Book Review: Trail of Time
With this book review, I'm caught up on the books I read on vacation and on the flights last week! Yay!
DC Universe: Trail of Time by Jeff Mariotte, isbn 9780446616591, 343 pages, softcover, Warner Books, $6.99.
Although this is the fourth original novel in the DC Universe series, it's the second I've read. The nice thing is, you can read these books out of order; none of them seem to reference each other, and each has a different author. unlike the LOST tie-ins I read, though, these authors actually have experience with the characters in their original media. In this case, the author is Jeff Mariotte, who wrote the excellent weird western "Desperados" independent comic series.
Trail of Time throws Superman into a team-up with two of DC's classic supernatural characters: The Phantom Stranger and The Demon, against a Triumvirate of Sorcerers: Vandal Savage, Mordru, and Felix Faust (each immortal in his own way). The Triumvirate meet during the Fall of Camelot and concoct a scheme that creates an alternate Earth that they control -- with the intention that in the early 21st century, the two Earths will merge and the Earth they control will supercede the original Earth. Part of their scheme involves turning Earth's sun red, so that when the infant Kal-El arrives on Earth he remains as normal as anyone else. For some reason, the crucial moment that will guarantee their success is set to happen in 1872 in the western US. This brings Superman, The Stranger and the Demon into a team-up with four of DC's classic old west characters: Jonah Hex, Scalphunter, El Diablo and Bat Lash. (A cameo by a fifth classic, Johnny Thunder, is fun but not ultimately important to the plot.)
I thought I'd enjoy this book because it combines several favorite supernatural characters (Zatanna and Dr. Occult also have small roles) with several favorite western characters, and is written by someone who has proven he can write a ripping good western yarn. I was thoroughly disappointed.
The opening scenes of a powerless, timid Clark Kent rewriting government press releases while his conspiracy-theory wife Lois risks her life at night investigating who the real power behind the government is are well-written. The alternate Earth's Clark meeting the Stranger and the Demon is well-written as well. Even the scene in Camelot where the three sorcerers hatch their plot while the forces of Morgaine Le Fay and Mordred lay seige to the castle is decent.
The problem is, the plot the sorcerers hatch is lame and fairly nonsensical. I was willing to overlook the fact that most DC readers would not seriously consider Vandal Savage one of the three most powerful magic-users in the DCU by a long stretch. I was willing to accept a plot that hinges on hundreds of years of history to come to fruition. What didn't make sense at all to me was how the three villains behaved once their plot was foiled. It's almost like at that point in the book, Mariotte got bored and realized he needed to wrap things up. The final fight scene is -- in fact all of the fight scenes are -- so lacklustre I can't begin to remember what happened or how the bad guys were ultimately disposed of.
Another problem: none of the characters had a distinctive voice. Attempts were made but they essentially fail. For instance, the Stranger speaks in stilted overblown sentences. That might make him stand out, if Superman, El Diablo and Doctor Occult didn't speak exactly the same way. All of the dialogue in the book is so stereotypically melodramatic that it almost feels like the book wasn't even touched by an editor.
If you're going to dip into the DC Universe in novel form, my suggestion would be to skip this volume and read Devin Grayson's "Inheritance" instead. I had my problems with that one, but not nearly as many ... I ultimately came out of it with a good feeling. Not so here. Better luck next time, Mr. Mariotte.
DC Universe: Trail of Time by Jeff Mariotte, isbn 9780446616591, 343 pages, softcover, Warner Books, $6.99.
Although this is the fourth original novel in the DC Universe series, it's the second I've read. The nice thing is, you can read these books out of order; none of them seem to reference each other, and each has a different author. unlike the LOST tie-ins I read, though, these authors actually have experience with the characters in their original media. In this case, the author is Jeff Mariotte, who wrote the excellent weird western "Desperados" independent comic series.
Trail of Time throws Superman into a team-up with two of DC's classic supernatural characters: The Phantom Stranger and The Demon, against a Triumvirate of Sorcerers: Vandal Savage, Mordru, and Felix Faust (each immortal in his own way). The Triumvirate meet during the Fall of Camelot and concoct a scheme that creates an alternate Earth that they control -- with the intention that in the early 21st century, the two Earths will merge and the Earth they control will supercede the original Earth. Part of their scheme involves turning Earth's sun red, so that when the infant Kal-El arrives on Earth he remains as normal as anyone else. For some reason, the crucial moment that will guarantee their success is set to happen in 1872 in the western US. This brings Superman, The Stranger and the Demon into a team-up with four of DC's classic old west characters: Jonah Hex, Scalphunter, El Diablo and Bat Lash. (A cameo by a fifth classic, Johnny Thunder, is fun but not ultimately important to the plot.)
I thought I'd enjoy this book because it combines several favorite supernatural characters (Zatanna and Dr. Occult also have small roles) with several favorite western characters, and is written by someone who has proven he can write a ripping good western yarn. I was thoroughly disappointed.
The opening scenes of a powerless, timid Clark Kent rewriting government press releases while his conspiracy-theory wife Lois risks her life at night investigating who the real power behind the government is are well-written. The alternate Earth's Clark meeting the Stranger and the Demon is well-written as well. Even the scene in Camelot where the three sorcerers hatch their plot while the forces of Morgaine Le Fay and Mordred lay seige to the castle is decent.
The problem is, the plot the sorcerers hatch is lame and fairly nonsensical. I was willing to overlook the fact that most DC readers would not seriously consider Vandal Savage one of the three most powerful magic-users in the DCU by a long stretch. I was willing to accept a plot that hinges on hundreds of years of history to come to fruition. What didn't make sense at all to me was how the three villains behaved once their plot was foiled. It's almost like at that point in the book, Mariotte got bored and realized he needed to wrap things up. The final fight scene is -- in fact all of the fight scenes are -- so lacklustre I can't begin to remember what happened or how the bad guys were ultimately disposed of.
Another problem: none of the characters had a distinctive voice. Attempts were made but they essentially fail. For instance, the Stranger speaks in stilted overblown sentences. That might make him stand out, if Superman, El Diablo and Doctor Occult didn't speak exactly the same way. All of the dialogue in the book is so stereotypically melodramatic that it almost feels like the book wasn't even touched by an editor.
If you're going to dip into the DC Universe in novel form, my suggestion would be to skip this volume and read Devin Grayson's "Inheritance" instead. I had my problems with that one, but not nearly as many ... I ultimately came out of it with a good feeling. Not so here. Better luck next time, Mr. Mariotte.