The Final Warning (Maximum Ride Series #4)

by James Patterson

Overview

FIRST SHE WAS WATCHED.

In this breathtaking new story from the astonishing imagination of James Patterson, a girl has to save herself from an army assembled just to capture her - and maybe save the planet while she's at it.

THEN SHE WAS THREATENED.

Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control genetic experiment. Max and the other members of the flock - five kids who share her remarkable ability - have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the effects of global warming. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism - and escaping government forces who are watching the flock all the time.

THIS IS HER FINAL WARNING.

But even in Antarctica, enduring in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world. . . .

Maximum Ride is James Patterson's greatest character, a heroine who manages to be human and fearless at once. The Final Warning is an unrelenting new adventure from the writer Time magazine has called "The Man Who Can't Miss."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780446194051
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	01/27/2009
Series:	Maximum Ride Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	39,474
Product dimensions:	3.88(w) x 8.54(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 240 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Read an Excerpt

The Final Warning

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By James Patterson Little, Brown and Company

Copyright © 2008 James Patterson All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-316-00286-8

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Chapter One

1

Windsor State Forest, Massachusetts

Ssssss.

The soldiers' armor made an odd hissing noise. But besides the slight sound of metal plates sliding smoothly, flawlessly over one another, the troop was unnaturally quiet as it moved through the woods, getting closer to the prey.

The faintest of beeps caused the team leader to glance down at his wrist screen. Large red letters scrolled across it: ATTACK IN 12 SECONDS ... 11 ... 10 ...

The team leader tapped a button, and the screen's image changed: a tall, thin girl with dirt smears on her face and a tangle of brown hair, glaring out at him. TARGET 1 was superimposed on her face.

... 9 ... 8 ...

His wrist screen beeped again, and the image changed to that of a dark-haired, dark-eyed, scowling boy. TARGET 2.

And so on, the image changing every half second, ending finally with a portrait of a small, scruffy black dog looking at the camera in surprise.

The team leader didn't understand why Target 7 was an animal. He didn't need to understand. All he needed to know was that these targets were slated for capture.

... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

The leader emitted a whistle pitched so high that only his team members could hear it. Hemotioned toward the small run-down cabin they had surrounded in the woods.

Synchronized perfectly, as only machines can be, the eight team members shouldered eight portable rocket launchers and aimed them straight at the cabin. With a whoosh, eight large nets made of woven Kevlar strands shot out from the cannons and unfolded with geometric precision in midair, encasing the cabin almost entirely.

The team leader smiled in triumph.

2

"THE PREY HAVE BEEN CAPTURED, SIR," the team leader said in a monotone. Pride was not tolerated in this organization.

"Why do you say that?" the Uber-Director asked in a silky tone.

"The cabin has been secured."

"No. Not quite," said the Uber-Director, who was little more than a human head attached by means of an artificial spinal column to a series of Plexiglas boxes. The bioengine that controlled the airflow over his vocal cords allowed him to sigh, and he did. "The chimney. The skylight."

The team leader frowned. "The chimney would be impossible to climb," he said, accessing his internal encyclopedia. Photographs of the prey scrolled quickly across the team leader's screen. Suddenly an important detail caught his attention, and he froze.

In the corner of one of the photographs, a large feathered wing was visible. The team leader tracked it, zooming in on just that section of the image. The wing appeared to be attached to the prey.

The prey could fly.

He had left routes of escape open.

He had failed!

The Uber-Director closed his eyes, sending a thought signal to the nanoprocessors implanted in his brain. He opened his eyes in time to see the team leader and his troop vaporize with a crackling, sparking fizzle. All that was left of them was a nose-wrinkling odor of charred flesh and machine oil.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Final Warning by James Patterson Copyright © 2008 by James Patterson. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

"A never-ending series of twists and action."

Virginian Pilot

"The Maximum Ride series is top-flight."

Free Lance-Star (VA)

"Adrenaline galore...action-packed chapters end breathlessly, with twists at every turn."—Kirkus Reviews

"A never-ending series of twists and action."—Virginian Pilot

"The Maximum Ride series is top-flight."—Free Lance-Star (VA)

From the Publisher

"Jump on board this MAXIMUM RIDE...Fights and flights are non-stop."

USA Today

The Angel Experiment:
"BOOK OF THE WEEK...Pace, action, mystery, and cool."

London Times