Since I’ve just come off a streak of reading nonfiction books about genetic engineering, Patterson’s pageturner was a relief.

Max, Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge, and Angel are back for a second round of action, running from Erasers, outsmarting the whitecoats. The six genetically engineered bird kids and their talking dog, Total, pick up where the last round left off. They have information that might lead them to their parents. Max’s Voice is driving her crazy. And, they’re going to school (the real kind).

Ari, the genetically engineered Eraser (half-wolf, half-human), finally shows his human side. This was the one thing the first book, The Angel Experiment, was lacking. We see that he is not just a monster, but he has retained his human feelings after all of his alterations. But, we are also reminded that he is 7-year-old boy beneath that grown exterior.

Most of the story is told through the eyes of Max. She becomes jealous of the FBI agent who takes them in and plays the mother role to the kids for a while. She becomes jealous, or at least mad, at the girl who kisses Fang at school.

Patterson focuses on character development throughout most of the book. Nothing happens that actually moves the story along, and I was left wanting a little more. It felt like the major storyline left off in the same place that it began.

It’s hard not to like the action. Not to like the easy-flowing style. The characters that you come to love.

Overall, it’s not a bad addition to the series. I hope he answers some of the big questions in the next book though. Otherwise, the series will probably lose its appeal.

Not to end on a bad note, because I did enjoy reading School’s Out — Forever, I want to say that you should definitely read this series if you’re looking for something a little lighter and want to have fun.

Patterson will not disappoint.

I’ve also posted this review of School’s Out — Forever at Books In Bed, my new book community and review site.

I don’t know if it’s the sheer number of books that I’ve read on human enhancement recently or what, but the contents of this book seem to have blended with every other thing about the subject.

Ramez Naam is an optimist about the future of biological enhancement, but he calls himself a “cautious optimist.” He believes that upcoming scientific breakthroughs will do more harm than good. However, we must account for ethics and social needs first.

As recently as 1999, when a friend told him about future technology, he waved it off as if it was just crazy sci-fiction-nerd talk. A breakthrough came that year when Phil Kennedy implanted an electrode into a paralyzed patient’s brain that allowed the patient to move a cursor on a computer. The patient moved the cursor by thought alone.

This was one of many sci-fi-like phenomena that happened in that year. Suddenly, the world was starting to change.

Naam’s report on advancements and social concerns brings to light what could actually be happening in the decades to come and how we should prepare for it. He writes about designer babies, Methuselah’s genes, and choosing our minds and bodies.

The book is short though. It doesn’t cover as much ground as it needs for the many subjects he brings into the discussion. However, it does offer somewhat of an introductory to biological enhancement.

What the author does offer is good, rational reasoning to seeing this thing through. He makes logical claims as to why we need the science of the future, and backs them up with solid examples. He makes his case socially and ethically, allowing for his optimistic view of the coming years.

Naam writes in an easy, free-flowing prose that will keep you interested from start to finish. Just don’t look for a comprehensive look at the future. It will serve as a good starter book for anyone interested in reading about human enhancement. But, if you’re like me, and have read quite a bit on the subject matter, then you might want something a little more in-depth.

I admit it. I’m a sucker for reading books about upcoming scientific breakthroughs. Yes, that may make me a bit of a nerd, but I like reading them anyway.

Joel Garreau has written one of the easier-to-read books of the variety though. This book was meant for an audience outside the realm of people who haven’t left the science lab since the ’80s.

This is the book for the rest of us.

Garreau even mentions our old pal Ray Kurzweil (from The Singularity is Near) and Bill Joy, Kurzweil’s nemesis (and you can read a 10 page research paper on Joy and Kurzweil by me, just ask if you’re interested). He explains what these guys have been saying for years, only in terms that the Bubbas and Suzies of the world can understand.

The most interesting parts of the book is the three scenarios he sets up to explain where humankind is heading. The Heaven Scenario. The Hell Scenario. The Prevail Scenario.

The Heaven Scenario is Kurzweil’s idea of The Singularity, where humans may become godlike. Technology takes control, and humans are merely spectators in this prediction. However, this technology is driving human advancement past what we consider science fiction today conquering disease, famine, and death itself.

The Hell Scenario is the opposite, which is why Joy argues against scientific advancement. He doesn’t want us to destroy ourselves with our technology (just read his article, Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us, he might convince you). Signs that we are entering the hell scenario: large numbers of people die off, the biosphere is being eaten away, there is no discussion of stopping technology from advancing.

In the Prevail Scenario he states that “Humans have an uncanny history of muddling through” (224). Humans will inevitably forge their own futures against overwhelming odds and come out all right. This is the scenario upheld by Jaron Lanier.

This is an easy read for people who wouldn’t be able to make it through an issue of Popular Science without saying, “Huh.” Garreau breaks down each part, and explains with clarity what the future might lead to.

The discussion on future technology is a discussion in which everyone should take part. However, we must understand what all the fuss is about to do so. This book will give you the key terms and the major players, allowing a new understanding of what the future of our race might be.

Fourteen-year-old Max takes her six bird-children gang (Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel) along for a ride in which they narrowly escape wolfman creatures (Erasers), learn they each are growing new abilities, and back to the dreaded School. And they do not want to go back there. That’s where they and the Erasers were created. They escaped from the School two years ago and were finally free from the experiments and training.

Problems arise when Angel, the youngest of the four, is kidnapped. The rest of the gang is bewildered as to why they only took Angel and not any of them. Angel has a secret ability that none of them knew about. Now, the remaining five must go back to School in order to save her.

Patterson never fails to deliver an entertaining read. I’m still looking for a more humanistic side of the bad guys though. But, then again, people love to hate the bad guys. He still puts together decent story nonetheless, but it is almost redundant at some points, the similarities from his first two (unrelated) books.

The action doesn’t stop on any turn of the page or indent of the paragraph, which has been typical of all the bird-children books he’s written so far.

But, this book is only the tip of the mystery-filled iceberg for the six children. The author leaves many questions unanswered, which could turn away readers who like a clear-cut resolution by the end. I know this is the beginning of a series, but a little more resolution would have went a long way. However, the unanswered questions open countless possibilities for the future. Possibilities that I hope are fully realized in the next book.

Now, on to Maximum Ride: School’s Out—Forever.