Skin Game (Dark Angel) [Mass Market Paperback]

Max Allan Collins (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dark Angel | Publication Date: February 4, 2003

The saga of Dark Angel continues!

Someone is killing normal humans in the fog-enshrouded city of Seattle. The murders are brutal and grisly, but inside Terminal City they barely cause a ripple of concern. The transgenics who live there have problems of their own. In an area under siege by the oppressive arm of the police, the transgenics must protect their fledgling colony against the outside world—a world that eyes them with contempt and suspicion . . . and will do anything to be rid of them.

As the killings escalate, Joshua comes to Max with a dire suspicion: the killer may be one of their own. Tensions are high between normal humans and transgenics, and many inside the protected City would just as soon let the humans fend for themselves. Yet Max and her inner circle know they must investigate the crimes and stop the bloodshed. Doing nothing would simply give the normals more reasons to hate.

But what they discover will shock even the most jaded among them—and expose a sinister agenda that leads to an old, nefarious foe. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The saga of Dark Angel continues!

Someone is killing normal humans in the fog-enshrouded city of Seattle. The murders are brutal and grisly, but inside Terminal City they barely cause a ripple of concern. The transgenics who live there have problems of their own. In an area under siege by the oppressive arm of the police, the transgenics must protect their fledgling colony against the outside world?a world that eyes them with contempt and suspicion . . . and will do anything to be rid of them.

As the killings escalate, Joshua comes to Max with a dire suspicion: the killer may be one of their own. Tensions are high between normal humans and transgenics, and many inside the protected City would just as soon let the humans fend for themselves. Yet Max and her inner circle know they must investigate the crimes and stop the bloodshed. Doing nothing would simply give the normals more reasons to hate.

But what they discover will shock even the most jaded among them?and expose a sinister agenda that leads to an old, nefarious foe. . . .

About the Author

Max Allan Collins has earned an unprecedented ten Private Eye Writers of America Shamus nominations for his historical thrillers, winning twice for his Nathan Heller novels, True Detective and Stolen Away. A Mystery Writers of America Edgar nominee in both fiction and non-fiction categories, Collins has written five suspense novel series, film criticism, short fiction, songwriting, trading-card sets, and movie/TV tie-in novels, including Air Force One, The Mummy Returns, the New York Times bestselling Saving Private Ryan, CSI: Double Dealer (from the CBS series), and The Scorpion King.

He scripted the internationally syndicated comic strip Dick Tracy from 1977 to 1993 and has written the Batman comic book and newspaper strip. His graphic novel, Road to Perdition, has been made into a DreamWorks feature film starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman, directed by Sam Mendes.

Collins lives in Muscatine, Iowa, with his wife, writer Barbara Collins, and their teenage son, Nathan.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; First Edition edition (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034545183X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345451835
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > High Tech
  • #91 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Movie Tie-Ins

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you cant trust your friends, whos left but your enemies, January 21, 2004

By 

Peter Vinton Jr. (Not near Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skin Game (Dark Angel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Miss the series? Collins hits a homer again (his first being the excellent prequel "Before the Dawn"), this time picking up right where the series finale leaves off. The transgenic population of Terminal City has defiantly raised its "Freak Nation" flag but finds itself under siege by an increasingly trigger-happy cordon of police and National Guard. Ames White (still seething over his failure at the Jam Pony hostage incident) has pulled Detective Clemente from negotiation duty, and has upped the stakes by waging a P.R. war designed to blame a series a grisly murders on the transgenics.

Max settles, uncomfortably but competently, into the leadership role that has been thrust upon her; though her allies are never far behind, public fear and distrust are threatening to spiral completely out of control. Prominent characters include Logan, Joshua, Original Cindy, Sketchy, Mole, Detective Clemente, and of course Alec (though it's more than halfway through the book before he actually does anything). Ames White isn't much more developed as a character -he's reduced mainly to being nasty and surly to everyone in sight, although his credibility as an NSA agent is rapidly eroding. A new and particularly interesting character is Otto Gottleib, who starts out as a plodding, unimaginative federal agent but has a significant change of heart and becomes (in his own way) quite the hero. The other protagonist, "Kelpy," is a transgenic with a unique backstory and some wonderfully tragic motivation. Well-written, fast-paced, plenty of time for humor and a deepening of Max and Logan's relationship. No, the "targeted virus" plotline is not resolved, nor are Max's mysterious new tattoos or the "finding Sandemann" subplot given any new exposition. And no, no sign of Lydecker either. Nevertheless the story is tight, dramatic, and is exactly what Dark Angel's legions of disappointed fans have been salivating for. Bring on the next one, Mr. Collins!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Almost good, October 25, 2003

By 

Kevin Williams (Norfolk, Va) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Skin Game (Dark Angel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Good - It wraps up some loose ends from the show

Bad - Spends to much time rehashing a lot of the previous happenings wrong, In fact one of the main premises of this book did not happen according to the show. Therefore this book is on shaky ground. Descriptions of most characters sickeningly sweet. No new ideas are introduced. The new character introduced has attributes of another character from a previous episode. Everyone does not have to fall in love with Max. Do they?

I would recommend this to anyone who is dying to know what happened after the end of the show, but I would not be captivated by this if I was not a fan already. The writing seems amateurish.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Left a bad taste in my mouth..., January 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Skin Game (Dark Angel) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a huge fan of Dark Angel and was terribly disappointed at its cacellation. I looked to this book to answer my questions. It didn't, plus the writer was severly sloppy. There was no mention of the tattoos, and none of Sandeman... it was all left hanging so you have to buy another book! Not only Max Allan Collins started it out fine and was actually on a roll, but he ended it just horribly. Facts didn't add up and its like he just threw together a quick ending because his deadline was running out. Alas...the Dark Angel fans are left looking in other directions for answers!