Customer Reviews

Successors (Outlanders)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

--It's a pretty "blah" book overall.

Even if you can get past the inclusion of Team Phoenix, the story itself just isn't very engaging. After the epic scale of Children of the Serpent, Successors seems a small story, almost inconsequential to the OL Saga.

The main characters ring far more true than in any of Milan's other OL novels (no naked psycho-slut Domi, yay!), but the deal with Kane becoming a hermit because he was depressed about the return of the Overlords was just flat-out dumb. It didn't ring true at all, not one word of it.

If Milan had read the ending of Children of the Serpent, he would've known Kane was anything BUT depressed--he was angry and looking forward to kicking some Annunnaki butt!

The plot itself was okay, but the villains were just too exaggeratedly evil to be believable. They were like cardboard cut-outs...Gilgamesh Bates, the mastermind came off as an imitation of Montgomery Burns, but nowhere near as entertaining.

Bates's henchman, the super-powered giant named Enkidu was more suited to X-Men comics than an OL novel.

Also, why does Victor Milan lift and rewrite scenes from earlier OL books by Mark Ellis?

Milan has done this in every OL novel he has written so far and Successors is no exception. We already saw the break-in into the Admin Monolith in Cobaltville and the battle with the Baronial Guard way back in Omega Path, didn't we?

Does Milan think he's doing a better job than the original when he presents lame, watered-down versions of the same scenes we saw in books published years ago?

I agree that Successors is Milan's best OL novel so far, but unfortunately it's just not a very good book taken on its own merits. It's slow and plodding in many areas and far too many pages were devoted to the dull as dirt Team Phoenix guys.

I bought it because I'm a collector-geek but I wouldn't have finished or reviewed it at all except for the attempt to stack the review deck in its favor.

This latest Outlanders entry by Victor Milan was slightly better than his last Outlanders offering Uluru Destiny. Though this latest Milan offering was an improvement it still suffers from some of the same problems as Uluru Destiny and other Milan novels before. Victors almost total disregard for established details of both the Outlanders mythology as well as the characters which comes off sloppy and disrespectful to both the vetran readers of the series and the series creator Mr. Mark Ellis. Mr Milan's use of team Phoenix once again produced a novel that was a poor attempt at reviving the old Gaurdians series and thus was short on actual content related to the Outlanders universe. This was not the only issue I had with Mr. Milans latest Outlanders offering. The outlanders characters in this novel where relegated to the back row and used more as second string characters playing second fiddle to Team Phoenix. If I wanted to read a story featuring Team Phoenix in the lead roles then I would pick up a copy of the long dead Guardian series. There is a reason the Guardian series is no longer published, and it is an insult to the Outlanders readership to have Team Phoenix crammed down their throats amid a novel thinnly disguised as an Outlanders novel. I was very disappointed with this story and if you are looking for a great Outlanders story filled with the adventures of Kane and crew you will be very disappointed just as I was by this novel. The Outlanders characters where hardly featured and even when they where it was painful to read what was done to them. I've given this novel two stars and that was being very kind. If you are a long time Outlanders reader like I am you more than likely will wish to steer clear of this latest Outlanders Novel.

This latest Outlanders entry by Victor Milan was slightly better than his last Outlanders offering Uluru Destiny. Though this latest Milan offering was an improvement it still suffers from some of the same problems as Uluru Destiny and other Milan novels before. Victors almost total disregard for established details of both the Outlanders mythology as well as the characters which comes off sloppy and disrespectful to both the vetran readers of the series and the series creator Mr. Mark Ellis. Mr Milan's use of team Phoenix once again produced a novel that was a poor attempt at reviving the old Gaurdians series and thus was short on actual content related to the Outlanders universe. This was not the only issue I had with Mr. Milans latest Outlanders offering. The outlanders characters in this novel where relegated to the back row and used more as second string characters playing second fiddle to Team Phoenix. If I wanted to read a story featuring Team Phoenix in the lead roles then I would pick up a copy of the long dead Guardian series. There is a reason the Guardian series is no longer published, and it is an insult to the Outlanders readership to have Team Phoenix crammed down their throats amid a novel thinnly disguised as an Outlanders novel. I was very disappointed with this story and if you are looking for a great Outlanders story filled with the adventures of Kane and crew you will be very disappointed just as I was by this novel. The Outlanders characters where hardly featured and even when they where it was painful to read what was done to them. I've given this novel two stars and that was being very kind. If you are a long time Outlanders reader like I am you more than likely will wish to steer clear of this latest Outlanders Novel.

While not the best Outlanders to be written the series can still beat most of the current Deathlands on a good day.

My main problem is the new turn the series is taking if the Barons have all been defeated and the whole "Aliens controlling humanity" plotline has been done away with then what is the point anymore? Its just Deathlands with Sin Eaters and Sand cats with Kane and Grant replacing J.B and Ryan.

Simply put - Bloody awesome!

Victor Milan's latest Outlanders novel - like his latest Deathlands: Vengeance Trail novel - plainly cements the fact that he is more than able to write for both series.
He firmly establishes himself - moreso than ever - that he belongs in this Axlerverse.

Being ex-military myself, and being a fan of Milan's for years since his Guardian series days, penning as writer Richard Austin, it was pretty easy to come to like the Team Phoenix guys.

I think what he brought to the board was an up-to-date four-man Guardian team, resplendent with boy toys up the wazoo! They bring to the world of the Outlanders a breath of fresh air, since they are castaways in time. I like that aspect of them. They quote today's movie lines, and miss what the old world had to offer, including family. That gives them a richer character. And Milan does it with bloody aplomb!

In his latest and greatest adventure since Awakenings, Victor Milan's Successors gives proper homage to Ellis's world and main characters. I loved reading about how Team Phoenix and the Cerberus Group are now working together in saving the world. Both were written in very well with Milan's deft skills.

The reason I didn't give it a 10 rating is because - like Mark Ellis's latest work - Kane and Brigid still haven't made any new steps towards each other. And Shizuka seems to be gone all too much all of the sudden. Both writers seem to have cast her out of the world-changing-and-saving business. I don't get that.

But with that aside, Successors reads like what I hope the soon-to-be-released movie of DOOM, starring The Rock, will hopefully be like. Fun and likeable characters, armed to the gills, battling muties and creatures of various kinds. Never a dull moment here.

I liked how Kane exiled himself for awhile. Mark Ellis has written that he has done this on occassion, visiting the local Amerindians of Skydog. So, why not take a break from the close confines of Cerberus and the world - Milan style!

He didn't make a big deal out of it, and neither will I. All it did was create a wonderul, creative, and exciting scene of showing the reader just how progressive Milan can be as a writer for this series. I was taken totally by surprise that a new hunter-killer team was out there - and hunting Kane! So, Team Phoenix is not the only freezie military team out there, eh? Very ingenious and utterly interesting...

The plague of mutie demons in this novel are evil, vicious, and cool as hell to read about. I won't ruin it for the potential readers out there, but there is one scene where Kane, Grant and Brigid confront a small girl in the catacombs of a weird redoubt. It is hard to gross me out or give me the shivers, but this whole scene was creepy. Excellent, Mr. Milan.

Readers can expect tons of action and adventure in this one. With Team Phoenix lending a helping hand in a two-pronged battle plan to save the world from Gilgamesh Bate's smart, but evil mind. Actually, the muties are an invention by a woman named Ishtar. An insane whitecoat that read like she was really a whacked-out Domi on crack. Devilishly fun to read about.

Milan leaves a wide opening in this novel, showing it plainly, like in Deathlands, that he is far from over playing in these two writing arenas called the Axlerverse. Team Phoenix deserves their own series. I very much look forward to Victor Milan's next set of novels. An awesome and exciting sci-fi-action/adventure writer of the highest caliber.

Thanks for the thrill ride summer read, Milan!

Don't even listen to the previous reviewer.

This latest Outlanders novel rocks! This is not for the ladies. This is hard-contact, action-filled greatness with military type hardware that Hollywood needs to take a look at.

Where Victor Milan's Awakenings was a smash hit and bonafide explosive debut novel in this series - Successors blows it out of the water! Man, this dude can friggin' write!!

His latest Deathlands novel was classic, in every sense of the word. Whether you are a long time diehard fan like me, or brand new, this writer and these series are top-notch in action/adventure entertainment reading.

You bloomin' get your hands on this one. Ya hear?

Although a bit too military for my tastes, this novel was a breath of fresh air. I liked the fact that Milan mixes things up, but still manages to keep tightly enough with the regular writer.

I liked Kane's exile.

The bad guys were a bit cartoonish, but were still fun to read about. The main things were that this writer infuses fresh ideas, with cool and interesting new characters. I like the hunks called Team Phoenix!!

Maybe it is because of the heat out here in arid Arizona. But they were a funny and dangerous mix of fellas. like to see more of them in this series.

Never slow or dull, this novel was an excellent read.

Do yourself a favor, purchase this one.