15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent novel, September 15, 2004
This review is from: Exterminators (Justice League of America) (Mass Market Paperback)
Christpoher Golden really knows how to write. Either that, or his editors are geniuses, for this book was truly a page turner.
A huge crop of new metahumans has appeared suddenly, and nearly all are linked to England. As one might expect, some try to use their power for good, some for evil, and some are simply whack-jobs. The situation grows much worse, though, when all the new metahumans begin to mutate into monsters.
This mutation, however, is the clue that the Justice League needs to solve the mystery. There is a definite tie between the new mutations and a mysterious foe that the League fought in their earliest days.
This book highlights the main JLA members: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, and Green Lantern; but there is also a large number of cameos by other heroes, including the Justice Society and many reserve JLA members. I was glad to see Firestorm again, even if only briefly. Some others who appear are Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Atom, Captain Atom, Steel, Nightwing (and mention of the rest of the Titans), and Captain Marvel. But these characters are not mere window-dressing, at least not universally, as we are given insights to their thoughts and views as well. This was a very nice addition, and one that could easily have been skipped, but these inclusions really made the supporting cast (despite a limited role and scope) a contributing element to the story.
Golden does a great job of taking the characters from the visual comic environment into the novel. The POV focuses on a single character at a time, but we are given insight into that character's views of the others in the JLA (and the current crisis) and how they feel about the past. Rather than a simple book of fights, there is a good undercurrent to the book, and effort was made to show some character evolution. I was very much impressed with the quality of the book, what I consider a faithful adherence to the fundamentals of the characters as they appear in the comics, along with a solid story in which to place them. Golden has, as with his Marvel novels, really set a high bar for others to follow. This is the best JLA book yet.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost five stars, July 18, 2004
This review is from: Exterminators (Justice League of America) (Mass Market Paperback)
Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Batman, while apprending criminals, find themselves assisted by previously unknown super powered individuals. But Batman is suspicous. Why are these new meta-humans appearing? And was their a villian for each new hero?
Good action-adventure for those of us who grew up reading these characters.
Maybe it's just my Silver Age sensabilities, but this book loses a star for a couple of mild profanities (the "d-word") that I felt were out of genera.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A real "Justice League" book, July 19, 2004
This review is from: Exterminators (Justice League of America) (Mass Market Paperback)
Generally, it's a good novel, and perhaps the first "real" JLA novel. Aquaman and the Atom get significant screen time (although the Atom seems a bit ineffectual at times). There are flashbacks to the original League, and we get POV stuff from Blue Bettle, Booster Gold, Nightwing, Hawkman, Mr. Terrific, and Firestorm. Captain Atom and Steel show up and do some significant stuff.
Certainly the book conveys the epic scale of a "save the world" Justice League adventure. I'd like to see an existing League villain appear in these books one of these days in a significant role. The "villains" here (both groups) are pretty personality-less by necessity.
The one really new character we get, Ian, is fairly interesting and is nicely developed. There's a general sense of cannon-fodder about many of the other new "metas" - the nameless teleporting girl and Bryan Francis seem kinda interesting, but get ushered off-stage pretty quickly.
Overall I'd recommend it for folks looking for a "comic book" kind of novel representing the Justice League, which to some degree the other three books in the series have lacked, whatever their own individual merits are.
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