When a mat-trans malfunction strands Ryan Cawdor and his friends in a gutted redoubt in the West Indies, the crystal waters offer them a tantalizing glimpse of untouched splendor. But the oasis is abruptly shattered by violent and ruthless pirates... and the group rushes to escape paradise before it destroys them.
Everyone who lives in Deathlands must endure the hellscape of a world mutilated by nukes and madness. Survival is a grim pursuit, achieved only by the most ruthless means. Yet Ryan Cawdor and his companions remain determined to persevere by doing whatever it takes to survive.
When a mat-trans malfunction strands Ryan Cawdor and his friends in a gutted redoubt in the West Indies, the crystal waters offer them a tantalizing glimpse of untouched splendor. But the oasis is abruptly shattered by violent and ruthless pirates, and Ryan has to barter with a young guide, a teenage boy on a blood quest against a sadistic local warlord, to navigate a land teeming with predators — mutie, human and animal. The race is on to find a second redoubt, buried deep in the inhospitable heart of Monster Island. As pirates, mutie sec men and monsters converge, the kill zone widens, blood flows…and the group rushes to escape paradise before it destroys them.
Victor Milan's latest DL novel is chock full of DL goodness through and through. I actually thought this one was better than his previous one.
And, in all actuality, Milan's last two DL's are far better than his last couple of DLs, along with his last couple of Outlanders. He is definitely a DL kind of guy writer.
Crimson Waters, however, especially the last 1/3 of the book, had its issues for me, however.
It had a solid concept and direction, it was how it was written that kinda bothered me. The companions got caught with their pants down way too often for my tastes. No reason for this. With Jak out on patrol, and the companions being at the level they are now, this would not be this easy. And the bad guys were one-dimensional. Milan should have just created a hunter/scout that could rival Jak's prowess.
This book reminded me strongly of Philipson's Xibalba duology, which was far superior, due to his paying attention to character development with their antagonists. Same area of hemisphere. So there are exotic islands and wildlife. You got your pirates and exotic muties. Colorful stuff.
But the last 1/3 just kinda fell flat for me. Too much Polatta type action. Bad guys have more men and firepower, but can't hit shit. But Ryan and company hardly ever miss. They just had TONS of ammo all the time, and hardly ever drank or slept, even though they were in a very hot and humid area, and expended loads of exertion.But, all in all, it was a good book.