The '''Deathlands''' is a series of novels that takes place almost a century after a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union in January 2001. For the most part, the series follows the travels of seven characters as they make their way through a violent, post-apocalyptic world. The stories are structured in a similar manner in that the seven characters are put into a challenging situation and forced to use their minds and muscles to reach safety.
Many of the novels begin with the seven arriving in a new, unknown location by means of a matter transmitter often referred to as a Mat Trans by the characters. The Mat-Trans units were an invention by a Pre-Dark (before the nuclear conflict) project called Project Chronos and are similar to the Star Trek Transporters, but are in the form of gateways. There is one Mat-Trans unit per redoubt installation which are scattered around what was the world. Each unit has a LD key or Last Destination key which will send the travelers back to the place they came from if it is hit within a 30 minute window.
==Plot==
According to the story, the world as we know it (referred to as PreDark) came to an end on January 20, 2001, when 3 nuclear bombs were detonated in Washington. A global nuclear exchange ensued, completely altering the geography, climate, and ecosystems of the world. What was left of the United States came to be known as the Deathlands.
At the time of The Deathlands series, one hundred years have passed. The series follows the adventures of a group of warrior survivalists led by Ryan Cawdor. In the aftermath of the nuclear holocaust and a prolonged nuclear winter, referred to as the Skydark, the only remaining social/political structure left in the United States are isolated settlements referred to as villes, many of which are ruled by leaders referred to as barons, typically employing military type security forces, called sec men. Ryan and his companions primarily travel using the MAT-TRANS(matter-transfer) gateways deep within redoubts (hidden government facilities built to survive nuclear war).
==Series History==
{{further|A complete list of books can be found at List of Deathlands novels}}
The Deathlands series was begun as a joint project by Christopher Lowder (pen name "Jack Adrian") and Laurence James (under the pen name "James Axler") with the first book called ''Pilgrimage To Hell''. Laurence James then solely wrote the Deathlands series up to and including ''Eclipse at Noon''. However, due to failing health he was forced to leave the series in 1995. He wrote one last novel, ''Crucible of Time'' that appeared in 1998 and died in February of 2000. All other Deathlands have been written by a number of other authors, including Mark Ellis who produced the first post-Laurence James entry, ''Stoneface''.
Among fans, it is widely accepted that the early Laurence James novels are superior, although the three-year period that featured the formula-breaking work of Ellis, Mel Odom, Alan Phillipson and Terry Collins is considered a peak in the quality in the novels.
Many of the later books (particularly those penned by Andy Boot and Edo van Belkom) are criticized as falling short in terms of character and plot development.
{{Cleanup|date=November 2007}}
==Main characters==
*Ryan Cawdor, the leader of the group. Youngest son of an east coast barony called Fount Royal. Was forced to run away when his middle brother attempted to murder him, leaving the left side of his face scarred with sight in only one eye. Ryan always wears a black eye patch over his ruined eye. He is usually seen in a dark blue denim shirt and combat fatigues. It is discovered in ‘Red Holocaust’ that Ryan was involved in his first fire fight when he was twelve. He killed a web fingered mutie with a battered armalite rifle. He also lost his virginity to a mulatto prostitute near a ville named Butcher’s Creek. He was the Trader's right hand man and war chief. He joined Traders convoy approximately fifteen years before the beginning of ‘Pilgrimage to hell’, at the tender age of 21 (approximately). Over the years, because of idea’s like hiding plastic explosives in their clothing and boots, he climbed rank rapidly in Traders convoy, soon becoming Traders second in command. It was during this time that he met his best friend J.B. Dix, who joined Trader a little over a year later. He is a master of many forms of combat, including knife, and unarmed combat. He learned a great deal from both Trader and J.B. One interesting trick he learned was to grab an animal by its front legs, and force them apart. This is sure to destroy the rib cage and internal organs. He learned this trick from a Tex-Mex puma hunter near Lubbock. Throughout his years of traveling the Deathlands, one of Ryan’s dreams was to come across information on what the world was like before the Skydark. He has seen books, videos, tapes, papers but all that gave him was a glimpse through a tiny crack in time. He has dreamed of finding a key to the past, some way of learning what madness had raced through the world nearly one hundred years before. He believes that the scientists are as much to blame as the politicians. He discovers much to his surprise that he has a son, born to Sharona Carson who he had a brief affair with a decade ago. He manages to track his son down in the ruins of New York City and rescues him, with help from his friends, from a huge gang of Scalie slavers who control a huge section of Manhattan. This happened in 'Seedling'.
*Krysty Wroth, Ryan's life partner, she is a voluptuous woman with prehensile, semi-sentient red hair, the ability to sense hostility, and the ability to call upon the Earth Mother, Gaia for superhuman strength for a short time. Trained in natural healing and use of the earth power by her mother, Sonja.
