Patterson, James
Entry updated 2 January 2023. Tagged: Author.
(1947- ) US author who has become a chart-dominating best-seller over the past three decades, his greatest success being the Alex Cross sequence of crime thrillers featuring a Black forensic psychologist, where the occasional apparent incursion into the fantastic – such as the vampire cult in Violets Are Blue (2001), and the infernal "Mastermind" whose powers fall short of the supernatural – is found to be an evil but nonfantastic device. After some thrillers with supernatural content like The Jericho Commandment (1980) and Virgin (1980; much rev vt Cradle and All 2000), work of sf interest begins with the When the Wind Blows/Maximum Ride sequence, the initial two instalments being When the Wind Blows (1998) and The Lake House (2003), in which an exercise in Genetic Engineering has the improbable outcome of generating Mutant children with wings (see Scientific Errors) on the run from the Mad Scientist who created them; in the sequel, even more McGuffin-like, they look for refuge from the hunt. Now couched for the Young Adult market, the sequence effectively continues, though in mutated form, with Maximum Ride, Book 1: The Angel Experiment (2005), the final volume (to date) being City of the Dead (2021) with Mindy McGinnis; the various young protagonists, gaining further Superpowers when needed, fight off Werewolves and other menaces, including other young mutants in league with evil and the threat of apocalypse. There is considerable romantic activity, despite the wings. Blowback (2022) with Brendan DuBois is a Near Future Political thriller about a new American president who attempts perpetuate his regime by become a de facto dictator.
A further series, the Daniel X sequence, beginning with The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (2008) with Michael Ledwidge, assembles tropes out of Superhero Comics: the origin story of the boy with Superpowers; the Aliens who are aspirational Secret Masters of Earth; Inventions; a template sensation that the menace will reoccur, no matter how often the evil-doers are defeated. The Witch & Wizard sequence, beginning with Witch & Wizard (2009) with Cate Kiernan, pits the eponymous supernatural figures against a future totalitarian state. [JC]
James Brendan Patterson
born Newburgh, New York: 22 March 1947
works
series
When the Wind Blows/Maximum Ride
- When the Wind Blows (London: Headline Feature, 1998) [When the Wind Blows: hb/Joe Ovies]
- The Lake House (New York: Little Brown, 2003) [When the Wind Blows: hb/Min Roman]
- Maximum Ride, Book 1: The Angel Experiment (New York: Little, Brown, 2005) [Maximum Ride: hb/Kamil Vojnar]
- Maximum Ride, Book 2: School's Out – Forever (New York: Little, Brown, 2006) [Maximum Ride: hb/]
- Maximum Ride, Book 3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (New York: Little, Brown, 2007) [Maximum Ride: hb/]
- Saving the World: The Best of Maximum Ride (St Louis, Missouri: Turtleback Books, 2014) [rev/exp vt of the above: Maximum Ride: hb/]
- Maximum World Omnibus (London: Headline, 2009) [omni of the above three: Maximum Ride: hb/]
- The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel (New York: Little, Brown, 2008) [Maximum Ride: hb/John Blackford]
- Max: A Maximum Ride Novel (New York: Little, Brown, 2009) [Maximum Ride: hb/]
- Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel (New York: Little, Brown, 2010) [Maximum Ride: hb/Larry Rostant]
- Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel (New York: Little, Brown, 2011) [Maximum Ride: hb/Larry Rostant]
- Nevermore: A Maximum Ride Novel (New York: Little, Brown, 2012) [Maximum Ride: hb/Larry Rostant]
- Maximum Ride Forever (New York: Little, Brown, 2015) [Maximum Ride: hb/Larry Rostant]
- Hawk (New York: Little, Brown, 2020) with Gabrielle Charbonnet [Maximum Ride: hb/]
