OK....a word to the wise. In some ways this is good place to start with the OL series, in other ways it isn't. The backstory of Sam/the Annunaki/Thrush is fleshed out but I can see where it would be confusing to a new reader coming in cold.

For all that, Sea of Plague is everything you would want from a OL book even though it's a challenge to the reader. It's very different from Talon and Fang but the stakes are higher. Loose ends that have been dangling for years are finally tied up, but not completely.

We learn the fate of Baron Cobalt after the Imperator War and more about Sam's very bizarre mind. Crazy Baron Sharpe and his councilor Crawler make a reappearnce and it should come as no surprise that Sharpe is sees a kindred soul in Sindri.

The plot in a nutshell is that the Cerberus warriors jump into action to keep the future depicted in Talon and Fang from coming to pass and they do it with the usual OL style. Even though the characters and basic plot are familiar, Mark Ellis manages to put them into new and tense situations. Grant is captured and horrifically tortured, Kane, Domi and Lakesh lead the way to free slaves from the Scorpia Prime, and there is a lot of dramatic tension in the early part of the book when questions of loyalty and even sanity are raised among the heroes.

The action scenes crackle with excitement and the character interactions are as always clever and entertaining.

In my opinion where Sea of Plague falls short, compared to Talon and Fang is the lack of the big menace as was the case with prior book. Bioweapons are horrifying but they just don't seem as grand as interdimensional temporal windows! The soldiers of the Scorpia Prime don't really come off as matches for the Cerberus warriors. Also there was no new character as cool and sexy as Tanvirah or any character like her. The evil Baroness Beausoliel makes a return, though if you like hybrid psycho bitches.

But all of these criticisms are minor compared to the pleasure that fans of the series will take in seeing the Cerberus warriors doing what they do best--facing off against terrible odds to save the body and soul of humanity. Its still about five times more entertaining than the last DL book I read and I even liked that one!

OK....a word to the wise. In some ways this is good place to start with the OL series, in other ways it isn't. The backstory of Sam/the Annunaki/Thrush is fleshed out but I can see where it would be confusing to a new reader coming in cold.

For all that, Sea of Plague is everything you would want from a OL book even though it's a challenge to the reader. It's very different from Talon and Fang but the stakes are higher. Loose ends that have been dangling for years are finally tied up, but not completely.

We learn the fate of Baron Cobalt after the Imperator War and more about Sam's very bizarre mind. Crazy Baron Sharpe and his councilor Crawler make a reappearnce and it should come as no surprise that Sharpe is sees a kindred soul in Sindri.

The plot in a nutshell is that the Cerberus warriors jump into action to keep the future depicted in Talon and Fang from coming to pass and they do it with the usual OL style. Even though the characters and basic plot are familiar, Mark Ellis manages to put them into new and tense situations. Grant is captured and horrifically tortured, Kane, Domi and Lakesh lead the way to free slaves from the Scorpia Prime, and there is a lot of dramatic tension in the early part of the book when questions of loyalty and even sanity are raised among the heroes.

The action scenes crackle with excitement and the character interactions are as always clever and entertaining.

In my opinion where Sea of Plague falls short, compared to Talon and Fang is the lack of the big menace as was the case with prior book. Bioweapons are horrifying but they just don't seem as grand as interdimensional temporal windows! The soldiers of the Scorpia Prime don't really come off as matches for the Cerberus warriors. Also there was no new character as cool and sexy as Tanvirah or any character like her. The evil Baroness Beausoliel makes a return, though if you like hybrid psycho bitches.

But all of these criticisms are minor compared to the pleasure that fans of the series will take in seeing the Cerberus warriors doing what they do best--facing off against terrible odds to save the body and soul of humanity.

This second half of the duology brings us back to the regular time in the OL universe. Kane's message from the future makes up the first portion of the novel, and the reaction of what the Cerberus rebels see and plan what they must do keeps the reader turning the pages to see what happens next. After discovery of some shocking truths regarding Sam, the barons, and their own futures, Kane and his allies now must go to the disrupting the present to avoid the unwanted future phase of operations. Interesting developments occur near the end of the story, and the ending pages of the book are very gripping.

After Talon and Fang, it would be difficult for any novel to follow in its footsteps, and Sea of Plague may not be as amazing, but this book is pretty good, and includes major developments in the OL universe that will mean big changes in the way things have gone up to this point.

I didn't think this story was in the same league as most of the earlier OL books, mainly due to the way the review material interrupted the flow of the novel too much. And nearly every event since the start of the series and description of the various gadgets and technology is included in this book, which I thought choked the book from reaching a higher potential. And what happened to the plague Sam unleashed in the present timeline?

In conclusion, this novel sets up many tasty morsels of story developments, such as Barons Cobalt and Sharpe's future actions, what Sam will do next, and then there is the crafty Sindri, who is going to do who knows what.

A solid book that makes the "Heart of the World" duology another great one like the "Dragon Kings" before it.

I can't say enough great things about Outlanders and its creator Mark Ellis. Mark Ellis has set a new standard in the sci-fi/adventure genre and Outlanders is one of the best series of any kind being published in the world today.

