You know what kind of science fiction never disappoints in it sheer dumbness? The post-apocalyptic type, where the world has become a radiated wasteland populated by fearsome characters out to make things right in their own way. So settle back and enjoy three books that define dumb fun … and reveal what our futures hold.
TRAVELER #9: THE STALKING TIME by D.B. Drumm — This 1986 book is 24 years old, and boy, does it show with references to THE A-TEAM, MIAMI VICE and DALLAS. For those unfamiliar, the Traveler is a lone wolf/former government super-soldier who is now on his own and searching for signs of communities that still exist.
Since I’m jumping around this series like a chicken with its head cut off, it’s explained really quick that some progress has been made, with a new government of some sort being established, and the Traveler sent to unite them. That’s about as much continuity as you get, because from that point on, it’s a mish-mash of ripping off spaghetti Westerns and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK villains.
The gist deals with the Traveler coming to the aid of a helpless old man by laying waste to 30 guys in a blink of a sentence. He helps the senior citizen back into the idyllic-seeming little town, which is harboring a secret stash of supplies in an underground mall. Of course, there resides a super-duper bad guy called the Duke of New York — oh, wait, I mean The Dragon. He’s a cross between Super Fly and the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla — a bad dude who likes to peddle kid flesh and calls himself The Dragon because of a mutant he killed whose head he uses as a car decoration.
The Traveler has somewhat of an ally, Angel Eyes, who’s hell-bent on killing The Dragon for himself. Angel Eyes seems to be way too smart beyond his years and wears a sort of old-school knight helmet for the bulk of things. The story is your basic, split-up-and-infiltrate plot, where it all comes down to a giant fight at the end.
Here’s a bit of a spoiler: Angel Eyes’ helmet is worn for a certain reason, and that’s because he is not of this planet. That had to be one of the most obvious plot points, and if you read this book, you will see why, since he comes off like a superhero in certain portions. STALKING TIME just takes one of the most overused plots and sticks in the post-apocalyptic wonderland. It’s fun for the 70 minutes it took me to read. Just don’t expect much.
THE SURVIVALIST #5: THE WEB by Jerry Ahern — So far with this series, I’ve covered the first entry, which is straightforward, and one of the later entries, when the series enters bizzaro land. This 1983 one is still somewhat based in the real world, but still full of WTF moments. I really need to stress this is not a series you can easily pick up in its middle. You will feel lost, with little help from Ahern in giving any info you might need.
This one follows four storylines. You have our main character, John Rourke, still looking for his family. His wife and kids are trying hard to make it to some farm that they think he’ll try to get to. Then there is a Russian woman who works for the KGB and is trying to find her people. And there is a Russian general in search of information about something called Project Eden.
Confused? Well, you should be. But stick it out and THE WEB sort of clears up a few of the threads. The two Russian storylines have a bit of closure in that the KGB agent meets up with former colleagues, while the general comes across tons of documentation about Project Eden that is then dropped, but it plays a very important part later in the series.
Rourke’s wife slowly makes progress across the war-torn American landscape. Meanwhile, Rourke is welcomed to a town where people are living their lives like usual, even having school elections and celebrating the Fourth of July. But the town also has a fireworks display like none other, planned in the form of a mass suicide pact.
Of course, Rourke makes it out of that town, or else the series would end. I mean, the books do go on to #27. There is a small bit of that trademark gun porn you’d expect from this type of series, but nothing really to make you want to stop. But, wow, if you read this book cold, you will have just wasted your time.
BLADE #8: DEVIL STRIKE by David Robbins — This 1990 book is part of a series that is actually a sequel to another long-running series called ENDWORLD. Blade is a secondary character from that series, but even with all that baggage, I was not left dangling in the wind. There are passages throughout that catch up the reader with the basics of the overall series.
World War III went down, leaving the U.S. in a giant mess, with various factions claiming their own territory. Each of these territories team up somewhat by having one member of their land join with Blade in a group called Freedom Force, whose members are about as interchangeable as Legos. Besides the racial makeup, there is not much to differentiate between them.
Since this all takes place after the apocalypse, they have to fight a bad guy called El Diablo. It’s so by-the-numbers, I felt like I was re-reading the TRAVELER adventure, with more gun porn thrown in. But there are a few pluses. This is more violent and gorier than the others in this column, especially at the start. THE ROAD has nothing on some of the over-the-top sequences.
But to be honest, I’d stick with other series. I’ve only come across this one book in the BLADEs, which is never a good sign. Maybe if I come across the ENDWORLD line, I’ll try them out. Supposedly, they’re much better and more cohesive. —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF JERRY AHERN:
• THE SURVIVALIST #1: TOTAL WAR by Jerry Ahern
• THE SURVIVALIST #12: THE REBELLION by Jerry Ahern
• TRACK #3: THE ARMAGEDDON CONSPIRACY by Jerry Ahern
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF D.B. DRUMM:
• TRAVELER #1: FIRST, YOU FIGHT by D.B. Drumm
• TRAVELER #2: KINGDOM COME by D.B. Drumm
Related posts:
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Future Shock
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Red vs. Blue
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS: The Column at the End of the Apocalypse
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Beyond Thunderdome
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Countdown
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Dude, Blad was a primary, if not the main character in the Endworld series. Sure, Hickock stole the series form him in the end, but originally, the series was a lot like a post apocalyptic Doc Savage, with Blade as Doc, and Hickock and Geronimo providing comedic relief with a futuristic Williams and Ree impression.
Glen I’ve only come across this one book in the whole series. So I was pretty mcuh flying blind, thanks for the info. And like I said if I come across the original series I’ll check it out. But to be honest I found Blade at a Savers in perfect condition not a used book store