The Lake House

Rating:
Summary: Too Much Cooing Bears Heavily on the Wings of this Tale
Review: Does Patterson's sequel to "When the Wind Blows" FLY, like his fantastically bio-engineered characters with wings?
Well. . . the innovative liftoff of the first installment of the bird childrens' story unfortunately can no longer soars as high in this tale which begins with veternarian Frannie O-Neill and FBI-agent Kit Brennan attempting to get custody in a media- saturated trial that rivals the likes of the current Michael Jackson fiasco. Burdened with a repetitive storyline and way too many atta-birds, "The Lake House" -- a reference to the idyllic dream dovehouse of the bird children -- fails to refeather the nest so wonderfully conceived by Patterson's first foray.
As with in first story, Patterson enjoys writing about his wunderkind; soaring descriptions of flight and formation of the "flock" literally fly off the pages. But some of his praise quickly gets stale; yes,thank you very much, the reader becomes aware right from the start that the kids' IQs are "all off the charts". Patterson's penchant for attempting to narrate from a child's perspective with a child's limited vocabulary also lays an egg; his transition into the more mature voice of vet-lady Frannie remains at the same immature level where the most over-used word of the book is some form of "creepy". Yet even this juvenile feel rings false when the children chirp songs from another era and relate to pop culture that is surely far older than even the eleven year old elder of the flock.
If you can get through these flaws --- and how I wish I didn't have to expend such energy and well, charity on this offering---- Patterson does tell a fast-paced albeit repeat story with some predictable side issues which urge the reader to turn to the next page, or in my case. listen to the next cassette simply because the reader wants to satisfactorily confirm what he believes will coming next.
At an attempt at a higher plane, Patterson takes some jabs at today's fixation on the media and his feelings about science running amok, but these ideas although well juxtaposed with his fantasy, are almost lost in the too false and cooing rah-rah enthusiasm of the kids and their almost overly indulgent make-shift parents.
The audio edition of this book is well-produced complete with thematic music. A female and male actor perform the larger roles of Frannie and Dr. Ethan Kane. Bottom line: if you enjoyed the first book of the series, than by all means, give this one a shot; its okay as a mind-engager while you exercise, but if you are like me, you may find yourself grimacing in pain at the somewhat silly dialogue and hoping that if a third book is in the works, Patterson at least checks to make sure his voices ring with some sense of consistency befitting an imaginery species.

Rating:
Summary: Remember -- this is a FANTASY!
Review: The Lake House which is the sequel to When the Wind Blows is a lovingly written book showing James Patterson's affection for his creations in the first book. If you are reading this book as you read James Patterson's Alex Cross series or the Murder Club books, you will be very disappointed. If, however, you enjoy some science fiction/fantasy dealt with in straightforward fashion and a story showing the characters, their growth and love as well as some suspense and excitement, you will enjoy this book. I do not usually cry over a book but was definitely weepy at this end of this book. Read it for what it is and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Same plot as original
Review: I am a big James Patterson fan. The scope of his writing style is amazing. I also loved the original book, The Wind Blows, in this 2 book series. It is an extremely well written, believable, heartwarming fantasy.

That said, The Lake House is nothing more than a poor rehash of the original story. The plot is the same, only the villian names are changed. Two points in the book really bothered me. Max and Oz, the oldest of the flying children are only 12, yet they make love and Max has 2 children (hatching them from eggs). I don't care if Max has bird genes which supposedly make her older than her 12 years -- she was still only 12 years old! It can't be justified by one sentence that states her bird genes make her the same age as Frannie. The second point is that a chapter must be missing from the book. The plot goes from Max and the children fighting the bad guys with overwhelming odds. No way can they win -- then suddenly Frannie is being wakened from an induced dream state to find that all the bad guys are gone and the children have triumphed. What happened? Where did the bad guys go? No explaination, just everything is suddenly OK.

The sequal to The Wind Blows could have been a great book but the Lake House just doesn't measure up. Enjoy the Wind Blows, don't bother with the sequal it will only disappoint you.

Rating:
Summary: AWFUL!!! What Happened Here?
Review: I started reading this book and had to put it down right away. When I found out that a child had wings and was flying through the air, I thought, What? Patterson wrote this?

It was completely far-fetched and not even within the realm of possibility. Where was James Patterson? Did he write this in his sleep?

Rating:
Summary: Not such a bad book
Review: My opinion of this book may be slightly colored to the fact that I have just recently begun reading Patterson. I like his style and the stories he tells, and I must admit that I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Although its predecessor, When the Wind Blows, is a much better book, The Lake House was still a good book. However, the last 50 pages or so are a bit of a let down after such an awesome beginning. Thus the three stars. If you like sci-fi thrillers, this book and When the Wind Blows are for you.

Rating:
Summary: GIVE ME PETER PAN
Review: It's sad to see a talented writer like James Patterson write such a trite, dull and laughable novel. I've loved his Alex Cross books and while I found WHEN THE WIND BLOWS whimsical and different, this follow up is a real dud.
First of all, enough flying narratives. Patterson fills the book with so many ridiculously redundant scenes of the kids flying around and then he has the audacity to bump one of them off. (Sorry for the spoiler, but I won't tell you which one). The whole concept becomes so frustrating that by the time they face the mad Dr. Ethan Kane, one is totally apathetic. Frannie and Kit are soporific to say the least. All the pop cultural references are amateurish and remind me of stories I wrote when I was in my creative writing class.
James, do us and yourself a favor: end this debacle and stick to Cross. Thank you!

Rating:
Summary: a joke, maybe...
Review: I do like Patterson's work. Too much "serial killer+profiler oriented", but it works well. And "First to die" was a real refreshing plot. But "The Lake House" seems to be a joke: out of the picture family romance, ridiculous plot... Barbara Cartland trying to combine thriller and passion story: this would give "the lake house". The positive points of this book: good to make you sleep early and ensures you to win a yawn contest...

Rating:
Summary: Blah
Review: Blah- that pretty much sums up this book, the sequel to "When the Wind Blows". Then again, supernatural stuff usually isn't for me- I just don't enjoy it. Of course, I always try, but it always seems so silly and fake. Which is kind of how this story came off.

The story is about a group of children that were genetically engineered to be half bird, half human. Their lives are in danger, along with the two people who discovered them in the previous book and became like mentors. Together they try to figure out why a certain doctor who owns a underground medical facility is after them, and to uncover what's going on at that facility. The characters are weak, as is the story and the ending.

While I love James Patterson's other novels like Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider- the Lake House has got to be one of his worst. I'd recommend skipping this one. In fact, if I'd read the reviews here BEFORE I started reading the book, I would have skipped it myself! At least it was a very quick read at under 400 pages with very short chapters.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Unreal
Review: I have never written a review for Amazon before, but I feel compelled to do so after reading this book. I read the large print edition, and there was so much missing in the book (such as character and story development), I thought my version had to be abridged, and a very poor effort at that. I could find no mention of it being a condensed book on the copyright page (or anywhere else on the book), so I came to Amazon to check out the facts. Imagine my surprise when reading the reviews to find that others felt the same way as I did. I really enjoyed When The Wind Blows, and waited anxiously to read another book about the children. I have read many of the books by James Patterson and find it impossible to believe that he really wrote this book. Sometimes I will accept less character development if the story is engrossing, but I can't accept a story line with holes as large and jagged as the Rocky Mountains. Really, really unbelievable, on many levels!