James Patterson: Master of Description and Plot

James Patterson: Master of Description and Plot

James Patterson should be included in an anthology because he has mastered the art of description and plot. He’s capable of creating lives in his books like no other author from past or present. He has created a fictional world inside of his Alex Cross series, where many fans of his like to live. With each new book he can fill a mind with unbelievable detail and imagery. A small two book series, nicknamed the “bird books”, blew away many critics. With this mini-series he ventures into biotechnology and the worlds in its view on longevity. He’s known for venturing off the normal path of writing. He goes where many authors don’t, into religion, romance/humor/history, and a woman’s murder club. A few examples are Letters for Nicholas, The Jester, Cradle and All, and the “number books”(1st to die, 3rd degree).

Patterson has been affected by many things in his life. The greatest thing was most likely his involvement in the company J. Walter Thompson, an advertising company. After his wife died in 1984, he focused all his energy into the company. Four years later he became CEO, then in 1990 he became chairman, and in 1994 he became the World-wide Creative Director (Author & Artists, page 209). He has said working for the company opened up his mind to bigger ideas in his books. It’s what helps him write the masterpieces we see today.

Patterson’s main influence in the action/mystery genre is the Alex Cross series, but three other books stand out too. Besides the Alex Cross series, his other major bestsellers are “The Thomas Berryman Number”, “When the Wind Blows”, and “The Lake House”. His first novel “The Thomas Berryman Number” won an Edgar award in 1977. It was critiqued as a wonderful change from the normal thriller, written with a faultless ear for real speech and an accurate eye for real people. Even now, it is still said that “the plot is subtle and provocative, the characters are complex and compelling, and Patterson's writing here makes it a pleasure to deal with every page” (Amazon.com (2nd source), A reader). Then after some success with Alex Cross, he came out with “When the Wind Blows” and “The Lake House” a few years later. These books take a wild spin on bio-engineering, fusing wings into a human. It was met with some skepticism at first, but many readers loved it and so did the critics. Eventually they started to say it was a must read, a suspenseful, joyful, sad, maddening, wondrous, and mysterious book, with a "sprinkling" of sci-fi and some bad bits of medical "philosophy (Locke, Amazon.com). The sequel was even better than the first. Evaluating it as a fantastic medical drama, bringing trauma and delight to the ever changing plot, never fails to thrill the reader through a roller coaster ride of suspense (Ufowriter, Amazon.com). But without a doubt his Alex Cross series is his best work. He creates a world that keeps building upon itself with each book. With each book the characters develop again and again. Enemies from past books will resurface to terrorize Alex once more. Old enemies will rise again and some main characters will die. He has even said that “I’m much heavier into the telling of the story and a little less careful with the writing of good sentences.” (Author & Artists, page 212) The series has changed the way an action/mystery novel is written today.

Patterson writes with extreme detail and plot development. He can describe a characters entire facial appearance and background. Since Cross has a PhD in psychology, he is always evaluating criminals, getting into their mind is his job. He weaves a tale of what the criminal did as a young boy or as a college student that turned him evil. He connects the actions of the criminal to their past. The description that he is able to put into his books blows any other author out of the water. Describing a cars engine as it goes around a tight turn and SCREECHING to a