What do you think?
Rate this book
Deathlands #11
Time Nomads
OUT OF THE RUINS OF THE APOCALYPSE, A NEW CIVILIZATION BEGINS...In the blasted heart of the new America, Ryan Cawdor and his band of warrior-survivalists search for hidden caches of food, weapons and technology -- the legacy of a preholocaust society -- stashed in lonely outposts known as redoubts.When Ryan ingests bacteria-infested food, he lies near death -- his body paralyzed but his mind traveling rapidly back to his early days in the Deathlands...moving through the southwest on post-nuke vehicles called warwags...and his run-in with the Baron.Towse, near what was once Albuquerque, is a ville in a freakishly beautiful landscape populated by scabbies and armed Apaches. Baron Alias Carson and his bejeweled wife, Sharona, welcome Ryan, J.B. Dix and the Tracker to their treacherous world.In the Deathlands the past is a dream. The future is a nightmare.
Paperback
First published May 1, 1990
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 15, 2026
Condition: Fair. Readable, but intense general wear.
WE’RE SO BACK BABY!
It’s been a while since I settled in with a Deathlands book. I have plenty more, but after managing to string together about 10 of the bastards in sequence, I really wanted to continue to read chronologically despite my vow to only acquire them through brick and mortar used book stores and thrift shops. I was extremely lucky while on a trip out of town to run across Time Nomads- not as part of a lot, but a lonely little volume seeking a new home. I couldn’t believe it. If you’ve never done this, try it yourself: pick a widely printed, very long pulp series you enjoy, and try to hunt the books down as you would pre-internet- it’s incredibly fun and far more thrilling that opening CSGO boxes on stream.
It’s hard to tell whether my enjoyment of Time Nomads is a result of its own quality or my own several months’ layoff from the series- probably a little of both. It helps that this is a structurally offbeat entry: upon arrival at a new redoubt, Ryan digs into some contaminated canned meat, giving him botulism and putting him into a coma, conveniently fever-dreaming him back into his own past, years before meeting most of our current team. It’s an opportunity for Ryan and a younger J.B. to break away from the team and show how things were done back in the day. What ensues is not particularly unique: Ryan and J.B. (as part of the Trader’s crew) stumble across a ville in the ruins of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a trade deal for gasoline goes south for reasons which are… not particularly sensible, actually. The plotting is a little thinner here than in most Deathlands books- the antagonist characters are particularly flat in this installment, and the revelation of the possible existence of Ryan’s illegitimate child doesn’t seem like quite the watershed moment Laurence James wants it to be, but whatever. This is Deathlands at its most elemental, its skeleton laid bare, a vicious, simple story of spent shell casings and hungry lust- in short, pulp at its pulpiest, but with the level of callous cynicism and gut-wrenching brutality that only Deathlands can provide. A very solid return to form after an uneven handful of entries prior.
https://hideousrecollection.substack.com
WE’RE SO BACK BABY!
It’s been a while since I settled in with a Deathlands book. I have plenty more, but after managing to string together about 10 of the bastards in sequence, I really wanted to continue to read chronologically despite my vow to only acquire them through brick and mortar used book stores and thrift shops. I was extremely lucky while on a trip out of town to run across Time Nomads- not as part of a lot, but a lonely little volume seeking a new home. I couldn’t believe it. If you’ve never done this, try it yourself: pick a widely printed, very long pulp series you enjoy, and try to hunt the books down as you would pre-internet- it’s incredibly fun and far more thrilling that opening CSGO boxes on stream.
It’s hard to tell whether my enjoyment of Time Nomads is a result of its own quality or my own several months’ layoff from the series- probably a little of both. It helps that this is a structurally offbeat entry: upon arrival at a new redoubt, Ryan digs into some contaminated canned meat, giving him botulism and putting him into a coma, conveniently fever-dreaming him back into his own past, years before meeting most of our current team. It’s an opportunity for Ryan and a younger J.B. to break away from the team and show how things were done back in the day. What ensues is not particularly unique: Ryan and J.B. (as part of the Trader’s crew) stumble across a ville in the ruins of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a trade deal for gasoline goes south for reasons which are… not particularly sensible, actually. The plotting is a little thinner here than in most Deathlands books- the antagonist characters are particularly flat in this installment, and the revelation of the possible existence of Ryan’s illegitimate child doesn’t seem like quite the watershed moment Laurence James wants it to be, but whatever. This is Deathlands at its most elemental, its skeleton laid bare, a vicious, simple story of spent shell casings and hungry lust- in short, pulp at its pulpiest, but with the level of callous cynicism and gut-wrenching brutality that only Deathlands can provide. A very solid return to form after an uneven handful of entries prior.
https://hideousrecollection.substack.com
March 24, 2026
Deathlands has been my guilty foray into trashy pulp science fiction. The series is penned by different authors under James Axler moniker. The premise is intriguing and the scenarios as well as continuity of the character story arcs are nicely done.
This entry struggles initially with poor writing but seems to pick up about halfway through.
This story finds Ryan Cawdor and his group of survivors trapped underground. The main part of the story is a flashback Ryan has of events prior to when the series started, when he was traveling with Trader in search of redoubts to plunder in what used to be the Southwest of the USA.
Expect plenty of action, sex, blood, death, detailed descriptions of different guns, and big plot twist at the end that I imagine will be revisited at some point in the future.
If it wasn’t for the initial poor start, this would have been a bit above average.
This entry struggles initially with poor writing but seems to pick up about halfway through.
This story finds Ryan Cawdor and his group of survivors trapped underground. The main part of the story is a flashback Ryan has of events prior to when the series started, when he was traveling with Trader in search of redoubts to plunder in what used to be the Southwest of the USA.
Expect plenty of action, sex, blood, death, detailed descriptions of different guns, and big plot twist at the end that I imagine will be revisited at some point in the future.
If it wasn’t for the initial poor start, this would have been a bit above average.
July 24, 2019
Another chapter, though this one changed the formula some. The bulk of the story was in the comatose dreams and/or memories of Ryan. It reads like his history with the Trader and the Warwags, though at times it seems like his half-conscious self is instilling bits and pieces into the memory. Either way, it was pretty interesting. The ending altered the formula as well since they didn't escape through the transit, but instead the redoubt explodes and they are in the middle of who knows where. Look forward to the next chapter.
November 30, 2019
I have always enjoyed the Deathlands and Outlanders series. Now that Harlequin books no longer uses the Gold Eagle imprint, I have hope that the original author of the series Mark Ellis gets his material back.
These books are pure men's fantasy, so just smack the crap out of the "I Believe" button and enjoy the read. While this is a long series, you can start with any book for the most part as each is a stand alone adventure. One of the things I like about this series is the fact that the MC unlike other men's fantasy series does not screw everything he can. No Captain Kirk here.
These books are pure men's fantasy, so just smack the crap out of the "I Believe" button and enjoy the read. While this is a long series, you can start with any book for the most part as each is a stand alone adventure. One of the things I like about this series is the fact that the MC unlike other men's fantasy series does not screw everything he can. No Captain Kirk here.
September 19, 2017
Nice to get another story with Trader and Hunecker again.
June 14, 2019
Fascinating. Good read. =)
February 19, 2023
always a light fun read, flashback book of early Trader days.
September 10, 2024
Great read with a look into Ryans past, how he met Trader, and what he went through in some of his time with Trader. Also a look into the life of the women who is Dean's mother.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2012
I listened to the GraphicAudio version. The audio was awesome - full cast, music, background sounds. Like those old time radio shows. Really excellent sound production.
The story itself was bad fiction. But I kept going back to it because I couldn't get enough of the cliches and rowdy sex scenes. Like my man said - it's like cornnuts. You know you shouldn't eat them, they are bad for you. But you do it anyway.
The story itself was bad fiction. But I kept going back to it because I couldn't get enough of the cliches and rowdy sex scenes. Like my man said - it's like cornnuts. You know you shouldn't eat them, they are bad for you. But you do it anyway.
Read
June 8, 2011not recommended
January 26, 2016
An average apocalyptic adventure story. This one takes a century after the last war and now there are mutants running around the earth. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews