Customer Reviews

Children Of The Serpent (Outlanders)

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

 

 

This is probably one of the best books in the Outlanders series. It makes quite a few changes and advances in the background with the concept and characters.

In a way it reminded me of Stargate SG-1 but that only makes it better!

This was hardest Outlanders book to review because in many ways it may be the BEST OL novel to date and that's really making a big claim.

Children of the Serpent is classic OL, right down to the return of Balam, exotic locales, and a sadistic mega-villain but it also ties up a lot of loose ends (like who is really the father of Quavell's baby) and blazes trails in new, unexpected directions.

It's one of the most cinematic of all Mark Ellis's many books in the series and I could easily picture every scene...it would make a great multi-million dollar movie epic.

Finally explaining about the hybridzation program and revealing the true identity of Sam the Imperator was a bold move with probably the ultimate blending ancient mythology with science-fiction.

Another bold move was breaking away from the set-up of the barons and the villes, but in my opinion, this move deserves the highest praise. It not only provides a new background for the Axlerverse, it also makes Children of the Serpent a surprising and very memorable read.

To add Balam to the storyline for the first time in years to close up gaps was another brave move on Mark Ellis's part. Yet, it worked out and was a pleasant part of the story which balanced out some of the more unpleasant parts, like with the fate of Quavell, a scene that still chokes me up.

There are many elements to Children of the Serpent which make it great, including the chilling introduction of the Overlords and the dead-eyed Nephilim, the terrifying arrival of Tiamat the Sumerian Chaos-Mother, and the blazing, explosive battle at the end.

Of course all the characters are spot-on, the dialogue among them is great and the ingenuity they show made me want to applaud a couple of times. The situations the Cerberus warriors find themselves in this book would put the DL group of posers in therapy for the rest of their lives.

The core group of Cerberus are portrayed as a mature, intelligent, capable and fast-thinking heroes, almost the complete opposites of the way they were written in Uluru Destiny. Brigid figuring out how to do something with an Annuannaki computer when Balam couldn't was a classic scene!

Mark Ellis took a lot of chances with this book by going into more solid science-fiction territory but he still remained true to the spirit of the original OL.

Instead of allowing this series to stay as stagnant and predictable for years on end as another series I could mention he has charted a new and what seems like an exciting new course for the Cerberus warriors.

That earns him my praise not only for this great book, but for being a gutsy and innovative author. Chidren of the Serpent is a great novel for many reasons and one that everyone who likes fast-paced, exciting action-tales featuring intelligent heroes and heroines should pick up

I can't wait for the next clash between the Cerberus warriors and the Overlords!

First and foremost, let me state that with this entry in the ongoing Outlanders saga, the series has finally removed the shackles that bound it to the ultimately inferior storyline that spawned it: Deathlands.

Gone are the barons; gone are the traipsing and stench of a series that should have been laid to rest years ago, instead of rotting into something that is vile beyond belief.

In a nutshell, the series has received a rebooting, so to speak. Plans set out thousands of years before have finally come to fruitation with the arrival of the massive living ship, Tiamat.

This begins a change in the hybrids, specifically the Barons, Sam, and the Quad V hybrids.

The old god-kings and their personal soldiers have been reborn. Enlil, supreme leader of the Annunaki and the council of nine are back to reclaim their previous kingdoms.

So much so that they've abandoned their old Baronies, seeing them as totally useless in the schemes they have planned for the world.

That's the plot in a nutshell.

In this novel, the reader is given - very clearly - the emotions and the reactions of the main characters. There is no longer any reason for authors other than Mr. Ellis to `misinterpret' how a character acts or reacts.

Domi isn't a sex-crazed maniac. Grant isn't Kane's yes Man. Brigid Baptist isn't a motherly member of the `ya-ya sisterhood.

Each character shines in their strength and weaknesses in the novel, and more than ever do you see the friendship and the feelings that exist not only between the main characters, but the supporting characters like Bry, Philboyd and even Decard.

Respect is shown, and it's earned. It's not demanded among the characters.

With the massive changes that have taken place in this book, things are no longer what they might seem. Old enemies might become allies. Entire vistas can be explored in a way that they couldn't with the old series.

Once again, it's all because of the severing of ties with the founding series.

With each new novel written by Mr. Ellis, the reader will see how he originally intended to write the series, but due to formulas and rules, he wasn't able to full exploit.

I just hope that he'll stick with the series, or if and when he finally does leave, that GE will have enough foresight to bring in a writer who'll continue on in the tradition that Mr. Ellis is setting up with it, instead of using staff writers who're only interested in receiving a paycheck, instead of putting the effort that the mythology and universe that Mr. Ellis created deserves.

