Rating: 
Summary: I could not believe that this was James Patterson
Review: I have always looked forward to the next James Patterson novel. Among my favorites were Cat and Mouse, Jack and Jill,and When the Wind Blows. I even gave him the benefit of the doubt on Pop Goes the Weasel, but Cradle and All was just inexcusable. The story had all kinds of promises that led to nowhere. I cannot express to you just how bad I thought this novel was--to the point that I'm considering e-mailing Patterson personally to refund my money. ... This novel was a bigger let-down than Hannibal.
Rating: 
Summary: Rock-a-Bye-Reader
Review: I have been a fan of James Patterson since he released "Virgin" in the mid-1980's. "Cradle and All", as many other reviewers have pointed out, is a "reworking" of the novel previously-released as "Virgin".I must admit that this book took me by suprise... the plot has been reworked considerably, and the novel is written in the typical Patterson style, full of short chapters, breathless suspense, interesting and fully-developed characters, and more than a few twists in the plot. The avid Patterson fan should be warned that this is NOT an Alex Cross novel, but is a novel of supernatural suspense in the tradition of "Rosemary's Baby". True fans of the Alex Cross novels (and NOT fans of James Patterson's full arsenal of fiction) will most likely NOT enjoy this novel. I was fully enthralled by this book, up to and including the novel twist ending in the last paragraph. Had this book not been released previously, I would have given the book 5 stars - it is THAT good. However, I am rather ashamed that many authors today, including James Patterson, are beginning to release previously published novels, with new titles and cover artwork, to capitalize on their fame. This ploy earns the novel 3 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Advertised as a "Virgin" Re-write
Review: I thought the premise of this book seemed awfully familiar -- it's nothing but a remake of his earlier "Virgin" title, same exact story. Feel like I wasted money and effort, plus the book would be 100 pages smaller with the blank space squeezed out. Hardly a bargain! Beware.
Rating:
Summary: Wasted effort, wasted time!
Review: This was the first time I read a Patterson book and I was very disappointed. I put too much faith in reviews of his previous work. Although the book raised some interesting issues that are relevant today, the author could have accomplished the same thing writing an op-ed commentary.
Rating:
Summary: A bad beach book
Review: I thought that I had read all of Patterson's books, but I missed Virgin, a book he used as the basis for this book, not even coming up with a new idea. The writing was poorly done with characters undeveloped, a story that made no sense and an ending that was the only thing mildly surprising. It was as if the author was being paid by the chapter. I'll be more careful next time about buying Patterson's books. He has fallen into the trap of Robert Ludlum of turning out poorer quality books in subsequent releases until the readership goes away. As a note, Ludlum's newest book is being released in paperback first.
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable change of pace
Review: I'm surprised to see so many negative reviews of this book. I really enjoyed it! It was not your typical murder mystery or political thriller, but was centered around the second coming of Christ. Not an easy premise to attack, but I found it well done and interesting all the way to the end. This is a much different book from Patterson's other work, but the main characters are quite interesting. I kept wondering, 'is Satan trying to trick her, or is God sending her a message?' It kept me guessing until the very end. My only complaint with it is that all the religious figures are Catholic, as though there are no other denominations of Christianity that would have gotten involved. Being a non-Catholic Christian, I thought that it would have been more believable to have religious leaders from several different different churches having some theological debates. But the story is well-written, and well worth reading. The reader on the audio cassette version does an outstanding job of switching between accents and dialects, although I wonder about the "unabridged" title -- if this was unabridged, the book must have a bunch of VERY short chapters! All in all, this was a very interesting and enjoyable tale, and quite well told.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible, unimaginative, worthless . . . get the point?
Review: I have never read any of James Patterson's previous works, so I cannot rate this flimsy fiction up against his (alleged) better creations. I have NEVER read a worse book. The plot (and I use that term loosely) is vacuous and undeveloped. Patterson repeatedly cuts to children dying from polio around the world, but this concept was not adequately developed, nor was it fully integrated into the basic premise of this sickly novel. The writing style also was unimpressive - it was bland, cliche-ridden and did not spur my intellectual appetite. The actual premise of the novel - two virgins: one giving birth to the second Savior and the second to the son of the devil - is actually a rather intriguing concept. Unfortunately, this novel does not expound upon the intrigue. Cradle and All is a poorly crafted and ill-developed novel. I gave it one star ONLY because I could not submit my review without first choosing a rating. Hint to Amazon.com: provide a ZERO stars option! I will be seeking an immediate refund from Amazon.com!
Rating:
Summary: Sure to be a movie
Review: This is Patterson's best work yet. I will be more tempted topick up a new Patterson book, since this read. I look forward to themovie (it would be a great one). This will attract new Patterson readers!
Rating:
Summary: You Can't Be Mind Blowing All The Time
Review: Okay this wasn't one of James Patterson's greatest creations, and it was a little silly. But I have to admit that I couldn't put it down without thinking about the possible outcomes. The story was unbelievable but the James Patterson suspence and twists were there. The main character, Anne, the former nun was believable but for her belief in virgin births. I'm a great fan of James Patterson and his Alex Cross serial is second to none, but give the guy a break, he can't be amazing all the time and every writer comes out with a turkey every now and then. So lets forgive this amazing writer for his one error in judgement and wait with fingers crossed for his next scorcher. I mean come on even when he does a turkey he does it better than any one else.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good!
Review: I did not think it was his very best work - I definitely like Alex Cross better. But I have to say that while the story is slow going at first, the ending makes up for it! Very thrilling!
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