Sea Of Plague is another awesome entry in the Outlanders saga, picking up the storyline from Talon And Fang, which was the first part of the Heart Of The World duology. To be brief and attempt to avoid spoilers, Kane and the rest of the Cerberus resistance fighters must deal with the shocking revelations made in Talon And Fang. In order to avoid a devastating future, they must devise a plan to put an end to the Imperator's chilling plans for humanity. To this end, they attempt to form an alliance with an old enemy and undertake a desperate raid in an effort to prevent the Imperator from poisoning the earth with a monstrous plague, all the while struggling with the horrifying knowledge that one of their own may betray them and that some of them may be living on borrowed time.

As always, there is plenty of white-knuckle suspense and feverish action and adventure, as well as all the bells and whistles of the very best science fiction. Mark Ellis has given the Outlanders universe a rich and fascinating history, incorporating ancient myths and modern legends into a startlingly original tapestry that resonates with true power and is populated by remarkably well-drawn characters, whether they are heroes or villains or someone straddling the line between. To me, it is the compelling and believable characters that are the greatest asset of this fantastic series, as all of them spring to life for the reader and seem to be living, breathing human beings---except for those that are not exactly human, of course.

I can't recommend Outlanders highly enough. If you're not reading this series, you're missing out on some of the best popular literature that's being published today.

This second book in the Heart of the World sequence picks up right where Talon and Fang left off. Coming on the heels of Talon and Fang this book lags a bit in parts, and is bogged down with a tremendous amount of back story that for the loyal reader is more of a rehash of pass events with in the series that will more than likely make this book a heavy read for some readers out there. Thats not to say that Sea of Plague wasn't entertaining but it seemed to come to an end before it had even begun to get its feet under itself. For me the story just began to get interesting and draw me in, when I suddenly found myself on the last page of the book.

The classic OL characterization, storytelling, and plot twists are part of this latest chapter of the OL series. Readers are left with more than few loose ends, that are left dangling. It will be some months before those loose threads are picked up again and expanded upon. All in all Sea of Plague was enjoyable, and entertaining, though if your looking for another rip roaring ride like Talon and Fang you will be sorely disappoints. I'd give Sea of Plague an 8 out a ten. Even though it is not the best OL that Mark Ellis has given us, it is still light years above and beyond the regular sci-fi that is put out on the market!!

SEA OF PLAGUE, the 2nd part of Heart of the World, was chock-full of filler of the last 25 books.
This particular novel was in all actuality, probably around 200 pages long - maybe!
From soaring to new heights in the last book, this one was littered with so much filler explanations from everything from weapons and clothing - to overlong histories of everything - to just more and more stuff that does nothing but slow the narrative down.
I find myself skimming more and more in these later books than ever before. If this is done continuously for new readers - enough already!!
Please Mark Ellis and editors of Gold Eagle - put all of this info-dump somewhere else, not in a supposed fast-paced adventure novel.
I don't want to continue paying full price for novels filled with the same old info in each and every book. How many times do we have to re-read the same old info that grows with each successive novel? Does this mean with each ever-growing storyline the info-dumping will get that much more larger?!
Sure there was was good stuff in this, but it still left me feeling somewhat cheated and flat at the end. Please editors of Gold Eagle and Mr. Ellis, listen to this hardcore fan of the Axler series - stop this ongoing diatribe of the same old stuff that only gets in the way of the flow of the main story. If you pare it down to 200 pages - so be it! Who cares? Just as long as I'm not left skimming half of the book to find an underlining story within.

Sea of Plague is the finale of what started out as a ground-breaking totally outlanders shattering novel, Talon and Fang.

Here we have Kane of the current timeline learning of his future, and what is laying in wait for him, his friends and the woman he loves, but is too pig headed to admit to it.

The novel picks up where Kane of the future is killed, but not before successfully sending the deranged dwarf Sindri, back into the past.

It’s a bit confusing, but due to the fact that Sindri had been out of the time line until he was rescued by Kane, he and he alone would be able to effect the changes that would not create a whole new timeline, an alternate branch of reality.

Of course, no one believes him, until Kane of the current era goes over the disk that Sindri brought back with him. That’s when it appears that Kane goes rogue, and ends up imprisoning Lakesh, and allowing Sindri to go free.

The novel has a number of difficult branches to follow, mainly involving Sam’s plans for the future. Then there is the doomsday cult that wants to bring about total destruction of reality, bring on blessed entropy, an end to everything, lead by none other than BOTH Erica van Sloan and Baron Beausoleil.

Mark has really shaken things up with the novel. After reading it, the reader is left to wonder – will Lakesh betray the exiles, either intentionally or un-intentionally? Will said man hook up with the Dragon lady, Erica?

Will Kane finally stop being pig headed and admit how deeply he cares for Brigid, and visa versa? Will they finally get married, like they did in Talon and Fang?

Will they get another Manta to replace the one that had been shot down over India, in an attempt, which appeared to have been successful; to thwart Sam the Imperators plans for world domination?

What twists and turns does Mark have planned for the future of the series? What can we expect from him? Considering how the series and the characters have changed over the past couple of years, you can rest assured that whatever he has planned, it’s nothing that any of us would expect, and that it will be earth shattering in both magnitude, and how it effects the world that he has created.

I would be as bold to say that none of the other current writers working for GE could even come close to what he has achieved. If they could, then all of GE’s series would end up being best sellers.

What can we expect?

Only time, and Mark, will tell.