Before the Dawn (Dark Angel) [Mass Market Paperback]

Max Allan Collins (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dark Angel | Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Never-before-told tales of action and adventure
revealing the early days of Dark Angel!

Los Angeles, 2019. Large sections of Tinseltown are in Richter-scale ruins in the aftermath of the Pulse and a devastating earthquake. Surviving among a ragtag pack of street kids, agile as a cat, and an expert thief, Max steals from the rich and gives to Moody, her mentor in crime and leader of the gang. But with no real family to speak of, Max longs for her missing “brothers and sisters” from Manticore, the covert agency with a sinister history of militaristic manipulation and control.

By chance, Max sees a news story on TV about a dissident cyberjournalist in Seattle, known to everyone as “Eyes Only.” The police are searching for his accomplice, a young rebel whose image flashes on the screen. Max immediately recognizes Seth, one of her Manticore siblings. She mounts her motorcycle and hightails it north. What she rides into is an elaborate web of betrayal, greed, revenge, and selfless heroism that will only further fuel her quest to uncover the secrets of her past—and seize hope for the future. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Never-before-told tales of action and adventure
revealing the early days of Dark Angel!

Los Angeles, 2019. Large sections of Tinseltown are in Richter-scale ruins in the aftermath of the Pulse and a devastating earthquake. Surviving among a ragtag pack of street kids, agile as a cat, and an expert thief, Max steals from the rich and gives to Moody, her mentor in crime and leader of the gang. But with no real family to speak of, Max longs for her missing ?brothers and sisters? from Manticore, the covert agency with a sinister history of militaristic manipulation and control.

By chance, Max sees a news story on TV about a dissident cyberjournalist in Seattle, known to everyone as ?Eyes Only.? The police are searching for his accomplice, a young rebel whose image flashes on the screen. Max immediately recognizes Seth, one of her Manticore siblings. She mounts her motorcycle and hightails it north. What she rides into is an elaborate web of betrayal, greed, revenge, and selfless heroism that will only further fuel her quest to uncover the secrets of her past?and seize hope for the future. . . .

About the Author

Max Allan Collins has earned an unprecedented ten Private Eye Writers of America Shamus nominations for his historical thrillers, winning twice for his Nathan Heller novels, True Detective and Stolen Away. A Mystery Writers of America Edgar nominee in both fiction and non-fiction categories, Collins has written five suspense novel series, film criticism, short fiction, songwriting, trading-card sets, and movie/TV tie-in novels, including Air Force One, The Mummy Returns, the New York Times bestselling Saving Private Ryan, CSI: Double Dealer (from the CBS series), and The Scorpion King.

He scripted the internationally syndicated comic strip Dick Tracy from 1977 to 1993 and has written the Batman comic book and newspaper strip. His graphic novel, Road to Perdition, has been made into a DreamWorks feature film starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman, directed by Sam Mendes.

Collins lives in Muscatine, Iowa, with his wife, writer Barbara Collins, and their teenage son, Nathan.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345451821
• ISBN-13: 978-0345451828
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > High Tech

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't quite get it done for me, October 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Before the Dawn (Dark Angel) (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't want to be negative, but after reading all these glowing reviews, I thought I'd better give a reality check for true fans of this awesome series: this book wasn't that great. Don't get me wrong, it didn't totally suck, but it's clear that this is just some writer guy who was comissioned to write the book. He has lifted most of the dialogue right from the series, so he gets away with it, but then, when he's supposed to telling us what Max is thinking, suddenly she's thinking in the vocabulary of a 55 year old college graduate from the heartland. Like, she sees a fat guard and thinks, "what a portly, heavyset fellow". Yeah right. I don't think "portly" "heaveyset" or "fellow" are really the words a post-pulse street rat like Max is going to use to describe this guy in her head. He's obviously a lot more comfortable with Logan-speak, but he makes him just a little too much like somebody's Dad. Plus, you can tell the guy is not a fan, because the book just lacks PASSION. It's like he contacted some younger friend and said "Well, let's plot this baby out". I'd be willing to bet serious cash that this guy had never even seen the show before his editor called and said, "Got a gig for ya." But let's be fair, overall, it's a definate fix for those of us who were chapped when the series got cancelled, and it's readable, and we can fill in the gaps ourselves, but it would have been better if they had found somebody maybe a little younger who was a huge fan of the series already.
Gotta blaze..

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't get your hopes up, May 12, 2005

By 

Emily Summers (Seattle, WA 98115) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before the Dawn (Dark Angel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Max Collins was the wrong author for this. The characterization was wrong, the plot often far too coicidental, even some of the information from the actual series seemed off. His action scenes, although well written, dragged on and on. There were too many times when I was saying to myself, "Max wouldn't do that." Men came off as evil incarnate, and I thought Max revealed she had "special abilities" to FAR too many people. She fights infront of both Kendra and OC which seemed completely un-max to me. She was always careful. I also had a hard time choking that Logan knew an X5 before Max. That seemed totally absurd to me. And, as long as I'm complaining, who the hell calls the space needle "the needle"? Nobody, certainly not people from seattle.

Nevertheless, if you like Dark Angel, read it because, well, it's all you've got. It's a fast read. It does answer some questions and it's fun. I just have to wonder if the creators of the show read these books before they're put on shelves. I kept on saying to myself, "I could write this better." Sadly, I actually believe this. I wish they had taken more time selecting an appropriate author for this series. I really hope the next two are better.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for all DA fans, October 23, 2002

By 

"ksubich" (Geneva, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before the Dawn (Dark Angel) (Mass Market Paperback)

DARK ANGEL: BEFORE THE DAWN is a fascinating prequel novel that is a treat for any DA fan to read. Max Collins has all the characters down pat, and the backgrounding he does for Max, Original Cindy, Logan, and the other regulars of the show is fascinating. After reading this book one can go back and view Season 1 and Season 2 of the series in a slightly different light, picking up clues that were not noticed before that lead back to Max's earlier life before she came to Seattle. Mr. Collins also does an excellent job of foreshadowing things-to-come in the DA universe, threads that will undoubtedly be continued in his DA sequel novel SKIN GAME which picks up the storyline after the last televised episode of the show. If you're a DARK ANGEL fan, please buy BEFORE THE DAWN! The read is well worth your time!