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Deathlands #2
Red Holocaust
WHEN ALL IS LOST, THERE'S ALWAYS THE FUTURE
But the future in a world shrouded in the radioactive red dust clouds of a generation-old global nuclear war depends on finding hidden caches of food, weapons and technology - the legacy of a preholocaust society - stashed in lonely outposts known as redoubts.
When Ryan Cawdor discovers a redoubt in the bitter freakish wasteland that now passes for Alaska, he also uncovers a new threat to a slowly reemerging America.
Roaming bands of survivors have crossed the Bering Strait from Russia to pillage Alaska and use it as the staging ground for an impending invasion of America.
In Deathlands, the war for domination is over, but the struggle for survival continues.
But the future in a world shrouded in the radioactive red dust clouds of a generation-old global nuclear war depends on finding hidden caches of food, weapons and technology - the legacy of a preholocaust society - stashed in lonely outposts known as redoubts.
When Ryan Cawdor discovers a redoubt in the bitter freakish wasteland that now passes for Alaska, he also uncovers a new threat to a slowly reemerging America.
Roaming bands of survivors have crossed the Bering Strait from Russia to pillage Alaska and use it as the staging ground for an impending invasion of America.
In Deathlands, the war for domination is over, but the struggle for survival continues.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1986
34 people are currently reading
381 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 3, 2012
Deathlands 2: Red Holocaust / 0373625022
Someday, scientists will locate the part of the brain that enjoys Deathlands. I hope so, because I'm curious to know why I like these books. They're full of every trigger warning imaginable -- death, murder, guns rape, torture, bestiality, mutant animals chewing your face off, and painful grotesque radioactive deformities. Fun for the whole family!
However, they're also delightfully campy in a B-movie kind of way. The heroes are fun to laugh at, as well as the writing, as both strive to be Serious and Edgy and instead land smack dab in Silly and Stupidly Bullheaded territory. And the novels are such a quick read -- they're like literary popcorn, liberally doused in Movie Theater Butter.
"Red Holocaust" is the second book in the Deathlands series and the first decent one to read. It's written by a different author from "Pilgrimage to Hell", as we now have Laurence James writing as James Axler instead of Jack Adrian writing as James Axler. There is more rape and torture in this book, but significantly less bestiality, which I'm going to tentatively count as a plus. It's a far shorter book than its predecessor, the writing is punchier, and while there are Russian Bad Guys, there's a lot less of a Cold War fantasy feel to the whole thing. Good news all around.
If you're reading through the series and decide to give this one a miss but want a plot synopsis, here are some spoilers (otherwise skip to the end of the review): Ryan and company teleport into an Alaskan military facility to restock and gain a new member to the team, the blond teenager Lori. This part is particularly amusing because Ryan et. al. basically announce that they are going to take as many supplies as they want and then get touchy when the local population of three point out that there is something objectionable about this behavior. Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen! They explore the area for awhile, find some Russians to shoot up, make an oblique reference to the planet Hoth sequence in the Star Wars movie, and then smash up a local cult for good measure before teleporting out again. For science!
If you're still trying to decide whether to read the Deathlands books or not, "Red Holocaust" is really a great microcosm of the series -- if you like this book, you'll like the rest, at least for various meanings of the word "like".
~ Ana Mardoll
Someday, scientists will locate the part of the brain that enjoys Deathlands. I hope so, because I'm curious to know why I like these books. They're full of every trigger warning imaginable -- death, murder, guns rape, torture, bestiality, mutant animals chewing your face off, and painful grotesque radioactive deformities. Fun for the whole family!
However, they're also delightfully campy in a B-movie kind of way. The heroes are fun to laugh at, as well as the writing, as both strive to be Serious and Edgy and instead land smack dab in Silly and Stupidly Bullheaded territory. And the novels are such a quick read -- they're like literary popcorn, liberally doused in Movie Theater Butter.
"Red Holocaust" is the second book in the Deathlands series and the first decent one to read. It's written by a different author from "Pilgrimage to Hell", as we now have Laurence James writing as James Axler instead of Jack Adrian writing as James Axler. There is more rape and torture in this book, but significantly less bestiality, which I'm going to tentatively count as a plus. It's a far shorter book than its predecessor, the writing is punchier, and while there are Russian Bad Guys, there's a lot less of a Cold War fantasy feel to the whole thing. Good news all around.
