Max Ride Forever Review Part 2

Or: This Book Comes With a Free Razorblade!

Before I launch into a play-by-play let me take a moment to describe the overall tone of this book.

Books are an escape, depending upon what kind of book you read depends on what kind of escape it is. Though I've only read one or two, I've heard spy novels are an exotic location travelesque escape. Maximum Ride started out as that. It was a high-flying travel adventure. Then it was a save the world blah blah prophesy, but they still traveled and had fun.

Forever doesn't give us that. It is a constant doom and gloom. Max cries, hyperventilates, cries, freaks out, and cries. It is unceasing in its description of destroyed cities, starvation, and death death death. The flock gets injured and there are descriptions of their wounds festering and oozing pus. the series isn't fun anymore, it's depressing.

Here's a kitten in a cast to fight the sadness.

So, picking up after the murder of Nudge (no!) and Total (yes!) we start with Fang.

Fang comes across a couple of kids who are working for The Remedy, which is the stupid name for the so far faceless bad guy.

And a song by Jason Mraz

Their job is apparently to murder whoever is left in the world (?). They fight and, when things turn back for Fang, the very very convenient deus ex machine plot device Star shows up and saves him.

Wait, who the hell is Star?

It took more explanation on the part of the book to remind me. Star was part of Fang's Gang previously in the series. As part of Patterson's "Nevermind" initiative Fang's Gang was dispersed as conveniently as possible and never mentioned again up until now. Star infodumps on him saying that Jeb's good/evil/good/evil/good/evil/good/evil/good/evil/good/evil/good/evil/good/evil/good/evil pendulum has swung back to evil once again. After the infodump she leaves, presumably to continue to never be mentioned again.

Meanwhile with Max she is flying around, in the process of emoing, when she comes across another flock of bird kids. These ones are more bird than human though. They make gutteral noises to communicate and, despite being human-shaped, are covered in feathers except for their heads, which are normal. Max hangs out with them for awhile and befriends one that can almost communicate. He says "Huryu" frequently and Max decides to call him Harry. I preferred Huryu but whatever.
At least it's not something stupid like Horseman.

Iggy and Gazzy are finally given a few chapters. they are in the States when they come across a silo of girls. the girls put them to work in the silo, cleaning the septic tank (because gurlpower...or something), when Horseman shows up (somehow?). He went from an underground network of tunnels on a tropical island to the United States, found a hidden silo, got through to the bottom where the septic system is at without being detected, all in a matter of something like twenty-four hours or less. In an attempt to fight against Horseman, Gazzy blows up the silo, himself, and all the girls presumably, and Iggy is presumably also murdered by Horseman soon thereafter.

Jesus Christ, Patterson you're pissing me off!

"Hey, don't bring me into this monstrosity of a story."

I guess with all of Patterson's least favorite characters out of the way he'll like the story better... or something.


With that it focuses on the three remaining characters.

Angel is recruiting a bunch of kids. At one point she finds a couple of them in the States and tells them to go to Russia...Exactly how are they supposed to get there? Oh, but that's ignored.

The bird kids leave Max and Harry behind and they strike out on their own. At some point Max and Harry are captured, because Max these days does the exact opposite of what she did at the start of the series (and I don't mean in a good "coming of age" way,  I mean all of her survival instincts are dead.) After that Patterson gives a big ol' middle finger to physics when Max and Harry are trapped in a cage and Harry sticks his winds out between the bars and is able to lift the metal cage with himself and Max in it. Get gets high enough to hit the ceiling.

Fang, meanwhile, is in Alaska for some reason. He randomly runs into Erasers Horsemen. Also Dylan is alive and being beat up by them, also Jeb is there because holy freaking coincidence, Batman!

Don't bring me into this either!

Then one of Fang's wings are ripped off and he's presumed dead. The second part ends with Horseman kneeling in front of Angel saying Fang is dead. Which, if you know cliches, saying a character is dead automatically means they are not dead.

Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion!