Five hundred years after Man's downfall, the ascetic "Animal-People" have rebuilt the world in their image. The memory of Mankind is of a species whose greed and avarice led to its collapse. To Tay of the Wolf-Clan, they're a species whose time has passed. Tay's only ambition was to spend his life in service to his people. He was a healer, so his Tribe made him their leader. Then a dying stranger appeared in his village, carrying a small black cube and raving about an army of invaders sweeping across the country, devouring everything in its path.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Ben Goodridge was born in in Germany, into a young American family with long ties to Maine. Returning to the States permanently two years later, he grew up in an old farmhouse in the toolies, where his parents tried to raise him with the sophistication of education and literacy, as well as the New England common-sense ethic that ran through his family. Time will tell if they were successful. In his youth he picked up the habit of writing, followed by an ambition to write professionally. He sent his first commercial story to Michael Kimball, a local author of some note, whose critically-acclaimed 'Firewater Pond' had brought him some attention and fortune. Kimball s approval and interest kept Ben writing for the next twenty years. His first story was published in the University literary magazine in 1993, an earnest curiosity called Canis Lunar. In 1995, he published another story, a more literary-magazine oriented effort called The Cadillac. In 2003, after having returned to college to finish his degree with flying colors, he put a manuscript called White Crusade into circulation, which was sold to Coyote Moon Publications in 2005. Regrettably, very shortly after the book went into production, Coyote Moon Publications closed down. A short time later the manuscript was bought up by Bad Dog Books. His second novel, The Swamp-Poet , is due for release by Cross-Quarter Press, and several new books are in development for consideration by Bad Dog Books.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best of works from Mr. Goodridge,
By Mr. Batt-Man (Somewhere You're Not) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: White Crusade (Paperback)
One of my favorite writers of all time is Brian K. Vaughan. He had a saying that went "I don't write Love letters. Their nauseating to read. I write Hate Mail. After all, people like to read something that's fueled with piss and vinegar." This is all too true. However, he also said, "When writing Hate Mail, be sure to keep it subtle, and spaced. If you make it constant and cramped, you quit being a story teller and become a preacher."
This is the case that occurs within the pages of Ben Goodridge's "White Crusade." Don't get me wrong, Mr. Goodridge CAN write. Just look at his short stories that are out on the net. His `Unforgivin' series is still my of my all time favorite short stories, so that when I discovered that Ben had written a novel, I couldn't hit that "Buy With One Click" button fast enough. Sadly, White Crusade doesn't live up to his reputation. White Crusade tells the story of three travelers, Tay, Zack, and Sonac, as they travel across post-apocalyptic North America, to unlock the secrets of a strange little box that will supposedly unleash the next apocalypse. Along the way, the trio encounter friends and enemies, in their desperate attempt to keep the box out of the clutches of the White Crusade. Although well written, White Crusade suffers from poor characters, one-sided views, and over use of the stories moral message. The characters are all 1 dimensional. Tay, the brave hero, struggling with awesome decisions and always makes the RIGHT choice. Zack the side kick who never ever questions the reasons, or wisdom of Tay's choices, and doesn't come across as a character, but rather a pet. Finally, there's `The Alpha' the main bad guy, who is the most stereotypical bad guy ever. He has no redeeming qualities, nothing to make you like/sympathies with, he's not even the kind of bad guy you love to hate. He's just evil, full stop. There's even a scene where he slaughters hundreds of his own troops for the pleasure of witnessing the power of an awesome weapon. This is meant to induce disgust in the reader; it's just ludicrously over the top. Having a villain whose only motivation is a total commitment to being a bastard dose not make good story telling, and since he's a main character, we have to read through scenes that try to make us hate him, but instead, we end up hating to read about him. Ben makes the same mistake DC Comics made when creating the new Dr Fate. Making a concept too dark, will turn out the lights for good. And then there's everybody's personal views. Everything in the White Crusade is so one sided and constant that you can just visualise it being shouted into your face by R Lee Ermey. All characters who cling to any aspect of human civilization, are flawed in one sense or another. Even the main character of Sonac who spends most of his time studying human technology is portrayed as disgusting. That is, until he's out on the open road and starts to become one with nature, then he starts becoming more heroic and likeable. As you read this book, you will get a STRONG "Don't Depend On Too Much Technology" message from the author. I say STRONG, because you'll be reading the same bloody message over and over again whenever the situation calls for it, or when it doesn't call for it. No one character who is good seems to have any different opinion. Even Sonac seems to agree that the Human Race was a waist of time. Finally, the biggest flaw of all, is the White Crusade it's self. They worship humans as Gods. That's what the text says. Well, that's fine except for one tiny little hick-up. Humans are still around throughout the whole God Damned book. Why would people worship a race that still exists!?! The reasons Gods are worshiped is because they aren't around. Nobody worships something that they can have a conversation with! Plus Mr. Goodridge has all humans as disgusting, desperate survivors, just barely clinging to life. Why in the name of God would you worship something like that!?! Why? Because the White Crusade are the bad guys, that's why. This stupid belief is made more absurd later on, in a scene where the main villain, recruits some humans to do his dirty work, and as expected, they fail. Then, they cower before him like all failed lackeys do, and as expected the big boss ain't pleased. Just reading the scene made the whole motivation of the White Crusade all the more laughable. Seriously, what would you do if you read a book where Osama bin Laden hired Allah to make a hit, and then gets furious with him when he fails, then Allah cowers in fear before his rage, and you're expected to take all this seriously? You'd think that the author was stark raving mad! For me, that was the final straw. I put down the book and refused to read anymore. Yes, I know what you're thinking. To postulate a bad ending in a story I never even finished is rather supercilious, and who knows? Maybe it would've turned it's self around it ended up being great. However by the time I read that stupid scene, I was halfway through the book, and had been reading nothing but the same old repetitive rubbish and this time, I wasn't going to give the story the benefit of the doubt; After all, as the old saying goes, "If someone serves you a dead dog for lunch, you do not stick around for the pudding!" There was ONE great thing about this book, and that was the comparisons between furs and humans. That was a real enjoyment to read those sections. White Crusade could've been a great book if Ben had actually sat down and READ his novel from start to finish. The characters could've been good if they'd been fleshed out a bit more, and had different opinions and not just the one. This could've lead to some great moments between Sonac and Tay and they could've been great playing off each other. The main villain would've been tolerable if he'd been more sympathetic or at least likeable. The "Depending on too much Technology," message could've been left to maybe one or two well placed sentences and it would've worked. And the White Crusade wouldn't have been the joke it was if all the Humans had been removed from the story. Or at least have a small tribe of humans; or even just ONE human, living far away from all the furs unknown to society so you can still have the comparisons between the two species without the embarrassingly blatant flaw that I mentioned before. The purpose of a story is to have a good time while teaching the reader some moral lessons, or by holding up a warped fun-house mirror to society. These are the words of Brian K. Vaughan, and by God, he's right. White Crusade holds up the fun-house mirror, but also covers the whole damned thing with sticky notes.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Bad, Crazy Price,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: White Crusade (Paperback)
I bought this book a few years ago and from what i got to read of it was really great, sadly I was never able finish it because I was in school then and my mother knocked her coffee over on it and ruined it! It only cost $10 back then I have no idea why the price is so high now and really wish I could find it with old cover of the werewolf sitting on rock holding a spear (cover was an art pice by Golden Wolven) ...Even if I could talk my family into buying it again at this price I would want the old cover back so I guess ill do with out it!
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