The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel

My friends and I love the Maximum Ride series, and I think James Patterson has done a really nice job on the books, but this fourth book sucked! I mean, I like that James is trying to spread the message about global warming, but the melting oceans and the flock do not mix. There was barely any kick-butt-action, unlike the three other books in the series. One of my friends wouldn't even finish this book. Plus, this cover was seriously bad. Really really bad. I just hope the fifth book will be much better, though from what I've read about it, it sounds just as crappy.

What a disappointment! The first three books in this series had flaws but were still "Four Stars" enjoyable. Unfortunately Book 4, The Final Warning, is a poorly conceived, political tract that is not worthy of any investment of your time or money.

I have been reading this series of James Patterson's from the very 1st book and even though it is written for teens, I can tell You as an almost 50 year old woman, that this book series has become near and dear to My heart, I hope James Paterson has more to come, really looking forward to the (hopefully next book !! )

I absolutely love all of the other Maximum Ride books and have gotten several people hooked on them. At 17, I'm a little older than most readers, but the books were still throughly enjoyable. This last, however, was disappointing. I kept waiting for there to be something more than just global warming. That didn't happen.

Patterson made the most common mistake in trying to get someone to agree with you: he preached. All of the global warming information was very preachy and condescending. Patterson put this theory-- that we can reverse global warming by changing our habits-- in his teenage books because it is our generation that will make the difference, not the current adults. However, there is no proof that we can reverse it. The world went through a little ice age in Medieval times when there was dramatically less people and virtually no pollution. The scientific community can not even come to a consensus on the issue of people causing out current temperature spike.

The book was only ok. I expected it take only two hours to read, but it actually took about six, because it was slow and a little predictable, something completely new for Patterson. I would recommend checking this out from a library instead of buying it. I got my copy at Walden's with a 40% off coupon, so I didn't spend too much.

I was happy to see that would be a fifth one. For a little while, I thought Max's mission "to save the world" had been explained in this book and it was global warming. I can only hope that the 5th book will be better and revert back to the traditional, well-loved, adventurous Maximum Ride.

I have listened about 6 other James Patterson stories and have loved them.

The Alex Cross series was brilliant but this story is a huge let down.

It almost seemed like someone else had written this and he just put his name to it.

Please go back to your old style of writing and your long time fans will come back. It's not the number of books that you publish its the quality. Feel really bad about the low star rating I have given you but maybe its the only way to get our point across to you Mr Patterson.

Maximum Ride is a very special girl.

For one thing, she can fly. Her and five other children (Fang, Angel, Nudge, Iggy and Gazzy) have been genetically altered so that two percent of their DNA is avian. What does this mean? It means that they are able to fly.

In their newest adventure, the flock face their most harrowing nemesis yet. The evil Uber Director, part man and part machine, wants to capture the flock and sell them to the highest bidder.

Unaware of the Uber Directors plans, the flock have problems of their own. The U.S. Government has stepped in and wants to protect them but study them at the same time. The flock wants no part in this; they want freedom and the chance to be like any other kid in the world.

Max's mother, Dr. Martinez, has a plan. She sends them to work with a group of doctors and scientists in Antarctica. They are studying the effects of Global Warming and feel that the flock could be a great asset to their fight for the planet.

There are also other problems to deal with, however. Max is struggling with her growing feelings for Fang. She loves him but won't admit it to herself. She also doesn't know if Fang feels the same way. Added to that, each member of the flock has developed a new ability. The flock seems to be mutating on its own. They are unsure how this is happening or what it means for the flock.

Tragedy strikes when one of the researchers is revealed to be a spy. Max realizes that they are no longer safe and that they will have to prepare to fight for their lives....

The Final Warning is the fourth in the best selling young adult Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. It follows the first three books: The Angel Experiment, Schools Out-Forever and Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. I love these books and have read them countless times.

Though written for young adults, the Maximum Ride series are for kids of all ages. I've been eagerly awaiting the release of the fourth, and I assumed, final chapter in the Maximum Ride saga. I figure that with a title like The Final Warning, the book would be an incredible cap off to an amazing series.

I was wrong. Though the book is amazing and runs along at a break neck pace, it seems there is no end in sight for Maximum Ride and her flock. I was expecting a concrete ending and what I got was a lose ending that leaves everything open for another book. That's not a bad thing, though. Personally I can't wait for another Maximum Ride adventure.

I have only two minor complaints about the book. First, it's far too short. The three previous books clock in at well over four hundred pages. The Final Warning only clocks in at a little over two hundred pages and all the books are the same price. I figure if I'm getting half the book, it should be half the price.

The second major complaint has to do with the Global Warming sub plot. While I applaud Patterson for putting a very sound environmental message in the book, the message doesn't go anywhere. The flock don't do anything to help stop Global Warming and instead are reduced to mouthpieces, sprouting off enough info on Global Warming to fill an environmental dissertation.

I would love to have seen the plot go beyond what has already been established: We meet the Villain, we meet the Hero/Heroine, the Villain and Hero/Heroine meet, and the Hero/Heroine wins. There was so much potential for a mind-blowing book that I don't think was achieved here.

That's not to say that The Final Warning is a bad book; far from it. It's a fantastic read and you'll be able to finish it off in a day or two of fast paced reading. It's great candy for the mind and will leave you wanting more. It's a great book for a rainy weekend where all you want to do is fly off and have an adventure of your own.

Not Patterson's best effort, but still great nonetheless. I know that I'll be waiting for the next Maximum Ride novel to come out. In the meantime, I'll just have to read the first three all over again.

This novel is the start of the series "The Protectors". And does it do well.....No!
For once, we have the book where the "Maximum Ride" kids become heroes and try to go on a mission to anartica for some strange reason. And we might've had the reason that max had to save the world....Global Warming, seriously...Global Warming!!!!
We need another lecture of how we r ruining the planet by a James Patterson novel. Why not just make an "Inconvienent Truth 2" while ur at it. This is one of my favorite series, and it had to be ruined because this was another lesson to ourselves. Truthfully, I don't think it was pattersons idea to put in the Global Warming idea in there, maybe someone had payed him to say that, because this was just another popular series. Say when the new twilight book "Midnigt Sun" will find out that he was a vampire because of global warning, and thats why he can never get a tan because of it.
But I was glad to find out that this wasn't the last book of the series, because it leaves off on a really bad cliffhanger to the story. But another knitpick to it is that they introduced these bad guys into the series and u see their perspective of the story. Those guys were just not that interesting to me, since every single enemy became on max's side. I wanted the chapter to be over because they were so boring and confusing. But I thought it was written well for the team, The Maximum ride Kids, James stuck to the characters very well and this did not hve a moment when the characters did not do something that wsn't them. Not a bad book, easy to read if u are fan. But ill be checking out "Max" pretty soon

... if you must read this book, borrow your library's copy.

Or save your time (and your frustration) and don't read it at all. (And I'm a teacher, so me recommending *not* reading a book is significant.)

I didn't mind the global warming plot. I mind the errors in the storytelling. At least twice an expert says that global warming brings on earthquakes and tsunamis. Global warming is a very real threat to our planet, *but it doesn't cause earthquakes.*

The first three books in this series are a superfast exciting rollercoaster, not long on characters or many other literary devices. This one is the kind of ride at the amusement park that no one likes, not younger kids, not older kids, not adults.

Looking on the back of this novel and hearing that James Patterson calling himself, "King of the page turners" and the fact this book, "Flies off the shelves" after reading this book i was unimpressed at the bravado that this novel brings and this is coming from an adult that ACTUALLY like the first 3 maximum ride novels. Which brings up the old saying, "If its broke, don't fix it!"

I know i shouldn't think to badly about this book being that it's not just a story but a lesson about global warming...but along the way it forgot the characters involved in it...it felt like it was just the title and not the premise to the characters.

What left me dissatisfied about this novel that the plot moved from, "The flock" and focused if not hinted on the fear of Global warming...it was like as if he was trying to push his beliefs and ideas on to the mainstream of teens and/or kids that read this it was a desperate attempt that seem to go noticeable but fell short of its charm that I missed from the original novels...heck, even, "When the wind blows" had more of a darker and great crescendo and at least it kept to the heroes and villains of the story; my main problems was that instead of putting those characters of Max, iggy, and the rest of the gang into the foreground, it put Global warming ahead as the main character and pushing the others in the background which was a poor attempt and a bad move that will make other readers hinder away from this more more than draw them in.

Now don't get me wrong, this book is a "Page turner" simply because its so short i mean really when you think about it..one of the other critics on here had a good point...he makes the chapters so short that you would be flipping through the pages just as fast and finish the book in about a week or two (if not three weeks) its that short! the villain of the story the "Uber-Director" oooh scary!! (if there was much more of a character background depth with him which there wasn't!) was just as much bland and more comic bookish than most of the villains Max has faced before (Ari had more of a darker and cooler aspect that this villain). But lets face it even the villain was more of the backdrop while "Global warming" faced the bigger villain of the story and again it lost it touch when you reach nearly the middle of the book. Again don't get me wrong I'm telling you the bad before the good; The good points: Well Max and the flock is in it...yay! but even if they was in this it wasn't a true maximum ride adventure its was more like one of those made for TV side stories of maximum and her flock that didn't really stick to the true feel of the adventure at hand more like them taking a break from running from "The school" or what's left of the school (or the institute or whatever they called it)just to battle something that's intangible.

