What? Is about the best that this will get. Jak giving up without a fight? Everyone thinking about writting Krysty off? Firing rounds into the air and wasting ammo? Ryan not concerned about Krysty's health? Jak going into a remorse for the death of child instead of finding a way to kill the attacker? Mildred wounding people to get away and not being able to hit her target? Not dumping bodies when they had a chance to do it to cover their tracks? JB not concerned about his best friend's health or Krysty's? Where in the hell do they get some of these  "writers". The author Rik Hoskin has lost his mind with his interurpation of the characters. This one sounded like a cheap comic book being turne into a book... and I was right. Here's something about the author....

""Rik Hoskin writes comic strip material for the UK and USA. He’s currently entrenched as the writer on Spider-Man & Friends and Disney & Me, and regularly contributes to Dreamworks Tales, Disney’s Princess and many others. He also writes science fiction novels for a very big North American publisher under their house pseudonym.""  

Please return Rik to the comic book section.         

This gets a 1 because there is no zero.....

 

In a series that has run as long as Deathlands, most of the readers are tired of the "companions encounter evil baron, companions defeat evil baron" plotline.  It has been done to death, and usually includes some kind of gladiatorial game at some point.  Alpha Wave is a fresh departure and a strong entry in the series.

The bulk of the book takes place on board a moving train, with Jak captured and Krysty mortally impaired by a mysterious illness.  The purpose behind the train remains a mystery right up until the climax, with much of the action involving the remaining companions attempting to remain hidden on the train while the search for their missing friend.

The action scenes are crisp and exciting, and the characterizations are surprisingly deep.  Doc in partular is more, um, "Doc-ish" than he has been in quite some time, which was very nice.

I will avoid spoilers and simply say that this is a great read that shows that there is still life in this series, and it doesn't involve gladiator pits.

Good job on some of the action scenes (there were few) and true to the some of the relationships between the characters (Mainly Ryan and JB). The overall premise is preposterous, as is some of the depiction of Mildred as a healer, Jak as a fighter, and Ryan's lack of concern for Krysty until the end of the story. i had to keep reading because it did present a pretty good mystery (what are those towers anyway) but the problem solving ability of the companions is normally way better than portrayed here. I can't say I'm glad I made it to the end, but now and then the reading was exciting, which is why it gets a 4 instead of a 1.