Judge Dredd: The Savage Amusement

Judge Dredd novels from Virgin Books #2

by David Bishop

It's election day in Mega-City One and Judge Death is leading the polls. Meanwhile, a clone-killing virus is sweeping through the ranks of the judges.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

David James Bishop is a New Zealand screenwriter and author. He was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000.

He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.

In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.

In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.

Reviews

[Joe Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging story and good action for the most part. Ending is a bit lackluster. Still, worth a read for any Dredd fan.

[Michael Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decades in the planning, it is chaos day in Mega City One. A city is falling from the sky and millions could die. A sniper is killing people linked to Judge Dredd. Cloned judges are all being killed, and Dredd himself is a clone. Murderous crazies have taken over the promised election. Dangerous criminals are released. Juves are being killed to provide psychic energy to a madman who wants Dredd dead. And the Judge's department has been infiltrated by his traitors.

[DoNotDoxMe Goodreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story. As far as continuity, Savage Amusement references the "thirteenth assessment" story in the judge dredd complete case files 8. Savage Amusement is set after the Judgement Day story in the complete case files 16.

I'm coming from the perspective of a Judge Dredd fan. I got what I came for as far as action, sci-fi, and social commentary.

[Peter Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estimated date of reading