I finished Emerald Fire today. I found it to be to predictable. How many times is Jak going to be mistaken for a god? The group acted like this hadn't happened before in Nightmare Rising, they also seemed to have forgotten all about the ants in Nightmare Rising too. Frankly this book was Nightmare Rising re-writen. Primative religious group mistakes Jak for a God, Ryan, and Company help the religious group against their enemies, the religious group turns on them, Ryan and the others are allowed to leave without Jak, Ryan and the others kill a bunch of the religious group rescuing Jak, and has to run to the gateway. What was with the last 10 pages ? They could have been avoided if Ryan had just closed the door. Why would he not close the door? Because LJ needed to get another 10 pages writen thats why. Sorry but this one is a skipper. I give it a 2, and it only gets that much because of the direct continuity with the book before, and the book after.

The gateway Ryan and his friends emerge from is just that, no redoubt this time, and they find that only for the second time they are somewhere outside of Deathlands. The whole story takes place somewhere in the Amazon jungle.

I liked the descriptions of the jungle and the environments they journey through, all the vegetation and wildlife were a great setting for the book. And the first half of the novel had a feeling of suspense to it, as the party explores the jungle and old military outpost, and runs into various natives and groups of slavers.

A good portion of the second half takes place in and around a village, where they stay and help the natives there. These are descendents of the Aztecs. Battles with other natives, an army of ants, and the slavers make up much of the action.
The ritualistic ceremonies, food and god worship of the tribe are depicted, and Ryan's gang is caught up in the middle of it all, with Jak being looked at as the god the natives have been told about in their legends.

This creates the last part of the novel, with the tribe wanting to keep Jak, and Ryan must form a plan to rescue Jak.

I thought this was a pretty decent adventure, the only thing that dragged it down some was that the novel seemed to be a little long, many of the jungle scenes were similar to other scenes after a while. Overall I give the book a strong 6. This has another ending that leaves a cliffhanger for the next book.

The other reviewer doesn't have a clue as to what he or she is talking about. There never was a title in Deathlands that he named, nor is there a LJ or whatever he wrote. You mean J.B.? Get your facts straight first off!
Anyway, I digress. Emerald Fire was a very good read with the companions mat-trans jumping to somewhere seemingly in South America.
The jungle is thick and hot and humid, and the bad guys are slavers.
This mix makes for a Deathlands recipe that is frought with danger, action, and more.
My only qualm here was the rushed ending and the ease with which Ryan dispatched the head bad guy.
And I read this many years ago!!
Still, all in all, its a fun and exciting DEATHLANDS romp.

Yup hes a god in this one, well seen as one, the companions hit what they think is a paradise in Brazil.. yes as others have mentioned its a recycled idea, but you have to remember that thats how some areas think in the deathlands.. plus to be honest I judge a title by its content.. not on previous books, and this one had me hooked from start to finish.

They encounter slavers that they fake being a part of, and then dispatch lol, its classic Deathlands IMO. A very enjoyable read!