Sentinels: When Strikes the Warlord [Paperback]

Van Allen Plexico (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 2008

The power-mad Warlord stands poised to conquer--or destroy!--the universe itself. Can anyone stand in his way? Enter the Sentinels: College student Lyn Li... brilliant inventor and smart-alec Esro Brachis... beloved hero Ultraa... flamboyant showman Damon Sinclair... and mysterious alien powerhouse Vanadium. When at last they all clash atop the Warlord's floating city, can the world itself survive?

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Swarm Press (May 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934861065
• ISBN-13: 978-1934861066
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,288,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In 2011 Van Allen Plexico was nominated for "Writer of the Year" by Pulp Ark and for "Pulp Story of the Year" by the Pulp Factory, and his work was praised by Kirkus Reviews. He is best known for his popular SENTINELS novels (Swarm/Permuted Press), pushing New Pulp into the contemporary superhero and space opera genres, for the critically acclaimed SF novel LUCIAN: DARK GOD'S HOMECOMING (Airship 27 Productions), and for the ASSEMBLED! books (White Rocket Books), exploring the history of Marvel's AVENGERS comics.

Anthologies he created (or co-created) and edited include BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS, GIDEON CAIN: DEMON HUNTER, and MARS McCOY: SPACE RANGER . He has also contributed stories and novellas to books from Airship 27, Pro Se Press, New Babel Books, Adamant Entertainment, and others, as well as contributing to publications from Rittenhouse Archives and Maple Street Press. He writes occasional columns for RevolutionSF.com and TheWarEagleReader.com, and is a founding editor of the "All-Pulp" news site.

His books have been incorporated into reading programs for young people in libraries in several states. He lives in Illinois and serves as an Associate Professor at Southwestern Illinois College.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wild ride!, March 4, 2010

By 

Wayne Reinagel (Collinsville Il) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sentinels: When Strikes the Warlord (Paperback)

"Sentinels - Book One: When Strikes the Warlord" takes me back to the early days of Marvel Comics, when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby started the entire Marvel Universe. Sentinels brings back fond memories of when teams like the Avengers were only published in one book per month and the entire team consisted of only a handful of colorful heroes and fantastic villians. Plexico writes a great story, filled with humor, pathos, and interesting characters. It's obvious he's also setting up hints and plots that will be revealed in greater detail in later stories. I can hardly wait to begin the second story in the series, A Distant Star.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun superhero romp!, October 23, 2008

By 

S. Duke "SMD" (Placerville, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sentinels: When Strikes the Warlord (Paperback)

What do you get when you combine pulp-style fiction and superheroes? A tale that doesn't take itself too seriously and yet manages to entertain on the same campy level as a Bruce Campbell film. Think the campiness of Army of Darkness and you'll have a good idea what Plexico's world of super heroes is like. (This is a compliment, because I absolutely love Bruce Campbell).

Sentinels: When Strikes the Warlord starts off in a world very much like our own. Lyn Li is a college student who harbors a special gift, but she doesn't want anyone else to know; she just wants to be normal. But we all know how well that's going to work, right? Her best friend, of course, suspects something is up, though: after three TVs mysteriously explode in Lyn's presence it's hard to argue that she's entirely innocent and normal. Then a strange man tries to kidnap her and all hell breaks loose. Soon she finds herself training with Esro Brachis--a legendary inventor--and Ultraa--the city's biggest superhero--to control her powers and to battle The Warlord, a god-like being who wants to unite all the alternate universes into one and turn everyone into his slaves. And that's not exactly going to work for Esro, Ultraa, and Lyn...not at all.

This is what I would call a good airport book. It's quick, it's relatively simple, and it's fun. It's designed to be action-packed and entertaining and I think it does a good job. Readers of comic books may find this to be a good jump-novel from the visual medium to the more literary medium--meaning one who primarily reads comics might find this a good novel to start with if trying to get into the super hero literature out there. Comic fans will also notice plenty of similarities to Marvel and DC universes here, although the characters in Plexico's work are unique in their own way--mostly personality.

The story moves pretty quick, being a book of only 221 pages. It digs right in and keeps pretty steady throughout: lots of action, lots of superhero battles, explosions, and other goodies. The pulpy feel comes through strongest with The Warlord, who, in typical "bad guy" fashion, likes to monologue here or there and spout campy and rather humorous lines about world domination and the like. You should go into reading this book with the right mindset: this isn't a serious book; as far as I am concerned it's not meant to be taken seriously like a Margaret Atwood book. I imagine the folks who read Mur Lafferty's work or Matthew Wayne Selznick will enjoy Plexico's work too (which makes sense since they're all published by the same publisher: Swarm Press).

I had some minor complaints about the writing. While the style is, in my opinion, more simplistic and pulpy, I get the sense that some of the sentences and what not could have been edited to be more, shall we say, snappy. Certain phrases here or there didn't seem to fit or read somewhat amateur (for lack of a better phrase). Some of the dialogue was also set up a bit strange, but you get used to it after a while. There was also one minor inconsistency in how the author named the Warlord: sometimes it was "Warlord" and other times "the Warlord". I also was a bit iffy on the circular plot: things sort of came back to the starting point, but I suppose I understand the reasoning for this because it does fit well into the circular plots of comic books, where bad guys get recycled over and over--come on, we've all seen X-men and Spiderman and what not.

Leaving the complaints to the side, I think the snappy dialogue will help draw in urban fantasy readers and the comic book feel will draw in all those comic nuts. Those of you who read neither may find the fun, pulpy feel to be a fresh break. For everyone else, consider giving this one a look It's a quick read, fun, and much more entertaining than that crappy Daredevil movie, or Elektra for that matter. In fact, I can almost guarantee that Plexico's novel will not cause seizures due to being a mediocre attempt at a superhero-romp; lightning, explosions, interdimensional travel, evil villains with insane powers, and distinct characters make this a worthy addition to an ever growing field of superhero fiction.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun super hero story, October 5, 2011

By 

M. Nastos "Mat Nastos, Super Genius" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sentinels: When Strikes the Warlord (Paperback)

I have been hearing about Plexico's Sentinels books for a long time and figured it was time I checked one out for myself. I was anything but disappointed. Plexico writes very much in the "Mighty Marvel" style of the 70s and, for me, that's a very good thing. The book was a lot of fun, introduced some really cool characters and set up a world that I am anxious to return to.

This book is essential for any fan of superhero prose. I can't wait to read book 2!