The Bloodstained Man (Heavy Metal Pulp, Netherworld, 2)

Cop-on-the-run Rook is back in this second installment of Christopher Rowley's "Heavy Metal Pulp" series. This time we find out (slightly) more about what makes Rook's Pleasure Model, Plesur, tick, and like any good scifi pulp novel this one's packed with non-stop action, violence, and a couple of intense fight scenes when Rook is captured by a New Jersey gang lord. Add a plus here for a wickedly cool 8-foot long robo-cat sent to collect our heroes as they attempt to discover what top secret info. the government is hiding inside Plesur's memory. Like the first in the series, THE BLOODSTAINED MAN is testosterone-fueled thrill ride that will appeal to fans of the long running illustrated Heavy Metal magazine (note this is a "regular" novel with some graphic novel quality artwork scattered around each chapter courtesy of Justin Norman). This one ends on a cliff hanger that'll surely bring any reader back for the promised 3rd novel, "Money Shot."

"The Bloodstained Man" is the second in the Netherworld Series, and if you haven't met Plesur, the Pammy, you owe it to yourself to meet this genetically grown gorgeous girl in Volume l, when she had the mentality of a 4-year-old, and the sweetness of a sex-kitten with an urge to please. Now, thanks to an earback, she's a savvy killa, but miraculously, the sweetness remains. This is very easy reading, yet full of linguistic twists that enhance the turning plot. There is everything in here, from basic, completely comprehensive sex to sex based on one of those twisting turns, from blow-by-blow descriptions of fights with almost-alien humans, to fights with almost-human robots. These are not battles with armies of thousands, but hand-to-hand combat with monsters, and if your heart can't take it, don't come to the party, because you become the fighters. You think with them, fear with them, feel with them. You don't want to die with them. Not these deaths. It is rare that illustrations match the story, but the illustrations of the pleasure model, the Dominatrix, and Rook Venner enhance, rather than destroy your own illusions. The illustrations of the city make you feel as though you're there. I am quite taken with the format of these books. They're chunky, but light, there's a lot of white space on the page, and the pictures add a welcome dimension. They read very quickly, yet they impart a tremendous amount of information, so you know the world and the people in it as if you have been there for years, rather than a few hours. It's an enveloping experience that stays with you till the next book comes along - there will be one more in this series, and you will be compelled to read it if you read this one. A lot of writers' visions of the future seem arbitrary, but Rowley has worked out a world that feels real - a frightening view of how it will be. This is great summer reading. Take it to the country and read it on the deck. Take it to the beach and read it on your blanket. But do not read it on the subway - people will look over your shoulder at the illustrations, and you could be arrested for disruption. And one more thing - make sure you are alone when you read the last scene. Your screams might attract unwanted attention.