Science Fiction - Reader Recommendations

Read 1 SF or Fantasy: MY 4 FEADER RECOMMENDATIONS follow comments about Maximum Ride, the book I read for Science Fiction - so keep reading!
I read The Final Warning by James Patterson; the 4th book in the Maximum Ride series. Patterson wrote the Maximum Ride series for YA audience. I didn't read the first 3 in the series but the same characters are in all the books. Maximum Ride is a 14-year old girl - part of the Flock, a group of kids of varying ages - and Max is the leader. What's uniques and SF about these kids: they've been genetically modified (such a genteel term, isn't it) an are human/bird "people" - they have wings and can fly and have great eyesight. Their sidekick is a talking dog, who sprouts wings in this title in the series. I can see the appeal for both boys and girls of teen or younger years: first there's the tight group/comradeship aspect of being part of the Flock, and the kids seem smarter then the adults, although there are times when "good" adults help them out; they have lots of adventures and face danger (most of the violence is off camera); it's cool to think about -- what if humans had wings and could fly any time. Girls probably like the idea of Max, the oldest girl being the leader but there is an equally strong boy, Fang, for the boys to like. There's also a budding romance between the 2 of them. On the other, teen readers will relate to the times when the Flock feel like freaks when they're with all-human groups--the Flock is different and people stare and treat them differently. And not all the evil in the story is caused by humans - there are machines as bad guys. Those who like humor will enjoy the bits with the kids outsmarting the adults and the witty remarks Total, the dog, makes -- and Total also falls in love with a real dog. So, lots of aspects for teens/tweens to enjoy, including the SF aspects. As with other Patterson books, the book is fast-paced, with adventure/action and plot surprises.

How did I choose the book? At PLA this year, copies of a Maximum Ride title were handed out, not sure which one in the series. When I came back to the Library, I saw the interest in the series by Teens, Tweens, and Adults! There aren't many bestsellers that develop loyalty to a series across the generations. I also read it because I've read other James Patterson books - Alex Cross, etc. mysteries/suspense novels - and wanted to see how this would compare. I picked Final Warning because it was about global warming. (I'd say the global warming plotline was the lamest part of the book.) How does it fit in the genre: I would call it Science Fiction rather than Fantasy; I think you could call it Science Fiction sub-genre Adventure as well as the sub-genre Earth's Children, Bioengineering -- where it is listed in Genreflecting.

The Final Warning is the 4th in the Maximum Ride series. Book 5 is due to come out in March 2009.

I'm not sure if it's out yet but one of the titles has been optioned for a movie. I can see this series being popular as a movie. The set design - especially in The Final Warning - could be amazing -- flying kids, talking dogs, machines--some who look like humans, Antarctica, penguins, etc.

There is an interesting article in Booklist, 5/15/06, by Stephanie Zvirin, the Story Behind the Story . . . in which she writes about Patterson's motivation for writing the Maximum Ride series. He wanted to encourage kids to READ. The article also mentions that Patterson donates funds to bookstores, communities, libraries and schools to encourage reading.


FOUR BOOKS TO RECOMMEND
FICTION -- I'm listing more than 2 possibilities
For either adults or teens, I'd recommend the rest of the Final Warning series. Even if they started near the end of the series, as I did, I think the earlier books would be of interest -- reader could fill in the gaps on the earlier adventures of the teens and the way they were "raised".

This is what I found using NoveList
2 fiction under teenage adventure using currency of publication date and popularity as limiters:
So if I was suggesting titles to teens:
Alex Rider graphic novel series by Anthony Horowitz
or
Thieves till we die by Stephen Cole

I also added the limiter adult in NoveList if I was making a suggestion for an adult who'd read Final Warning:
Secret Country by Pamela Dean
Summary: Each vacation a group of cousins--Patrick, Ruth, Ellen, Ted, and Laura--play a game they invented called "Secret," in which they are transported to a world of wizards, magic, dragons, and court intrigue. Summary from NoveList So, this book is more magic-oriented than the Patterson series and their may be some adults not interested in magic and so this title might not be their choice.

And from the Library Journal, 11/15/2008 SF/Fantasy column by Jackie Cassada -- and I skipped over SciFi-Fantasy in every issue until this onine class --
I could suggest:
GreensWorld: A Tale of Extreme Global Warming by Donald Bingle should appeal especially to adults who were interested in the global warming storyline similiarity to Final Warning although the writing style--review describes author demonstrating his talent for dark comedy--would be different.

A second recommendatin from Cassada that might appeal to Final Warning readers might be Sunborn byJeffrey Carver. I'd recommend this to someone who really likes to read adventure stories, with some scientific bent -- this story inpart deals with artificial intelligence -- but again the story would be more complex and not be a fast-paced Patterson book that could be finished in a very few sittings.

Nonfiction Books to Recommend

If someone enjoyed Final Warning because of its setting - Antarctica

I would recommend a new title, Antarctica Secrets of the Southern continent by David McGonigal for the reader who wants information and photos and maps of Antarctica. It's not a true nonfiction read -- most people will read part of the books or page through what interests them - it may end up in reference departments of some libraries. Written by McGonigal, a travel writer.

Antarctica : the global warning by Copeland, Sebastian. Would be another title on the scientific front. Or perhaps a biography on Shackleton if the person likes biographies - this would be an adventure story in the "setting" of Antarctica.

I'd look for a book on genetic engineering, here's one with good reviews, but I'd need to find a newer title too:
Retooling of Human Life.
Lyons, Jeff (author) and Peter Gorner (author).
Mar. 1995. 800p. Norton, hardcover, $27.50 (0-393-03596-4). 660.65.
REVIEW. First published March 15, 1995 (Booklist).
Lyons and Gorner present the science, scientists, and ethics of a technology destined to have as great an impact on humanity’s fate as nuclear weapons: genetic manipulation. Behind all the sci-fi horror of genetic eugenics, this pair of Chicago Tribune reporters unveil the tangible possibility of curing thousands of inherited diseases, in addition to viral ones such as AIDS. The geniuses of biochemistry have developed the techniques of gene therapy--conceptually, the transplant of properly coded genes for defective ones--and have already applied them to such inheritable afflictions as cancer and coronary disease. However, the ethical questions cascade as the microbiological trail reaches the current frontiers where lie the human genes--all 100,000 of which are now being mapped by the Human Genome Project--that control aging, psychology, and intellect. Will cloning embryos, now a definite possibility, enable scientists not merely to create twins, but to leapfrog evolution by inventing a supersentient branch of the Homo genus superior to our sapiens species? Given the enthusiastic propensity of the scientists to push on for the renown of a Nobel Prize, who of them will heed calls for restraint? New dawn or new Pandora’s box, gene surgery is established fact, and the lay public following recent developments can scarcely be better informed than by Lyons and Gorner’s skillfully written, pathbreaking portrayal. (Reviewed Mar. 15, 1995)— Gilbert Taylor From Booklist Online