Shadowfall was a good book the interaction between Ryan, and Trader was good, and Dean finally showed that he could be an asset instead of just the liability that he has been since he first showed up in Seeding. It was refreshing to see Dean show some interest in learning, and it was also nice to see Dean develope a friendship with Jamie. I thought Straub made a great enemy, and I was happy to see that he was still alive at the end so that Ryan could run into him again. This was one of the best books except for the ridiculous mutie crab. It is not even remotly believable that a crab would get that big, it was not believable that Mildred would stop and ask Ryan if she should shoot out its eye, and it was even less believable that Ryan would say no and let it go after it tried to kill them. I would have given it a 10, but because of that crab I give it an 8.

This episode starts off with a rather run-of-the-mill beginning, with the group finding themselves in another new redoubt, exploring it and the surrounding environs, and finding their way to a settlement of people, battling muties along the way.

A suspenseful rescue of Dean in the gateway and the battle with the scabbies and a giant crab were the highlights of this section of the novel.

There was a good description of the landscape in this story, Ryan's group travel through bubbling sulpher pits and geysers and other bleak areas.
I liked the way Ryan and Dean's relationship was portrayed in this book, and the ending was a surprise, dealing with Abe and Trader. For once it seemed the baron was a good guy, and Ryan ended up helping him defeat the tribe of "brushwooders" before they attacked the ville.
One of the villains called Straub, was a typical creepy Deathlands bad guy, and his method of taking out the sec men was interesting.

Overall, however, there some areas in this book where it failed to hold my interest. The storyline was kind of weak, and the whole thing with the mutie pigs just didn't seem something to base a story around to make all that great a reading experience. And the part where Straub was attempting to snip off Jak and Krysty's hair in the middle of the night was so silly it made me laugh.
I would rate Shadowfall near the bottom end of the 26 novels I've read so far in the series.

SHADOWFALL brought this series back into the light for me. After the weak Genesis Echo, this one was a pure adrenaline rush read.
Straub reminded me a lot of Strasser, and that is both good and bad. Good because Strasser was such a memorable coldheart character, and bad because it wasn't a totally original idea.
But be that as it may, the whole of the book more than made up for it.
And what an ending!!
Still have not resolved this one, but with the DEVIL RIDERS coming out soon, we shall see just how Trader and Abe escaped the entrapment of Straub and his cronies. We know that Straub is dead due to a novel since, when they meet up with him again.
Its books such as this that make me a die hard Deathlands fan. Excellent adventure reading at it's finest!

Another Great read!! Another great book! The villain is badass if a bit lame with the whole hypnotic thing.. but it works.. on the review of the mutie crap.. of course it would.. its deathlands lol.

The cool way they defeat the enemy with a hoard of pigs and fires is cool, its things like this that I love about the diverse nature of the companions, there just badass.. and I love how the series thus far never compromises how badass they are!