramatic. Books four and five, while still good, did not have the same exciting plots, which was disappointing. Book six, which had many elements similar to book one, was a step in the right direction, except for one glaring flaw - Dylan. Clearly, James Patterson was trying to attract fans of the (ridiculously laughable) Twilight saga by incorporating elements of eye-rolling romantic drama. While Twilight fans may have enjoyed this, a flock-hard like myself found Dylan completely cringe-worthy. Sadly, book seven, Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel, did not help. Dylan was tolerable when Max hated him, but, as she grew to like him, he became ridiculously annoying. I read Maximum Ride for the sci-fi, action, and plot, not for the hugs, kisses, and drama.
Still, Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel had some strengths. The antagonist, the crazy, brainwashing Doomsday Group, was easily most entertaining villain since the flock was on the run from the school in the early books. Unfortunately, the potential excitement of this group was marred by the presence of Dylan. The hints of romance between Max and Fang in the early books were exciting, but the blatant Twilight-copy that Patterson is trying to create is, pardon my French, suckish.
Speaking of Fang, oh boy. In this book, Fang has gone off and created his own separate flock. While this group of additional genetically enhanced kids has the potential to be exciting, it was not. The characters were ridiculously one dimensional, and were nothing but, well, there. The only reason why Fang left in the first place can be traced back, of course, to Dylan, the cause of all things annoying in recent Maximum Ride books. His flock had no purpose but to give Fang something to do. Clearly, if it weren't for Dylan, this book could have been better in so many ways.
Additionally, this book was ridiculously short. Way too many plot elements were left untied, of course to get you to read Patterson's eighth and final Maximum Ride book, due out next year. I plan on reading this book, not only out of hope that the Doomsday Group can remain exciting, but with some hope that Dylan dies. Maximum Ride is not bad, it just isn't as good as it used to be, which is a shame considering it has the potential to be good again. Again, there is only one character to blame - Dylan.
