By: James Patterson Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Format: Bargain Price Label: Little, Brown and Company Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 416 Publication Date: 1998-10 Release Date: October 28, 1998
Product Description: Taking a break from his phenomenally successful Alex Cross series, James Patterson's When the Wind Blows is as much child's fantasy as it is an adult nightmare. The novel moves away from the gritty Washington, D.C., setting of the Cross books and follows the daily life of Frannie O'Neill, a Colorado veterinarian. After the mysterious death of her husband several years before, Frannie retreated to an isolated life in her Colorado practice. But a series of bizarre events suddenly disrupts her lonely routine. On a personal level, she is shaken by her new tenant--Kit Harrison. Kit's too handsome and too friendly and he's a hunter (or so Frannie thinks). He's also recovering from a devastating personal tragedy, and, as Frannie eventually learns, he's really an FBI agent using his vacation to follow a crucial lead. But Kit isn't the one that's got Frannie concerned. As she says after stopping her Suburban one night to check out something on the side of the road: "What I saw was way beyond my abilities to imagine, beyond my comprehension, my system of belief, and maybe beyond my ability to communicate right now. The little girl's arms were folded back in a peculiar way, but when she lifted them--feathers fanned out." The girl is Max, and the mystery of her wings leads Frannie and Kit into a massive conspiracy involving secret genetic research and the scientific manipulation of the human species.Patterson, a former advertising executive who coined such catchy phrases as "Nupe it!," knows how to entertain. His chapters are always short (some only two pages), and his writing is clear and unobtrusive; the reading experience is brisk--akin to watching a summer blockbuster. The book is not as dark or as weighty as the tales of detective-psychologist Alex Cross, but while some fans may be disappointed by Patterson's migration from pure suspense fiction, his first-person narrator Frannie, has a quirky realism that keeps this flight of fancy mostly on stable ground. --Patrick O'Kelley
Amazon.com: Taking a break from his phenomenally successful Alex Cross series, James Patterson's When the Wind Blows is as much child's fantasy as it is an adult nightmare. The novel moves away from the gritty Washington, D.C., setting of the Cross books and follows the daily life of Frannie O'Neill, a Colorado veterinarian. After the mysterious death of her husband several years before, Frannie retreated to an isolated life in her Colorado practice. But a series of bizarre events suddenly disrupts her lonely routine. On a personal level, she is shaken by her new tenant--Kit Harrison. Kit's too handsome and too friendly and he's a hunter (or so Frannie thinks). He's also recovering from a devastating personal tragedy, and, as Frannie eventually learns, he's really an FBI agent using his vacation to follow a crucial lead. But Kit isn't the one that's got Frannie concerned. As she says after stopping her Suburban one night to check out something on the side of the road: "What I saw was way beyond my abilities to imagine, beyond my comprehension, my system of belief, and maybe beyond my ability to communicate right now. The little girl's arms were folded back in a peculiar way, but when she lifted them--feathers fanned out." The girl is Max, and the mystery of her wings leads Frannie and Kit into a massive conspiracy involving secret genetic research and the scientific manipulation of the human species.
Patterson, a former advertising executive who coined such catchy phrases as "Nupe it!," knows how to entertain. His chapters are always short (some only two pages), and his writing is clear and unobtrusive; the reading experience is brisk--akin to watching a summer blockbuster. The book is not as dark or as weighty as the tales of detective-psychologist Alex Cross, but while some fans may be disappointed by Patterson's migration from pure suspense fiction, his first-person narrator Frannie, has a quirky realism that keeps this flight of fancy mostly on stable ground. --Patrick O'Kelley
Amazon.com Audiobook Review: When the Wind Blows has one of those outrageous premises that you either buy into (a girl with wings?), or you don't. Fortunately, Blair Brown's narration helps you suspend disbelief. Brown, the multi-Emmy-nominated star of the classic TV series The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, reads the story with more authority than the plot seems to merit. But as urgent and forceful as she is with the central narration, she's even better when reading the first-person passages in the voice of Frannie O'Neill, the widowed veterinarian at the center of this James Patterson thriller. That's when she gives the story real heart, a desperately needed humanity in the midst of all the cloning and genetic tinkering. (Running time: six hours, four cassettes) --Lou Schuler
depending on.. Your motivations for buying this book, will dictate the content of your review when you'll be at it. If you are searching for a deeply emotional or spiritual satisfaction / i.e. literature experience, this book may not be top-of-the line choice.
However - if your wish be to just 'pass out' on a week-end and substitute your 'never-ending TV story' with a nice alternative - this book may be just do the job.
Good reading! Purchased this book after reading the Maximum Ride series....even though it is a slightly different story, it felt like a prequel, I am currently reading "The Lake House", which takes off from "When the wind blows"....I am enjoying the whole group of books, hope Patterson continues with the story line...
Fly Away I look at this book as a fantasy. I realize that cloning and DNA have opened up a new world to us. We will be using genetic engineering to avoid many genetic tragedies. I am sure we will try to make the best humans possible, but thankfully not in my lifetime. I believe that there are scientific limits to this and producing wings on humans is one of them. Patterson takes a subject and turns it into a real thriller. By Ruth Thompson by "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez |Above The River"
Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelTravelersTravelersThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early SettlersNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil War
A must read for all James Patterson and Maximum Ride fans This book is the first of the Maximum Ride books even though it's a different bunch of kids in it. I totally enjoyed it and wish I had read it in order. I didn't find out about it till later on. I wish he would write a sequel to this one and go on with this line also. A definite keeper!
When the Wind Blows This book arrived in a very timely fashion, and it's in great shape. I was very impressed.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