- City of the Dead (New York: Little, Brown, 2021) with Mindy McGinnis [Maximum Ride: hb/]
Daniel X
- The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (New York: Little, Brown, 2008) with Michael Ledwidge [Daniel X: hb/]
- Daniel X: Watch the Skies (New York: Little, Brown, 2009) with Ned Rust [Daniel X: hb/]
- Daniel X: Demons and Druids (New York: Little, Brown, 2008) with Adam Sadler [Daniel X: hb/Owen Richardson]
- Daniel X: Alien Hunter (New York: Little, Brown, 2008) with Leopoldo Gout [graph: Daniel X: hb/Owen Richardson]
- Daniel X: Game Over (New York: Little, Brown, 2011) with Ned Rust [graph: Daniel X: hb/Owen Richardson]
- Daniel X: Armageddon (New York: Little, Brown, 2012) with Chris Grabenstein [graph: Daniel X: hb/Owen Richardson]
- Daniel X: Lights Out (New York: Little, Brown, 2015) with Chris Grabenstein [graph: Daniel X: hb/Owen Richardson]
Witch & Wizard
- Witch & Wizard (New York: Little, Brown, 2009) with Cate Kiernan [Witch & Wizard: hb/Larry Rostant]
- Witch & Wizard: The Gift (New York: Little, Brown, 2010) with Ned Rust [Witch & Wizard: hb/Sean Freeman]
- Witch & Wizard: The Fire (New York: Little, Brown, 2011) with Jill Dembowski [Witch & Wizard: hb/Sean Freeman]
- Witch & Wizard: The Kiss (New York: Little, Brown, 2013) with Jill Dembowski [Witch & Wizard: hb/Sean Freeman]
- Witch & Wizard: The Lost (New York: Little, Brown, 2013) with Emily Raymond [Witch & Wizard: hb/Sean Freeman]
House of Robots
- House of Robots (New York: Little, Brown, 2014) with Chris Grabenstein [graph: House of Robots: hb/Juliana Neufeld]
- Robots Go Wild! (New York: Little, Brown, 2015) with Chris Grabenstein [graph: House of Robots: hb/]
- Robot Revolution (New York: Little, Brown, 2017) with Chris Grabenstein [graph: House of Robots: hb/]
Zoo
- Zoo (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown, 2012) with Michael Ledwidge [Zoo: hb/Paul Photography, Ben Horton]
- Zoo 2 (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown, 2012) with Max DiLallo [Zoo: pb/miljko]
Crazy House
- Crazy House (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown/Jimmy Patterson, 2017) with Gabrielle Charbonnet [Crazy House: hb/]
- The Fall of Crazy House (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown/Jimmy Patterson, 2019) with Gabrielle Charbonnet [Crazy House: hb/]
Doc Savage
- The Perfect Assassin (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2022) with Brian Sitts [Doc Savage: hb/]
individual titles
- The Jericho Commandment (New York: Crown Publishers, 1980) [hb/]
- Virgin (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980) [hb/]
- Cradle and All (New York: Little Brown, 2000) [much rev vt of the above: hb/Theo Rudnak]
- You've Been Warned (New York: Little Brown, 2007) with Howard Roughan [hb/]
- Toys (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown, 2011) with Neil McMahon [hb/Danny O'Leary]
- Humans, Bow Down (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown, 2017) with Emily Raymond and Jill Dembrowski [illus/Alexander Orchinnikov: hb/Sam Chung]
- The Store (London: Random House Century, 2017) with Richard Dilallo [hb/]
- Sophia, Princess Among Beasts (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown, 2019) with Emily Raymond [hb/]
- The Warning (New York: Grand Central, 2019) with Robison Wells [hb/]
- Max Einstein Saves the Future (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown/Jimmy Patterson, 2020) with Chris Grabenstein [hb/]
- Best Nerds Forever (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown/Jimmy Patterson, 2021) with Chris Grabenstein [hb/]
- The Noise (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown, 2021) with J D Barker [hb/]
- Blowback (Boston, Massachusetts: Little Brown, 2022) with Brendan DuBois [hb/]
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