Omega

Close your eyes. Pretend you are in your local cineplex. The lights come up as the credits roll. Imagine you have just witnessed one of the most incredible action packed spectacles you ever seen in a movie theatre. Think Star Wars, think The Matrix, think Lord Of The Rings, think Die Hard. Well, you don't even have to go the movies to catch that feeling. Think Outlanders...think Children Of The Serpent! From start to finish this book grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go! This is pulp fiction at it's APEX! An incredible adventure tale on par with the greats from ERB to REH or even HPL! (Did I just read "Old Ones"...HOLY S@#T!) Lester Dent would be proud...Mark Ellis take a bow! The awe-inspiring Tiamat...the new threat of the Overlords...transformed into a horror pulled from the nether regions of human collective memory...horrific ceremonies ripped from nightmare...the true nature of the most malevolent force in the galaxy revealed...desperate heroes racing to discover the truth...Brigid in danger beyond comprehension...Kane and Grant in a desperate, not to mention heart POUNDING attempt at rescue against overwhelming odds...an epic battle at the very stronghold of the forces for good in the world! A deep and meaningful rumination of what it means not only to be free, but to be an American as well! Mind-BLOWING! Staggering! AMAZING! N' the Graphic Audio version rocks as well...Kudos to all involved at the Cutting Corp...read it...listen to it...live it...prepare to be KNOCKED THE F OUT!

I could go on and on about why this novel is such an incredible entry in the Bolan canon by conventional means, but that could go on for years and cost millions of lives...instead I'll say this... DPW obviously enjoys his work...his obvious dedication to keeping these characters not only true to their roots but in taking them to new places that we, the lucky reader, have never seen our long time favorite modern day pulp heroes in before is evident. What more could you want in a Stony Man novel? Focus on the teams, Phoenix and Able...no Mack in sight...with each and every member getting an equal part of the spotlight...characterization so spot on, it's almost like reading the charaters fully and totally realized for the very first time...Doug has taken everything good about these characters that has come before, and without missing a single element of the past history of each, brought them to new light that allows them to shine for the great heroes they are! Villains? You want 'em...you got 'em! In this day and age I'll admit I love to read about Bolan and the fighting heroes of Stony Man venting out carnage on the same forces of evil we see on the news everyday...I find it often cathartic...but that said, there is enough evil in the world that a change from the standard terrorist group of the month is not only invited, but a welcome respite...and again DPW pulls it off in spades, offering up some of the most original and innovative villains seen in a while! And while he wears his influences on his sleeve...and to a fellow comic fan said influences are quite enjoyable...he explores a uniqueness in evil...that while at first may seem over the top, but in truth could...and probably does...exsist somewhere in "our" world. Not to mention the straight up coolness factor of the things that spring from DPW's fertile imagination...just for example...a maniac who wears a cloak...made up of the unit emblem tatooed skin of his fallen foes...brilliant! Oh...what about the action? ACTION?!? Does thing go to eleven? From cover to cover...some of the most intense, yet well thought, out battles to grace the pages of purple prose since the heyday of the hero pulps...can you imagine "Hard Boiled" era John Woo hopped up on caffeine and energy drinks by the case? Well, there you have it...this author knows action...over the top, but so well orchestrated it reads off the page like a finely tuned precision dance of destruction...truly, truly AWESOME! OK...by now, I guess you realize I enjoyed this novel to the extreme...but I will offer up some constructive criticism...at times the prose can get moving at such a headlong pace that you feel like you might have missed something, especially in the early chapters...but I chalk this up to the author's still relative newcomer status and feel it will only get more polished with time...but this is truly a minor nit...barely worth mentioning in the big picture. I've been conversing with the esteemed Doctor Skaramine at this website...truthfully, at odds at times, yet more often allied at others... since the day I first came to this spot in cyberspace over six years ago... and having done so know of his true passion not only for these heroes, but heroic fiction in general as well...so, needless to say, I was very curious how this, the author's first Stony Man would turn out... It did not disappoint...at all...way to go Doug! Hell yeah!