If you're reading through the series and decide to give this one a miss but want a plot synopsis, here are some spoilers (otherwise skip to the end of the review): Ryan and company teleport into an Alaskan military facility to restock and gain a new member to the team, the blond teenager Lori. This part is particularly amusing because Ryan et. al. basically announce that they are going to take as many supplies as they want and then get touchy when the local population of three point out that there is something objectionable about this behavior. Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen! They explore the area for awhile, find some Russians to shoot up, make an oblique reference to the planet Hoth sequence in the Star Wars movie, and then smash up a local cult for good measure before teleporting out again. For science!
If you're still trying to decide whether to read the Deathlands books or not, "Red Holocaust" is really a great microcosm of the series -- if you like this book, you'll like the rest, at least for various meanings of the word "like".
~ Ana Mardoll
April 20, 2012
What's wrong with the Deathlands series? Every time a weapon is mentioned, regardless of how often it has been mentioned before, the full name is given along with the ammo it fires. Each time a character is described we also get descriptions of all the weapons he/she is carrying. Now that I'm on the third book (the one after this one) this anal attention to detail is starting to drag. What's it all about?
At the start of this (audio) book were several previews... that's right, previews in an audio book. WTF? When Red Holocaust finally got going, I had to sit through what seemed like an eternity of "Previously on Lost" style catch up. I've listened to the whole of the previous book, I don't need to hear half of it again!
What's right with the Deathlands series? Get in the car with this stuff on the stereo and your journey to work disappears. Deathlands on Graphic Audio is like a 3D HD Big Mac shoved in your face. How is it made? Don't care. What's in it? Don't care. Just let that molten cheese roll around your mouth and smother your taste buds. Next!
At the start of this (audio) book were several previews... that's right, previews in an audio book. WTF? When Red Holocaust finally got going, I had to sit through what seemed like an eternity of "Previously on Lost" style catch up. I've listened to the whole of the previous book, I don't need to hear half of it again!
What's right with the Deathlands series? Get in the car with this stuff on the stereo and your journey to work disappears. Deathlands on Graphic Audio is like a 3D HD Big Mac shoved in your face. How is it made? Don't care. What's in it? Don't care. Just let that molten cheese roll around your mouth and smother your taste buds. Next!
March 14, 2013
This book is not very good. And yet I had to read it until the end. It is what it is, if you don't have any expectations. It is a good book to read on the toilet.
April 2, 2023
Solid 2.5 stars honestly, dipping to 2 from time to time.
TW: Depictions of rape and torture
This is the second book in the Deathlands series and after Pilgrimage to Hell I had a bit higher hopes that this would be a faster read now that Laurence James had taken over the series and his chapter lengths were certainly more reasonable at the end of the first book. I am happy to report that in "Red Holocaust" this is, indeed, an extremely fast read. Strangely it's not as action packed as I was expecting, but it was fast for other reasons and it fleshes out the post-nuclear holocaust world a little bit more for all of us.
This story features all of the survivors from the last book and towards the end of that book we were treated to the fact that by 2001 mankind had been able to successfully transport matter, mat-trans, between two locations. The end of Pilgrimage to Hell had our heroes jumping from one location to the next and we never knew where they landed last. Red Holocaust is the story of where they decided to stop and explore. We find our heroes in an intact redoubt, but shockingly it is attached to a mall! The automatic systems built into the place were still working, and our heroes live in a land of seeming luxury for a good portion of the novel. Their explorations and study of what had happened, was actually fairly interesting, so even though this novel probably isn't as action packed as others, I did find it interesting to read about our characters looking through the relics of a bygone age.
Of further interest is that the redoubt wasn't unpopulated, instead they are confronted by three strange characters. An extremely old man and wife, and old man's younger wife. They've clearly been locked up for decades, so you can figure out how "wife" like all these people are. The old man had clearly lost his mind to some degree and he referred to himself as the "Keeper". There were strict rules, one of which was to never go outside... so our heroes pretty much broke a lot of those rules. The real problem is that Keeper couldn't read, but our heroes could, so our heroes knew how to work some of the technology. Eventually our heroes determine that they are in Alaska, somewhere near the old city of Anchorage. The northern parts of earth are in a sort of perpetual nuclear winter and everything is completely frozen in these areas and has temperatures that rival the nights in Antarctica, so it is dangerous to travel outdoors at times.
