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Showing posts with the label James Patterson

MIRACLE on the 17th GREEN by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge

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  Originally published in 1996 by Little, Brown and Company. The high school I teach at is in the midst of library book purge. I have no idea why this book was ever in a high school library because it is aimed at adults. I don't mean that it has "adult themes" like a movie might label them (drugs, sex, violence, etc.), I mean that it has adult themes like questioning whether you have made the right choices in life, which comes first - family or career? Is it okay to put your family at risk just to achieve your personal goals, especially when they are a long shot? I really enjoyed this book despite never having played even one hole of real golf (I have played plenty of putt-putt golf, but that doesn't really apply, does it?). It didn't really matter - the story was compelling and I faked my way through the golf stuff. James Patterson has a long history of co-writing books. I always figure he's lending his name to up and coming authors in exchange for a little b

The Lake House (audiobook) by James Patterson

  Yikes! Published in 2003 by Hatchette Audio Read by Hope Davis and Stephen Lang. Duration: 7 hours, 35 minutes. The Lake House is the story of six bird/human hybrids who are created as the result of genetic experiments. They all can fly and all have superhuman strength.  This book is very poorly paced. Great chunks of action happen with shorthand writing and then Patterson spends nearly an hour of the 7 1/2 hour book describing two of the characters' first sexual experiences. The Lake House skips over scenes and parts of the story moves in fits and starts. For example, the children all "run" away to live in the woods and eat grubs just to get away from regular human society. Next thing you know, they're back at home without any sort of explanation. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and many of them are abridged so I am used to odd fits and starts by poor editing. I checked the packaging several times while listening to this book to see if it was abrid

Four Blind Mice (Alex Cross #8) (audiobook) by James Patterson

Good but not great Published by Hatchette Audio in 2002. Read by Peter J. Fernandez and Michael Emerson. Duration:  8 hours and 7 minutes. I am glad to get back to the world of Alex Cross. I have read or heard 3 other Patterson books this year and have been sorely disappointed with two. I only liked one ( Jester) and I was looking forward to getting back to comfortable ground with Alex Cross. After reading a few reviews, it sounds like the audio version actually helps Four Blind Mice a bit. The two narrators are both quite good, with the exception that some of the bad guys sound too much like one another. The strength of Patterson's Cross books is the realistic conversations - the rhythms, cadences, colloquialisms and vocabulary sound right and this was certainly accentuated by great audio performances by Peter J. Fernandez and Michael Emerson. They sound so right that I am reminded of a personal story. Way back before Patterson's picture was plastered

London Bridges (Alex Cross #10) (audiobook) by James Patterson

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Published by Hatchette Audio in 2004 Read by Peter J. Fernandez and Denis O'Hare Duration: 8 hours, 19 minutes The real problem with James Patterson's works right now is that he has become a corporate thing - James Patterson, Inc. James Patterson, Inc. produces a large amount of books, movies and even TV shows, but like nationwide fast food chains that produce large amounts of food in a short amount of time, Patterson's prodigious output suffers from a serious lack of quality. The last 3 Patterson books I've reviewed have all had gaping holes in the plot. Does he even have his work edited any longer, or do they just print them up as soon as the rough draft comes in? London Bridges features Alex Cross, Patterson's most enduring character and the star of much better books like Kiss the Girls . In this one, Alex is confronted by two of his arch-villain foes at the same time - the Weasel and the Wolf. Unfortunately, Alex is cheapened by being in

Violets Are Blue (audiobook) by James Patterson

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Sigh... Read by Daniel Whitner and Kevin O'Rourke Duration: 8 hours, 10 minutes I used to think the Alex Cross series had a lot going for it. I used to be very impressed with it when I first discovered it about 10 years ago. I don't know if my tastes have improved or if the series has declined but this is definitely not as good as I remember them being (and frankly, I'm scared about going back and re-reading one of them and ruining my only strong memories of the series). There are two concurrent plots in Violets are Blue . One involves an investigation into the "Goth" underworld and vampires (are they real or are they just people who are REALLY into vampires and like to act like they are real vampires..?) The other story involves the recurring criminal mastermind character conveniently named "the Mastermind". I hate to write spoilers so I won't re-hash the entire plot here, but let me say that Patterson probably owes Michael Co

The Jester by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

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Patterson switches up big time James Patterson Known for his murder mysteries, James Patterson and co-author Andrew Gross decided to try something new and have given us The Jester , a fun, fast-paced adventure set in war-torn medieval Europe. Hugh De Luc is a happily married innkeeper until he heads off to fight in the Crusades. The gruesome fighting and wanton disregard for life change and sicken him so he deserts and heads home only to find his wife taken captive and his infant son dead. At this point, Patterson is on more familiar ground. Hugh De Luc must find out who did it and try to bring him to justice. Unfortunately, medieval customs and laws interfere with that search. Throw in some religious relics and a menacing group of French knights who believe they are condemned to hell and you have the indgredients for a fine book. Patterson's descriptions of medieval life ring true, although the ending may not have worked out so well in a real medieval sce