Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
The first edition US cover for The Angel Experiment
Author(s)	James Patterson
Cover artist	Kamil Vojnar & Roger Wood
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Young Adult Fiction Science Fiction
Publisher	Little, Brown Headline
Publication date	April 11, 2005 July 4, 2005
Pages	432 pp (hardback) 413 (paperback)[1]
ISBN	ISBN 0-316-15556-X
Followed by	Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment is the first book in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. The book was released in the US on April 11, 2005 and in the UK on July 4, 2005.^[2][3] The book is set in the near future and centers around the 'flock', a group of human-avian hybrids (98% human, 2% bird) on the run from the scientists who created them. It focuses on Maximum Ride (Max), the leader of the 'flock', and the first-person narrator of the story.

List of characters

Main article: List of characters in Maximum Ride

Reception

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment has received generally positive reviews. Cleveland Plain Dealer described it as "like the best sort of video game or action movie, in book form" and commented that it "shows the promise of becoming a favorite" as well as comparing it to the Boxcar Children series: "Think of this group of six, from 14-year-old Max to 6-year-old Angel, like the 'Boxcar Children' of a new millennium."^[4] The School Library Journal delivered a more lukewarm review, calling the book an "exciting SF thriller that's not wholly original but still a compelling read".^[5] Booklist described it as an "an action-packed cross between Gertrude Chandler Warner's Boxcar Children and Marvel Comics' X-Men", also noting how "Patterson occasionally forgets his audience here, as evidenced by his sardonic tone and such glib adult asides". However, Booklist also praised Patterson for stepping out of his normally adult-genre books as it said, "He's picked a comfortable formula (orphans protecting one another and making a home together)".^[5] http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Maximum-Ride/James-Patterson/e/9780446617796 Barnes and Noble.com: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment: James Patterson: Books]</ref>...

Film adaptation

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. The film was slated for an early to mid 2010 release.^[9] Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) will direct the first movie, with Don Payne (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) writing the script.^[6] In January 2010 it was announced that the film will go into pre-production as the film's director Catherine Hardwicke asked for a script rewrite as she wanted more action in the film, delaying the film's release until 2013.

References

1. ^ Amazon.co.uk: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride): James Patterson: Books
2. ^ Amazon.co.uk: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment: James Patterson: Books
3. ^ Amazon.com: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1): James Patterson: Books
4. ^ Patterson, James. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, inside cover.
5. ^ ^{a b} Amazon.com: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment: James Patterson: Books: Editorial Reviews
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Catherine Hardwicke Takes Maximum Ride". ComingSoon. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=53768. 
7. ^ http://www.maximumride.co.uk/film.php Maximum Ride - The Film
8. ^ Books: Maximum Ride | The Official James Patterson Web Site
9. ^ Fleming, Michael (August 7, 2008). "Columbia takes 'Maximum Ride'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990239.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562. 

External links

• Maximum Ride, via Concept Farm
• Maximum Ride, via Hodder Headline
• Patterson.com James Patterson
• maximumride
• maximumride blogspot