Customer Reviews

Before the Dawn (Dark Angel)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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..

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.

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!

Miss the series? Collins serves up a generous helping of backstory to the Max Guevara we've all come to know and love. The story expands on the small details that are already known: we are pulled along through the harrowing X5 breakout from Manticore, up through Max's first contacts with the "normal" world and right on up to the catastrophic Pulse that brings the United States down to Third World status. Much of the story deals with Max honing her craft as a professional thief on the mean streets of post-Pulse Los Angeles. Circumstance and a possible lead on an X5 "sibling" send her north into Seattle, and we are treated to the tale of how she met Original Cindy, how she moved in with Kendra, how she started with Jam Pony, where she first heard of Eyes Only, and even the spiritual importance of the Space Needle to Max's "meditations." Logan Cale features prominently as well, in some wonderful foreshadowing scenes. Original characters include fellow X5 "Seth" and Russian gangster-cum-art dealer Kafelnikov, and for fans who've missed the first season's villain Donald Lydecker, there's plenty of him in this novel, too.

The novel, being more or less unrestricted in its scope and direction, allows the reader to dive more fully into the gritty near-future of post-Pulse America -the language is coarser and more realistic than the cleaned-up television dialogue. Instead of having to hear characters remind viewers that "the world went and got a lot nastier," we are able to actually immerse ourselves in it; much more thought-provoking, particularly if you're prone to playing the "what would YOU do?" speculation game. In all ways an excellent lead-in to the events of the series pilot. An easy read, full of familiar characters, very satisfying conclusion.

I enjoyed this book more than Max Allen Collin's second Dark Angel novel 'Skin Game', as I found Max's backstory quite interesting and informative.

However I don't feel he's really got her character down pat, and there were certain elements to the story which I found difficult to chew. Such as the transgenic Seth, who also escaped from Manticore in '09 and winds up working for Eyes Only. Seth is never mentioned in the show or even counted amid the 12 escapees (turns out that he's the 13th) and personally, I find this transgenic a hard bit of 'canon' to swallow. It just doesn't tie in with what we know of the characters in the show. Would Logan really have kept Seth a secret from Max? Maybe so, but it makes him now seem incredibly ruthless. I'm not the biggest fan of Logan but I still find it hard to believe he could do what he does to Seth, and still be able to 'use' Max once she comes along. Actually, maybe he could... *shrugs*

Anyway, asides from that gripe I did find this book a good read. At times even a great read. Although I still feel Max Allen Collins was the wrong writer for the job.
I've read better fan fiction.

Beautifully written, 'Before The Dawn' would be required reading for die-hard Dark Angel fans even if the series were still running. Max Allan Collins has given us what we crave -- the Dark Angel "fix" fans have needed since we first heard the series was going to be cancelled early in 2002. This book isn't just terrific brain candy -- it takes a deeper look at some things we saw in the show (such as Max's thoughts as she escaped, and life with her first 'adopted' family), and it fills in a lot of gaps in Max's history as a Manticore escapee on the run in pre- and post-pulse America. I'll be watching eagerly for future DA works from Mr. Collins.

Let me preface this by stating I have never seen an episode of the T.V. series, (or movies, if any) and am judging the book solely on it's own merits.

This book follows Max, and to a small extent Seth, soldiers from an illegal government super soldier program called Manticore. They escaped while extremely young after their handlers shot and killed one of their classmates, showing that weren't stupid and could the writing on the wall. The author takes this too far, referring at times to both Max and Seth in the novel as "the X5" which serves to dehumanize them in the mind's eye of the reader. Dehumanizing the hero isn't a great idea, since the story suffers if the reader doesn't care about the protagonist's fate.

Pacing is fast but not overwhelming. Setting is not well explained (As in electronics were supposedly fried, what about those shielded or repairable?) since I thought the degeneration of the USA caused by the Pulse event was simply glossed over. Characterization is not very deep, but typical for an action novel. I don't really understand why Max didn't have her barcode tattoo laser-surgery erased, and how she hides her 'cat's eyes' which the author gave me the impression of not looking like normal human eyes. I did think the dialogue had it's witty moments, but I also thought Max's vocabulary didn't match her upbringing.

On it's own as a novel, this was a quick fluffy read that broke down if you thought about it too much. I give this type of book three stars and recommend better novels. Maybe it was written only for fans of the series?

This book does not do justice to this series, which is saying quite a bit, given how quickly the show met its demise. First of all, there are many inconsistencies between the book and the series. Facts just don't match up. Second, there is pointless and frequent profanity. Come on, this was a TV show, not an R rated movie. Kids who could handle the series shouldn't go near this book. Third, the editing is lousy. At times, even names were spelled incorrectly.

Overall, the story isn't bad. It's entertaining and a quick read. If it was just another book, the rating would be at least a three. But given the way it fails to mesh with the series, I can't give it anything besides a 2.

As a huge fan of the show I was excited to hear that I would finnally be able to get my Dark Angel fix after many years of withdrawl. Sadly, I was let down.

First, this is not a good book. Its badly written and the descriptions are very clinical and wooden, it lacks the passion that the show had.

Secondly, It doesn't match up with the TV Show. I'm really supposed to believe the OC was in the military, sorry, no way. I also don't buy that Logan knew another x5 before Max. There were other problems too. Maybe I'm getting a little nit-picky here, but OC was from Los Angeles in the series, not Texas. Finnally what was that ridiculous 10-page kiss-up job about what a great movie Titanic was. Sure, it was a great movie, but this is supposed to be about Dark Angel.

All in all I was very dissappointed. I still haven't finished the book. And I don't intend to.

While it was nice to get the closure that one needs after being left hanging by the TV series which ended abruptly, I have to say that I really like the TV show better. Still, if you were a Dark Angel fan that felt frustrated with the way the show just ended, it does give a little bit of closure, although it does feel a little anti-climatic.