Skydark Spawn by Edo Van Belkom
Release Date: March 2003
Publisher: Gold Eagle
Audience: Mature
Pages: 352
Buy the Book: Amazon
Graphic Audio Length: 7 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: GraphicAudio
Book Rating: 3/5
Audiobook Rating: 5/5
Book Synopsis:
Foul Impetus: In the relatively untouched area of what was once Niagara Falls, Ryan and his fellow wayfarers find the pastoral farmland under the despotic control of a twisted baron and his slave-breeding farm. Ryan, Mildred and Krysty are captured by the baron's sec men and pawned into the cruel frenzy of their leader's grotesque desires. JB, Jak and Doc enlist the aid of outlanders to organize a counter strike - but rescue may come too late for them all.
Review:
Overall, this story is a relatively bland entry in the series and seems to rely too heavily upon the novelty of a society fashioned after the lifestyle of Hugh Hefner (men and women having multiple partners, having sex daily, etc, etc...) and, as a result, does not take advantage of the more interesting aspects of novel. For example, excluding the two times the companions travel to the Alaskan redoubt, this is the groups first foray into Canada. I have always enjoyed the novels in the Dealthands series that take them out of the country; at this point in the series the history and general terrain of America is pretty much known and it is interesting to see how the rest of the world has fared since the nuclear war between America and Russia.
Another problem I have with this book (well, I suppose a number of the books) is the title. Going into the book, one would assume the central concern of companions would be with this 'Skydark Spawn' given that it the title of the book. However, the skydark spawn is rarely utilized by the author and operates more as a interested onlooker throughout the book.
Despite my problems with the book, the two story arcs in the book are fairly humorous. The three companions trapped inside Fox Farms come up with interesting ways of navigating the farm life and surviving the sadomasochistic whims of the baron and his men (including one of the most painful moments I've come across in the series involving Krysty and a knife) while the companions rescuing Ryan, Krysty, and Mildred come to a unique solution to break into the farm.
For me, the most interesting piece of information given in this book is the history behind the skydark spawn. Apparently the government wasn't the only group funding top secret R&D...
The GraphicAudio Component:
Skydark Spawn was a decent entry in GraphicAudio's audiobook renditions of the Deathlands Series. Particularly in the third act of the book which includes an extended firefight for the control of Fox Farms is fun to listen to as it includes several large caliber machine guns, something which isn't in many of the books and its nice to hear something besides the companions usual arsenal. The voice acting for all the characters beyond the companions is done quite well, especially Baron Fox. While the book doesn't add much to the Deathlands series, its a good listen via GA.
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