***Highest Possible Recommendation***! If you think the Deathland series is or was mired in it's own muck, dredging the same tired post-nuke scenarios over and over again, you haven't read this book! This incredible series entry is one of the very few Deathlands that reaches above the genre and presents an action packed, violent yet intriguing, true science fiction tale that can hold it's own against anything out there then or now in the field of post-modern pulp! I'm not even going to discuss plot points...other to say they were thoughtful, non-cliched, and straight out FUN TO READ! This one is THE stuff boys n' girls...read it for yourself...if you enjoy top notch adventure with a touch of the outrageous you'll have to like it! I say again...read it!

When you read a series of books for a while a reader can become very familiar with the style of the author and his take on a set of characters. This is especially true when the author is the creator and driving force behind the series as Mark Ellis is with Outlanders. After a while reading an entry in a sereis can be like a visit with an old friend...a very comfortable feel. When another author steps in to fill a spot on the schedule the results can range from jarring to seamless, depending on either the skill of the author or his actual interest in the series. When I was a kid I breathed in Doc Savage Paperbacks. Inhaled 'em. But I had no clue that anyone other than "Kenneth Robeson" wrote 'em...it wasn't until a few years into the series that I uncovered, so to speak, the truth about how Lester Dent wrote the majority of them, with numerous ghost writers filling in throughout the run...but I'll always remember the feeling that something just wasn't right when I read my first non-Dent supersaga...it just didn't fit...sure, these were the same characters I had grown to know, but it wasn't until a found the list of "who wrote which" that it all made perfect sense. Geez...any speaking of which...can any long time Bolan watcher forget the disorienting feel of Sicilian Slaughter when you read the first non-Pendleton entry in the series? This is commonplace now...some authors obviously get it (i.e. DPW, Chuck Rogers, Mike Linaker, Tim Tressler) and others don't (Robbins, Boot, to name a couple)...but back then it was a case of "WTF?!?!?" Mel Odom gets Outlanders! You can tell there is a different style to this book than the usual Ellis entry, but it is not jarringly so and this book makes for a fine entry in this outstanding series. There is nothing to challenge or contradict the Mythos Ellis has set before and there is plenty of new ideas to keep the long time reader interested. Highlights for me included little things like different weapons and wardrobes for the Cerebus crew...Kane with an M-14? Nice change of pace from the issue Sin-eater...minor, you bet, but interesting none the less. The villians and plot devices were great. The chalice with it's mysterious background shrouded in the mists of history. Lindstrohm and Narita The Bleeder made for a great team of baddies...and somehow I hope to see more of them in the future...Fiddler, The Tongs...pure pulp action goodness. I really enjoyed this one, even without any expectations to do so! Good stuff and nice work from Mel Odom! Enjoy!

There's not much I can say about the Outlanders series that hasn't been said all ready...but let me tell you...believe the hype! Everything that has been said is the truth...this is the best paperback series being published today...bar none! Great heroes...dastardly, colorful villians...original plotlines (tho' they wear their influences proudly), intriguing science elements and as much breathtaking action and bloodcurdling escapes as a half dozen classic stories from the pulps! And speaking of pulps, there are plenty of "easter eggs" here to find...Thunder Island and it's prehistoric monsters...a villian who bears a slight resemblence to one Cordwiller Olden...although I must admit I was somewhat stumped by the evil Victorian age giant Shirrenford Oakshott and his toy pistol...he seems familiar, but I just can't place him... My "friend" Agent Graves might say that he is perhaps a reference to Sir Leslie Oakshott, the "famous surgeon" from The Adventure Of The Illustrious Client...but that is neither here nor there...suffice to say I hope to see that his fate was not final in future stories... Kane and Grant true heroes...Brigid, Domi, Shizuka...fantastic! One of the best of the best! Read it!