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7.67
from 5 reviews
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Savage Armada

The Skydark Chronicles - Book I

The past and the future are colliding with frightening force

 Author:
 Nick Pollotta

Cover Artist:
 Michael Herring

First Edition

Release Date:
March, 2001

Cover Price:
$5.99

ISBN-10:
0-373-62563-4

Graphic Audio MP3 CD

Release Date:
January, 2005

Cover Price:
$19.99

ISBN-13:
978-1-933-05964-8

Graphic Audio MP3 Download

Release Date:
January, 2005

Cover Price:
$12.99

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Teaser:

Beneath the beauty of the Marshall Islands lies a battleground for looting pirates and sec men in still-functional navy PT boats. Ryan Cawdor and his warrior band emerge in this perilous water world, caught in a grim fight to unlock the secrets of the past.

Back Cover:

ENDURING CHAOS

A nuclear apocalypse almost destroyed Western civilization in 2001, leaving in its place the forbidding world of Deathlands. though the human spirit has not been broken, the new rules of survival are harsh and barbaric. As barons fight for power in a savage new America, power is claimed with the salvaged arsenals of a predark world: weapons, gasoline and those willing to kill.

CHURNING MADNESS

The Marshall Islands, once the testing grounds for twentieth-century weapons of mass destruction, remains perversely beautiful. But the infested waters become the battleground for looting pirates and sec men in still-functional navy PT boats, all driven by greed and madness to plunder the predark caches of science and technology hidden in the islands. Ryan Cawdor and his warrior band emerge in this perilous waterworld, caught in a grim fight to unlock the secrets of the past.

In the Deathlands, the price for survival is high.

Reviews:

7
Pirates and Peteys and Clones, Oh My!
by Lokheed
This book kicks of a trilogy that takes place in the Marshall Islands, a region cut off from the rest of the world because of ocean currents and the Deepers that destroy any ship that ventures too far out. The companions find themselves stranded when they jump into a jerry rigged gatway that promptly malfunctions.

The majority of the book takes place on and around ships, against the backdrop of a chain of islands held under the sway of your typical Deathlands bastard baron. In a welcome departure, however, the book is not the tired story of "Ryan and company come to ville, battle evil baron, and then leave." Instead, the companions are simply trying to find fuel to bring back to the island they arrived on, and deal with the baron only indirectly. In fact, the complex political backdrop of the islands is startlingly complex and provides an excellent canvas for an action-packed story.

If this book is any indication of the direction Deathlands is headed, then perhaps the worst is behind us.
 
7
Savage Armada 12/03/2003
by GuapoPogi
Once again an interesting plot beaten by Sci-Foolishness, and other nonsense. What kind of idiot did the author think he was appealing to when he wrote the living rockets into the story ? His pirates were could have been interesting if not for the peg leg, and hook hand. He might as well have had them with eye patches, a parrot on their shoulders, and all say "aarrgh" all the time. That couldn't have made them anymore laughable then they already were. There were several other mistakes and implausibilities. The Delta Blue would not have caught the Constellation so fast. There are no ships from the revolutionary war still in service, nor were there any in service in the 1950's. The Constellation was launch in 1797, which we all know is a few years after the revolutionary war. Once again PT boats are plywood, not armor, or steel. Jak is not Cajun, and stickies have arms not tentacles p315. I thought the story hell lots of promise, but once again the rescued the disappointment of a sloppy book from the jaws of satisfaction of a good book. I give it a 7.
 
9
Pirates and PT's
by Doc Omega
Maybe I watched a little too much "McHale's Navy" when I was a kid, but I have always thought PT boats were pretty damn interesting, so when I saw the premise of this entry into the Deathlands series, I was intrigued...and reading this book really delivered!

This book goes to show what potential the series really has...

Despite a rather slow beginning...another battle with a giant mutant...yawnnnnnn...the story rapidly picked up...an interesting twist to the ville the companions encounter...aged tall ships active in the post holocaust world...pirates in PT boats...Krysty really getting a chance to shine AND kick royal ass...an edge of your seat finale featuring an incredible sea battle between old wind powered battle wagons and the PT boats...the mystery of the bizarre Firebird missiles...yes, this book had what it takes...in spades!

Nice job, Nick Pollotta!

...and to boot (no pun intended) none of the low class porno scenes that have marked so many other entries in this series...

If you are skeptical about the quality of DL...give this one a try, you might be pleasantly surprised!
 
7
Loose ends and such...
by jmatt35
I have to rate all 3 of this trilogy at the same time. The idea of using the Marshall Islands as a backdrop was excellent, but I thought there were too many loose ends. For example, the muties with the forked tongues.....who the hell were they? Unless they were in a book I havent read yet, I was left wondering what thier deal was. Also, the Constitution, not the Constellation was the last commissioned sailing ship in the Navy.

At times, this whole series seems to drag itself down into a quagmire of details that slow the flow of the story. While I enjoy reading about blowing things up and killing muties, I really dont want to read every detail of every step and every drop of blood or body part that the companions remove with high velocity rounds. The story had potential, but was beaten into submission with details.
 
9
SAVAGE ARMADA WAS SAVAGELY DELICIOUS!!
by One Eye Chills
This installment written by Nick Polatta was one of the greatest ever written in my estimation. I loved the concept and the writing because it was the DEATHLANDS to the extreme.
Very well done and Krysty kicking butt is always a winner in my book.
The writing was somewhat superior to even the late great Laurence James himself. He would've been proud of this.
Nick is one of the very best out there! Keep pumping out the savagery Nick, you are an awesome action/adventure writer!!