5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Enough is enough, February 18, 2002
This review is from: Outlanders: Prodigal Chalice (Mass Market Paperback)
The last Outlanders novel by Mel Odom, Sargasso Plunder was a Deathlands book, not an Outlanders. Now another Deathlands book has been snuck between the covers of an Outlanders novel and though it isn't as much as a loss as the previous one by this author, enough is enough. If he wants to write a Deathlands so badly, why doesn't he ask Gold Eagle to let him write one instead of trying to turn Outlanders into an imitation?
I enjoyed Mel Odom's "Wreath of Fire" very much so I can't understand why Chalice and Plunder have been so so poorly researched and seemingly hacked-out. For the third time, he revisits the setting of "Wreath". He keeps dragging out the same supporting characters (the Tongs, Wei Quong, ect.)who make no impact at all on either the outcome of the book itself or the series as a whole.
His handling of the main characters hasn't improved since "Plunder" either. There is no humor between them, they don't seem to like each other very much at all. About all the interaction between Brigid and Kane is that she glares at Kane every time he opens his mouth, Grant is a big lummox who functions mainly as Kane's side-kick and Domi is presented as a little albino psychopath who likes to torture people. Everybody is one dimensional.
I buy Outlanders for a several reasons, but one factor is the realationships between the main characters. As a reader I am very fond of them and look forward to sharing their adventures. When those relationships are not present, I feel cheated as both a loyal reader and consumer.
The plot itself actually had potential and might have worked if it had been handled differently. The whole connection to the Chalice and the Holy Grail, tying it in with the Annunaki was interesting. But pulling out yet more of Kane's past life stuff and involving it with the book's bad guy, Lindstrohm wasn't handled well.
One thing came occured to me while reading Chalice, It reads "old"and by that I mean it's like it was something written twenty years ago for an audience of middle-aged gun-nuts. It had a very dated feel to it, like those old mindless, survivalist "men's adventure" books published in the 80s and 90s that I see taking up so much shelf space in used bookstores. Most of the time, Outlanders is full of youthful energy, intelligence, high spirits with a sense of wonder to it all. The down and dirty survivalist stuff, when it shows up, never dominates the story or the characters.
I read a lot, mainly sci-fi and fantasy and I can tell you Outlanders is a very unique series. I don't think there's anything like it out there on the stands. If Gold Eagle doesn't recognize what a special gem they have with this series and they want to try to make it interchangeable with Deathlands, they'll certainly lose most of its loyal readership...
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, not great, but good., February 19, 2002
This review is from: Outlanders: Prodigal Chalice (Mass Market Paperback)
Balam takes Kane on a dream trip throughout his previous lives, from Egyptian slave, to King Arthur's right-hand-man. This book's nemesis is an ex-magistrate archivist (god, this sounds hokey) who discovers lost oil reserves, brings a mat-trans unit online, starts a little empire down Mexico-way , and needs the Holy Grail as the third and final component to finish the three-part "mana-machine." As plots go, this was pabulum. Kane must stop him, as he has throughout all of time.
If we ignore the Holy Grail aspect of the book, the rest was a fun read. Pirates, a kinky knife-wielding chick, and the requisite gun battles.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better, but still not up to standard, April 16, 2002
This review is from: Outlanders: Prodigal Chalice (Mass Market Paperback)
Having just finished reading Prodical Chalice, I felt I had best do my review while the book is still fresh in my mind.
Overall, it wasn't a bad novel, but there were quite a few things that really got on my nerves.
Unlike the author's previous attempt at an Outlanders Novel, this one read more like it should, instead of a rehashed Deathlands plot.
Now, to the problems with the book. It's been said time and again that Domi is NOT Jak Lauren in drag. She doesn't carry a .357 revolver, and the only time she speaks like Jak are in times of great distress or tension. Also, she doesn't carry knives hidden all around her person, and, even though she is somewhat feral, she doesn't take great pleasure in killing people. Those who deserve it, yes, but she's not a blood thirsty little psycho.
The editor is MORE To blame than the author for this getting past. The author, I can almost understand. He doesn't know the series. However, the Editor DOES (or at least, is supposed to know) about the characters and it's the editor's job to make sure that mistakes like this are caught and fixed.
Next, there was the deal with Slavers in Outlanders. It doesn't fit. That is Deathlands, not Outlanders. The barons have no need to deal with slavers, nor would they when people are willing to DIE to get into the Tartarus pits in the baronies. The Hybrid Baron's do not need slaves with the literal thousands who want the life that the villes could provide to them.
If the author wanted to use that, he should have made the slavers going after people so that their organs could be harvested for the Hybrids use. That would have made far more sense with the canon that the series creator has established.
As earlier, this can be blamed more on the editor than the author. The editor should have caught and changed that.
Lastly, if the author could bottle and market the testoserone that he had prevalent in the book, he wouldn't have to write for a living! The characters were exceptionally hostile, moreso than usual, but at least not towards one another like in the author's last offering.
For all the bad, there are good things. I found that Lindstrom was quite an interesting character, and it's a shame that he was killed at the end of the book.
Secondly, the past life sequences were well written, if a bit confusing. Being interested in Egypt, I found those sequences particularly enjoying, as well as how the author tied Enlil into the history of that culture.
Third, the history aspect is exactly what, as an Outlanders reader would expect it to be. Well written, and documented. I really liked how we have link between Ancient Egypt, The Nazi's and King Arthur, and the Roman's in the novel.
High praise for the author in that aspect.
This book was far better than his last offering, despite my complaints, and if he can get the characters and the background correct, the books he writes for the series will worthy of the Outlanders title.
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