Rating: 
Summary: I Can't Believe I Paid for This!
Review: This was the most disappointing book I've ever read! After all the promotion and hype, I was expecting much more. Not only are the characters poorly developed, but the story line...well, is there one?
Rating: 
Summary: Very poor unbelievable story
Review: It's hard to believe, after Patterson writes a knockout book "The Jester", he comes up with this unbelievable story about children who could fly. This concept should make good reading but the whole plot of the story is marred with gore and completely unbelievable characters.
I don't want to give the story away, but the ending is so foolish that it's hard to understand how this world class author could write something like this.
Rating:
Summary: Just awful
Review: Poorly written, badly edited, terrible plot, weak characterization. Need I say more? My first exposure to James Patterson's work was Kiss The Girls and Along Came a Spider. This was the first non-Alex Cross book that I have read and it was a severe dissappointment. The plot involves genetically altered children, a custody battle, and a nasty bad guy who wants to use the children to further his diabolic goals. Around this insipid and unoriginal plot, the author makes a few ineffective attemps at character development. None of these characters make it off the page. They are just sketches--line drawings never fleshed out. The reader develops no emotional connection with any of the charactes, not even the narrorator. The bad guy never inspires any fear or dread. He is as scary as Mojo-whatever from the Powerpuff girls. I could go on but why bother. I kept waiting for this book to find its stride, to engage me, to delve into the real plot. It never did. This book lacks both heart and skill. It's not even worth checking out from the library.
Rating:
Summary: James Patterson: Go Back to your Day Job
Review: This was one of the most horribly written books I have ever read. I read some of the paragraphs out loud to my family to show them what poor writing sounds like! I was completely suckered by the television ads hyping this "chilling" "must read" by this best selling novelist. Shame on me. Shame on you James for succumbing to formula novel writing.
Rating:
Summary: Throw this in the lake
Review: Mr. Patterson, you are one of my favorite authors. This book reads like you didn't write it. It is poorly written, has no plot, the "kids" slang is laughable. If I didn't know better I would think you might have just written this to cash in on "summer beach reading."
I was going to sell my copy on amazon but thought better of it. I wouldnt inflict this trash on any reader!
"If you read it you will die...of being bored to death."
Rating:
Summary: B-O-R-I-N-G!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I can usually read almost anything, but I can't even finish this one. I bought this on impulse thinking it was an Alex Cross mystery (which are definitely going downhill also)and was very disappointed to find that it was a sequel to the equally stupid When The Wind Blows. This thing is just boring - don't waste your money or your time! The only Patterson left on my reading list after this will be Richard North, not James...
Rating:
Summary: The Lake House
Review: I Have read almost all of James Pattersons' work and I have to say this one really should have been left in the lab! It's so far fetched that the story line can't even begin to seem logical much less real! Let's hope the next one is better.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put down!!!
Review: When the Wind Blows was the first Patterson book that I had read and I was sitting by my mailbox waiting for the sequel to come out! I was not let down by this book. Patterson's story-telling ease made me look astonishing at the clock when I noticed that I had been reading well past time to be asleep. I would recommend this series to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: fascinating thriller
Review: FBI agent Thomas "Kit" Brennan and veterinarian Frannie O'Neill rescued the six Winged children from the School where they lived in appalling conditions and were the subjects of dangerous experiments. The octet lived together for four months before they were returned to their biological parents but in that time the children, who had bird DNA mixed into their genetic make up, imprinted Kit and Frannie as their parents. Kit and Fran sued for custody and lost but when danger threatened, the children turned to their real "parents" for help. Dr. Ethan Kane works on illegal experiments using unsuspecting donors for his Resurrection project. He wants the children who he envisions as the next step up in the evolutionary ladder and he'll use any means at his disposal to get them. Kit, Frannie and the children are on the run but the doctor has sources within the government that leads him and his minions to their hideout. He brings them all back to his lab where the leader of the children, Maximus has a final showdown with destiny. THE LAKE HOUSE, the sequel to the best-selling WHEN THE WIND BLOWS is a fascinating thriller starring six unusual children whom capture the hearts of the audience as they try to make a place for themselves in this BRAVE NEW WORLD. James Patterson revisits some very important moral and social issues that should be addressed before scientists go much farther in genetic engineering. The plot is well developed with plenty of action scenes but the heart of this novel remains Kit and Frannie who will do everything in their power to make sure their children are safe. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A real flight of fancy...
Review: Like other current light novels, Patterson taps into the summer beach market with Lake House, revisiting the theme from his 1998 success, When the Wind Blows. The sibling bird/children from the prior novel are now embroiled are in a court battle that has become a media circus. The man and woman who have championed the children's rescue from "the School", FBI agent Kit Brennan and veterinarian Frannie O'Neill, have petitioned family court for guardianship. Unfortunately, the biological parents have intervened, challenging the guardianship, which would mean separating the siblings. Under the discretion of the court, the judge rules in favor of the biological parents. The heartbroken Kit and Frannie are deeply concerned about the safety of these young creatures, as a number of nefarious individuals seek to exploit and/or experiment with the children. The world is ill prepared for any aberrant life forms, even if they are only a curiosity. The children are particularly vulnerable to the evil intentioned, M & M loving, Dr. Ethan Kane, a genetic scientist who is preparing for "the Resurrection", his own personal experiment in life extension. Kane's primary target is Max, the oldest female, aged twelve, but with the maturity of an adult. Suddenly all the children are in danger as hired assassins move closer. Helping each other, they fly to safety once, but are later recaptured. Then ensues a battle for the preservation of "the flock", when Frannie, Kit and the kids are taken to Dr. Kane's "Hospital". His plans are well underway, happily harvesting innocent donor's organs. With mass audience appeal and international recognition, Patterson has established a niche market. By dipping into fantasy, instead of his formulaic mystery/suspense, Patterson may garner new fans of the Sci-Fi genre. Lake House is written in the abbreviated style that works for Patterson's fast paced mysteries, the text peppered with question marks, italicized words and exclamation points, a technique that doesn't allow for subtle definitions of characters. On the other hand, for those easily bored, Lake House is easy reading . Rest assured, we have not seen the last of this series. It is difficult to give an author's work less than three stars, but it is also necessary for each reviewer to establish his own criteria for the books reviewed. I look back on Patterson's earlier work, novels that I would look forward to reading in his particularly engaging style. Like many popular authors, constantly pressured by the market for more material, Patterson has turned out a huge number of books to meet the needs of his audience. I am willing to wait a little longer to read something of the same quality as his earliest novels. Luan Gaines/2003.
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