The Lake House | James Patterson

The Lake House | James Patterson | Escape by Flying Away

books:

The Lake House

	The Lake House James Patterson, 2003 - 376 pages average customer review:based on 298 reviews view larger image
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The six children have escaped horrifying government experiments, a childhood in captivity, and a frightening brush with death. Living out in the world for the first time, they yearn to be reunited with Kit and Frannie, the couple who saved their lives. And Max, the leader of the flock, is seized by an overpowering fear that the kids are about to face a danger greater than any they've ever known. All that the children want is to return to the one place they have ever felt truly protected-the waterfront cabin known as the Lake House.But in order to get there, they must thwart the sinister plans of a survivor from their worst nightmare-plans that not only keep Kit, Frannie, and the children in constant peril, but threaten the future of human existence. And it's a battle they must be willing to pay any price to win.

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James Patterson

As usual a gripping book. JP is the best writer and I have
collected all his books. Highly recommend this book to anyone.

Escape by Flying Away

So many contemporary books and movies are written with an end in mind: appeal to a mass audience. They use the formula of extremely good and evil characters, some pseudo-scientific special effects, suspense building to a climax, and a brief happy-ever-after period. These stories also tend to have no message and no purpose other than escape. They are the literary junk food - equivalent to watching mindless television.

Patterson's bird-kid sequel in part falls into this category, but has some virtues. Kind and virtuous people and innocent bird-kids fight against an evil genius and other exploiters. The implications of genetically mutant beings are explored a bit. The flight scenes are nicely composed, and there is even a coming-of-age romance between the two oldest bird-kids. The text seems to be deliberately aimed at the less sophisticated audience.

There is a message about protecting and valuing those who are different, and a good testimonial to the strength of maternal instincts even in cases of adoption. Also, since almost everyone dreams about flying, it's fun to experience it vicariously through the bird-kids. So, it's for the best that messing with the genes gave them bird wings rather than bird brains.

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Suspenseful Science Fiction

James Patterson's book, The Lake House, was rather a surprise since I expected a gripping murder mystery and got a science fiction story about children with wings that could fly. Nevertheless, Patterson grabbed my attention early in the story, and by keeping the chapters short for easy reading and filling the pages with action-packed happenings and/or dialogue, he kept the story moving. While I am not a science fiction fan, the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. The resolution to the plot was a bit downsized--a hospital and many personnel were involved, yet, they weren't part of the resolution--only the man responsible. I think I admired Patterson's writing style more than the story itself, but then that could be because I like his thrillers best.

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