But max has her moments though with her witty remarks and cool tones that set the bar in her darkest times; and in the end its still a pretty good read if not great...i just felt the book could of been approached differently and hopefully he will write another Maximum Ride novel that will not fall off the purpose of Max's mission and have them go against an enemy that they can ACTUALLY fight and for crying out loud, don't preach about something that is already known not everyone that reads this are not stupid we all know the effects of Global warming.

Re edit- I must admit James need to REALLY re-write this one or put it in a "Re-imagination" tone cause this was really not good...there's romance but its really not that much focused...of course the villain is a cardboard textbook comic book villain, the story was dreary and bland to deal with global warming preach tactics; and the ending was a sad cliffhanger to something more...i hope he writes the next story A LOT better than this cause i was really unimpressed...now I'm going back to read "Saving the world and other extreme sport"

3/4 stars

I bought this book thinking it would have been a can't-put-down book but boy was I wrong. Most of the book was lecturing about how important global warning is. At first I thought it would just be a brief paragraph but most the WHOLE books story was to save the world from global warning! I know Max was supposed to "Save the world" but really? She was supposed to save it from scientists trying to blow up the world!!! And thank you for reading my rant it makes me feel better about how TERRIBLE THIS BOOK IS!!!

I absalutely LOVE these series.But I was soooo dissappointed by this one!What in the world happened JP?Did you have a accidental death in your family?Or did someone steal your brain and replaced it with an unbalanced one?Im sorry, that was rude...but after reading this book I felt so depressed that I wanted Everyone else to feel my grief and major dissapointment. The events were just random ones after another. I wish that I didnt actually buy this book for $18. My friend Jenny, told me,too,that it wasnt worth it.But I was like,'A Mamximum Ride book, written by one of the best authors ever?What could possibly go wrong?I think you just imagined it Jen.' I am so sorry to find it that she was right.One word says it all.....UGH!
I admit some parts were a good idea.Like how JP really emphasized global warming, recycling, cleaner environments etc. Btw: peoples that thought it was too preachy...your wrong! Everyone should be aware what is happening in the world.JP knows that and he doesnt just think about it..he acts on it! One way to do that is to write about it...bc he knows that as a well-known author he can influence people to do good. So ppl who thought this was preachy... well...I guess you dont want this world to be a better place.I know I know....you didnt say that. But you know what?! You ARE saying that! Your saying that you dont like books that tell ppl to b aware about the world!And reading if you didnt already know is one way to spread the message!
Back to the book....yes, dissapointing...but I wont loose hope( you shouldnt either). JP will redeem himself(hopefully). So if you are a major Max fan...get this book from the library or borrow from friend. It is not worth investing money on it.I wont give up on this series..just because ONE book was bad(1 out of 3..thats pretty good).Im going to read the next one.
reviewer:alysalovesbooks;)

Having read several James Patterson novels, I have come to the conclusion that the author is incapable of writing anything that does not, at least once, go into some sort of left wing diatribe. Be it against gun rights, the military, or even self defense.
Book 4 of the Max series is by far the worst (or best) example of propaganda being pedaled to our children. My kids love the series, but we have to talk to them after each book to "deprogram" them so they know the difference between science and politics masquerading as science.
I completely skipped the last few pages of Max's diatribe on global warming.
Michael Crichton wrote a novel based on his own research into the power grabbing going with the manufactured crisis that lately has been renamed "climate change" since the warming trend stopped 10 years ago.
And here is a little fact to think about every time you hear some one say "but the glaciers in the US are receding." The response is "Of course they are. The only time glaciers are not receding is when an ice age is coming. They have been receding since the last ice age."

Max is back! Though this book is shorter and somewhat rushed I feel, it was still an ok book. Yes, there was not much action and nothing was resolved between Fang and Max, but I will definately by the next book if there is one. I did think this book was a little rushed. It was so much shorter than the others! I do agree that James Patterson went a little to far with the global warming thing, but it could have been worse. All in all, I think it was OK, maybe a little annoying at parts but worth a read. Maybe you should check it out at your local library instead of buying it, but either way you should like it. I only hope the next one is longer, I read this one in 4 hours.

My brother read, "Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment" to me when I was about 9 years old, and I fell in love. We read the next two books as they became available and were never dissapointed. My brother fell away from the series (becoming a Marine and getting married have that effect), so I continued reading on my own, excited about what the forth book would bring. Reading The Final Warning left me angry and unsatisfied. What it lacked in action-packed battles it made up for in preachy lectures regarding global warming. If I had been a parent finding out that my child had just read something that was spewing ideas that they knew very little about, I would be one unhappy mother. I started and finished The Final Warning on a plane, feeling very unsettled that I had paid so much money for something that Al Gore might have written five years ago.

Since then, I have read Max and Fang, and my hope in the series has been restored. When I saw Max on my store shelves, I was skeptical, wondering if it would be as terrible as The Final Warning. My love for the series hadn't yet been completely burnt out, so I bought it. It was still a little preachy; but on a scale of 1 to 10 compared to TFW (being a 10), it was about a 3, making it quite enjoyable. Fang (book 6) was even better. To anyone who has finished book 3 and is contemplating book 4, please, just skip it. You will not be missing any story that will not be recapped at the start of book 5.

This is your final warning to stay away from this book. Not even a shadow of the first three. I felt like it was ghost written by Al Gore. Little story but lots of propaganda. Here is a little taste. When the big robot kidnaps them he says he has to kill them because, "You are humans and humans are destroying the planet". Literally every chapter beats you over the head with the tree hugger mantra. I swear it is almost like Patterson created this train wreck on purpose so people would quit demanding another book in the series. He is the star quarterback who lost the game on purpose to win a bet.

I loved the previous Maximum Ride books... but this one was perhaps the worst. It was filled to the brim with redundancy, unrealistic "Mary-Sue" like powers, and a meandering plot with little conflict to drive it forward. I never felt concerned for Max, because I always knew that she would come out ok despite her own lack of self-confidence towards her chances of survival. Furthermore, Max COMPLETELY changed her goals from one thing to another... since when did she decide to abandon the fight against Itex and all that she had faced in her life just to stop global warming (as important as the concept may be to society and humankind today). The theme failed to be subtle, but was rather screamed in reader's ears, and couldn't have been more obvious if Patterson had scrawled KEEP EARTH CLEAN in big letters on the front page.

If you don't mind this sort of thing and loved the last books enough to stick with it, go ahead and buy the book... I have had some friends who still enjoyed it and thought it was funny in places. As for me, I think this is one book that I'll probably be giving away in a garage sale soon...

Although the first part of the book starts off with our beloved characters in all their glorious antics, it slowly turns into a Global Warming Disaster. It's obvious Patterson wants to indoctrinate the readers about his position on GW without any other viewpoints at all, and that wouldn't be too bad if he didn't dedicate 1/3 of the book to this. It has none of the flavor or action of the previous books and if you skip this book, it won't hurt you one bit! What a disappointment!

I've loved every single Maximum Ride book. I could always count on the fact that they would have good action, witty dialouge, and a great plot. The problem with this one was that most of these elements were missing. The dialouge was still funny as ever, but other parts were a major let down. There wasn't really any action other than one part and there was no fighting. The villian in this book was not interesting to me at all and just seemed doomed to fail. Even with these problems I still thought that it could be a good book and that was because the plot is always great. Not this time. The story didn't have anything to do with the other books. Gone is the quest to take down Itex. Instead they have to stop global warming. Don't get me wrong I think it's agood message to be sending, but not in a kids book. I'm 14 and I tink most kids my age know global warming is bad. The entire book just seemed preachy instead of fun and action packed. I'll say it again I love the Maximum Ride books, but this one was a letdown.

This book makes me seriously think Mr. Patterson's strategy was "lure them in with a great series, then make a book that's basically "An Inconvenient Truth" with bird kids, hoping they'll be dumb enough to believe it and write to their congressmen". Instead of action, a bit of mystery, and some annoying preachy parts, you get... preachy parts, a tiny little bit of action, and almost no mystery. I have re-read all the other books, some of them more than once, but I just can't do that with this book.
First of all, Max goes against her established personality, and actually GIVES A SPEECH TO CONGRESS! This is after the other books had her saying how much she is afraid of the government and how much she tries to avoid them. Another annoying part is the fact that some scenes are total filler, such as a bomb in a pizza and them violating the pentagon's airspace, than OUTRUNNING F-15's! That makes no sense, they would have been gunned out of the sky faster than you can say "horrid book!"

The first books were amazing; I'd give them ten stars. But after they went to study polar ice melting in Antarctica, I give up. I'll most likely not read MAX: a Maximum Ride Novel (or, as I like to call it, MAX: Adventures in Subtitle Redundancy,) and will not see the final warning movie. I absolutely loath this book. It is a disgrace to the originals, and really seems to be written for a younger (and more gullible) Audience, and I'm certainly not included in that. If it includes ways you can save the world , such as replacing your light bulbs with more energy efficient ones, I don't want to read it.

James, please actually pay attention to what your readers want.

I've read the entire Maximum Ride series, and each new book in the series has been a progressive disappointment. Yes, I understand the books are written for tweeners and teenagers. Unfortunately, the books are written below that reader's skill level - the books are almost reading like comic books now. For me, this last book felt the most dis-jointed of all: more flying around and hiding, more adults trying to help, and yet we end up (again) in the same place at the end of the book that we did several books ago. Predictable, boring. In past books, I felt the characters had different (very specific) voices - this most-recent addition to the series, not so much. When I read the book, I heard a man acting the parts of the characters (like an audio book), I didn't hear the actual character's voices ringing clear in my head. It was all a bit of a disappointing muddle. I might buy future books in the series at a garage sale or something, but I won't be paying full price for any more Maximum Ride books.

I'm a big fan of the Maximum Ride series, so when The Final Warning finally came out, I was so excited. I bought it that day and started as soon as I got home. I couldn't believe how disappointing it was. There was little to no action in it & the direction Patterson took it wasn't impressive. I found myself forcing my way through it. I heard he's coming out with more books, and I hate to say I'm not really excited for them. I'm afraid one more horrible book will completely ruin the series for me.

This installment in the Max Ride series left me disappointed with James Patterson on several levels. I felt like this book killed Fangs Blog for me by changing Fang from a laid back blogger to an enviromentalist. As one commenter in the book wrote "If i wanted an education, I'd go to school" I realize these arent the exact words, but cut me some slack. If I wanted to be lectured about the enviroment, I wouldnt read a book about flying children.

Another thing this book struck me as was filler. Although it did introduce Bridgit, i felt the rest was poinless. The Uber Director and his hunchbacked assistant were not previously mentioned and have not been futher talked about so far. To me they seem to be one~use characters and simply played the role of an antagonist in the book.

The final concept that bored me was the simple solution. The author built up plenyt of suspence; The Flock being auctioned off while trapped in a deserted city scheduled for a level five hurricane to hit, but the solution didn't deliver. I mean, we'll just kill the bad guys and fly away WITH the hurrucane untill it dies down?!

In my opinion, this book was the weak point in the bunch. However, the next book did deliver so I would reccomend sticking to the series over all, even though this book was a major disappointment to most Max Ride fans.

Ok, so I went to the library, like I do every couple of weeks or so, when I spotted James Patterson's FINAL WARNING. I loved the first three books, and was dying to read this one. I had almost bought the book earlier when it first came out, but had decided against it in hopes that maybe in a few months it would still be on the shelves and i could get it then. Boy, am I glad I didn't buy it.
The beginning of the book was promising, and I kicked back and relaxed, excited and content to be reading another great Maximum Ride novel that I was absolutely sure would fill me up and leave me waiting for the next one, or at least give me a promising and glorious conclusion.
What I got was about half a book with Patterson lecturing us wittle readers about Global Warming, which is vewy vewy bad! Seriously, though, I felt as if he had written the whole action packed, awesome series to end it with a lecture about how us humans are destroying the earth, blah, blah blah.
Don't get me wrong, we should take care of the earth and recycle about all that good stuff, but if Patterson wanted to get that out there, he could have just written it somewhere else. Spoiling the whole book, which had the potential to be a very good installment of the Maximum Ride series, with that much ranting about Global Warming was not a good idea. I was hoping throughout the rest of the book from the point where the Flock is in Antartica to the end that Max would remain by her own ideas, instead of going along with the "OHMIGAWSH, Global Warming is gonna KILL US!" theme.
Anyways, I am desperately hoping that after all these reviews, James Patterson will realize that Maximum Ride is not the place to sell his ideas on Global Warming and will bring back the old Maximum Ride ideas with a fifth book.

This book really needs a lot of help. It is probably the worst book of Patterson's I have read. I lost interest several times but kept on reading in hopes that he could get back to his usual type of writing. The book never got hold of me as asual, but the words in the ending did really ring true. We have to do something or our world is going to go down the tubes a lot quicker than everyone believes is possible.

I think the Maximum Ride series is fantastic--by all means, read it. Although all the books so far have been good, I was a little disappointed by this one. I had hoped for another adventure like the last: always exciting, great plot, makes me not want to put it down. I thought this one did not have a lot of the traditional things, and was way too political. James Patterson took an issue he was obviously concerned with: global warning, and put it into a book. After waiting to see how Max would heroically save the world through fighting countless robots and mutants created by Itex, all she does is go to Antarctica and learn about global warming, then make a speech in front of congress. This is so-called saving the world, but how many people have already made speeches about global warming? A lot. I think James Patterson should have stuck to the less real idea of evil scientists and have them try and destroy the world, rather than global warming. I agree this is an issue, but not one to be brought into books.

James Patterson also changed his writing style. He made the situations too easy to get out of, and also it seemed like when Max was "writing" she knew it would be published and edited. She kept referring to swears, for example, and then not actually saying them because "they would be edited out." I think that this book should have been completely different, but oh well. At least the first three were amazing.

So, I would NOT recommend this book, but DEFINITELY read the first three. They're as good as Harry Potter, and you'll never want to put them down.

Typical Maximum Ride excitement, but it evolves into a one-sided argument pushing an extreme man-made global warming agenda. Understand that children/teens will be brainwashed into thinking that this is a scientifically proven phenomenon.

I am an avid fan of the Maximum Ride books. I loved the other books of the series, but I couldn't stand this one.

This book was one of the few books I wish I'd never bought. It wasn't exciting at all -- it lacked plot and action. I was expecting a can't-put-it-down action-packed book, like in The Angel Experiment. All I got, however, was global warming propaganda.

The plot was basically nonexistant. The flock has survived Itex and the Director. So now what do they do? After a semi-interesting introduction in Washington DC, they take a random trip to Antarctica. They're traveling with scientists to study global warming. Why? Dr. Martinez thinks it's a good idea. Meanwhile, the new villian, The Uber-Directer (what kind of name is that, seriously?!), is gearing up to try and capture the flock. The flock have fun in Antarctica, learning about global warming (and, of course, passing every bit of global warming information to the reader), and having little pointless adventures.
(slight spoilers follow)
Eventually, they are caputured and the climax of the novel occurs. I was expecting a carefully planned out action climax. Instead, it was just so boring! The Uber-Director's "evil" plot was just so stupid and unexciting. And then the flock easily escapes without a scratch.

The thing that bothered me most about the book, however, was the propaganda (at least that's how I thought of it). The book is full of global warming information and statistics. Max submits easily to the idea of global warming and embraces it wholeheartedly. She then spends the end of the book lecturing the reader about global warming and its harmful effects. I wouldn't have minded a little bit about global warming, but it just felt like the whole book was simply written to spread the idea, not to share Max's adventures with the world. This really dissapointed me. I just feel like I picked up the book to enjoy a good novel, not to read a bunch of propaganda.

So, to conclude my rather lengthy review? I wouldn't reccommend this book. If you're a fan of Max Ride, stop at book 3 so you can still remember the series fondly. This book had virtually no plot. There wasn't really much character development. In my humble opinion, it simply wasn't worth reading.

The Final Warning (Maximum Ride, Book 4)
Patterson fails in this installment to his usually exciting series. With his preoccupation on the controversial global warming issue, he tries to force his characters to say and do things that are simply not characteristic of them. Honestly, anyone who has read the first three books feels like he or she knows Max, and we know that Max wouldn't fall for the type of manipulation Patterson says she does in this book. She and Fang are like robots in this story, mindlessly preaching to the choir. Come on, Mr. Patterson! You can do better than that! Your readers expect a rip roaring good yarn from your pen, not a sermon, and badly preached one at that!

I liked the first three books. ALL of them, which is more than I could say for the Twilight series.
And then we hit four and-- BOOM! Something in Patterson's head exploded. Well, either that or he decided he could write this in between doing the morning crossword and drinking his coffee.
This is the WORST book I have EVER read. EVER. And I have read many, MANY bad books.
Lemme just say that I believe that global warming is global issue and I STILL found this book fully repulsive.
He fully disregarded the plot to preach to the "itty babeez" about it. He left GAPING PLOT HOLES and THINGS THAT DON'T MAKE SENSE. "Oh! Iggy! You can SEE now or something!" What? "Oh there was just an exploding pizza, but we're okay." WHAT? "Let's go to Antarctica and obey the government LULZYLULZLULZ!" WHAT???
Seriously. Come ON. (Also, the Max become a OCD basket case, and her relationship with Fang and Angel just got CREEPY.)

Throughout this book James clearly shows his opinions for global warming. The whole book consisted of the author showing his opinion by having the children "fight global warming". Now I am undecided as to weather (haha) or not I believe that global warming is real so this isn't at all a biased review. I just am kind of disappointed that this book didn't keep true to it's origins and instead it just spent the book conveying Patterson's personal (very Democratic) views on the way this country should be run.

*SMALL SPOILER*

Also, at the end of the book Max gives this big long speech (that we are supposed to believe is being made up on the spot) about every little thing the author believes is wrong. From the U.S. not ratifying the Kyoto agreement, to the U.S.'s choice in power sources. Max states all these random facts such as "Soon we will have to visit the Eiffel Tower by canoe". It gets really annoying and repetitive and truthfully I am disappointed with this book. He changed the character Maximum from a tough as nails super women to a boring politician, in one book.

