Damnation Roadshow by Alan Philipson
Release Date: June 2003
Publisher: Gold Eagle
Audience: Mature
Pages: 352
Buy the Book: Amazon
GraphicAudio Length: 7 Hours
Buy the Audiobook: GraphicAudio
Book Rating: 2/5
Audiobook Rating: 2/5
Book Synopsis:
Monsters, Muties, and Freaks: Eerie remnants of pre-Dark times linger a century after the nuclear blowout. But a traveling road show gives new meaning to the word chilling. Ryan and his warrior group have witnessed this carny's handiwork in the ruins and victims of unsuspecting villes. Even facing tremendous odds does nothing to deter the companions from challenging this wandering death merchant and an army of circus freaks. And no one is aware that a steel-eyed monster from the past is preparing a private act that would give Ryan star billing . . .
Review:
This book is probably one of the weakest entries in the series in recent memory. Damnation Roadshow suffers from a divided interest with the multiple storylines that occur in the book. Essentially you have the first storyline in which Ryan and his companions face off against the mysterious and mythical Magus and (now that Wolfram is dead) his traveling carnival. The second storyline involves a small town which is ruled by a religious leader of sorts which maintains control over his subjects with the help of a local biological oddity. It seems as if the author had two ideas, but neither idea was substantive enough to fill a whole book and so both storylines were cobbled together and, as such, neither story arc feels fleshed out or given adequate attention. [Full Review Below]
The GraphicAudio Component:
Personally, I did not like this particular GraphicAudio book that much. The voice actor for Krysty was changed to the voice actor who did the voice of the leader of The Gate Amazons and that voice actor does nothing to alter her voice, so it sounds like Ryan and the The Gate leader are traveling together now. Also, throughout the story arc with the carnival they use the stereotypical carnival music in the background that, after awhile, gets annoying. That and the whining of Crecca's sticky started to grate on me after awhile. The GA rendition of the second storyline was good, however, lightning and other sound effects for the bioweapon added to the ambiance.
One of the problems I have with the first story line is that the Magus is essentially caricatured as a weakening decaying monstrosity who revels in his evil acts and filthy surroundings. This is a strong break from the last time we saw him in Deathlands 33: Eclipse at Noon where he was a powerful cyborg and formidable foe. Here he just lurks in his office and gets horribly crippled by a few 9mm slugs from Ryans Sig Sauer. He shows no tactical wisdom and basically through his bad decisions the entire carnival is destroyed and all his sec men are killed. Not to mention that the book abruptly ends and no resolution to this storyline is ever given.
...which brings me to the second storyline. Up until the companions encounter what Doc Tanner surmises is a bioweapon developed by the devillish whitecoats, the points where this second story arc is discussed earlier in the book is out of place and, for me, the concept was so bizzare and with no explanation until much later in the book, proves to be extremely jarring and took me out of the book. The book opens with colors flying everywhere, green lighting, and talking lungfish. Granted all this makes sense by the end of the novel, and I really like the concept and structure of this bioweapon, but without this knowledge, these moments feel out of place.
In addition to the creative liberties taken with the Magus, similar liberties are taken with Jak as he has a STONG relationship with the telepathic cat that he encountered in I think Deathlands 27: Ground Zero. Basically Jak throws his loyalties to the companions aside in his attempts to free the cat from the carnival and his judgment is strongly affected by the cat. Given the personality of Jak given throughout the series, the changes to his personality in this book clash with reader expectations.
Overall, this book suffers from too much, too many story arcs with the companions, and story arcs in the book. I do like how the author cast Doc Tanner in this book however. Basically he is so out of it he is towed along behind JB with a rope for a greater part of the novel, then must save the companions in turn. I also like the bioweapon in the book as well, but I do not think these elements are enough to save this novel. Unless you are a completionist, I would suggest skipping this entry in the series.
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