18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Take it for What it Is: a Preview, March 6, 2010
This review is from: FANG: A MAXIMUM RIDE NOVEL - Free preview: Book One (Kindle Edition)
I read with interest the one star reviews by certain readers, given as protest to the use of "free preview" vs "free sample" vs initial free books. My thoughts are:
- Free samples are given for already-published books, and are a good way to decide whether or not to spring $$ for the full book
- Free previews (a relatively new feature) are given for upcoming books, and also are valuable as a decision-making tool.
- Free full books, have been used mostly for first-time authors, or possibly genres such as "Christian Fiction," which are newly making the scene on Kindle.
Face it: they are ALL marketing ploys and are readily recognized as the same.
As to the disgruntlement over "Cluttering up best-seller lists," readers with normal intelligence will recognize free samples and previews, and yes, free full books, as what they are. Whether or not the reader wants to bother downloading and reading them is a personal preference. However, If you don't like the practice, don't download the free previews. But also, please *don't* publish one-star reviews as a means of protest. If you haven't *read* a book or preview, you've no real business reviewing it. That's just cluttering up these reviews, which is just as bad as what you're protesting.
I am a fan of the Maximum Ride series, and have bought and read every book in the first series. I probably would have pre-ordered "Fang" without benefit of the "free preview," and indeed, have ordered it after reading the preview.
The book begins in a remote area called Chad, where the Max's band have been asked by Max's mother to take part in a charitable group, which is donating food and medical supplies/treatment to the starving people. We are shortly made aware of the ongoing conflict between Max and Angel, who seems determined to take over as ruler of the winged kids. We also see evidence of the continuation of Max's and Fang's poorly-hidden lust for each other. Yes, I agree somewhat with the reviewer who took exception to the "chick read" reactions of Max when Fang is around. However, I am *well-past* the age of consent, and the blushing, stammering, and gulping brought back instant memories of my first love, now deceased, whom I married too many decades ago to count. Whether or not Patterson is out of his league with this genre is moot at this point, as far as I'm concerned.
But I digress. Max and Fang are joined by a scientist who gives them a private introduction to a handsome young man in his group. Although the scientist seems somewhat sinister at first, Max receives a mental message from her creator-father, implying that the scientist is trustworthy. The preview ends with a surprise when the young man removes his shirt an reveals a five-foot wingspan of radiant white wings. Is this new character to be a replacement for Fang?
For those who decried the lack of a full free book for this new series, there's a surprise at the end of the preview: a web site where you can download the full book in PDF form. I know there's a way to import PDF files into Kindle, but have never tried it. however, because of my loyalty to Amazon.com, I have pre-ordered my copy of the full book here.
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41 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Why clutter the store with "previews" when Kindle/Amazon already offers samples., February 13, 2010
This review is from: FANG: A MAXIMUM RIDE NOVEL - Free preview: Book One (Kindle Edition)
While it may say "preview" in the title, I don't like the direction authors or publishers are going by cluttering up the "bestseller" list with previews when Amazon/Kindle already offers the ability to see/read samples of books. Bestseller lists should ONLY contain actual books.
I gave this a single star as a statement against publishers/authors who use this option of cluttering up the bestseller list with pointless downloads. Work within the system (allow amazon/kindle to handle the samples), don't screw up the system (clutter up the bestseller list).
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48 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't be fooled -- this is NOT a free book., February 10, 2010
This review is from: FANG: A MAXIMUM RIDE NOVEL - Free preview: Book One (Kindle Edition)
It is pretty smart for authors to giveaway a book to introduce a new (or old) series and to entice readers to buy other books in the series. However, that is not what James Patterson is doing here. This book is NOT a free book. This is a "free preview" which is no different than Amazon's standard "samples". It is nothing short of deceptive advertising.
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