Down These Mean Streets (Spider-Man (Pocket Star)) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Keith R. A. DeCandido (Author)
Key Phrases: tech crew, wheat cakes, squad room, Mary Jane, Peter Parker, Long Island City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A brand-new designer drug arrives in New York City with the force of a hurricane: Triple X, a potentially lethal combination of ecstasy and gamma radiation that is literally turning users from the shadowy, dank alleys to the glittering, raucous party circuit into living, rampaging nightmares. For high school science teacher Peter Parker, Triple X's onslaught on some of his students and his wife's professional life is as dangerous as it is unexpected. For Peter's secret alter-ego, the costumed crime-fighter known to the world as Spider-Man, the situation quickly accelerates from bad to worse, as the drug's effects run unchecked against law enforcement's and his own valiant efforts to rein in the city-wide chaos. But there is a growing consensus between Spider-Man and the police that, for reasons yet unknown, one of the arachnid's most fearsome enemies may be behind it all as part of a greater scheme to bring the city -- and one of its most heroic and hated defenders -- to its knees at long last...

About the Author

Keith R.A. Decandido is a top genre author whose tie-in novels for Pocket include several Star Trek titles across all series as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer novelizations. He is also known for his Star Trek: The Next Generation comicbook miniseries Perchance to Dream, and is the editor of several science-fiction and fantasy anthologies.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416509682
• ISBN-13: 978-1416509684
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #406,914 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spier-man and Law Enforcement, September 14, 2005

By	Grimlock794 (Cybertron) - See all my reviews

This is the first Spider-man novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido (known by his followers as KRAD) in a very long time. I have to say his writing and story telling has improved with each book. I'm a police officer in the United states and thought his protrayal of the job was pretty accurate with nods to the paperwork, lack of funding, public outrage, as well as the positives such as a love of the job and for the most part great co-workers. This is a lot more relastic approach to Law enforcement than shows like "CSI" and even "law and order". CSI is nothing like true crime scene analysis.

These characters were a lot richer than most comic book adaptions. Most of the time all the cops love the super-hero or hate the super hero. This book has people who have been hurt by these super hero battles.

I'm more of a fan of DC characters such as Batman, Green Lantern, and superman. The recent JLA books by pocket are no where near KRAD's work here. I still like KRAD's "Articles of Federation" and his "Lost Era" entry but this is a good book which is a bit shorter than those two books.

This book also seemed more like a set-up to another book to me also. KRAD often does leave little threads which he can pick up in later books and has done so in the Star trek universe sometimes to surprising measures.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read for Spidey fans., September 14, 2005

By	Steven McMullan "Steven McMullan" (Puyallup, WA USA) - See all my reviews

A quick and fun read. All of the characters 'sound' right, and KRADs knowledge of the characters and their history is evident.

My only complaints are how late in the book the main villain was introduced, and I felt that the cops in the story got a little too much of the focus.

I loved how KRAD described the act of swinging through the city on a web-line and the fact that MJ was involved in the main story and not just in some unrelated sub-plot.

The story leaves itself open for a sequel, and I hope to see one soon.

If the Marvel novels continue, I'd love to see some coordination between the various stories and heros and supporting characters ala the recent Star Trek book universe.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Spidey Adventure, October 12, 2005

By	Michael Hickerson (Smyrna, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

DeCandido has been labeled by Trek fiction fans as the second coming of Peter David, which is an apt description but a bit unfair since it shortchanges the fact that DeCandido is a damn good storyteller. He started out his professional novel publishing career with a Spider-Man novel and he returns to it here with this novel. The storyline follows some of the current comic book continuity with Peter teaching high school science, Mary Jane pursuing an acting career and Aunt May knowing Peter Parker equals Spider-Man. A new gamma-radiation treated version of ectasy is on the market and its killing people left and right--after they "Hulk-out" and Peter realizes that in order to stop the deaths, he'll have to find the source of the drug and put it out of business. DeCandido's great strenght in writing novels set in universes not of his own creation is that he's able to capture the voice and nuances of each character and that strength is on display here. But within that context, DeCandido is able to put his own stamp and interpretation on the characters and, for the most part, that works really well. Make not mistake--this novel is not going to win any awards for best fictional novel published this year, but it's a fun, fast-paced and enjoyable read that any fan of Spider-Man should enjoy.