Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

James Patterson (Author), Jill Apple (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2010 | Series: Maximum Ride (Book 6)

Max and the Flock are flying high over Africa, but this time they're not alone. A sky full of cargo planes accompanies the team as they bring much-needed aid to the continent's poverty stricken regions. Among the volunteers is the mission's benefactor--the mysterious billionaire, Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagen. Max is intrigued by his generosity, but there's also something about him--and his intense scrutiny of the Flock--that makes her nervous.

But Dr. Hans isn't the only puzzling thing about their trip. The Flock also receives a cryptic message from a young girl, who tells them, "The sky will fall." Max and the Flock are ready to return home, still unable to make sense of her statement. But the surprises don't end with their departure, and something unbelievably momentous shakes up the Flock--pushing Max and Fang closer than ever. Will the team be able to stick together through the chaos?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-10–On a goodwill mission in Africa, Max and the flock meet Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagen, a scientific researcher and billionaire purporting to be a philanthropist in this episode (Little Brown, 2010) in James Patterson's series. He introduces Max to Dylan, a hunky heartthrob bird-kid secretly created to woo 15-year-old Max as a future mate. Skeptical of Dylan's motives and Dr. Hackjob-Wackjob's humanitarian efforts to use adaptive genetics to improve survival among the less fortunate, Max learns toxic chemicals have been used on orphans in Chad. Angel upsets the flock with a prediction of Fang's death and, seemingly brainwashed by Dr. Hans, challenges Max as flock leader. Action passages are fewer than in previous installments as Angel goes off to help Dr. Hans, Dylan moves into the safe house, and Fang follows Max to Las Vegas to contemplate their future. In a fast-paced ending, Fang is captured and rendered lifeless and Angel telepathically calls the flock to help. Jill Apple adeptly captures Max's softer side as she anguishes about Fang and the new flock dynamic, while retaining familiar acerbic tones unleashed on Dr. Hunka-Munka. Almost all of the voices are spot-on, and it is only a minor irritation that Fang seems persistently hoarse. Subtle music and sound effects punctuate the action. Fans of the series will eagerly await the next installment.Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia Jr./Sr. High School, NY
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

The Maximum Ride series' flock of winged children is off to Africa for a photo op while providing humanitarian aid. Then Max's rival, Angel, prophesies that best-friend Fang will be the first to die and it will happen soon. When Dr. Gunther-Hagen introduces Max to Dylan, a gorgeous new bird kid who has been designed to be Max's perfect mate, Max's voices tell her Dylan is perfect for her. But how does this affect her commitment to Fang? This will excite the legions of fans waiting for this installment in the flock's story. Grades 7-9. --Diana Tixier Herald --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Hachette Audio; Unabridged edition (March 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160024789X
• ISBN-13: 978-1600247897
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 5.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,192,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

From my publisher:

James Patterson...


* James Patterson holds the New York Times bestsellers list record with 63 New York Times bestselling titles.

* JP has sold more than 220 million books worldwide. And considering pass-along and libraries, it's safe to say many more people than that have read a Patterson!

* In 2010, JP was named by kids everywhere the Children's Book Councils' Children's Choice Book Awards "Author of the Year" in 2010. More than 15,000 kid and teen readers voted for JP in a category he shared with Suzanne Collins, Carl Hiaasen, Jeff Kinney, and Rick Riordan. His Witch and Wizard series saw the biggest launch of a series for young readers ever, surpassing sales of first installments of Twilight, Diary of A Wimpy Kid, and Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

* JP has grossed over 3 billion dollars in worldwide sales. This is larger than the worldwide theatrical gross of Avatar, the highest grossing film of all time.

* JP has had 43 New York Times hardcover #1 bestselling novels, also a publishing industry record.

* Last year, JP has sold more books than John Grisham, Dan Brown, Tom Clancy, and Stephen King combined (source: Nielsen BookScan).

* JP properties are gaining wide interest amongst film and TV producers. JP's award-winning series for young readers, Maximum Ride, is currently with Avi Arad (Spiderman, Iron Man) and Universal Pictures. Lloyd Levin (Green Zone, Watchmen) is attached to produce a feature film adaptation of JP's newest young readers series, Witch and Wizard, and James Patterson Entertainment is set to produce the next Alex Cross film, I, Alex Cross which will feature Idris Elba (The Wire, The Losers) as Alex Cross. And, a television adaptation of JP's 2007 love story Sundays At Tiffanys aired in December 2010 starring Alyssa Milano and Eric Winter.

* JP's books are licensed in 43 countries worldwide, and are in print and actively sold in 100 countries.