The chapters in this book bounce back and forth between our heroes and what is pretty obvious an oncoming enemy. In the northern parts of Russia is a band of criminals calling themselves the Narodniki, obviously borrowed from the Narodnik movement of the late 1800's. In any event, these people are not really revolutionaries, and they are in the process of fleeing Russia, likely due to their pillaging and destroying settlements everywhere they ride. The descriptions of torture and rape occur whenever the Narodniki destroy a settlement. One of the key features of this region is that the Bering Straight has frozen over enough so that people can travel along it. So the Narodniki decide to "invade America," or whatever they think is left of the place. The problem is, they are working with woefully outdated information about this being a "land of abundance," because almost everything is destroyed... except for the redoubts. However, they don't really know about the redoubts and the real question is, would Ryan ever tell them under duress?
One of the problems I had with this book, is that Ryan kept losing members of his team. I really liked his team that survived the last book and frankly, I was ready for a ton of Mary Sue type characters that were nearly invincible along side Ryan. But, alas, the author decides that in order to create the sense of "danger" Ryan and his team is going through, some of the others must die.
In the end James, overall did a better job of making this a fast read. But, I'm not sure he did a better job of crafting a story. I really hope the books improve as they go on, because I am in for quite a long haul as James wrote up to the first 33 books in this series. I do also try to remind myself that this was written in the 80's. However, given how fast they probably, it might not be too bad. I just won't get too attached to any other characters other than Ryan, Krysty, J.B. Dix and Doc Tanner. I believe they are the mainstays of the series.
TW: Depictions of rape and torture
This is the second book in the Deathlands series and after Pilgrimage to Hell I had a bit higher hopes that this would be a faster read now that Laurence James had taken over the series and his chapter lengths were certainly more reasonable at the end of the first book. I am happy to report that in "Red Holocaust" this is, indeed, an extremely fast read. Strangely it's not as action packed as I was expecting, but it was fast for other reasons and it fleshes out the post-nuclear holocaust world a little bit more for all of us.
This story features all of the survivors from the last book and towards the end of that book we were treated to the fact that by 2001 mankind had been able to successfully transport matter, mat-trans, between two locations. The end of Pilgrimage to Hell had our heroes jumping from one location to the next and we never knew where they landed last. Red Holocaust is the story of where they decided to stop and explore. We find our heroes in an intact redoubt, but shockingly it is attached to a mall! The automatic systems built into the place were still working, and our heroes live in a land of seeming luxury for a good portion of the novel. Their explorations and study of what had happened, was actually fairly interesting, so even though this novel probably isn't as action packed as others, I did find it interesting to read about our characters looking through the relics of a bygone age.
Of further interest is that the redoubt wasn't unpopulated, instead they are confronted by three strange characters. An extremely old man and wife, and old man's younger wife. They've clearly been locked up for decades, so you can figure out how "wife" like all these people are. The old man had clearly lost his mind to some degree and he referred to himself as the "Keeper". There were strict rules, one of which was to never go outside... so our heroes pretty much broke a lot of those rules. The real problem is that Keeper couldn't read, but our heroes could, so our heroes knew how to work some of the technology. Eventually our heroes determine that they are in Alaska, somewhere near the old city of Anchorage. The northern parts of earth are in a sort of perpetual nuclear winter and everything is completely frozen in these areas and has temperatures that rival the nights in Antarctica, so it is dangerous to travel outdoors at times.
The chapters in this book bounce back and forth between our heroes and what is pretty obvious an oncoming enemy. In the northern parts of Russia is a band of criminals calling themselves the Narodniki, obviously borrowed from the Narodnik movement of the late 1800's. In any event, these people are not really revolutionaries, and they are in the process of fleeing Russia, likely due to their pillaging and destroying settlements everywhere they ride. The descriptions of torture and rape occur whenever the Narodniki destroy a settlement. One of the key features of this region is that the Bering Straight has frozen over enough so that people can travel along it. So the Narodniki decide to "invade America," or whatever they think is left of the place. The problem is, they are working with woefully outdated information about this being a "land of abundance," because almost everything is destroyed... except for the redoubts. However, they don't really know about the redoubts and the real question is, would Ryan ever tell them under duress?
One of the problems I had with this book, is that Ryan kept losing members of his team. I really liked his team that survived the last book and frankly, I was ready for a ton of Mary Sue type characters that were nearly invincible along side Ryan. But, alas, the author decides that in order to create the sense of "danger" Ryan and his team is going through, some of the others must die.
In the end James, overall did a better job of making this a fast read. But, I'm not sure he did a better job of crafting a story. I really hope the books improve as they go on, because I am in for quite a long haul as James wrote up to the first 33 books in this series. I do also try to remind myself that this was written in the 80's. However, given how fast they probably, it might not be too bad. I just won't get too attached to any other characters other than Ryan, Krysty, J.B. Dix and Doc Tanner. I believe they are the mainstays of the series.
