Rat King

The Rat King's description of future man depicts bedlam and insanity. It is a combination of inbreeding within families, inherited insanity and prejudices dictating a person's station in life. The Rat King becomes the symbol of survival, it works but noone knows why or how, it just keeps on working with old mens brain. It seems for a while that Doctor Tanner will become totally absorbed in the Rat King. I was waiting for the rescue up to the very last chapter. This book is very good reading.

Yes! That's right, kiddies! Read Rat King now because it's a strong story with well-rounded characterization of the characters. I'm hoping to see more badinage between Doc and the gang in future installments because one can use the Doc's antedeluvian inisghts to create great jokes. Deathlands should have at least one great laugh in it, like old times. This ghost writer is delivering consistent quality, and hopefully more fresh surprises as we all continue on our Deathlands journeys -- hopefully more detail on each character, and more arctic adventures, including some jumps to alien planets such as Mars, with time spent more on what is found there is what I favor most. More discoveries of technological weapons and other inventions would elevate the series into more sophisticated levels of chills and thrills too.Put it this way, it ain't going to hurt!

After some of the latest entries in the Deathlands saga this is like a breath of fresh air, or more accurately a breath of old air. This title reeks of old school Deathlands so much as to be uncanny. Many long time readers will relive memories of the classic 'Crater Lake' - in fact the book even refers to events that occurred during that title. This gives this book a lot of mileage in this particular grizzled old fans eyes, there's a lot of back referencing and it helps to make the book feel comfortable, actually part of the series as a whole. Whereas some of latest entries have really suffered from their stand-alone approach to continuity, this embraces the series' history and even refers slyly to the master himself - Mr Laurence James (R.I.P). It's not entirely perfect but it's a great first effort, any nit-picking just seems redundant really. If anyone from Gold Eagle is reading this then please give this author free reign on the series, this guy really knows his stuff! The characters are spot on and it feels like the old Deathlands novels used to (as was noted by a previous reviewer). So forget the faintly risible 'Pandoras Redoubt' and its ilk, this Deathlands really hits the Mark!

This was one of the best Deathlands books to come out for awhile. Finally the characters are in character and the action was tightly written. When you find out what the RAT KING is - it is nothing like what you would expect. Superb writing like this is what makes this series a classic hit! Keep up the good work.

RAT KING ROCKS! I felt like I was reading one of the original Deathlands novels of yesteryear. Did Laurence James write this before his untimely death? Whoever this writer is - he definately captures the Deathlands theme and everybodys character to the exact way it ought to be. I was so enthralled by the tight-nit storyline and the action scenes were so well written I was beside myself. Long-time Deathlands fans will love this one. The story of what the RAT KING really is was a good surprise, and very different. Its not so much that the storyline is so original, its the way in which it was written that makes it so good for me. The story starts with a bang and never lets up. Ryan and his band of post-holocaust survivors revive in a redoubt where they find the residents never left since skydark. The inbreeding of the soldiers and scientists thru the ages are showing and things are falling apart as Ryan stumbles into the middle of it. Ryan and the survivors fight everything from within as without, including the deadly elements themselves! Mutants, mad soldiers and scientists, plus ragtag outlanders - this ones got it goin on! A must read for anyone who likes a good action/adventure read. Enjoy!