All Bad Things

Wasteland: Rangers and Raiders #2

by Stephen Blackmoore

Luke Samson survived the apocalypse, but when he found faith things really went to Hell.

"Join or die." That was Samson's sermon and he delivered salvation from the business end of a sledgehammer. His army of God-fearing maniacs marches toward Los Angeles and a war that will bring the heathens to their knees.

But every war has a secret, and when the truth behind this crusade gets out, Samson will wish he'd never been saved at all.

Genres: Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Novella, Fiction, War, Short Stories, Ebooks

110 pages, ebook

First published January 31, 2014

About the author

Stephen Blackmoore is the author of the noir / urban fantasy Eric Carter series (DEAD THINGS, BROKEN SOULS, HUNGRY GHOSTS, and FIRE SEASON), about a necromancer in modern-day Los Angeles.

You can find him online at stephenblackmoore.com, or follow him on Twitter at @sblackmoore.

Reviews

[Bernard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oops, I accidentally read this before I finished playing Wasteland 2. Well, I was looking for something to get me back into the WL2 mood, having stalled out on my first play through on account of... lack of free time, I guess. Then I remembered I had this story from my Kickstarter rewards. Forgot that I had already read a review that indicated I should read it after playing WL2. So: oops! At least I was already into the second half of the game, had explored Hollywood.... so if you've already gotten that far I suppose it isn't much of a spoiler.

As for the story itself, as with many pieces of good fiction, the reader doesn't really get what they want out of it. What did I want? Some redemption. Some "good guys win in the end." But, the trouble is, there weren't any good guys in this story. Just bad guys, traitorous bad guys and one bad guy who realized he was a dupe all along.

There were some interesting scenes of post-bomb greater Los Angeles that add to the overall word building that the California-based parts Wasteland 2 contribute to the overall Wasteland mythos. But mostly, just brutality and fighting and a lot of blowing up of things and people. Which to be fair, is a lot of the content of Wasteland and Wasteland 2.

I'd recommend it to fans of the game series, but not Captain America. He'd keep complaining about all the cussing and miss out on the fun of the ride through one man's psychosis and quest to bring order to his corner of the world.

[Michael Kingswood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent story, set in the world of Wasteland, the wicked awesome computer game from the 80s. I got it because I backed Wasteland 2 on kickstarter. Probably would have bought it anyway, because I'm a fan of the game. But it was nice not to have to pay extra. :)

To the story. Kind of cool, a little disturbing - to be expected based on the subject matter. I'd say the ironic ending made it though. All in all, a fun bit of reading. Worth the time.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not worth the $10 asking price due to its short length (I got it as a WL2 backer) though it does waste a solid hour.

The plot has a good pace and keeps things interesting though unlike A Boy and His Dog, this story makes the wasteland a bit too drab, though this could be due to the constant killing and conflict so others may enjoy it more.

[Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book set in the Wasteland universe about a man with schizophrenia decided to go on a killing spree for all those who wouldn't accept the "word of God", ended up with some more twists along the way, bloodshed guaranteed. Pretty predictable right from the start but I enjoyed the description of the carnage and violence in the novella.

[Arnel Šarić · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serijal "50 knjiga u godinu dana". Čitati o ovoj i ostalima na: http://www.onajkojikuca.com/?p=1350

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a waste of time and money. Dystopian fiction at it's worst. Loved the cover art though.

[Sylvester · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second book was even worse than the first. It was fairly predictable to see what would happen to the main characters if you have played the video game. It was nice to introduce us to the Guardians, an organisation that dedicated itself to preserve pre-war objects but that's about the only interesting thing in the book. The writing was clumsy, the character fell into the archetypes and it was just a lot of actions but with no content.

[John-Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good conclusion to the "Ghost Book" series. More action packed than the first book and there's nothing wrong with that. These two "Ghost Book" books are a nice summary of the first Wasteland game and a really nice read before playing Wasteland 2. Especially since there's several references in the second game to the first game.

[John-Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, for what it was. The characters were interesting and the plot interesting. It's the backstory for one of the factions in the upcoming Wasteland 2 game, and it made lots of sense.

[Alexander Yakovlev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a real genuine post-apocalyptic novel where you just HAVE to read through the horror to know just what happened next. Not much of a tie-in one (yes, you CAN meet The Church in the game but it's a long road from Ranger Center), but definitely worth the read.

[Arnel Šarić · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars means 'it was ok'. Basically, a tie-in novel for the game that should be read AFTER playing Wasteland 2.

Ova knjiga je dio mog #50BookPledge iskustva za 2015. godinu. Dnevnik čitanja možete pronaći ovdje: http://www.onajkojikuca.com/?p=1350

[Kristian Bjørkelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just plain old post-apocalyotic fun with a firebrand twist. A background story for Wasteland, but works even without knowledge of the games.

Well-written and decent characterizations.

The moral of the story? Nothing new, if any at all.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

got this free with my wasteland 2 order/kickstarter pledge.

brilliant brilliant! makes me want to play the game even more!!

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irgendwo zwischen seltsam und verstörend, also wie es sich für ein ordentliches Endzeitszenario gehört.

[Jarod C. Arford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, pulpy fun.