Toys product reviews

I absolutely love James Patterson, not only has he branched out in the genres that he writes in, his books are all easy to read and so hard to put down. I read this book in two days - was a 'I can't put it down at all' book.

Not only is this book based on a future that could very really happen, it is also realistic in the story-line. The elites have saved the world from the humans who nearly destroyed it but then in return the elites were so over-compensating and powerful that they are about to destroy the world themselves.

This book includes toys for kids that can walk and talk, helmets you can put on your head and escape to wherever you want and androids that clean your house for you. But these are not available to us humans, these are for elites only...humans live in slums on the outskirts of town, they are disgusting, simple beings who ruined the world...or are they? The elites are robotic in a sense, they are not creative and therefore humans still do a lot of the work..

Where does Hays Baker fit in? Is he an elite or a human? I wouldn't want to ruin the story.

In 1817, a young Mary Shelley wrote a tale that strikes a similar chord... a tale called "A Modern Prometheus", but we all know it simply as "Frankenstein". This story carries a similar message... in an effort to improve itself, mankind created the Elites... a blend of enhanced genetics, eugenics and cybernetics. However, just as the 'Frankenstein' story goes, the created soon turn on the creators, in this case setting them as second-class citizens, little more than indentured slaves.

The characters in this tale are well defined, both in current tense, but also carrying enough of a background to have depth and clear motivation for their actions and quests. The double-cross in the plot is skilfully done, though I have to say somewhat less than unpredictable.

Overall, despite his prolific literary career, this is the first "James Patterson" title I have ever read in book form, and I have to say I am not 100% sure if he should have branched out into sci-fi... from what I have heard, and the movie adaptations of some of his "Alex Cross" novels, I think Patterson's greatest strength lies in the thriller and crime drama genre. Despite this, it was a very enjoyable read... at 364 pages, it was over in a single day of dedicated reading... so though my pronouncement is that this book was lacking in areas I consider key to a good sci-fi novel, it was certainly a page turner... I am just at a total loss to explain why. Some things just don't need explaining.