I LOVE Maximum Ride,it is the no.1 best series on Earth!!! I think it was smart 2 give Gassy that power-that kids digestive system is just wacked up. I would have died of I had been in the same room as him during one of his……………digestive fits.

And it really gets the global warming message out. I used to not believe in global warming,(mom thought so,therefore I did.) But now I believe in it,and acknowledge that it is perhaps one of the biggest that's we've ever faced. But other than that,I just really loved this book.
I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy that James Patterson wrote it. You are my hero. Fly on,flock.

I couldn't agree more with the folks who think this book is "condescending" or a "soap box novel". I also found it preachy with respect to the main theme of global warming, and the minimal amount of action (so well developed in the first books in the series) made the book a bore. This book does not do the series justice at all. I am seriously considering returning the book. I never do that...ever - but I can't imagine reading this sub-par book again.

I recently purchased "The Final Warning" but have not started it yet. So I can give no opinion as to my enjoyment ( or lack of it). But I do find some discouraging comments by many readers. YOUNG readers. And THEY can tell that this last book missed the mark.
So you know, I am 58 years old and enjoyed the escape into the "Max" series. I also know first-hand what my daughter is reading. I bought the 1st book ( because I couldn't find mine) so she could read it. She's 11 years old and picked the book up and is having a ball with it.
Although I don't always take ANYBODY'S word for anything, It seems as though She, and I are going to be dissapointed. I didn't buy this book for a lecture in global warming ( or anything, for that matter). I bought it for the fun and thrilling adventures of these special kids.

In conclusion, I WILL read the book and hope another one that will done the way the first few were and manage to get by this one back to the real fun. JP---If you are out there checking responses----I hope these young readers give you a heads-up on their intelligience and expectations.

After I read the first book, i was consumed. The Max Ride series was so good. It had action and a real plot. It was fun to read. I waited forever for the fourth book to come out and I read it the very second day all at once! I can say that I really was not expecting a textbook on global warming. Not to get me wrong, I'm very active in preventing global warming, but to have the charcters spitting out random facts about the issue did nothing for the book. It served as a great informant but it did not do for the Maximum Ride novel that I had come to expect. Overall, I am not bashing the book. It was very well-written, but I so think that there should have been a plot that actually followed the previous books. I mean, where did the UD come from and where is the web of secrets and lies, unraveled by Max and the flock, that I have come to love? I don't know if there is going to be a fifth one, but I seriously hope that James Patterson will consider ending the series on a more definate note and go out in a more Max-like BANG!

Good, except for the global warning, it is not our country. there are countries worse than us. Don't worry about the small people making changes, the people that are promoting it should realize that they are the main problem not us

First I really like all the other Maximum Ride books. There good. But this one is awful. Every review here about how bad it is is true. My biggest problem with it is, with all that the flock goes through, its all for really nothing. No valid points are made in this book. Patterson lectures about Global Warming, and writes a very weak story, that goes nowhere in the end. What ever you feel about Global Warming. it has nothing to do with why Bird kids were made, or why the keep almost getting killed by these strange and freaky bad guys. Read this book of his only if you want to say that you have read all of Patterson Max Ride books. Other wise wait for the next one and hope its alot better than this one.

I thought that all of James Patterson's books in this series leading up to the fourth one were amazing. I was super excited to finally read the fourth book in the series, Final Warning. When I finally read it I was kind of disappointed. This book wasn't as suspenseful as the first three but still good. I just think that there should have been more action like there was in the other three book. Still this book had its twist and turns, and guessing moments just like the other three Maximum Ride novels. I also enjoyed how he added a little bit more romance into this book. I did like the action they had at the end. Towards the end of the fight I had no idea who was going to win. I really enjoyed not knowing what was going happen, and that is one thing James Patterson never forgets about. The ending was very cool because James Patterson puts pretty good visuals in your mind. That is why I don't get why people disliked this book. It was just as well written as the other three. James Patterson wrote it just a tad bit different but still a pretty amazing book.:)

Although it was a bit shorter than other books in this series, Patterson has still done an AWESOME job with this book. If you look at other reviews, it will tell you that it was an ok book. I think they just say that because it's shorter. I can understand this. If I too were at the end of a series, about to start a similar one, there would really be nothing to fill the rest of the usual extra 100 pages. I've noticed that Patterson likes to use those pages to add suspense and excitement that adds mystery into the reader's mind. I have read all of the books in this series, and before I can get the next book, I can' t help but wonder about what awesome things will be in the next book. I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one who feels this way. (And this review was by a hater, who ain't hattin')

This book is kinda boring. Its also very short. I first read the first 3 then i though, "Yay, there is another one! I cant wait to read it!"
Then i got it and i was like bored. Why Antarctica?
I though it was funny how Max got so jealous of Fang. (is that this book or in Max? Soz i cannot remember which book thats in) Anyway, i read it anyway.

maximum ride.
teenage mutant, badass heroine.
these books increase blood pressure and adrenaline levels at an alarming rate.
but this book...
i would have rather the erasers eat angel
and a lot of other people. hell. why not. according to this they dont have much time left to live anyways! my ultimate loathing of this book..ugh. i expect more out of james patterson.
true, the book had a few redeeming features
but they will never make up for the hellish piece of insult to this beautiful story series that makes up the rest of this book.
james patterson, i love you.
max, fang, iggy, etc. love you too from the bottom of my literature-dedicated section of my heart...but this book made my heart writh in pain and despair. skip it. move to the next book.

It wasn't BAD, but it wasn't GOOD, either. The previous books contained much more complex characters (even though the characters have not changed) and the plot contained much more action and suspense. The bad guys in this one, didn't seem all so bad or interesting. It was more like something you would find in Marvel Comics. I'm disappointed, but I don't think that will stop me from reading the next.

This book was a complete waste of time and money. It is condescending and the characters and plot are all sacrificed in Patterson's brazen propaganda. Max and the rest of the flock were just conduits for the author's own beliefs and their personalities were lost under all the forced preaching. Even though I don't necessarily disagree with some of the themes, my intent was to enjoy a "novel" and instead I got this. As someone who loved the first book and who'd been really excited for this one, I was honestly shocked when I read this. If you really like this series, then skip this book and go on to the fifth. Honestly, don't waste your money on this.

I was excited when I first learned that James Patterson had written a new Maximum Ride book. After reading it however, I find myself let down. The book, especially at the beginning is promising, but it quickly levels off into a rather long boring section where the reader learns about Global Warming. I am not going to say that Global Warming isn't an important issue, or that people shouldn't learn about it--but the agenda comes off much too obviously. This book is also shorter than the others, and while the romance does keep it interesting, it follows the same pattern of the other books and soon becomes predictable. I read somewhere that James Patterson is trying to make the books more appealing to all ages, but in my mind in doing that he loses what was so special about the books to begin with. That said,the book is still entertaining, full of the sass and sarcasm we have come to expect from Max and her motley crew, and a less critical reader will probably find some enjoyment in it.

So I love the series and that is why this book didn't get one star but two. If you haven't read the series go ahead and read all of them and just skip this one. This book was more about global warming (yes, we need to care for the earth) than the story that so many readers have been wanting to continue. We were wanting to read about Max and the flock, not about anything else. Why sacrifice a fun and exciting story to just totally trash it for the "green" marketing craze? I'll do my part in helping to keep this planet clean, James do you part in sticking with a good story instead. Dumping the real issue of global warming in a fantasy/fiction book hardly makes for a good and engaging read.

This wasn't what i was hoping for at all as i waited with excitement for the new Max installment.
Gone was the suspense and full on action we've come to expect from this series replaced instead with a preachy book on global warming,whilst i get that GW is a major issue and i support needing to make a difference if i'd wanted to read a book lecturing me on GW thats what i'd have spent my money on.
James Patterson is at the top of my fav authors list and i've never been dissapointed in one of his books before .... until now.I'm just really hoping he decides to give us another book in this series and gets back to the Flock's adventure we've so come to enjoy.

Fun while it lasted. The book became political and ended in a skewed fantasy of cheap soapbox propaganda. Blame global warming on flatulent cows if you wish or waste American money on imbecilic projects like solyndra but don't screw up a good book with bupkis..

If youre reading this you probably have read the other "Maximum Ride" books, (If not read them first). I thought the first three "Maximum Ride" books were amazing, so I read this one. I wasnt as good. First off it was too short, and, I dont know, it just didnt leave as great a feeling in me as when i read the other three. It was still entertaining, and kind of sucked me in, but, again, wasnt as good as the other three. I actually give this a 3.5 star, but thats not an option here. Its still a fun read though.

I loved the first three books of the series, though I did think the whole "adults ruin everything" and also the "corporations are evil" thing was unnecessary.I'm a 14 year old girl who reads a LOT. I had heard that this book was preachy beforehand and thought it probably wasn't that bad. Boy, was I wrong! Global warming IS real, but there's nothing we humans can do about it! We didn't create it, and we can't stop it. Anyway...

The plot of the book was a little random, but I would've liked it so much more if Mr. Patterson had simply left out the green eco-junk. I think most of it could've been taken directly out of Al Gore's mouth (and halfway through it started to think Gore DID write it!)
If you're a parent who wants to let their kid read this book, I recommend talking to them about the "global warming" situation either before or after they read it. Because they're sure going to get a truck load of it with The Final Warning. I can only hope the fifth one will be better.

After reading the original two novels that the Maximum Ride series came to be based on, I had high expectations. Those expectations were met in the previous books. This one however, was a major let down. The first clue was the extra large size of the paperback and fewer pages. My intuition said, "This book will be dumbed down and watered down for adolescents. James Patterson did a disservice to a generation of young people who poured through "Harry Potter" with no problem. I found that with this book if I put it down I didn't really want to pick it back up. I forced myself to finish it. It's as though he was under contract to pump out one more and he did it half-heartedley with awful results. Patterson reduced Max and the gang to Captain Planet like caricatures diminishing the trials and tribulations that they endured in the previous books. Reducing the "voice" in Max's head to nothing more than a guilty concious over a yet unproven THEORY called global warming. (Silly premise since Max and the gang has only been on their own for two years and were too busy to be formally educated much less indoctrinated about "global warming".) Mr. Patterson took the easy way out.

Well tonight I finished reading this book, and almost nothing happened! The whole book was basically saying that we need to stop global warming(which is true and all) but that sucks for the plot of a book. I mean what was he thinking! There was almost no action expect for a battle near the end and an exploding pizza box.. The series went from the whole itex plan with killing half of th people to a stupid kind of educational story. Im not sure if I will read the next book in this series :(

This book was definitely a letdown. There is no comparison to the other books in the series. I felt throughout the book that it was just one long, boring advertisement for someone's political agenda. Ugh! I never felt I should jump on the gw bandwagon. That said, the other books in the series are terrific!

I have enjoyed the Maximum Ride books. I was late to the party as I was turned onto them by a friend. I blazed through the first three with great enthusiasm. After reading THE FINAL WARNING though, I feel like I just sat through Al Gore's speach on the environment. Dont get me wrong, I'm all about the issues at hand but this book took such a turn from its previous titles that I often checked to make sure it was the same series. Everything said, it has its merits. It just tries too hard to get into a different realm than it started.

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning is one of the best books that I have ever read! It has most of the things that I look for in a great book, but the reason that I love it the most is because of the main character in the book. Maximum is a 14-year-old girl who is actually only 98 percent human, and from the cover of the book, you can tell that the other 2 percent has a big impact on her life. She is a leader of a "flock", six kids who also have wings-and one talking dog. This newest book in James Patterson's series of Maximum Ride is one of the most exciting of all of the books. Maximum (or Max) is a very stubborn and sarcastic character, who made me laugh out loud in the first few pages. It is definitely a book written for readers who like action, adventure, danger, and at times, a 14-year-old girl with wings smarting off to the press of the United States. Read this exciting thriller to find out how Maximum Ride and her flock decides to do something that will obviously help all of mankind-save the world.

I am all for being environmental, saving the planet and making it stay around for my children's children. But if you right a novel about some bird kids that are being chased around the global by sadistic corporations bent on controlling the world through market product and bio-engineered creatures, DO NOT WRITE A BOOK ABOUT HOW TO BE ENVIROMENTAL AND LEAVE ALL PREVIOUS PLOTS OUT!!

I applauded Mr Patterson for wanting to write a novel to show how much he cares about his environment and try to get kids involved, but this was not the form to do it in. Too many accidental characters were thrown in for 'filler' and, as previously stated, all plots left behind. I felt that this book was rushed, and just too preachey for these characters.

If this was the first Max Ride novel that I picked up I would not have gone back and read the first ones. I am seriously thinking of taking it back and getting my money back. All I can say to Mr Patterson is if you are thinking of another soap box book, think again about the format that you want to put it in and make sure it fits with the previous stories.

Okay, like the rest of America i was sooo excited for the continuation of the Maximum Ride series, but instead of the action-packed thriller,nonstop read, edge of your seat book i had beed expecting,i got a dinky little 256 book that was one big boring lecture.
Don't get me wrong, i believe in stopping global warning and helping to enviorment too,but the whole time i was reading it ,it felt mocking.
The only real rediming quality about this book was the progress in Max's and Fang's relationship.
Also, one bad book in a great series i can forgive, but i'm wondering is JPs' going for two?
The fith book in the series "Waterwings" is only going to be 272 pgs long, and the theme is "polution".
*Sigh* we can only hope its better than it sounds i suppose...

This was a HUGE disappointment after the 1st 3 books. Other than a few minor changes, this story has no bearing on the Kids' lives at all. For some reason Mr. Patterson sees fit to send them on some arbitrary adventure for no other reason than to sell some more books, and push his political/environmental views. If you love Max and friends and can't wait for their next adventure, read this book, but don't expect much. If you want to read the next major chapter in their lives, skip this book, and hope the next one is better.

Maximum Ride is an unforgettable 14-year-old girl with a way-out-of-control, hilariously sarcastic attitude. But who can blame her with everything she has on her shoulders, including a pair of 13-foot wings?

Max spent the first part of her life locked in a cage, undergoing cruel tests and horrid experiments as evil scientists fused bird DNA onto her human genes. The results produced a super-human hybrid that can soar high into the clouds. Then, with the help of a sympathetic scientist named Jeb, Max and the other bird kids escaped the evil organization. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman and Angel all look to Max for leadership, protection, guidance and even a bit of affection; all of them miss not having real parents to love.

Things, however, are changing for their newest adventure. Max's dream of finding her birth parents has come true, and she trusts Dr. Martinez, her newfound mother, with her whole heart. The same cannot be said for her biological father, Jeb; he has messed up the Flock's lives too much to rely on him. But when Dr. Martinez suggests a location and a mission for the group to withdraw to for rest and safety, Max believes that her mom has their best interests at heart. Of course, that doesn't mean that the Flock won't be on alert for anything and everything to go wrong. They have to stay vigilant. Their lives depend on it.

So Max and her Flock find themselves cruising south on a research vessel with a handful of scientists on their way to the bottom of the world --- Antarctica! They will use their special talents to assist the scientist gathering data on global warming. As Max learns a bit about their mission, she doesn't see what the big deal is concerning this issue. In fact, she longingly dreams of warmer weather as she explores the frozen Antarctic continent. But the more she learns, the more she realizes how devastating global warming is and how desperately in danger our planet is.

And speaking of special talents, everybody in the Flock seems to be continually mutating new and beyond wild abilities. Just as Max developed super speed and Angel began to read minds in previous Maximum Ride books, now Iggy, Fang, Gazzy and even Total, the talking dog, develop incredible new skills. But will they be any help when the new evil scientist catches up with them, intent on exploiting the Flock family for money and power?

James Patterson never disappoints in this series, in which fast-paced, non-stop action combines with extraordinary characters to form an amazing adventure. Add in a hilariously sharp wit, an unending imagination and a massive, very real global threat, and readers are rewarded with a winner each and every time. Once again, Patterson delivers the ultra-important message that young people can make a difference in the world, and he conveys it in such a way that will hopefully inspire and motivate children to actually get out there and repair some of the world's hurts. Long live Maximum Ride!

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

I don't think this is an amazing book, but I do think it is good. And, I've read much worse. For one thing, the length is short, but not terrible. And for another ~ would you rather have propaganda, or a book with unicorns and rainbows, all fake? I think, even though the global warming was overdone, that this was a decent story. If not for anything else, I recommend the final warning because it HAS events, and isn't too confusing. So lets be civil and not bash! haha. I think I would read the final warning again if I had the choice.

Much of the bad science of global warming is repeated here in this book. Even earthquakes are referred to as a result of global warming. WOW....

Maybe the next new story line will be have some intergalactic supernova having been caused by earths man-made global warming....

I thought that overall it was kind of pointless, as the plot didn't exactly advance that far compared to the other three books. Also, it was way shorter than usual -- maybe Patterson is running out of steam? That's what it felt like to me. Either that, or he was focusing mostly on the message of global warming and using that as a way to stir movement amongst the younger generations. Otherwise, it was certainly interesting the interaction (or lack thereof) between Max and Fang, and also the awesomeness of Dr. Martinez (which makes me think that maybe something's up with her). The Lerning School was also kind of interesting -- Xavier's School for the Gifted inspired, anyone? I'm really looking forward to the next book and seeing if that improves upon the fourth book and is more consistent with the first three books.

My 14 year old daughter just finished this book. She was so excited about this book when it came out. James Patterson is one of her favorite authors ever.

She just got done saying she was so frustrated and disappointed with this book because....low and behold, everything is blamed on global warming. And the last page explains what we can do. She wants a story, not more of the global warming crisis shoved down her throat.

We are not saying it isn't true, but she says, she gets it all the time at school and the news. She just wants a fiction story to enjoy.

If she could she would give this book zero stars

I was looking forward to this book in the series, and it was so bad, and so different from the first 2 that it made me think someone else "ghost" wrote the book. Terrible. A poorly told story surrounding a "save the earth" message. Awful.