* According to a 2010 Bowker Sisters in Crime Survey, JP is the favorite mystery writer amongst readers under 50...AND over 50! Survey respondents comprised American men, women and teens who bought at least one mystery fiction title in 2009 and/or 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Containnnns spoilers!, April 14, 2010

By 

anonymousss - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel (Hardcover)

Alright. Just finished the book. About 15 minutes ago.
At first I wasn't going to read it, because to tell you the truth, I was kind of upset with Mr. Patterson here. I felt like after the third (or second?) book, he kind of just gave up on the series. Got lazy. Became all about the money, less about the plot. This angered me. So, I had a Maximum Ride fast for about a year. And on March 15, this book came out.
And unlike all the other books, I DIDN'T GO OUT AND BUY IT. In fact, I really didn't even think about it for a while.

...Until this morning. At FOUR IN THE FREAKING MORNING. When I very randomly woke up, wide awake, with the intense craving to read Maximum Ride. I tried not to, I really did. But I guess my will-power just couldn't keep up. I guess long-term grudges just aren't really my thing.
And so I read. And read...

And then, I caved and bought FANG today. I'm not proud of myself, but I just couldn't resist.

So I gotta say, I'm a pretty big fax fan. Or more like just a Fang fan. So this book was just perfect for me.
(Now I'm kind of confused about whether I liked the book for the book, or just because Fang was in it a lot. To be determined later.

So now for my review:
For starters, one of the main reason I started my so-called "fast" was because I felt like James would start theories about 'the big picture' and just leave them hanging and never develop them. I liked how he actually brought them up in this book! Like the whole 'Max-looking-in-the-mirror-and-seeing-an-eraser' thing. Okay, so he didn't REALLY develop them. But at least it was mentioned. I felt like he had completely forgotten about them, so it was comforting that he hasn't...yet.

Dylan. I don't know about him. He seemed pretty okay to me, but just kind of..boring. And dependent on the scientists. Like the whole 'I'm programmed to love Max thing'? What was up with that? I don't know. But I didn't completely hate him, he was just a little boring. Never met Max in my life but I already love her? She's my SOULMATE? Please. Give it a rest, James. Oh, and I have this theory that he's Max's voice! I'm kind of proud of myself for coming up with this one: Think about it. He was created 8 months ago. If you remember, Max and the Flock left their home about a year ago. Max really didn't start to hear the voice until a while later...say, maybe FOUR months later? (Dylan's creation...hmmm...)

Hey, uhm, Fang? Yeah, WAY TO GIVE ME A FREAKING HEART ATTACK. Seriously. I never cry during books. Ever. It really hasn't ever happened. Did I cry during this book? Yeah. TWICE. Don't know what is wrong with me. So Fang died, and I just burst into tears for a good 20 minutes. It was a sad sight. And then, wooh, he's back! Okay, I said to myself, calm down. Everything's okay. Fang's alright. Everyone's alright. (Oh, by the way, Dylan's suicide attempt? WTH?) And then Akila and Total got married? Uhm, okay, whatever floats your boat... but I was good. Satisfied. Fang was safe.
So then Patterson decides he couldn't POSSIBLY have everything be fine and dandy. He had to make Fang write the saddest. letter. ever. I cried even harder that time. If that's possible. And I just kind of sat there in shock for a while. (Why was I in shock? Still don't know. This is totally a thing Mr. Patterson would do, since he likes to play with our emotions...)

Liked the Fang blog. Added some mmph into it. Wish I would've saved it for later after I experienced all the emotions of the book to their full potential. I'm such a sap.

LOVED VEGAS. Love, love, loved it. Especially the jackpot scene. Made me laugh.

Dr. G-H was interesting. I guess.

Mr. Chu...huh? green kid? Do I want to know?

Still hating Angel. Why can't she just be HAPPY?! or at least content??

So, I'm thinking a four outta five. What say you?

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I Miss The Original Plot, June 10, 2010

By 

Astro 599 "the Space Coyote" (aboard Moya in the Uncharted Territories) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel (Hardcover)

Anyone else feel that this series has gone seriously downhill? The original three books were so great, with such a good arc. The next three made no sense, not even as singular episodes.

Character development, plotlines, and overall cohesion have all disappeared. *Sigh* Things are just getting silly now. Maybe whichever ghost writer of Patterson's is writing this series now should quit while they're not too far behind.

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, not as good as the first three but better than the Final Warning, March 15, 2010

By 

rebelutionarywriter (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel (Hardcover)

Well, my bro bought this book today and I read it before him, as usual. I enjoyed the book less than the first three, but more than Final Warning, so it's about as good as Max. I thought it could have been summed up in a few dozen pages, and the whole Max/Fang thing went a little overboard. I mean, they're in survival situations constantly- so they don't exactly have time to be all mushy-mushy like they are. I guess that's love? More like obsession. Love is more than a feeling- it's an action, and Patterson doesn't capture that. Whatever. In any case, not as good as we were all hoping, but not as ridiculous as Final Warning.