The Lake House [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

James Patterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2003

The six children have escaped horrifying government experiments, a childhood in captivity, and a frightening brush with death. Living out in the world for the first time, they yearn to be reunited with Kit and Frannie, the couple who saved their lives. And Max, the leader of the flock, is seized by an overpowering fear that the kids are about to face a danger greater than any they've ever known. All that the children want is to return to the one place they have ever felt truly protected--the waterfront cabin known as the Lake House. But in order to get there, they must thwart the sinister plans of a survivor from their worst nightmare--plans that not only keep Kit, Frannie, and the children in constant peril, but threaten the future of human existence. And it's a battle they must be willing to pay any price to win. ï THE LAKE HOUSE is the completion of James Patterson's most original and compelling story ever, When the Wind Blows--a conclusion that millions of readers have awaited for years.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When the Wind Blows (1998), to which this is a sequel, has been Patterson's "most successful novel around the world," according to an author's note. That novel, about children genetically engineered to fly, also thrilled most critics. This one won't, despite some charms, and the reason manifests itself in the three paragraphs-paragraphs, mind-that begin chapter 41: "They were elated to be together again-the flock! The tribe! The family!" Patterson tends toward shorthand writing, and generally it works in his favor, but the problem here is that exclamation points do not engender deep emotions within readers! Nor do italics. And the novel is strewn with both, as well as with too much dumbed-down prose. The plot isn't much to boast about, either. In the original, Max the flying bird-girl and her "siblings" were menaced by the mad scientists who ran the vile laboratory known as "the School," but were helped in escaping by erstwhile narrator Frannie O'Neill, a veterinarian, and Kit Brennan, an FBI agent. Here, Max and her five siblings are menaced by the mad scientist who runs the vile laboratory known as "the Hospital" but are helped by erstwhile narrator Frannie and Kit. So what's new? Not much, other than a few neat touches (for instance, the villain, Dr. Ethan Kane, is addicted to M&Ms) and-in by far the best section of the novel, not coincidentally one in which Patterson slows down-a truly moving description of how Max and the oldest male bird-child mate. The rest is an extended hunt and chase, as Kane goes after Max and her siblings in a medical conspiracy so outrageously unbelievable that readers will blink in wonder. The pages move like the wind that lifts Max's wings, of course, but Patterson can, and has, done far better than this.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Patterson's latest picks up where one of his most popular novels, When the Wind Blows (1998), about a group of children who have been genetically engineered to fly, left off. Beautiful Max and handsome Ozymandias lead the group of six children who are fighting to stay with Kit and Frannie, the couple that saved them from the School, where they were being held by the scientists who created them. The court returns the children to their biological parents, but only Max knows how much danger they're in. Max is privy to information about Resurrection, another project that is even more daring and groundbreaking than the one that created the children. Dr. Ethan Kane, the scientist who heads up Resurrection, is determined to keep Max silent and plots to kidnap the children. Though Max won't share the secret with anyone, she and Oz gather up the other children and run to Frannie, but Kane is one step ahead of them and will do anything to stop Max from endangering his project--even if it means killing the children. An unexpected and sweet romance between Max and Oz alleviates the nail-biting suspense somewhat, but as usual, Patterson gets his readers in his grip from page one and doesn't let go until the last page is turned. This sequel is even better than the first book. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• ISBN-10: 0316603287
• ASIN: B000EPFW04
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (322 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #724,416 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

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring sequel, June 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lake House (Hardcover)

Although this book is a very fast read, there is nothing new in this sequel to When the Wind Blows. Once again the kids are being stalked, and Frannie and Kit are trying to save them from the evil Dr. Kane. The ending is just plain silly. If you must read this, save your money and get this from the library or wait for the paperback. Bring back the Alex Cross books as these are Patterson at his best.

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Rebel without a cause . . .with wings!, February 6, 2004

By 

Larry Scantlebury (Ypsilanti, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lake House (Hardcover)

The only decent thing about this book is that I got it from my library. Had I actually purchased this book, I would be livid. All we want as readers is to read a book in which the author "tried." If I read Ollie North's book or Kyle Mills' book and I don't like the content, really I have only myself to blame. They're trying. I know what I'm getting into.

If I read Follett or Koontz or Patterson, when time after time in recent years they have shown me they just mail it in, I'm the fool.

Bird children. OK. I grew up in the '60's. I saw Mothra and Godzilla. So I'll take a crack at bird-kids.

Bird kids that have sex? No that's too much. Bird kids that kill? No, I'll pass.

Jumping from one ambush to another? How do they do it? So much wasted dialogue and so few (if any explanations). How do the hunters know where the prey are? How do they find them? They're genius birds, after all. The adults speak like children ("Hugs and Kisses. Hugs and kisses. Coo Coo Coo.") And the children speak like no child I ever heard. The plot is unbelievable. The interconnecting scenes without bridges. The conversations without any basis in reality, suspended or actual. The facts are MIA. In the second to the last scene the characters we have come to love (or rather just put up with) are facing certain death. In the next scene, they are free! This is not David Copperfield. How did he do that?

Huge enormous collossal waste of time.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Yikes! ( a review of the audiobook), March 2, 2007

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Lake House (Audio Cassette)

Note to James Patterson: Clearly label your sequels. I did not know this was a sequel until I read it here - after I'd already listened to it. I looked again - there is no mention that it is a sequel anywhere.

Well, this book stinks on many more levels than just poor packaging and labeling.

108 chapters - that must make the printed version of this book quite beefy with all of the extra paper. For me, it meant a new chapter every 4 minutes.

Not only is the book poorly paced (nearly an hour of the 7 1/2 hour book is all about two of the characters' first sexual experiences), but it left out information and had fits and starts. For example, the children all "run" away to live in the woods and eat grubs. Next thing you know, they're back without any sort of explanation. I listen to a lot of books on tape and many of them are abridged so I am used to odd fits and starts by poor editing. I checked the packaging several times while listening to this book to see if it was abridged - The herky-jerky nature of the book cannot be blamed on poor editing during the process of abridgement.

Technical things made the book just seem silly like:

-the smoke detector that goes off only after the house is up in flames struck me as stupid. Just this morning 2 fire alarms went off in my house because a toaster waffle got a bit burned.

-How about the Subaru that holds 8 people, including 6 of them with wings?

-Why does the bad guy want the kids so badly. He keeps mentioning them as a source of money, but how much money does this guy need? He just performed 30 surgeries at the rate of $100 million each. That's $3 billion!

-If you were going to fight a winged person with a 10 foot wingspan and superhuman strength would you bring a gun? a big knife? Well, the genius supervillain brings a scalpel!

-How about the bemoaning of the fact that no one was talking about the Resurrection project in the media but than it is brought out in testimony during the custody trial of the century and no one questions it because they knew all about it?

-Can you measure IQ when someone is asleep? No, but the evil genius does anyway.

-Hey - if you are going to write sci-fi get your terms right! Clones are not robots. Robots are not made of flesh. Android is the term you were looking for. Get the terminology right or don't use it, please!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. This book is bad, especially when compared to other works by Patterson, such as any of the early Alex Cross books. Patterson needs to have an editor really jump all over him and demand the better quality that he is capable of.

My grade: F