This one was written by Rik Hoskin.

I thought it was an excellent action adventure which races along. The opening sequence in a shanty coastal town featuring a pitched gunfight followed by a tidal wave is exhilarating and enjoyable OTT. We are also introduced to Rosalia an exotic dancing girl who, naturally since this is Outlanders, doubles as an expert in hand to hand combat and weapons. She's an intriguing character in that she does some grim acts as behalf of the local gangsters, but also demonstrates reserves of compassion and bravery on occasion.
The gun-running and hybrid DNA plotline was the most intriguing part for me and I doubt we've seen the last of that thread
The mighty monster from nowhere makes for a good mystery and some strong fight sequences. It seems unstoppable, so the ultimate solution to it is ingenious.
I enjoyed his previous novel but I think this shows Rik Hoskin's growing confidence with the Outlanders world and its characters.

The novel was just a tad better than his first offering.

One things for sure, he needs to do a little research into how the characters talk and act. He's really, really off on that.

How hard is it for a ghost writer to read a few previous novels and get the characterization right?

Yes, if he continues to write for the series, he'll eventually get better at it, but he really needs to get the characters right.

I'll give him this much - the ideas he's coming up with for plots do fit into the mythology, at least somewhat.

And he's doing a hell of a lot better when it comes to the series than Milan, that's for sure.

And welcome to the board, Rik.

Chris

Still got this (and the last DL) in the "to be read" pile. Will get around to them in the next week or so.

I liked it...MUCH better then his first offering, which IMO is quite forgivable. Good job Rik. I think Alan explained the whole trouble with getting characterization bang on. I believe things will get better. Sorry...even though Doug's first fill in was well written and entertaining I saw the same problem there as well.