I work in a middle-school library and I have exuberantly recommended the Max Ride series to our students. I will NOT recommend Final Warning. If I wanted an environmental message, I would have rented "Happy Feet". Patterson's obvious priority was sending an environment message rather than continuing the high energy, fast-paced, riotously sarcasm-filled STORY of the first 3 books. All of these attributes were non-existent in Final Warning. Found myself skipping sections and feeling disappointed throughout the book. Like I said, stop while you're happy, don't read beyond the 3rd book.

I LOVE the Maximum Ride series. I read a lot of James Patterson and figured that it made sense to attempt and read his young adult novels as well. The Final Warning is a great story from start to finish. I read the entire book in just a couple of hours one night. This has been true of all of the Max Ride books. A great series, different from Patterson's usual mysteries, but a gripping storyline just as well.

I guess I'm just jealous that he's figured out a way to cash in on his talent, but the naked leftist agenda is pretty sickening.

I'm reading this series with my daughter; thank God I can provide some balance to this crap.

James Patterson gives a good read but I would really love for authors that decide to do series to not change in mid stream. The Maximum Ride series is an example that does that. I'm sitting with a copy of "The Final Warning" in my hand that says it's the 4th in the Maximum Ride series and I have a copy of a newly printed version of "The Angel Experiment" that says "The Final Warning" is the 1st title in "The Protector" set. As a librarian, I'd like to sit Mr. Patterson down and have a good talk with him about not reorganizing series.

Don't get me wrong. I totally loved the first books in this series, but this has got to be the worst ending to a series I have ever read. Even worse, sadly, than the Amber Spyglass. The entire book has unbelievable plot (in a bad way), and just a terrible "climax", with even a worse Rising Action. The entire book was dull, dry, and even more so, thrown together. It sounded as if this was for a younger age, and almost as if he was forced into writing this, as there was no imagination or effort put into this book. What a disappointing end to such an excellent story.

Much of the bad science of global warming is repeated here in this book. Even earthquakes are referred to as a result of global warming. WOW....

Maybe the next new story line will be have some intergalactic supernova having been caused by earths man-made global warming....

I thought that overall it was kind of pointless, as the plot didn't exactly advance that far compared to the other three books. Also, it was way shorter than usual -- maybe Patterson is running out of steam? That's what it felt like to me. Either that, or he was focusing mostly on the message of global warming and using that as a way to stir movement amongst the younger generations. Otherwise, it was certainly interesting the interaction (or lack thereof) between Max and Fang, and also the awesomeness of Dr. Martinez (which makes me think that maybe something's up with her). The Lerning School was also kind of interesting -- Xavier's School for the Gifted inspired, anyone? I'm really looking forward to the next book and seeing if that improves upon the fourth book and is more consistent with the first three books.

My 14 year old daughter just finished this book. She was so excited about this book when it came out. James Patterson is one of her favorite authors ever.

She just got done saying she was so frustrated and disappointed with this book because....low and behold, everything is blamed on global warming. And the last page explains what we can do. She wants a story, not more of the global warming crisis shoved down her throat.

We are not saying it isn't true, but she says, she gets it all the time at school and the news. She just wants a fiction story to enjoy.

If she could she would give this book zero stars

First off, I am an absolute fan of the Maximum Ride books. I asked for most of them for Christmas. And I really, REALLY support Max+Fang. Now, off to the reiew.
Okay, I don't believe in GW and all. I mean, Earth has hot and cold cycles. In this novel, the usally action packed series takes a wrong turn. It's ALL about global warming (GM for short). I thought Max saving the world meant killing bad guys and trying to stop the School and Itex. Now, her "Voice" keeps referring her saving the world meant stopping/decreasing global warming. HELLO?! In the first three books, it was all about stopping the School, stopping Itex, AND finding out about their parents. I know I'm being kind of patchy and all, but this could've well been a book dedicated to global warming with characters to play it out.
I read some reviews about Max, the 5th book, and I look forward to reading it. But the main pointers in the Final Warning is that Max and Fang's relationship takes some romance-y twists and turns. That mainly seems it. I barely remember any of it since it seemed so boring. If I were you, just save your $6 - $20 bucks and skip this one. ;)

Featherly yours (LOL!),
Disapointed Reader

I was looking forward to this book in the series, and it was so bad, and so different from the first 2 that it made me think someone else "ghost" wrote the book. Terrible. A poorly told story surrounding a "save the earth" message. Awful.

I work in a middle-school library and I have exuberantly recommended the Max Ride series to our students. I will NOT recommend Final Warning. If I wanted an environmental message, I would have rented "Happy Feet". Patterson's obvious priority was sending an environment message rather than continuing the high energy, fast-paced, riotously sarcasm-filled STORY of the first 3 books. All of these attributes were non-existent in Final Warning. Found myself skipping sections and feeling disappointed throughout the book. Like I said, stop while you're happy, don't read beyond the 3rd book.

I LOVE the Maximum Ride series. I read a lot of James Patterson and figured that it made sense to attempt and read his young adult novels as well. The Final Warning is a great story from start to finish. I read the entire book in just a couple of hours one night. This has been true of all of the Max Ride books. A great series, different from Patterson's usual mysteries, but a gripping storyline just as well.

I guess I'm just jealous that he's figured out a way to cash in on his talent, but the naked leftist agenda is pretty sickening.

I'm reading this series with my daughter; thank God I can provide some balance to this crap.

James Patterson gives a good read but I would really love for authors that decide to do series to not change in mid stream. The Maximum Ride series is an example that does that. I'm sitting with a copy of "The Final Warning" in my hand that says it's the 4th in the Maximum Ride series and I have a copy of a newly printed version of "The Angel Experiment" that says "The Final Warning" is the 1st title in "The Protector" set. As a librarian, I'd like to sit Mr. Patterson down and have a good talk with him about not reorganizing series.

Although it may have not been as adventurous as the other books, I really liked it. There are a lot of bad comments, but the book is actually great. I thought the books also taught you a good lesson about global warming and entertained me all the same. It is a fairly short book but is really good! Please ignore the bad comments. They are false.

Don't get me wrong. I totally loved the first books in this series, but this has got to be the worst ending to a series I have ever read. Even worse, sadly, than the Amber Spyglass. The entire book has unbelievable plot (in a bad way), and just a terrible "climax", with even a worse Rising Action. The entire book was dull, dry, and even more so, thrown together. It sounded as if this was for a younger age, and almost as if he was forced into writing this, as there was no imagination or effort put into this book. What a disappointing end to such an excellent story.

What a shame that the author has to take a good series of books and use this book to attempt to indoctrinate his readers with his beliefs. I understand that when someone writes a book he/she puts something of their own into it but this is taking it a bit to far. At least put in the title what you are aiming for so that we can decide whether or not we want to drink the cool aide or not. Luckily I did not pay for this book instead had borrowed it from the library. I am wondering if I should continue reading the series or will it continue.

I liked the other books. The characters were more than surface level and the books were engaging. There was a little left "wing", pun intended, bias in them, but nothing too bad. This global warming issue completely distracts from the style of the book. There is some action at the beginning, but the last half is a public service announcement, filled with incorrect data. Max's conversion to caring so much about something other than flock (as she has for the past three books) was totally unconvincing. This book needs to be rewritten.

Well, when I read the first chapter it wasn't narrated by Max as usual, which made me wonder if this was a cheap copy of the book. I respect the need to get the message about global warming out, but why not write a completely new book instead of partially ruining a very popular series in the eyes of milions of fans? When we fans clicked a million times on the website to get the fourth book we were asking for something that he wrote while he was eating breakfast on mondays if you know what I mean. It was okay but I, and other fans have come to expect better. I can only hope that if he writes 8 other books in the series ( PLEASE LET IT HAPPEN) they'll be better than this one

While I am not a fan of Patterson's adult novels I did enjoy the previous books in the Maximum Ride series. Originally I read them for work, but I wasn't dissapointed. I don't think Patterson does a very good job of writing for teens in comparison to other authors who only write for teens. The previous books weren't that bad though. The Final Warning, however, is just awful. The book is, as others have mentioned, condescending. Also, the dialogue is unrealistic and the scenarios are just pretentious. I think it's great to touch on important issues in teen books. But Patterson just pushed the issue of global warming too much. It really overshadowed the kids' stories. The serious should have stopped at book 3.

Max and the flock are back. They join some environmentalists in Antarctica to study global warming. Of course, they get into trouble, find a mole among the adults, freeze their buns, and get captured by `things' much worse than Erasers or Flyboys. Then they're taken to a hurricane in Miami. The fun never ends for them.

Granted, this book doesn't have the author's usual twists, turns and action. The author has used this story to send a message about global warming. He does it in a super way, especially since this series is geared towards a young crowd. Here's hoping many of the young people will open their eyes and take action to stop global warming. Thanks, Mr. P., for helping to get the message out.

Unlike some people are saying this book was good. It definitely was not as good as the first three maximum ride books but read other peoples reviews and disagreed with most of them. it was kind of a whole different story than how the other ones started out. To tell the truth i kind of miss the Erasers.

I was really happy when I saw that a fourth one came out. I read through it quick, like always, I enjoyed it and yet it didn't. This book just seemed like a big giant plug for Global Warming awareness. And don't get me wrong, I don't think that that is a bad thing really, I just wish that he had given this book more story to it! I hope he writes more of these, and actually continues on with an actualy story!!

