The six children have escaped horrifying government experiments, a childhood in captivity, and a frightening brush with death. Living out in the world for the first time, they yearn to be reunited with Kit and Frannie, the couple who saved their lives. And Max, the leader of the flock, is seized by an overpowering fear that the kids are about to face a danger greater than any they've ever known. All that the children want is to return to the one place they have ever felt truly protected-the waterfront cabin known as the Lake House.But in order to get there, they must thwart the sinister plans of a survivor from their worst nightmare-plans that not only keep Kit, Frannie, and the children in constant peril, but threaten the future of human existence. And it's a battle they must be willing to pay any price to win.

I read this book years ago in paper back but re-read it recently on Kindle.

Kindle version review: This is clearly an older book when you read it on Kindle - it doesn't have the navigation of the more recent books, books that were actually published with Kindle in mind. There is no table of contents. The typesetting is fine, the pagination is fine, it's just the navigation that presents problems.

Story review: I really like James Patterson. Even his mediocre stuff is still fun to read. This story definitely falls into that category, especially if you are reading it and When the Wind Blows in a fairly close span. That said, keeping in mind that this was written years (even decades?) later the repetitive nature of the stories is understandable. This story has some of its own fun parts (the robots, the clones) that are different from the fun parts of When The Wind Blows. I personally can forgive the author for wanting to revisit the bird kids. And there aren't a lot of situations in which they can be inserted. So the mimicry of the original story is partly due to audience demand to hear from them again, and they are still fun, after all, to paraphrase, who of us has never dreamt of flying?

So overall, it's a decent read. If you've read when the wind blows recently you may wish to wait some time before reading this, but otherwise it is totally worthwhile.

I like James Patterson books, Alex Cross , this one I was like it has to be good, the other books I read by him were. It left me scratching my head wondering what kind of drugs was Mr Patterson taking when he wrote this book. I was very disappointed I couldn't even finish it .

So many contemporary books and movies are written with an end in mind: appeal to a mass audience. They use the formula of extremely good and evil characters, some pseudo-scientific special effects, suspense building to a climax, and a brief happy-ever-after period. These stories also tend to have no message and no purpose other than escape. They are the literary junk food - equivalent to watching mindless television.

Patterson's bird-kid sequel in part falls into this category, but has some virtues. Kind and virtuous people and innocent bird-kids fight against an evil genius and other exploiters. The implications of genetically mutant beings are explored a bit. The flight scenes are nicely composed, and there is even a coming-of-age romance between the two oldest bird-kids. The text seems to be deliberately aimed at the less sophisticated audience.

There is a message about protecting and valuing those who are different, and a good testimonial to the strength of maternal instincts even in cases of adoption. Also, since almost everyone dreams about flying, it's fun to experience it vicariously through the bird-kids. So, it's for the best that messing with the genes gave them bird wings rather than bird brains.

I enjoyed "When the Wind Blows". This sorry excuse for a follow-up had me in pain, until I dropped the cover and tossed it.

This isn't even worthy of one star, but amazon doesn't allow for zero ratings.

James Patterson's book, The Lake House, was rather a surprise since I expected a gripping murder mystery and got a science fiction story about children with wings that could fly. Nevertheless, Patterson grabbed my attention early in the story, and by keeping the chapters short for easy reading and filling the pages with action-packed happenings and/or dialogue, he kept the story moving. While I am not a science fiction fan, the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. The resolution to the plot was a bit downsized--a hospital and many personnel were involved, yet, they weren't part of the resolution--only the man responsible. I think I admired Patterson's writing style more than the story itself, but then that could be because I like his thrillers best.