Mark Ellis's latest was very good. This series needed change. I just wish he would have continued with kane's and Brigid's intense feelings for one another.

That seems to be stagnating now. I agree with a couple of sharp-eyed reviewers here who stated that some of the battles were not very believable. The ship was described as being so intelligent and all-powerful, but couldn't kill a couple of Magistrate humans...?

As a female, I'd like to see a bit more sex and romance that Ellis only seems to hint at nowadays. Need to really move it along when it comes to the main characters romancing, Mr. Ellis.

Mark Ellis, aka, James Axler in this series, writes another tour de force novel here. Not only does this latest installment mark major shifts and changes to the series, but lends some long-held mysteries to be finally revealed.

The new order and rulers - along with the world-changing and climatic events - seems like the new turning point to this series outta be very interesting to read about.

The only downside to this otherwise awesome and exciting read was the lack of detail to a couple of battle scenes. Well, not really detail in the action sequence itself, but the lack of participation on the newly-reborn Serpent Kings themselves. There were nine 7-foot-plus tall creatures with supposedly superior strength and powers, along with their small army of armored warriors called Nephilim, with their plasma-shooting gauntlets and impervious armor.

All this against an ill-equipped threesome of our reluctant heroes, who had a terrible battle plan to begin with! It was exciting to read, but total BS in the believability factor. Something that Mark Ellis is usually aware of.

So, because of battle scenes where a much larger, more powerful group seem to idly sit by while their puny humans do damage and kill their inhuman army, along with editing problems permeating throughout the book, as well as wondering why our supposedly smart heroes find a weakness in armored warriors and don't take advantage of it - Children of the Serpent still manages to stay head and shoulders above most mainstream sci-fi/action books out there today.

If there is better out there, please e-mail me and let me know.

Looking forward to what the next installment of Outlanders will bring.

The first word that comes to mind about Children of the Serpent is "daring."

It's not every ongoing series, especially one that has been published as long as this one, that explodes a bomb of revelations in the reader's faces and basically starts the whole thing anew without actually starting it anew.

Mark Ellis's writing is exceptionally vivid in this book, and some of the more violent passages made me wince at times. His imagination is roaring at full speed in this book.

Overall, Children of the Serpent is colorful and at times an almost over-the-top tour de force featuring everything that has made Outlanders one of my favorite series for so long.

The main cast of characters are presented sharp enough to cut yourself on and even the villains have understandable motives, if completely self-serving .

Another excellent element of this book is its use of supporting characters. The previously faceless Manitius Moon base people in the redoubt come to life in several well-dramatized incidents that give them personalities. We get to know them, in both their flaws and their heroism, making it truly poignant when they meet gruesome fates.

The plotting of this book is fantastic, and like Talon and Fang and Hell Rising, the action transpires in multiple places (on Earth and off) encompassing a number of characters, yet the writer keeps them all clearly drawn even in a story packed with revelations.

The story has the classic OL elements of humor and pathos, military tactics and science-fiction, mythology, high adventure and an unrelenting sense of impending doom from on high unless the Cerberus warriors can find a way to stop it.

All the characters work on different levels. In particular, the one frequently underused character who finally receives some real development is Balam.

From a standard "Roswell gray", Balam is presented as figure with the guilt of an entire race upon his shoulders but also with a surprising depth of courage, sympathy and even an appreciation of human humor. His exchanges with Kane are some of the more memorable passages in the book.

Although Children of the Serpent has its share of graphically brutal carnage and violence, the story itself is about true heroism, and individual duty to humanity as a whole.

More than just another book in the Outlanders series, Children of the Serpent is in my opinion, may very well be one of the best in the entire run. If nothing else, the way all the long-running mysteries and plot threads are revealed and tied up is brilliant.

My previous enthusiasm for Outlanders (which has waned over the last year or so, mainly due to substandard entries by fill-in writers) is now completely restored!

Another Mark Ellis achievement.

Not bad Ellis, but there were major problems in this one. When the trio were onboard the illustrious and oh-so-intelligent starship, with newly-created barons, stronger and bigger and badder than ever - along with a fully armored army of drones - how could kane and his comrades without their Mag armor win the day?

That was crap. Ellis wrote this ship to be timeless and all powerful, now holding a large group of aline killers - but yet an unarmored small group of three can withstand all this...?

I don't think so. Milan's action sequences are written much better. Ellis is good, but he needs to tighten up with these types of scenes.

And enough of the goody, goody, no-sex garbage. This is a world filled with danger and death around the next corner. Get this Kane and Brigid together, huh? This series needs that hard-boiled sex and violence that old-time Deathlands used to have.