Customer Reviews

Hell Rising (Outlanders)

5 star:		(8)
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This installment of Outlanders not only meets the high standards of quality it has imposed on itself since the beginning of the series, it has surpassed it! The blending of Nazi thinking, the traditional rumors and stories of Atlantis, mixed with both Gailek (sp?)history and lore as well as Plato's theroetical thoughts create not only a credible story which revives a previous character that some, who read the series, may see as contrtoversial, but maintains the on going storyline of which the Outlanders series is based. From start to finish, this book will keep you hooked.

For those who have read the series from the beginning, the interactions between the main characters of Kane, Grant, Brigid, and even Domi, heat up and new character insights once again make this series even more outstanding. If this is your first foray into the Outlanders series, then you will know and, I believe, get hooked on the series.

This is no ordinary one dimentional "sci-fi" series. Multi-layered plots, indepth characterizations and interactions that are not pure black and white, keep the reader on their toes and often waiting for each installment with eagerness. Not the neat furturistic imaginings of Star Trek, yet each installment is just as imaginative and compelling. It is, to put mildly and simply, a wonderful read. Which is something I have come to expect in this series.

This is the first Outlanders book I've read, definitely not the last. Axler's unique style is refreshing and the storyline has me fired up for more. The characters were well constructed and intriguing. Not usually a big fan of violent scenes, these had me riveted and one actually choked me up at its conclusion. Overall, this book is very nicely done and the Lovecraftian touch at its conclusion is superb.

The latest in the Outlanders saga is excellent! It held my interest all the way thru. It had a lot of excitement and adventure.

HELL RISING is an epic adventure, another classic entry in a series which has already had quite a few. It has just about anything anyone would want--a larger than life villain, fast action, interesting locales, a world threatening menace and of course--sex.

But it also has poignant moments, good character development and interaction and a new take on Kane's "past life" sub-plot which has appeared occasionally.

The main draw of this book and the entire series are the characters. They're intelligent, funny, desperate and courageous and the reader will follow them anywhere. HELL RISING is highly recommended.

After being burned by the lackluster Deathlands (they must call it that because it kills so many brain cells), I was afraid to take a look at the Outlanders series. However, on the recommendation of a couple authors I respect - you know who you are - I picked up this and the next book.

And I learned immediately why you hardly ever find used Outlanders books laying all over the place.

The universe of the Outlanders is only nominally that of the Deathlands, conceived in a different set of attitudes, where three heroes fighting a geriatric Nazi suddenly becomes a thrilling unfair fight - in the favor of a Benzadrine-hopping madman, and his pet Australopithicus, Jacko.

And that's just the setup -
We have our main hero, Kane, a man of action who takes lumps and cuts and other bangs, who can do his own research, who is the reincarnation of a legendary Celt warrior, summoned to England to prevent an apocalypse from Atlantean times.

If you're looking for Man of Steel gunfights where the hero never even gets a bruise, go look elsewhere.

If you're looking for some real adventure and excitement, wit and humor and fantastic mythology plugged into a dreary and wasteful genre, made fresh and new again, YOU GOTS TA CHECK OUTLANDERS! Technically this is a "post-nuke" genre book, but only as far as you can heave the combination of Celtic Myth, Nazi cyber-genetic experiments, and teleportation technology. The "if the world ended tomorrow - every man for himself" premise has been replaced with awe, wonder and gee-whiz honest adventure and delight.

All in all, highly recommended, and it will inspire you to look up the legends of Balor and his fomori, Lyonesse, and Cuchulain, if you weren't familiar with them already.

I get funny looks from my friends when they see me reading this kind of book. From now on, when that happens, I'll just shove a copy of Hell Rising in their faces! This particular book is a standout in an outstanding series for reasons other reviewers have already mentioned. Yes, it has plenty of guns, explosions and violence but it also has a refreshing lackof macho posturing that so many series of this type features over and above anything else. Kane and Grant are tough and they can be ruthless, but it's a necessary part of the mission, not their entire characters. In this one, Grant reflects he would just as soon never see another drop of blood again. Kane and Grant are actually heroes, not simply protagonists.

Another great touch is the return of Fand, and once again the writer shows his ability to write believable, strong-willed women characters. Like Brigid, Fand is worthy of respect in her own right and she proves she's as brave and competant as the men when the "blasters" start blasting.

I could go on and on about this book--about the mythology of Atlantis woven throughout it, the James Bond-like assault on an oil drilling platform, the final duel between Kane and the villain, Quayle, but I think I've made my point--READ IT! You won't be disappointed.

The latest in this magnificent series is yet another great and fun read as Kane and his small group run afoul of a new but ancient enemy from the past. I always love this Celtic/past lives stuff that this remarkable storyteller mixes in so well with this post-holocaust series. This book was by far some of the grittiest-as-yet, down-and-dirty action scenes that I can remember. Man, that Kane can take some serious punishment - and give it back two-fold! I love the character Fand and how she was portrayed in this book was really exciting to read. She is sexy as well as a good fighter to boot. Such colorful characters and places mixed with tons of high action adventure scenes make this book one of the very best I have read. Mark Ellis is surely at the top of his game and full in his writers prime. Keep up the great work, you are definately giving DEATHLANDS a run for its money. You will love this new chapter for new or old reader fans - a must read!

Here we have another instalment of the mythical and legendary exploits of Kane, Grant, and the rest of the exiles of Cerberus.

This particular adventure is a truly global spanning affair, with ventures to the most remote and inhospitable local on the planet, the Ant Arctic, where the exiles discover a two hundred and fifty year old nazi stronghold. I won't go into any more detail, lest I spoil it for my fellow readers.

This trip does explain a few mysteries that linger to this day on what happened after the fall of the Third Reich, but it comes at a very high price.

However, it doesn't stop there. Once again the exiles find themselves returning across the Atlantic to Imperial Britannica.

Kane, summoned by the hybrid Fand, is once again swept across the ocean to defend a land that he wasn't born in, to prevent ancient technology falling into the wrong hands. If certain parties were to obtain these ancient devices, it could well mean a second skydark.

Upon reaching British soil Kane and Grant discover exactly what happened to the Dragoons after the disappearance of Lord Strongbow. The Irish Celts have returned to Britain with a vengeance. The Dragoon leadership fell to the hands of a massive, one eyed man named Quayle, who with the help of the Irish Doomie Morrigan, uncovered the location of a mythological isle off the coast, that is supposedly one of the Outposts of the lost continent of Atlantis.

A beaten and battered Kane, with his brother in arms Grant must once again take on the Dragoons in a last ditched effort to eliminate the imperium once and for all, and prevent Quayle from obtaining his goals.

Over all, a rousing adventure well worth reading, and as usual, the author has gone out of his way to explain mythology and mesh it wonderfully into the Outlanders setting.