Anyone had a wee sneaky read o this yet.

Nope. This author is a hit or miss.

 

His last, Lost Gates, was pretty solid. I hope this newest one is the best he's ever written.

 

But, of course, I always hope for the best when a new DL comes out.

I liked the idea of the last one but it was poorly written.

This was one of the worst Deathlands books I've ever read. 

 

After reading the first 10 or so pages I knew this was going to be a real dog.  Endless discussions about what the characters were thinking of doing, going to do, as well as endless speculation of trivial minutiae reminded me of the recent title Lost Gates.  Here's what I wrote on that review: "The excessive verbiage outlining every thought, issue and feeling regarding every little thing made it tedious. I ended up skimming about 40% of the story...you might too."  It's clearly the same author.

I skimmed 90% of this book.  Yup, 2-5 words on each page was enough to easily follow the story--a real grind.   If you read the first 10 pages and the last 5 you'll know the whole story.  Really.

 

I wish I could get my money back. 

 

You won't like it.  I didn't.

Well crap, and I just bought my copy yesterday!

 

I liked Lost Gates, though. The beginning kinda dragged, and the overall action sequences were not great. But the overall concept with the mat-trans was fresh, and I wished the authors explored this seemingly limitless concept with a staple that is - and has been - right there the whole time to utilize.

 

Would LOVE to see the gang go on a chron jump!!!!!!!!!

I was shocked speechless when I opened this piece of crap and tried reading it. It is the most boring of any Deathlands book ever. The author is using $2 words for people with no education. I am over half way through the blasted book and not only has no one died, no gun has even been fired!

Everyone is speaking like Doc with a hangover, even Jak.

If this is the new face of the Deathlands everyone has been talking about, then I am not interested. Upgraded weapons are a good idea, but are they even carrying any weapons in this book? Half way through and who knows? All I am getting is a Philosophy lesson.

I quit reading the book yesterday and haven't decided yet if I will go back and finish it, or even ever buy another Deathlands book.

This is a sad moment for one who has looked forward to every book that came out and always bought it on the first day it hit the book stores or Amazon for the Kindle.

For a devoted Deathlands Fan, this is our Day of Infamy.

The Dukester
http://www.duke-davis.com

I wouldn't exactly call Andy Boot "the new face of the Deathlands". I don't believe he has any other books in the pipeline.

I had a feeling of dread and hopelessness I couldn't quite identify. I could "only hope" that as my fingers stiffly and awkwardly turned the pages that the book would should me some redeeming quality. It was almost as if I was brainwashed on had taken some herbs that made me helpless for hours and days.  I kept turning pages (and skimming) continuing to "only hope" the end would come. I had no control. Then I got to the end and I asked "what was that DREK - The ending was worse than the beginning????"  I have never not read a DL book from cover to cover.

But next time I see Andy Boot coming I'm avoiding.  

 

More Chuck Rogers please!

 

 

 

 

 

That's an ace on the line!  What a terrible read. Avoid. Avoid. Cancel your pre-order.

Yeah, unfortunately, the last 3 comments here are accurate of this latest borefest.

 

Action, hell, even a gun, wasn't mentioned until about page 178! 

Well, I'm leaving in the morning for Panama in the Canal Zone, for a couple of weeks. The wife and I are going down to check it out as we are currently planning on moving down there. When I get back I will give it another try and see if I can get past 35% of the way through.

I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

The Dukester
http://www.duke-davis.com

My copy arrived yesterday and I must say i am finding it oh so hard to continue to read this one. Line after line of pointless dialogue telling us the thought processes involved with scratching your arse, oh the tedium. Andy boot has done himself proud with this one.

On a side note, Ryan and J.B visited the Mesa Verde canyons in Road Wars, why didn't they remember this fact and just make for the way in that they knew from the last occasion? Maybe because in Andy Boots world they never did visit it simply because he has never read the book...

Jim

Sorry Mr. Andy Boot, but I have to say that his latest DL was a major miss!