December 25, 2022
I enjoyed this one a bit more than the first one. Now that we have the characters kinda fleshed out it was fun to see them in their element. It will be interesting to see if they keep on the same path. I think if you were a little let down with the first one and wanted to give it one more go. You won't be to sorry. At the end of this I'm definitely wanting to read the 3rd.
April 4, 2017
This one has it all - a postapocalyptic religious cult, Russian invaders, frozen survivalism. But sometimes it feels like it's too much crammed into one story.
May 7, 2018
2 books into this series and I’m asking myself “why have I continuously ignored the Deathlands novels in favor of constantly disappointing and lackluster ones?”.
In all seriousness, though, the Deathlands series have already been a ton of fun and I can’t believe I, a self professed lover of cheaply written, post apocalyptic novels, never tried to get into these before. Oh well, better late than never I suppose.
Red Holocaust continues right where Pilgrimage to Hell left off. It had Axler’s signature blend of badly written dialogue and typical macho man filled characters, complete with all the requisite bloodshed, violence, sex, rape, and destruction. Usually this would be good, especially in this fictional setting but I felt the non-stop action and quick pace of the first book was left behind in favor of a much shorter plot and page length.
I know I had the mild gripe that Pilgrimage felt too long, but Holocaust feels markedly too short.
Whatever the case, I’m glad I’ve finally found not only some half way decent stories about the apocalypse, but a new series I can work my way through. 2 down, 110 to go.
In all seriousness, though, the Deathlands series have already been a ton of fun and I can’t believe I, a self professed lover of cheaply written, post apocalyptic novels, never tried to get into these before. Oh well, better late than never I suppose.
Red Holocaust continues right where Pilgrimage to Hell left off. It had Axler’s signature blend of badly written dialogue and typical macho man filled characters, complete with all the requisite bloodshed, violence, sex, rape, and destruction. Usually this would be good, especially in this fictional setting but I felt the non-stop action and quick pace of the first book was left behind in favor of a much shorter plot and page length.
I know I had the mild gripe that Pilgrimage felt too long, but Holocaust feels markedly too short.
Whatever the case, I’m glad I’ve finally found not only some half way decent stories about the apocalypse, but a new series I can work my way through. 2 down, 110 to go.
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
September 26, 2011
this series is a guilty pleasure of mine..
May 21, 2025
Condition: Fine. Dogeared top right corner of cover. Some peeling along bottom spine edge.
Easily the best I’ve read so far in the series. Red Holocaust emphasizes the harshest, ugliest parts of the Deathlands series, employing to great effect an alternating POV between Cawdor’s team of blasters and the Russian warband approaching them across the Bering Strait. The stuff with Cawdor’s team is fun, with the bizarre setup that leads to the recruitment of Lori, but the Russians make this novel. The descriptions of remote villages, winter survival, and grotesque mutations in eastern Siberia are among the most hideous I’ve read in the series, and the sheer sociopathic viciousness of Uchitel and the rest of the Narondniki makes for powerfully compelling and setting-appropriate antagonists. This is what I find so deeply compelling about the Deathlands series: the cruelty of it that far outstrips nearly anything else I’ve seen in this sort of pulp publishing. Shocking violence, revolting deformities, torturous survival scenarios: these are the things that I would associate with life after a nuclear holocaust. Deathlands has much more Threads in its DNA than anything American I’ve encountered, and it’s all the better for it.
It is, invariably, not without missteps: the weird diversion for Hennigan’s near-sacrifice by a demented cult seems like a short story utterly unattached to the primary narrative, and characterization of some of these early members of the team is essentially absent- it seems pretty clear that James knew he wanted to clear out most of the original members to create room for his own characters. But none of this really moves the needle on just how austere and unsettling Red Holocaust manages to be- I hope this level of ominous tension and darkness is something the series is able to reach for again in later installments.
https://hideousrecollection.substack.com
Easily the best I’ve read so far in the series. Red Holocaust emphasizes the harshest, ugliest parts of the Deathlands series, employing to great effect an alternating POV between Cawdor’s team of blasters and the Russian warband approaching them across the Bering Strait. The stuff with Cawdor’s team is fun, with the bizarre setup that leads to the recruitment of Lori, but the Russians make this novel. The descriptions of remote villages, winter survival, and grotesque mutations in eastern Siberia are among the most hideous I’ve read in the series, and the sheer sociopathic viciousness of Uchitel and the rest of the Narondniki makes for powerfully compelling and setting-appropriate antagonists. This is what I find so deeply compelling about the Deathlands series: the cruelty of it that far outstrips nearly anything else I’ve seen in this sort of pulp publishing. Shocking violence, revolting deformities, torturous survival scenarios: these are the things that I would associate with life after a nuclear holocaust. Deathlands has much more Threads in its DNA than anything American I’ve encountered, and it’s all the better for it.