First 3 books in this series were interesting, and although character driven, had an interesting plot. Patterson simply ran out of story line, before he was finished milking this cow. If the "director" was a good enough villian for 3 novels, he figured "uberdirector" would be good enough for one. How is this for ubber crap (Spoiler Alert) The dog grows wings. Don't take this in any way as slight of the first 3. They were very entertaining. But the story ended after the first 3. Althought he book is dedicated to sending a message about global warming, ironically, the book is a waste of paper. At least I read it on a Kindle.

There is a whole lot of disagreement about global warming and the cause of it. For those that embrace it, it has become a religion. If I want to read about someone's religion I expect them to put it out front and not hide it in a novel geared toward young adults. Patterson's last few chapters in "Final Warning" made it clear that the purpose of this book was to push the fear of global warming into the hearts and minds of young people. It also carried with it the usual "corporations are evil" message that goes along with the theory that man is at the center of climate change.... and it is an unproven theory.

I have always enjoyed Patterson's novels but have lost all respect for him. It will be a long time, if ever, that I pick up another of his books.

Very disappointed! I did not enjoy this part of the series at all; it felt very disjointed and incomplete. I hope the next one is better. My worry is the story is being drawn out over several more books, each one named for a character, and I may not even care by the time we finally get to the conclusion, nor even bother to read them.

As a middle school teacher I try to keep up with literature my students like to read. Many love the Max Ride series and were anticipating the fourth in the series. I was somewhat disappointed when I finished this book. The setting was interesting, but the story line was weak. We (my students and I) are all hoping for a well-developed fifth installment that answers more questions and has more resolution.

I loved the first 2 books. They were very compelling and interesting. During the third book I noticed a change in the way he was writing the books, the tone/style of the writing, but I still liked the book because there was still an interesting plot. This book's style and plot were horrible. The plot was almost non-existent. I'm hope that the next book is better. This book set the bar low so it will be hard for the next to be worse.

Well I have read all of the other books in the series and absolutely loved them and I couldn't wait to get this one but it was a let down. It wasn't nearly as good as the other books and I really was wishing that something would happen to make it more interesting. I read it in about an hour because to tell you the truth it was kind of boring. I think he should write another book after this one and then end the series with a book five. I mean I want to know what happened at the end when they said they have another mission to go on. It kinda leaves you hanging a little bit. ~ IM DISAPPOINTED.....

The book was entertaining but not as captivating as the preceding books. The story line was a little thin. It didn't seem as imaginative or maybe it's the familiarity of the previous works that make the story seem a little pale in comparison.

I am a librarian in a Central Missouri town and was excited to see that the newest book in this series was out... unfortunately this book was just a lot of propaganda about global warming. I'm not opposed to books on global warming, but when you are expecting another book in an "action/adventure" series and you just get preached at about the global warming "problem"... well, I don't expect the teens who are waiting to read this one will be overly impressed.

A bit of good Maximum Ride action, but mostly just a preachy book about global warming. No building up of relationships, character development, or even a defined enemy. It's not even scientifically accurate, yet tries to influence young readers who don't know enough to really research. If this had been the first of the series, I certainly would have stopped there. I know Mr. Patterson can do better than this!

I enjoyed reading the first three Max series but this one was a disaster. Lets face it, Patterson is not Chricton and should leave the mixing of Fiction with No-fiction to the experts who spend years on a subject before publishing. Don't get me wrong, I like Patterson novels but he is an assembly line novelist. He probably wrote this book over a weekend. Mr. Patterson please stick to what you are good at and leave the teaching to other writers.

What started out as an amusing but incredibly flawed series takes a turn for the amazingly horrible in "The Final Warning," which I'm sad to discover is not the final book in the Maximum Ride series. The story makes little to no sense, the characters behave in no sensible way and the global-warming theme is so violently shoehorned in that it hurts the minds of the reader. Avoid this book, and the whole series if you can.

I read the first three books of this fun series(The third did bug me but you know) this one ruins this fun,sarcastic series since is Patterson is part of"GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL! DUUHHH!" bandwagon. Max is less of the smug girl she was a book ago now she becoming a perfection maniac and more useless, barely used, god-molding powers who bloody cares how many freak dreaky gifts these brats have? The more power they have the less unique this book is the more captain plant bull the less this book is a fun read it is. The less of the max we know and love the less of this book satisfies me.

I started reading the Maximum Ride series after reading When the Wind Blows and the Lake House, Pattersons adult books with Max, and found the first three books in this series to be even better than the original adult books.

Naturally I was extremely excited when I heard that Patterson had decided to write a fourth book in the series and eagerly looked forward to more of the heart-pounding, read-all-night-until-your-finished action that I gleefully lapped up in the first three installments. The day The Final Warning came out I went to the bookstore first thing paid my twenty dollars and rushed home to read it. This book weighs in at a pathetic 256 pages, half of which is spent waxing on about the dangers of global warming and how it's all our fault.

As for the rest of the book, you know that whole Plot thing that most readers generally expect from a novel...well let me put it this way: Max and the Flock get kidnapped (again) and then escape, through absolutely no effort on their part (that's right Max doesn't out smart the bad guys or out fight them. Instead they're saved by a convienent something that rhymes with lurricane, not to give anything away, which was caused by global warming). Then Max gives a rousing speech to Congress about the dangers of global warming.

Sorry did I ruin the ending? At least now you can keep those twenty bucks and use them to buy gasoline and then send the receipt to James Patterson. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

This book is completely irrelevant and hs nothing to do with anything. There is no action, fighting scenes, or even interesting conversations. I promise you can skip this book and not miss nything. The only thing you need to know is that Iggy is beggining to feel color. So ignore the Final Warning but not MY final warning. Really I would have rather read three poetry books instead and I hate poetry with a passion.

I loved the first three Maximum Ride books, but this book was, like the title says, highly disappointing. It started out good, but then it got into saving the planet from Global Warming. Then it seemed as if that was all it was about; using the main characters to promote the idea. The storyline was rushed and slightly confusing. The bad guys were lame. A couple times I wondered if I had the right book. It was like an entirely different person writing it. The bottom line is; I'm all for saving the environment, but I bought this book to read an awesome adventure with nail-biting suspense, twisting plots, humor, and insane action; not to be preached to about Global Warming.

I think this is one of the best middle-school level books I've seen in a long time. I LIKE the idea that it actually has i point & promotes something instead of solipsism & the canned, institutionalized issues that pervade most current school level books. I'm tired of all the "sound & fury, signifying nothing" of most of them. And despite the bad choice of "Global Warming" for a name, ther ARE huge environmental problems that these kids are going to have to deal with. Go to the gulf coast or any of dozens of other nearby places & see for yourself - it's very evident to anyone who doesn't choose to be blind, and these kids are going to have to deal with our mess whether we want to admit it or not. If our education system does not prepare students for effectively dealing with problems, what's the point?

I had read the first three books before i decided to read this book of the series and this book was terrible! Patterson did such a great job on those books and I was soooooo disappointed when i started to read the Final Warning. the main reason (in which made me stop reading the book) was that plot changed to them savng the environment from "global warming". Such a false and boring thing. I REALLY liked this series until this book so i do NOT recomend it to others.

The Maximum Ride series hasn't failed me yet, and this book was my favorite so far. I was constantly laughing out loud at the sarcastic, witty comic relief Max always brings to the books. James Patterson has done a fabulous job conveying the emotions of these mutant kids who just want to find a place in this world.

Well, I have to tell you first that if you haven't read book one yet, back up and start at the beginning!! I know this series is more for young readers, but I have found that they are some of the best books!! I can't wait to read what is in store for the flock!! So, if you'll excuse me, time to fly!!

Okay, so, I am a kid an adults and teens probably won't think much of my opinion, but I still have to get it out there. This was an amazing book! So many people are saying that it was horrible, when it was not. Global Warming is an international crisis and I think that everybody needs to be aware of it. James Patterson did a superb job of doing that. Many people did not enjoy this book because it was about Global Warming. Well, as I have said, Global Warming is a big deal, and many people don't care about it, when, in fact, it's the reason that more an more people are dying each year. Now, since this is a book review, I need to talk about The Final Warning. Look at the concept people! Look at the writing! It's an amazing book! There was word choice, there was humor, and, (of course) there was romance. Now, I know that I won't be able to change your opinion much, but, please, think about my review. You can also see my review for Max:A Maximum Ride Novel.

The book was still okay but not as exciting as the others. I didn't like it that much.Nothing was really resolved throughout the book.
This time, the main character, Max, and her flock are in Antarctica. They're fighting against global warming.
I was really confused when they brought in the 'uber-director'. I don't remember him making an appearance in any of the other books so it was a bit confusing. The ending was horrible, and I'm hoping that the next book will be somewhat better.

As a avowed lover of the Maxx Ride series, this book was absolutely disgustingly bad. It was condescending, flat, boring, lacked any and all character development, and basically partially ruined my very fond memories of the other books. If you love this series, STAY AWAY

I've read all the previous books leading up to this one and thought it lived up to my expectations of it. I really love how exciting and unexpected things happen with every turn of the page and how the characters are well developed. I also liked all the witty remarks and humorous thoughts that had be either laughing or grinning like an idiot. I loved the book as much as the others and can't wait until the next one is out and I recomend this book to anyone who has a love for adventure books.

