Jason
4.5 stars
There is so much I loved about this book, in particular the amazing art by both Mitch Gerads and Doc Shaner, as well as Mister Terrific's characterization. I've long considered Mister Terrific to be one of the coolest guys around, but so many of these stories have seemed underwhelming. Not so with this book. Mister Terrific IS the coolest guy around and I am fully a fan.
Unfortunately, I can't give this book a full 5 stars because the character assassination of Adam Strange is such a cynical take to make him relevant. Don't get me wrong, I'm not very familiar with Adam Strange, but making him out to be the villain seems like such a cop-out.
That said, taking this book for what is it, I think it's beautiful, engaging, and well-told. I can easily see myself revisiting this one time and again.
On the one hand, the writing is top notch. It's witty, punchy, and, at times, downright funny. On the other hand, I found all the main characters to be entirely unworthy of sympathy, which made it difficult for me to care about their outcomes. I understand Koch's desire to portray them as violent creatures under a facade of decency, but if I don't care about them, what's it all for? Eh, maybe it's because they were Dutch.
UPDATE:
For more of my thoughts, listen to my interview with author S.T. Gibson on the Shit We've Read podcast here.
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This was incredible! I love this trio of MCs, but Moira? MOIRA?? Ugh, I'm so in love with her! Moira, Rhys, and David will live in my heart for a long time. Easily at least 4.5 stars. Final rating TBD. Get this when it come out in May.
Thank you Angry Robot for the gorgeous ARC.
