Maximum Ride
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| Maximum Ride Series | |
|---|---|
 Covers of the first four books released in the Maximum Ride series (UK). |
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| Author | James Patterson |
| Cover artist | Greg Weiner |
| Country |  USA UK Australia Canada |
| Language | English |
| Series | Maximum Ride |
| Subject(s) | Avian Children |
| Genre(s) | Action-Adventure/Fantasy |
| Publisher | Headline[1] Doubleday[2] Little, Brown and Company[3] |
| Publication date | April 11, 2005 - present |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | About 400 per book |
Maximum Ride is a young adult science fiction/fantasy series written by the award-winning American author, James Patterson. The series debuted on April 11, 2005, and the most recent installment was published on April 9, 2009. There are currently five titles in the series, which have combined spent over 95 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. The sixth book (FANG: A Maximum Ride Novel) has been announced with a publication date of March 15, 2010.
- The Angel Experiment
- School's Out - Forever
- Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
- The Final Warning
- MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel
- Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel
The series follows six human/avian fugitives. Bred in a science lab called "The School", the Flock endured scientific experiments that rendered them 98% human and 2% avian. The Angel Experiment picks up the story as the Flock reengages with their struggle against scientists and evil hybrids after having been freed from the School by Jeb Batchelder years before.
Through the first three books of the Maximum Ride series, the Flock spends much of their time running from human-lupine hybrids created by the School called Erasers. Book four is mainly about the flock rising against global warming, while Book 5 is about saving Dr. Martinez from an Asian man named Mr. Chu while battling environmental pollution. The reason for the change in style of the books is reportedly because the series is to be made up of two trilogies (so far), The Fugitives (books 1-3) and The Protectors (books 4-6). There are also two graphic novel volumes under the name of "Maximum Ride: The Manga."
Contents |
[edit] Characters
The Flock is a group of children genetically altered with bird DNA. It consists of Max, Fang, Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, Angel, and, from the end of The Angel Experiment on, Angel's dog Total. In The Angel Experiment, Max and the flock are being threatened by the School, Jeb Baldetcher (who was thought to be dead), Erasers, and one particular Eraser Ari.
The next book brings enemies such as the eraser Max, the return of Ari (who was thought to be killed by Max in Angel Experiment) Max's "Voice", Jeb, and a mysterious company known as Itex.
Saving the world and other extreme sports has enemies such as Max's "mom," the head of itex, Flyboys (robot versions of Erasers), Omega (an Itex creation), and the flock splits apart.
CSM, or The Coalition to Stop the Madness, are a group that emerge in book 5, and are led by Max's mother, Dr. Valencia Martinez. Dr. Brigid Dwyer, a character in the fourth book, and Dr. John Abate are also members of this group. CSM organize a series of airshows by the Flock in many polluted countries and citys in an effort to urge action on climate change.
[edit] Max
Maximum Ride or 'Max' is fourteen years old but it is often suggested that she looks older than her age. She was bought up in a biotech lab and her name there was Maximum She chose her last name.Max loved the astronaught Sally Ride so she chose Ride as her last name. She's the oldest of the avian-human hybrids and the leader of the Flock. Her powers are "warp drive" when flying, and the gills that she and Fang develop in the fifth book. She is like the mother figure to the flock.
Max and Fang: In the books, Max and Fangs relationship' was first suggested in book one, the Angel Experiment, after Max kisses Fang on the beach when she thinks he's dying. In the second book, Max and Fang both develop a relationship with a different person besides each other. They do both seem mildly annoyed with each other at this, and Fang kisses Max's forehead at one point while reassuring her that she won't turn into an Eraser. In the fourth book Fang makes the point, saying that neither of them liked each other being with someone else. Fang kisses Max in the 3rd book, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports and the 4th book, The Final Warning. Max and Fang kiss four times in the 5th book, MAX. In the third and fourth book Max runs off as soon as they kiss, however in The Final Warning Max acknowledges that she is in love with Fang after they kiss, and this horrifies her. In MAX, Max accepts that she loves Fang, but they do not really make a big deal out of it until Max gets ready to go on a possible life or death mission. Then she kisses him for the first time in front of the rest of the flock and the CSM team.
Max's biological family: Max's search for her biological family was an emotional roller coaster ride. To start off with, Max always liked to pretend that Jeb (the scientist who rescued her, Fang, Angel, Iggy, Nudge and the Gasman from the school) was her father. In book 3, Max find's out he really is her father. Things also heat up when in the 1st book, Max and Ari fight to the death. Well, as the title of the fight suggests, Ari dies when Max accidentally snaps his neck. He is brought back to life and in the 3rd book, he finds out that Max is actually his half-sister. He and Max have Jeb as a father. In the 3rd book, the Director claims that she is Max's mother. This horrifies Max at the thought of having a power-crazed, lying, twisted, self-centered control freak for her mother. Near the end of the book, she finds out that Dr. Martinez is her biological mother. She is delighted at the thought of having Dr. Martinez as a mom and Ella for a half sister. Also Max's description is Chocolate eyes very deep and dark in a beautiful way. Also dark chesnut hair with a slender but strong figure. Weighs little because bone marrow consists of bird's.
[edit] Fang
Fang, like Max, is 14 years old and the second in command of the Flock. He typically wears black clothing and has black wings which look tinted purple in strong sunlight, has dark black hair, deep, dark eyes, and olive skin, but claims to be neither goth nor emo. Fang is also able to virtually disappear if he stays perfectly still. Fang is described as a strong and silent person. He, like Max, is very ironic, and loves using sarcasm when he speaks. He comes across as disinterested, but his love for the Flock is undeniable, and he will do anything to protect them. Fang has had several relationships outside the Flock, including Lissa, the "Red-Haired Wonder" in book 2, and Brigid Dwyer, the beautiful 21 year old scientist in the 4th and 5th books. Although he seems attracted to other girls, Fang has a deep connection with Max that neither of them can seem to shake, and throughout the series their relationship grows and becomes more solid. Fang also keeps a blog, (Fang's Blog) which he uses to rally the young people of the world behind a variety of causes, from global warming to raids on Itex and the School. The blog mentioned in the books actually exists on the Internet, and is entitled "Fly On". The blog was moved to a new site in November 2008, and it now appears alongside Daniel X's blog and the blogs of other characters from Maximum Ride. For part of book 3, Max decides that after Ari helps save the flock, he has every right to be in it. Fang is deeply against this idea, and he, Iggy and Gazzy leave Max, Angel, Nudge and Ari alone and fly south for part of book 3. He misses her deeply and in one page of book 3, he receives a message from Max. When he receives the message, he wants to go right away, But Max's mini flock meets them on a barrier island and promise not to leave each other again. He's cool.
[edit] Iggy
Iggy is the sarcastic, wisecracking, also 14 years old, member of the flock. He is also blind because of expirements done on his eyes when he was young that went terribly wrong. His real name is James Griffiths, and he did actually find his parents. But they wanted to publicize his wings, to make money off them, [presumably] and Iggy ran away back to the flock. Later Iggy begins to develop special powers and mutations like other members of the flock, he becomes able to feel color and "see whiteness" and objects against whiteness. He also shows a little bit of his perverted side in various books. It is rumored that he will end up with Ella Martinez, Max's half sister, after a conversation in book 3 where Ella said he was amazing, and he blushed. But no other hints have been made. There have also been rumors that Iggy likes fellow flock member, Nudge, when in book five he brings her up after she stays behind in a desert to go to school, saying he misses her run-on mouth and her browness.
[edit] Nudge
Nudge's real name is Monique. Nudge loves to talk. She is 11. She wants to leave the flock in MAX, and she also wants to have her wings removed. She does leave the flock to go to the Day and Night School in the desert, but then she realizes that she misses them too much so she finds them and returns to them when they are with the United States Navy trying to find Dr. Martinez. Nudge's special power is she is able to tell who last touched an object and what they looked like and did (i.e. passwords) which comes in handy many times during the series. Nudge also develops powers like the rest of the flock like being able to draw metal to herself.
[edit] The Gasman (Gazzy)
The Gasman is 8 years old, and he earned his name by being born with a strange digestive system and, therefore, has a problem with flatulence, which eventually develops into a power. Gazzy can imitate any voice flawlessly. Gazzy is just as mischievous as Iggy is, and is a pyromaniac as well. At birth, both Angel (the Gasman's blood sister) and The Gasman were sold by their parents for $10,000 to Itex, which they discover in book 3.
[edit] Angel
Angel is the Gasman's six year old blood sibling (Angel also argues that she is seven, not six, halfway through book 5). Angel is one of the most mysterious characters in the flock, not only does she obtain seemingly random powers at random times like gills, being able to read people (and fish)'s minds, being able to control people's minds, and shapeshift into a human version of a blue bird of paradise, but she also knows the avian-human hybrid anatomy well enough to predict that the rest of the flock would develop gills, even though they have no fish DNA. At birth, both Angel and Gasman were sold by their parents for $10,000 to Itex, which they discover in book 3. Angel also read Max and Fang's minds throughout the series and knew that they loved each other early on, and hinted this to Max numerous times. In the 3rd book, she was said to be a traitor. Also, at times she can scare Max with her powers. Angel's wings are like angels' wings: pure white, suggesting she was given bird DNA from a dove.
[edit] Total
Total is the talking dog in the flock. Found in the Institute Of the Higher Living by Angel at the end of book 1. Angel was able to convince Fang and Max to let her keep Total by using "Bambi eyes". He always wants to eat, just like the rest of the flock. In book 4, he suddenly develops wings, which is why his species is questioned. He can also jump 30 feet in the air, unlike normal dogs. Total shares characteristics of a Scottish terrier although in the first book he is described as looking like Toto (The Wizard of Oz) therefore would be a Cairn terrier. He also has romantic feelings toward Akila, a white Malamute that the flock encounters in book 4. Akila has no powers. Total also thought about marriage with Akila and at the end of book 5, it is said that their wedding was being planned, Max being the bridesmaid. Total has a strong sense of sarcasm and is able to talk, usually freaking out many humans the flock encounter.
[edit] Akila
Akila is Total's love interest in The Final Warning and Max. During the hurricane in The Final Warning, for a few short paragraphs it was thought that the worst had happened. Then, 80 pounds of dog fell from the sky and everyone felt relief at knowing that Akila was safe.
[edit] Jeb Batchelder
Jeb Batchelder is a brilliant scientist. Jeb used to work at the School where the Flock was experimented on, and he rescued the Flock and brought them into the mountains, where he lived with them and "took them under his wing" as his children. Jeb disappeared, leaving the Flock very distressed and to fend for themselves. Jeb is Ari's father, and it is revealed in book 3 that Jeb is also Max's biological father. In the first book, Jeb reappeared as a member of Itex, an enemy of the flock, but later claimed to be a double agent for their benefit. Jeb is mysteriously vague when talking to the Flock about the importance of their existence. He shows much disinterest in his son, Ari. As the books progress, Jeb's love for Ari grows, and he claims to work hard to protect the Flock and their work, but has yet to recapture their trust.
[edit] Roland ter Borcht
He is a brilliant geneticist associated with Itex's creation of human-animal hybrids. Although he had been permanently committed to a mental institution due to his 'insane' and illegal genetic experiments on humans, he was presumably freed by Itex in order to seek his help regarding Maximum Ride and her Flock. Max finds him amusing to taunt, and when they meet him the Flock deliberately frustrate him and make fun of his German accent, calling him "Borchy". Rampant speculation based on passages in the third and second books implies that a further relationship between Jeb Batchelder and ter Borcht will be revealed in a coming book.
[edit] Ari
Ari is the 7 year-old son of Jeb Batchelder and Max's half-brother. Ari was turned into an Eraser at the age of 3, shortly after his father left the school (and Ari himself) to save Max and the flock.Ari was turned into a superEraser. Throughout "The Angel Experiment", Ari had appeared determined to kill the flock, but as sections of "School's Out" and "Extreme Sports" told from his perspective show, his true goal was to capture Max so the two would be alone together and she would grow to love him and play with him. Jeb later provided him with grafted-on wings, causing him to be a different form of Eraser: one who never looked human, never looked Eraser and just looked like a "mistake". When Erasers are not in their wolf form, they resemble male models. In "School's Out", Ari is confronted by a young boy, thinking he is Wolverine, and wants an autograph. In the Manga adaptation, he has brown hair, the whites of his eyes are black, and he has a large scar running down his eye. However when he appears in 'Male-model' form his hair is blonde. The Erasers also appear in the manga, when in full wolf mode, resembling Wolves that stand upright. Ari is rough in the beginning of the series, but as the books progress it is made clear that the reason Ari's so hateful is because he longs for the attention and love of his father that he saw given to the Flock rather than himself. He has a good heart, but his past and current situation make it hard to see. Ari 'expired' as all creations at The School do, in book 3, while trying to free Max and the Flock. Three of the Flock then changed their opinion including Iggy, Fang, and Gazzy, because of what Ari had done for them. A Robot Ari was created but was quickly destroyed by Gazzy and Iggy in MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel.
[edit] Anne
A character in the second book, Anne Walker is an FBI agent who takes the flock in while Fang recovers from a nearly fatal injury. She is the first adult since Jeb Batchelder who has acted like a surrogate parent to the children, excluding Dr. Valencia Martinez's interlude with Max in The Angel Experiment. Blonde, single Anne houses the group for weeks and, along with dealing with the enormous food bill, enrolls them in school, where for the first time they socialize with kids their own age and deal with regular children's issues. At a Thanksgiving dinner, Anne tells the flock that she has grown to love them like her own children and wants to adopt them.
But soon after Thanksgiving, Erasers show up at the flock's new school. When they escape back to Anne's, leader Max finds out that Anne has been working for their enemies all the time and is in fact their former foster parent Jeb's superior. Taking only their backpacks, Angel's dog Total, and one of Anne's credit cards, the flock resumes their life on the run. Anne appears again in the third book. At this time, she attempts to convince the flock that they were in virtual reality for five months and never left The School. They do not believe her and eventually escape.
[edit] Dr. Martinez
Dr.Martinez is first introduced in book one, The Angel Experiment, when Max saves her daughter, Ella, from a group of bullies and is shot in the wing. Dr.Martinez helps Max recover from the injury, being a veterinarian. In the process of taking care of Max's wing she finds a chip embedded in Max's arm. During the third book Dr. Martinez removes this chip from Max's arm in a very delicate surgery where Max, under the influence of Valium, admits her love for Fang. At the end of the third book Max finds out Dr. Martinez is her real mother. During the fourth and fifth books it is revealed that Dr. Martinez is in fact Max's biological mother and gets them involved in helping solve problems in the environment including research in Antarctica and doing fly shows for Coalition to Stop the Madness (CSM). This leads to her kidnapping in book 5 by a powerful corporation to make the flock stop working for the CSM. In the book the flock go off on a rescue mission to save her. Throughout the book series Dr. Martinez is shown as Max's vision of the perfect mom.
[edit] Ella Martinez
Ella Martinez is first introduced in the Angel Experiment. A group of boys is surrounding her and Max comes to her rescue. When Max is shot she comes to Ella, who is out walking her dog Magnolia in the rain, and Ella and her mother help Max. Later on in the series Max finds out that Ella is her half sister. They share the same mother- Dr. Martinez. Ella is described as a Hispanic about 12 years old. In the manga she is drawn with medium length black hair with front bangs. A romantic interest between Ella and Iggy is hinted at during the third book but not built upon as of yet.
[edit] Books
[edit] Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
The first book in James Patterson's best-selling Maximum Ride series focuses around the rescue of Angel, the youngest member of the flock. The flock is safe in the mountains until the day a pack of Erasers, cruel and bloodthirsty, half-wolf men, appear out of nowhere and kidnaps Angel. Now, the flock must return to the dreaded School that holds horrifying memories of their past to rescue her. Max is deeply confused when she finds out that Jeb Batchelder, the kindhearted, parental figure who looked after them and rescued them from the school, has reappeared, and on the bad side, and that Ari, Jeb Batchelder's son, has become an Eraser. While Max is thrown into struggles of looking after all of her flock, saving Angel from the evil clutches of the white-coats, and realizing how complicated love can be, she is trying to figure out why she has a mysterious voice inside her head that no one else can hear that is telling her that her mission is to save the world... but Max has no idea why she has a voice in her head and the others do not have a voice and why she has to save the world.
[edit] Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever
After being reunited with Angel and adding a Scottish Terrier named Total to their group, the Flock heads off to look for their parents through papers they found in an underground lab called the Institute for Higher Living. Max is still reeling from Jeb's enigmatic scream over his dying son that Ari was her brother - does this mean Jeb may be her father? Or is it just another "test" designed to confuse her even more? On the way they run into flying Erasers (with patched on wings), which one turns out the be back-from-the-dead Ari, who leaves Fang fighting for his life. What they didn't expect was to get enrolled into a real school with teachers, students, and classes. And to find a motherly figure after all these years. Along with Total developing into a talking dog, which, of course, just adds to all the strange things happening to them. But all the people surrounding the Flock may not be who they claim. The principal is evil and works for the Institute and in school after Max spots Fang kissing a red-haired girl (who Max calls The Red Haired Wonder), she now is jealous while also being kidnapped and replaced by a clone Max that looks just like her but acts really differently, a fight will leave only one Max standing as Jeb makes it clear that there can be only one Max.
[edit] Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
In the third installment, Max is faced with the task of saving the world from the Itex corporation and the evil Director - the company behind the School - who want to terminate all recombinant species and cut the population of earth by half. While all this is happening Fang is trying to persuade Max to find a permanent home where they can just live. The Erasers were some of the first to be destroyed and have been replaced with new threat of Flyboys (robotic-like Erasers that can fly). Further issues arise when Max invites Ari - the single remaining Eraser- to join the group, leaving Fang and half of the Flock to split off in protest, with Max the leader of one group, Angel, Nudge, and Ari, and Fang the leader of the second, Iggy and The Gasman. But then Ari dies, and, with all the other crazy things happening, Max finally finds out who her parents are, which turns out to be a good thing and a bad thing.
[edit] Maximum Ride: The Final Warning
With the help of Max's newly found mom and dad, the Flock is taken to Antarctica, where a scientific team requires their assistance. But danger finds the Flock in the remote location, and they must fight when they find an international organization, led by the Uber Director,who Max calls UD, attempting to use them for evil by auctioning them off to evil leader of foreign countries to be used as weapons and mercenary. Total meets the love of his life, Akila the malamute,while he has grown wings. Fang kisses Max a couple of times and Max starts to notice that they are meant for each other even though she doesn't want to admit it.
[edit] MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel
The Flock have barely recovered from their Antarctica adventure before they are pulled into another one. Millions of fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii and something—or someone—is destroying hundreds of ships. The government enlists their help to find out the cause after being unable to themselves. While the Flock is undertaking the task, a criminal mastermind is tracking their every move. Then, Max's mother is kidnapped and is being held in an underground submarine. They must try to save the ocean, Max's mother, and protect themselves from the criminal mastermind's own ideas for them. During the struggles, Fang and Max's relationship is stronger, and Max feels that she loves Fang. The story was originally supposed to be titled, "Maximum Ride: Waterwings."
[edit] Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel
The latest in the Maximum ride series. Currently unreleased. Was originally supposed to be titled, "Maximum Ride: The Sky is Falling". The book is set to be released on March 15, 2010.
Being a teen with wings—constantly on the run—has never been easy, and Max and her flock are getting tenser than ever. First, on a trip to Africa, they meet a mysterious billionaire whose intense scrutiny of the Flock makes her fear the worst. Then, a cryptic message from a young girl arrives, warning them "The sky will fall." And as if an impending apocalypse weren't bad enough, canny birdkid Angel makes a dire prophecy about Max's soul mate: Fang will be the first to die.Angel is never wrong. Max's desperate desire to protect Fang brings the two closer than ever. But can the flock weather the storm, or will the turmoil rip them apart for the last time?
[edit] Media
[edit] OEL Manga
Illustrated by NaRae Lee and released by Yen Press, the first chapter of the original English-language manga adaptation came out in July 2008 in the magazine Yen Plus. A free 22-page preview was released on Free Comic Book Day (May 3, 2008).[4] The first volume of the series was released on January 27, 2009 and another volume was released on October 27, 2009, with more volumes being released every six months through October 2013.[5]
[edit] Film adaptation(s)
In January 2007, it was announced that a film would be created based on the Maximum Ride series. James Patterson will be the executive producer.[6] Avi Arad, one of the producers of Spider-Man, X-Men and other Marvel movies, will also produce alongside Steven Paul.[6][7] In an interview with James Patterson, it was revealed that Arad has already planned out the first two movies.[8] On August 7, 2008, it was announced that Columbia Pictures bought the screen rights to the franchise.[9] Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) will direct the first movie, with Don Payne (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) writing the script.[6]. In an interview with The Official Catherine Hardwicke Fan Club, Hardwicke stated "The script is being redone, because I wanted to add a little more action and it could have been better than it was."
[edit] Website and community
A social networking community for young adults ages 13 and up (unless supervised by an adult) has over 25,000 members at the series' official site. On this website, members can upload videos, discuss multiple topics in forums, join groups, and more. This website also contains the updated blogs of the characters in the Maximum Ride Series. This website also houses the official sites for James Patterson's book series Daniel-X. The Series includes The Dangerous Days of Daniel X as the first book, and Watch the Skies as the second. Another book that is featured on the site is Witch & Wizard, which is set to be released December 14, 2009. The site community is dominated by two groups of users; one which generally likes the book, and the other which tends to offer a critical and slightly negative view which has earned them the nick-name "Anti-fans." The introduction of moderators over the summer of 2009 conflicted with the agendas these "Anti-Fans" and lead to many of these members, including a number of prominent ones, being banned. As a result of the bans and the deletion of old and dormant posts, very few posts made or threads started during this time period remain, though a good number of the site's users can attest to their existence. The site has since settled and has begun to return to it's original status, albeit with less vocal 'Anti-fans' and a more serious view of the moderators.
[edit] Soundtrack
| Track No. | Track Name | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Death Said | The Summer Obsession |
| 02 | What I Wouldn't Give | Holly Brook |
| 03 | Shaky | Cipes and the People |
| 04 | Underneath My Skin | Brian Steen |
| 05 | Disappear | The Summer Obsession |
| 06 | Wanted | Holly Brook |
| 07 | The Way I Do | Marcos Hernandez |
| 08 | Where Do We Go From Here | Cooper |
| 09 | Golden Days | Kelly Dalton |
| 10 | Take It From Me | The Weepies |
| 11 | Maximum Ride: School's Out - Forever: Special Excerpt | |
| 12 | Maximum Ride: School's Out - Forever: Special Excerpt |
[edit] References
- ^ The Angel Experiment at Amazon.co.uk
- ^ The Final Warning at Amazon.co.uk
- ^ Amazon.com: The Final Warning (Maximum Ride, Book 4): James Patterson: Books
- ^ In addition, a 7 page preview was released in the first paperback edition of The Final Warning.First Look: James Patterson's Maximum Ride Manga
- ^ Yen Press » MAXIMUM RIDE story by James Patterson, art by Na Rae Lee
- ^ a b c http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=53768
- ^ http://www.maximumride.co.uk/film.php Maximum Ride - The Film
- ^ Books: Maximum Ride | The Official James Patterson Web Site
- ^ Columbia takes 'Maximum Ride' - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety
[edit] External links
- Maximum Ride Official Website
- Maximum Ride book page at James Patterson Official Website
- Maximum Ride at the Internet Movie Database
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