Desolation Crossing

This latest edition of Deathlands is my Andy Boot, and we would give this 4.5 stars since it seems this author has finally reached his much-needed peak after his 10th book. His last, Thunder Road, was by far his best since his 1st, Rat King. But with stronger storytelling concepts, along with deeper characterizations, Thunder Road felt more fresh and inventive, whereas his latest here, Desolation Crossing, although also fresh and inventive, also takes us diehard fans back to the War Wag years with the legendary Trader. Something the last book and author tried, but didn't pull off nearly as successfully as Andy Boot has done here with his latest, giving us diehard fans what we've been craving for awhile, and has been obviously taken to heart by the authors and the publisher. Desolation Crossing will take diehard, longtime fans back to the glorious earliest works of Laurence James, but with a present day spin that works extremely well. The chapters go back and forward in time, explaining the mystery behind a young woman's dark journey to find J.B. Dix and the rest of the group. Never dull, very character-driven, and extremely fresh in mutant concepts, without making it feel too comic-bookie, Desolation Crossing will quickly make the diehard fans forget all about the attempt made in Eden's Twilight when it comes to war wagging across the hellscape of Deathlands. All the characters seem IN character in this book, harking back to the original old books, as does the Trader and Hunnaker, one of our favorite female green-haired warrior characters from the beginning of the series. It was great to get to read a glimpse back to those glorious war wag days with the old characters. Thank you Andy Boot for coming into your own. Keep up the fantastic work. Unlike the past, now we very much look forward to your next new Deathlands book. What a fantastic turnaround!