*J. B. Dix, the weapons expert of the group. J. B. was raised at an isolated military base in Cripple Creek, Colorado. He always wears glasses and a battered brown fedora. He has a two inch scar on the right side of his chin. Slight of build, he has a thin face and a yellowish complexion. But despite his small stature, he is in excellent health and in better physical condition than many people half his age. He is a quite man, rarely speaking, yet when he does talk he says as little as possible to make his point. His view is why use three words when you can use two. It appears that he picked up this habit from his father. He was also one of Trader's most trusted lieutenants. His nickname, the Armorer, was given to him by Trader for his extensive knowledge of firearms and explosives.
*Dean Cawdor, Ryan's son through a brief encounter years ago with a barons wife, he is nearly the spitting image of his father, and although impulsive, and overeager at times, learns very quickly. He meets and is united with Ryan and the others in the ruins of New York City(*Note* In various books in the series, Dean's eyes are described as blue like his father's, and sometimes as brown.he has since been removed from the series but may return.
*Jak Lauren, An albino teenager from the bayous of Louisiana, he is considered by Ryan and the others to be the best at hand to hand combat, blades, and especially throwing knives. A natural hunter and tracker, he can find nearly any trail, and move silently and unnoticed almost anywhere. Due to being an albino, his eyesight is reasonably normal in light, but in the dark, he has astounding night vision. Left the group to get married for a time, then rejoined after his wife Christina and daughter Jenni were brutally murdered at his New Mexico homestead.
*Dr. Mildred Wyeth, A 20th century doctor of cryogenics and Olympic silver medalist sharpshooter, she was frozen in late 2000 in an attempt to save her life after an minor operation goes wrong. Mildred is thawed out by Ryan's group. Acknowledged by the rest of the group to be the best shot in the entire Deathlands.s probably the least popular character in the series amongst fans who consider her to be "too convienient" in the sense she is just what the group needs as a qualified surgeon but it stretches beyond belief she is also an excellent shot.
*Dr. Theophilus Tanner, Born in 1868, Doc Tanner was torn away from his wife and children and time-trawled to 2001 by military scientists, and made such a nuisance of himself attempting to go back that the scientists sent him forward 100 years into the Deathlands.
==Weapons==
*Steyr SSG70 - 7.62 bolt action rifle carried by Ryan, round can be individually fed in, or through a 5 round magazine
*Sig Sauer P226- 9mm handgun used by Ryan, holds 15 rounds of ammunition, has a built in baffle silencer, which Ryan has to replace at times
*Panga- A long knife somewhat similar to a machete carried by Ryan
*LeMat-Doc's double barreled "room broom", has an adjustable hammer and two barrels, one holding 9 rounds of revolver ammunition, and the other a shotgun round [**Note** Doc has had two different Le Mat pistols, the first had .36 caliber for the pistol chambers, and .63 caliber (18 gauge) for the shotgun, while the second had .44 caliber for the pistol, and .63 caliber for the shotgun barrel]
*Sword Stick-A malacca cane with a golden lions head. Inside is a very thin rapier with a phrase engraved upon its blade. Doc also uses this quite frequently since many people believe it to be just a walking cane.
*Browning High Power-9mm handgun carried by Dean after he is rescued from Gregori Zimyanin by Ryan, holds 13 rounds
*Smith & Wesson 640-.38 caliber double action revolver carried by Krysty, holds 5 rounds
*ZKR 551 -.38 caliber target shooting revolver carried by Mildred, also used by her in the Olympic games in 1996, where she won a silver medal
*Colt Python-.357 caliber revolver carried by Jak, holds 6 rounds, and can also use .38 ammunition when necessary
*Throwing knives Jak's primary weapon of choice, usually leaf-bladed or ground down to his specifications, carries at least a dozen hidden around him
*M-4000-12 gauge shotgun carried by J.B., he primarily uses flechette rounds in it, but uses other types when flechettes aren't available
*Uzi-9mm submachine gun also carried by J.B., holds a 30 round magazine [**Note** Since there are many companies that make or have made uzis, it is not specified what one J.B. carries, though it is most likely the one by Israeli Military Industries]
==Adaptations==
===Film===
Deathlands also made it to film in 2003 as a low-budget TV movie that aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. ''Deathlands: Homeward Bound'' starred Vincent Spano and Traci Lords.
===Audio===
Many of the Deathlands and Outlanders novels have been adapted to an audiobook format. These titles are produced by The Cutting Corporation and primarily targeted at long-distance drivers.
With an average running time of nearly 8 hours, each of the books is a definite favorite of many OTR (long distance, over-the-road) truck drivers. The Cutting corporation sets the Deathlands and Outlanders audiobooks apart from others by using a multicast. Each character has their own voice, and so makes it easy to picture the events from the book actually taking place.
==Related works==
===Outlanders series===
Created in 1996 by Mark Ellis, Outlanders is the official spin-off series from Deathlands, although it established an identity distinct from Deathlands with the first novel, ''Exile To Hell''.
Outlanders provided a much more expansive and complete backstory for the "Axlerverse" and the causes for the nuclear holocaust rather than relying on the very limited and out-dated "US VS. USSR" template.