The Works of James Patterson

[azaleaqueen]

Love him. Especially the Alex Cross series.

[Deleted]

So do I. Alex Cross is one of my favorite characters and I always purchase the latest book as soon as it comes out.

I can't seem to get into Pattersons other series though. Not sure why but they just don't seem to hold up to Cross.

[hamhock]

I love him, too, esp. the earlier stuff.
However, I am finding that the stuff he cowrites lately with other authors, is hit or miss. The books about the flying kids make me absolutely furious. But I do love me some Alex Cross.

[Deleted]

hamhock said:

The books about the flying kids make me absolutely furious. But I do love me some Alex Cross.

Wow, the flying kids thing was by this guy? That had to be one of the worst books I ever read! Sample "cliff-hanger:" "Upon entering the room, she hesitated, but too late! It was a trap!" End of chapter. First line of next chapter, "No, it wasn't a trap, but it easily could have been..."

I actually made a friend read that part to get her reaction and she was disgusted as well. What cheap writing!

I think I've read one or two of the Alex Cross ones but wasn't blown away. Wasn't there one where the villain keeps a harem of young women in some kind of underground prison? There was one part of that that was so downright torture-porn that I quit reading it. Come to think of it, I never finished the flying kids one either.

K, put me down as "not a Patterson fan."

[Deleted]

Was it the part where he ties the girl up and puts a snake up her anus? Because that's where it lost me. Although I actually think Kiss the Girls is one of his better ones.

I used to like him - the books are great beach reads - but he has a ton of writing tics I just can't stand. Especially the use of italics in lieu of actual emotion or description. And constant name-dropping of pop culture stuff, which never strikes me as natural. Like, the teenage girl is never just in a skirt and tank top, she's in her Baby Phat tank top and skirt from Contempo Casuals. Except you can tell he doesn't know what Contempo Casuals is or what sort of clothes they sell there.

[Bonster]

Speaking of books he writes with other people, I'd strongly advise to stay away from the latest one, You've Been Warned. That is, if you like the typical thriller style he usually uses (murders happen, people try to catch the murderer, protagonist gets involved or targeted somehow, etc.). I don't even know how to describe what this one is, and I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but the story is quite a departure from his usual books and I don't think it was done well.

However, I really liked The Quickie, which I think also may have been written with someone else.

What I like about his books is that he sometimes throws twists in there that I was not expecting, especially at the end. Of course it could just be a tactic to make sure you read the next book in the series, but I still like to be surprised.

[Deleted]

Marching Penguin -- Yes, that is the scene where I had to (literally) throw the book away. It seems like with these kind of writers, the violent/disturbing scenes have to escalate throughout the book. So when I got to the snake scene I figured, "It's only going to get worse," and I quit.

And do these male horror writers share some kind of sick fantasy about dragging young women into underground dungeons where they can torture them? Dean Koontz had one like that where it seemed like he had to up the ante with each gruesome death.

[Deleted]

I have read every book by Patterson except that rest of the flying kids series because the first one blew. I love the Women's Murder Club--can't wait to see it on TV soon!
The Cross books have gotten lame. I used to love them all, but now it seems like they're only half books.
The Quickie was quite good, as was Beach Road. But You've Been Warned was....confusing and annoying and I hated the premise.

There is a new series supposedly continuing from Step on a Crack, should be good. I adored that book. It was really intense and I like the new "lead guy"--a man with 10 adopted children whose wife passes away early in the book. So he'll be this earnest cop with a brood of kids, keeping NYC safe from big baddies.

[azaleaqueen]

You've Been Warned was good but had a weird ending. can someone explain it to me? Loved The Quickie. So many plot twists.

[thecupcakekid]

I loved loved LOVED the Alex Cross series. So did my Mom and Dad. We would buy the newest one, talk about it, it was great.

And then The Big Bad Wolf happened. And that shitty cliffhanger at the end that I thought was awful. Then we all stopped reading. And talking.

James Patterson ruined my family.