Customer Reviews

The Avengers: Too Many Targets

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fans of the great television show will love this book. It captures all of the elements that made the series so popular. Included in this adventure are all of Steed's partners including two not well known to American audiances, Catherine Gale and Dr. David Keel.

This novel is far superior to any of the novelizations that came out during the show's run and is just in time for the release of the new movie. Although written nearly a decade ago, I hope the authors will continue this into a series.

Highly recommended

The Avengers has been my favorite show hands down since it's initial run in the USA. I found the original novels published in the sixties somewhat disapointing. Indeed,a couple of them read as if the authors had never seen the show.That all changed in 1990 with the publication of "Too Many Targets". It's bang on in characterizations and a real fun ride! Delightfully nostalgic,the author's manage to include Dr.Keel, Mrs. Gale, Emma, Tara,Mother,Rhonda and the Cybernauts in a fast moving,nod and a wink plot. There is even a Doctor Who "in-joke"! Great stuff. I admit I've read it more than once and treasure my copy that the gracious John Peel was kind enough to sign at a small con near my home town.The book is well worth the price for die-hard Avenger fans. EEE-YUPP!!!

My parents watched "The Avengers" while I was a child. I remember dashing John Steed and the capable Mrs. Emma Peel and nostalgia prompted me to pick up this book. By no stretch was I disappointed in this regard. Characters I was not familiar with added to the party feel of this story, which, though amazingly far-fetched, was an easy pleasure to read.

Beware the co-authored novel. This book is credited to two writers and it shows as the style is a touch patchy. While not poorly written, it isn't great either. I got the impression it was dashed off in a weekend when there was nothing better to do. Could I do better? Probably no. But maybe yes! However, the fact that I read the whole thing suggests it has something going for it. Non-Avengers fans might give it the heave-ho but the rest of us, well, it's Avengers isn't it? Summary, three stars only but very good value at under six dollars.

A killer gorilla, a double agent, and a few diabolical masterminds can only mean a new adventure for the Avengers! This was an excellent novel bringing back all of Steed's partners. A wonderful novel that any Avenger fan will appreciate.

This book will keep you entertained with all the action from David Keel to Tara King. This book brings them all together to fight the evil cybornauts.I highly recommend this book.

most of the Avengers crowd is here - Dr. Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King join forces with Steed to save Mother and Rhonda from Cybernauts. Only Venus Smith (from the very early series) and the New Avengers (Purdy and Gambit) are missing. Everyone gets their 'star turn' in this typical adventure.

The plot revolves around the cybernauts' return this time with voice synthesizer technology to implicate Steed and Mother in treason. The some of the most popular of Steed's partners are called in to help solve this mystery. If you are an Avengers fan you'll enjoy this one for the little updates on the former partn ers. If you are not a fan of the series don't start here because you'd never have a clue about what is going on. The main plot is a bit weak, the ending in particular is a bit anticlimatic.

All in all this is about on a par with the better fanfic that is available on the internet for free.

This book presents something of a quandary because if you aren't a fan of the TV series there's no reason to read it, and if you are, there's no way it can satisfy you. There are however, a few of us who are casual fans of the series and also experienced readers of Movie and TV tie-ins--one of my favorite books as a kid was a Rat Patrol novelization--and for us it is entirely adequate, though not much more.

The plot involves those dreaded Cybernauts who cropped up several times during the series and manages to involve not just John Steed and Mrs. Peel, but all of Steed's other partners too : Cathy Gale; Tara King; and Dr. David Keel. You really couldn't ask for much more; except for a great story. And here's a dirty little secret that all of us TV fans don't like to dwell on : great stories are awfully rare in the world of television. We become fans of a series because we like the characters and are willing to spend an hour (or a half hour) with them every week. But let's face it, most episodes of any TV series are pretty pedestrian, often downright feeble. Heck, I was a huge fan of Cheers and Magnum, P.I., but those shows had entire seasons that were just awful.

So if you look back on The Avengers with misty watercolor memories, let me warn you, you're going to be disappointed by this book. And if you're someone who never watched the show and couldn't figure out why someone would make the recent movie version, this book is not for you either. But if you recall the show as a pleasant diversion, and nothing more, this book is at least as good as a mediocre episode of the series--except of course that it doesn't have Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg or Honor Blackman, to get your fix of them you'll just have to buy the DVDs that are now available of the original shows.

GRADE : C

The initial chapters are very well written. It was a pleasure to be introduced to Dr. Keel, and Cathy Gale and a delight to again encounter the charismatic Emma Peel. I began to lose interest when the authors brought in Tara,Mother, Rhonda. Who cared? As for the ludicrous bit of Steed relegating Emma to the back seat of his car while he sat up front with Tara, and the assinine scene of Emma and Tara vieing for him- get real! Emma Peel always had too much class, dignity, and pride to take second place. Ultimately the book disappointed with the ending of Steed, Mother, and Rhonda together. The initial sparks flying between Emma and Steed were exciting and believable. Then it became boring - Tara/Mother were brought into a previusly well constructed plot. OVer 30 yera ago the Forget-Me Not show made me realize I couldn't stand for such a boring series -Tara,a subservient,eager to please, young enough to be his daughter giirl and an equally bland older man called Mother. Tne New AVengers similarly left me cold. The writers have talent but it would have been a better book minus Tara, Mother, and Rhonda.

Even Dave Rogers admitted that MOther was a weak link. Why end the book with a such a deadly dull scene? Haven't the writers heard the cliche three's crowd? As soon as the writers brought in Tara the book went downhill. If you want to read every Aveangers book you could borrow this one first from your public library, then decide if you want to buy it. Kaewert's book was supurb. MacNeee's books have the virtue of featuring Steed and Emma. Peel and his co-author disappointed me.

They began so well, but sacrificed plot and character by bringing in Tara, and Mother. They were always boring characters. Why do you think the series was cancelled in America?