Green Lantern: Hero's Quest (JLA (Pocket Star)) [Mass Market Paperback]

Dennis O'Neil (Author)

Book Description

Series: JLA (Pocket Star) | Publication Date: April 2005

They are the world's greatest super heroes, fighting endiessly against corruption and injustice. Each of them alone is a formidable opponent of evil, but banded together their powers are unmatched. Every ready, they stand united as the Justice League Of America. When college dropout Kyle Rayner unexpectedly becomes heir to the incalculable power of the spacefaring Green Latern Corps, he finds the life of a costumed vigilante isn't all it's cracked up to be. But when he investigates the mysterious disappearance of his teammates in the Justice League, the newest Green Lantern is drawn into a temporal maelstrom that reveals not only the fate of his friends, but his own link to a legacy that spans past, present, and future.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

With a career in comics spanning five decades, Dennis O'Neil was for years a group editor at DC Comics and the guiding force behind the Batman mythos during the 1980s and '90s, helping to return the charcater to his roots as a dark, mysterious gothic avenger. As a freelance writer and journalist, O'Neil has produced several novels and works of nonfiction, as well as hundreds of comics, teleplays and short stories, including the bestselling Bantarn novel, Batman: Knightfall and his critically acclaimed Green Lantern comics, Hard-Travelling Heroes.

From AudioFile

The masterfully directed Justice League of America series returns with one of the most notable creations in comic book history, the Green Lantern. All the ear-pleasing, imaginative sound effects ring out as our hero must try to save his co-workers in the JLA while fighting off every obstacle he encounters. Featuring the usual cast of talented performers, the production blends all of the now-familiar elements of the ongoing saga in splendid fashion. Fans of all ages will find themselves whisked away to a place where anything is possible. Comic books have never been experienced as they are in this series. L.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star; First edition (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743417127
• ISBN-13: 978-0743417129
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,123,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not as bad as expected, April 16, 2005

By 

mmsjohns - See all my reviews

This review is from: Green Lantern: Hero's Quest (JLA (Pocket Star)) (Mass Market Paperback)

I usually don't leave reviews, but I feel I have to for this novel just because it's gotten panned so badly. I really have no idea what everybody else is talking about -- the novel is extremely character driven. Because it is written from the first person, we get a very detailed account of who Kyle is. The other characters are also presented in very clear detail. Batman, in particular, is very sharply defined considering how often he's around.

Yes, Kyle's origin has been rewritten - but it's made clear that this is an alternate reality. It won't change your life, but it's not so terrible it deserves to be obliterated. I myself am a huge Kyle fan and found it very entertaining. It was great to see a novelization of his character, and I enjoyed it despite his new background story. The only major con I found was the fact that there is so much science talk being thrown around. It can get a bit confusing. But I also found Kyle's quirky and geek boy first person narration made it bearable. I would definitely consider it worth the cover price.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A poor representation of Green Lantern and DCU, May 25, 2005

By 

David T. Jacobson (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Green Lantern: Hero's Quest (JLA (Pocket Star)) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was anticipating this book for a while. I am a big fan of the DCU and of Green Lantern who is one of my favorite DC superheroes. I read Green Lantern including the transition to Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern. With that said, I am very disappointed in this novel and the concepts that it introduced. Mr. O'Neil is a better writer than this and I am disappointed in him as well. I was so moved (negatively) by this book that I felt I should write a review. Like I said, I know the story about Hal Jordan and Coast City and Parallax and the eventual handing of the Power Ring to Kyle Rayner.

I have no problem when a writer massages an origin or two to make the story work. But this felt like he took what I knew of the Justice League and it's core and Green Lantern and the Oans and put them all into a food processor. What we got out of it looked like chunky green pea sludge. I won't pass all the details of the story along but I felt like the author took established events in the DCU and made them into bland, trivial entries to justify the telling of his story. The origin of the Justice League, the characterization of it's members, the use of Hal Jordan and "Di", the misrepresentation of the Oans and the Green Lantern Corps were a big pile of steaming ____. I'm sorry, but I don't understand what the author was thinking. Gross misrepresentation simply doesn't fit into story.

As some of the other reviewers have stated, the Kyle Rayner we see here is a whiner. If I heard the story he told in this novel, I'd strip him of the ring and give it to someone else. The idea that only humans have artistic concepts which is why Kyle can do so well ... crap. And Gandy? Please. Ganthet was a pretty key Oan in the scheme of things with the Guardians. The author reduced him to a cardboard cutout with Ganthet's likeness. I just find the novel contrived and ill-thought. If I was the author's editor and knew a quarter of what I know about the Green Lantern and his history, I would have told Mr. O'Neil to go back to the drawing board.

There were a few concepts that I had to agree with. Some of what Kyle had to do to train. Yes, good ideas. The idea that the Oans have lost touch with other sentient beings. Again, I have to agree with that. And the portrayal of Batman, was right on.

But Kyle sleepwalking (not literally) through a third of the novel and the misrepresentation of Hal Jordan and the Oans left me ill by the end. If this was an assignment that was turned in for a grade, I'd give it an 'F' just in the poor manner that the story was told. Even worse knowing the history of the characters that star in it.

Mr. O'Neil, I'm disappointed in you. You should never have turned in this story.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars everything you never wanted to know about Oa, April 4, 2005

By 

D. Barnett (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Green Lantern: Hero's Quest (JLA (Pocket Star)) (Mass Market Paperback)

I had high hopes for this novel. When its publication date was delayed, I should have known there were going to be problems with this book. As others have noted, there is not much story going on and what story there is fails to be explained very well. Admittedly, the viewpoint is from a largely uneducated man who never wanted to be a superhero in the first place, but this does not help the reader to understand what is happening either. There is a lot of "and then I was suddenly there without really knowing how I got there" sort of passages. Despite the book being in first person, you never really get a good grasp of him over the 336 pages of the story. At least it it is a quick read if you absolutely must read it.

Much of the story revolves around this Green Lantern's relationship with the denizens of Oa and some misguided endeavor on their part which will end life in the universe. I had hoped this would give some insight into the creators of the Green Lantern Corps but, alas, insights were few and far between in this novel.

There is one horribly written chapter that apparently was an attempt to ape a bad Western serial author. Thankfully, this style was abandoned after this chapter.

My recommendation to Pocket Books is to get a new editor for the JLA series. So far, none of these JLA novels have been very well written nor have the stories been very good. This book, though, is a shoe-in for worst of the series.