 

Don't bother trudging through this one. Boot is the most 'hit or miss' writer there is here. His last one had a solid concept, and was overall a fun and exciting read. It was the action sequences that were the problem.

 

Now, in his new DL, it is the total lack of action - or anything - going for it. It had a weird tone to it. The companion's weapons are not even noticed until 170-some-odd pages. Even when they are climbing cliffs and whatnot, Andy doesn't even bother to think what a problem carrying long guns and such can be while doing some serious climbing. Much less water and such one would desperately need...

Part of the trouble here is, DL readers can't imagine the mental exhaustion of having written 18 books in the same decades-effed-up series. Add the career pointlessness of being writer for hire (with chump-butt pay), GE's tendency to load up regulars with multiple book contracts, and you have a recipe for inevitable Flame Out. I've never read any of Boot's DLs, but I can assure you this has to be part of the problem.

Okay, so you ask why didn't he just stop writing DLs if he couldn't get it up to do it "right" (in your opinion)? Maybe he has a firm grasp of the situation, who he is working for and what they will accept. Hey, nobody but Boot knows his financial situation or what else he has going for himself. It's very easy with multiple books contracts to become addicted to the regular flow, if not the taste, of what leaks from GE's shriveled teats. I ended up taking more contracts than I could stomach and walked away from the last one (#12). But I had another, better gig to fall back on.

Another thing you can't imagine: my relief at putting an end to this chapter of my life.

 

I can't rag on anybody who has done this job for a living.

 

Well written, AP!

 

I can only imagine this type of job: making all fans happy. 

 

But c'mon! If the writer cares, (as it appears you did, despite your self-proclaimed burn-out), and still managed to churn out solid adventure after solid adventure, then does it not therefore falls upon the writer to either give up, or churn out a 'decent' script every once in a while?

1: Who's to say he does care? Pollotta obviously doesn't.

2: He does churn out a decent script every once in awhile. Several people in this thread alone said his last book was good (I have it, but I have yet to read it). I've read some half-decent Boot books (Sunchild, Salvation Road, Death Hunt*). *So far; I'm 1/3 of the way through it.

Boot's a good writer, but he's not a very good action novel writer. His books, by and large, drift aimlessly along with some fights thrown in to satisfy the requirements for the genre. His characterizations are good, his writing is solid, grammatically speaking... he just seems to have trouble putting together a plot that keeps the reader's attention. I'll still give him a shot, unless someone's already said it's bad - unlike certain other authors whose names shall go unmentioned.

Posted By Maximus on 22 May 2012 06:40 PM

But c'mon! If the writer cares, (as it appears you did, despite your self-proclaimed burn-out), and still managed to churn out solid adventure after solid adventure, then does it not therefore falls upon the writer to either give up, or churn out a 'decent' script every once in a while?

Maximus,

You don't get it. A writer-for-hire and a writer-for-royalties (someone producing original, proprietary work) are completely different species. Even if Boot wiped his butt with DL 18 times, he has done nothing to be ashamed of. I realize this may be crushing news, but in this kind of arrangement you aren't the author's audience. The only audience for a writer-for-hire is the chucklehead at the publisher who is passing out the contracts. And at GE that person probably hasn't read one word of the DL books. Bottom line: a writer-for-hire doesn't care how his books sell because it won't increase or decrease his pay or get him fired. A writer-for-hire doesn't care if he pisses you off for the same reason.

 

As for my product at GE, I think I already explained that I have OCD. The only way I could've written worse books was to go on medication.

Hmmm, interesting. So the writer-for-hire gets a flat fee? Or does it matter how many issues his book sells?

And surely you must've had 'some' interest and liking of the source material. Otherwise, can one write a book based on a series he doesn't give a shit about? Would that not show through their writing? 

In my life I have done a fair number of things for money that I had no personal interest in. You need some code written? Throw me the cash and I will crank out that code. It's pretty much like the opening narration from Firefly. "You got a job, we can do it, don't much care what it is."