The Feds want to control the Flock, so they offer a devious deal. They will provide the six teens with wings shelter and an education if they cooperate with the authorities. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel consider the offer, but prefer not to be placed under a microscope by adults, who tend to try to harm them.

They flee before the Feds turn their offer into a prison like sentence. The Flock head to Antarctica figuring the isolated frozen continent should prove safe. Environmental scientists studying global warming's impact upon the ice cap welcome the runaway teens. However the evil Director has replaced his failed Erasers with invincible mechanized soldiers. His plan is to sell the Flock for billions each to the highest bidder. Antarctica is no problem for him and his mechanical horde.

The fourth Maximum Ride is an exhilarating 200 proof action-packed middle school thriller. However the plot feels much thinner than the previous entries and somewhat disconnected. Still the Flock remains cool (and not just because of the climate) especially Max who quips his way from one fire to another even in Antarctica as he and his best buddies must save the world while eluding the Director and the Feds who have plans for THE ANGEL EXPERIMENT participants.

Harriet Klausner

i fell in love with this series because of the upbeat action. i loved when max battled the erasers and came face to face with ari. in this book, none of that happened. patterson tried to teach us about global warming, and he didnt even try to make it interesting. the tone of the book was very condesnding and i just wanted to get to one of the fighting scenes. overall i was very disapointed.

Was probably too excited to read this, the 4th edition, of Maximum Ride. The entire story-line was very much out of the ordinary for Max and Co. No big fights for the kids, just more running scared, unknowns trying to kill them, and the ever constant 'Voice' telling Max to do one thing, her listening, and it being he wring thing to do. The series is too much of a hit for JP to stop writing about the bird-kids, but I sure hope the next one is better than this anti-climactic rendition.

I had already added this audio cd to buy it when someone's review with those dreaded "Global Warming" words jumped out at me!

I immediately deleted it from my checkout box....

While we love fictional writing, we HATE someone lying to us, and playing "on our fears" - to quote a redneck....

For those of you that believe in it (you must, because there is So much junk science to back it up), I guess the fact that there could be eons or decades long Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter's (relatively) is too complex to believe.....

Sad, Sad, Sad.... bet the same groups believe in "Global Warming" and "Change"... let's see how that works out....

Independent thought died a quiet death...

If I had I never would have spent the money. Complete propaganda like it should have a forward by Al Gore. Poorly done, as it drags on with speeches right out of the earth summit. Very disappointing!

I got hooked on the series. But the 4th was so unsatisfying. i couldn't take any of the "action" seriously after the other books. The plot was so weak compared to the others. Honestly, I would've been so much more satisfied if i hadn't even read The Final Warning, and left it how the 3rd ended.

Final Warning Book 4 of the series was a really great read. It was a short 200 page read that was full of action. The only parts I just scanned over was the global warming messages that went on forever. Other than that, this was a great read.

Very attention grabbing. You'll never be able to put it down until you finish. I almost guaranty. Maximums adventures and thrilling events make you want to read more and enjoy every last historical moment with the Flock. Before you read this book please read the first one.

I love this series!!!! James Patterson is brilliant!!! I chose this particular rating because to come up with this you would have to be brilliant. thinking of how he came up with all the personalities

I expected a lot more from the next chapter in the Maximum Ride saga. After all, the first three books were all about heart-pounding action, excellent character development, and just the right amount of romance to keep it interesting. Now take all of the first three books and squash them together into a single miniature version without any of the action, and you have The Final Warning. Granted, there are some good points, not to spoil any, but most of them happen towards the beginning of the novel. The last three quarters were, in my opinion, mainly rehashed storylines from the first three books. The action is only seen from the point of view of two characters including Max and Fang's meaningless 'book blog', not the actual blog that exists on the Web. Then there's the fact that the series has become a huge environmental tree-hugging plug as well. Yeah, we know the environment needs to be saved, but you don't have to beat it into our brains by making Max Ride the Eco-Lady of Popular Literature. Is this book what we Maximum Ride fans clicked a million times for? I think not. This one needs a sequel, if the Flock is to be saved.

This episode was severely disappointing! We didn't like the Fang's Blogs and the rest was propaganda for the global warming lies. There was way too much bad language from all the flock. No more, please!

the books in the maximum ride series have all been well written and each of their plots well thought out. my sister and i had been looking forward to this book for A while and now that we've read it, it turns out to be a disappointment. To me its seems as if this book was written hastily and without much thought. I can only say that I wish it were better and that the next book (if there is one) is not such a big letdown.

while this book wasnt my favorite of the series it was still a good maximum ride book! Yes patterson does express his views on golbal warming but so what? j.k rowling demonstrates her views on witchcraft, but nobody finds that annoying. I dont even believe in global warming really and i still really enjoyed this latest installment of maximum ride. Max is still kick butt and theres even some romance between her in fang in this book. I overall really enjoy patterson, and will continue to read this series with enthusiasim

The previous books were very good and entertaining. I and my kids loved them. My kids will not hear this book. It's full of arguable science and questionable facts used to support an anti-global warming agenda complete with political direction straight from Al Gore. It MIGHT be tolerable if it were balanced; but, it isn't. A sad addition to a good series.

I think this might be the best book of the series!! I can't say much without spoiling it but this book,but if you have read all of the other's, than trust me you will be in for a ride. Maximum Ride to be exact.

i'm glad this book was only 250 pages. i basically SKIMMED the last 3 pages, because i had to keep reading about Global Warming and kids must unite message over and over again. i think peterson, had a wonderful unique concept with the kids and various special talents that he wasted it on his on personal message of "save the world".

I thought Final Warning was not bad at all. It was just kind of a random part in the story. The global warming thing was kind of annoying(since I don't believe in it) but I got over it. Some people say that you dont even noeed to read this to be up to date with series, but I think you do because of all the new powers.

well this book is good. not as much thrill as i wanted to happen but still good . i think it could be longer. this one is more about the earth. its not over powering about the earth so thats good. but this is not my favorite book. anyway this is a good book. Go James Patterson

Don't get me wrong, I love Maximum Ride, but this abomination? Hell no. At the end of the book it felt like someone had just sucker punched me. It's like a bad Karen Travis book, or the hunger games really being about the Democratic party.

The book was to be delivered between 7/30 and 8/15. It is now 8/27 and I have not received the book. I have written to the seller on 8/25 and have not recieved a response. It guess it helps to read the reviews BEFORE you purchase from a seller. I never would have used this seller if I read the reviews. My son needs to read the book BEFORE school starts (which is 9/4) so I guess that is not going to happen. I thought I would get it in time for vacation and he could read it while on vacation. Oh well I am now going to request my money back!!

READ THE REVIEWS BEFORE YOU BUY!!!

This series used to be great, I loved it and couldn't wait for the next book to come out. But he made the bad guy Global Warming??? the ending stunk and I'm not even sure If I will read the next book. This book was a big disappointment!

I read this book expecting it to be good and this book was horrible. all the book is is a comercial to stop global warming if i wanted that id read the news. all the other books were great the sequel of this book was great this was by far the weakest link it was PATHETIC.

Thi book was pretty boring. Dont get me wrong, James Patterson is my favorite author...ever... and the maximum ride novels are some of the best books out there but this book really disappointed me. It was not at all what I expected. What happened?

I was very dissapointed by this installment in the Maximum Ride series. I thought the beginning was interesting, when they were talking to the politicians, but the book fell apart from there. I paid for an adventure novel, not a PSA about global warming.

I loved the other Maximum Ride books, and even got tons of my students to read them. Let's just say that we ALL agreed this was a horrible book. I think James Patterson wrote it just to make people happy by putting out another Maximum Ride book. If there is another, hopefully it will be like the first three, which we all loved.

I can't believe how bad this book was. The first 3 Maximum Ride books were exciting and made me wanting more. Unfortunately, I purchased book 4 and now I wish this was just a trilogy. Very disappointing.

I don't know what all the bad hype is about. I got 3 copies and besides reading it myself, five teens finished reading it in less than 3 days. They loved it and hope there will be a continuation of the series. I really like the location and the new quest the flock had. It only seems natural to want a goal in life. Apart from being adventurous and fun, it is educational and gives readers a sense of life not "being all about me". Those of you who gave the book 1 star remind me of people who said the world was flat. At least give this man credit for trying to do something for our world. As far as global warming goes, it shows how ignorant or uncaring people are. Just turn on your local news station and observe. Hey by the time things start to happen perhaps Mr. Patterson and I will be long gone but what about the others left behind? If we keep destroying everything without recycling more, where are we going to grow our food? The rooftops? Or perhaps pop pills instead of actual food? Hey if we are paying 3.50/gal of gas, guess how much you will be paying? Hate me if you like...this is America and respect all persons' freedom of speech. You are all entitled to your opinions as we are ours.

a bit of a letdown. max ride 1 2 and 3 were full of adventure and excitement and thrill, but this one fell short of expectations. it was a really short read too. it was ok. i still love max though

I was very disappointed in this book because of the political "Global Warming" speech Max made at the end of the book.
I read for entertainment and when I want to read political opinions I will buy political references.