It is, invariably, not without missteps: the weird diversion for Hennigan’s near-sacrifice by a demented cult seems like a short story utterly unattached to the primary narrative, and characterization of some of these early members of the team is essentially absent- it seems pretty clear that James knew he wanted to clear out most of the original members to create room for his own characters. But none of this really moves the needle on just how austere and unsettling Red Holocaust manages to be- I hope this level of ominous tension and darkness is something the series is able to reach for again in later installments.
https://hideousrecollection.substack.com
February 12, 2023
The Russian inclusion in this tale was a nice addition and as such I believe so far in my readings of the series, that it is the best entry thus far. Not only do we get a glimpse of far eastern Russia, the small village systems outside of major cities, the settlements themselves are on the very verge of death existing in a cold, harsh wasteland. It is revealed that the Soviet government has survived in some form and has a militia force to deal with disorder, banditry and internal threats. A party command structure is at the head of this militia, and with a small mention from the head of this militia it is said that western units in the far west of Russia (European Russia) have long range military trucks and sizeable forces.
Though this is a backdrop, it is a nice detail as stories of nuclear post apocalypse between two nations never indulge those who fired the missiles first, or, fired them at the same time. I would hope that the Russian landscape is revisited soon. As it would hold quite interesting tenements to post apocalyptic life.
Another fine addition I thought was the redoubt in Alaska and it’s small villages of people. The author effectively communicates the bitterness that the environment incurs, making myself feel like the cold wind was slashing my face whenever a moment in the open land was brought up.
The redoubt itself, which houses a weapons museum, a shopping mall, libraries of film, music, entertainment and books, was a fantastic find. Though, not all could read and serves as an interesting take on the stockpile of knowledge in a world forever lost.
The inhabitants of said redoubt are also interesting in their occupation. How very little goes on to the point that the watcher of the redoubt is mentally unstable.
To conclude, a fine title in the massive adventures. I loved the setting of this one and thoroughly recommend reading it.
If you’re privy to e-books title copies can be found on the Internet Archive.
Cheers.
Though this is a backdrop, it is a nice detail as stories of nuclear post apocalypse between two nations never indulge those who fired the missiles first, or, fired them at the same time. I would hope that the Russian landscape is revisited soon. As it would hold quite interesting tenements to post apocalyptic life.
Another fine addition I thought was the redoubt in Alaska and it’s small villages of people. The author effectively communicates the bitterness that the environment incurs, making myself feel like the cold wind was slashing my face whenever a moment in the open land was brought up.
The redoubt itself, which houses a weapons museum, a shopping mall, libraries of film, music, entertainment and books, was a fantastic find. Though, not all could read and serves as an interesting take on the stockpile of knowledge in a world forever lost.
The inhabitants of said redoubt are also interesting in their occupation. How very little goes on to the point that the watcher of the redoubt is mentally unstable.
To conclude, a fine title in the massive adventures. I loved the setting of this one and thoroughly recommend reading it.
If you’re privy to e-books title copies can be found on the Internet Archive.
Cheers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2025
Much like the first book in this series, this book left me cold (pun intended) and wondering what exactly the appeal is. Our plucky band of post-apocalyptic survivors venture to the frozen wastes of what was once Alaska and face off against a murderous troupe of Russian ne'er-do-wells. The Russians spent about half the time doing cartoonishly, gruesomely torturous violence and the other half of the time essentially doing Yakov Smirnov bits with an outdated Russian to English phrasebook. Total whiplash. Our heroes get some development but mostly when they're dying, which surely has to slow in pace if this series is going to last for another 100+ books.
I really want to like this series, though I'm not sure why. I think it's just an aesthetic enjoyment of the 1980s cover art and a consumeristic enjoyment of the collect-em-all feeling that accompanies any lengthy series like this. Unlike Gold Eagle's other similar series from the time period like the Destroyer or the SuperBolan series, these aren't clicking for me in the same way. I might give these a rest for a while.
I really want to like this series, though I'm not sure why. I think it's just an aesthetic enjoyment of the 1980s cover art and a consumeristic enjoyment of the collect-em-all feeling that accompanies any lengthy series like this. Unlike Gold Eagle's other similar series from the time period like the Destroyer or the SuperBolan series, these aren't clicking for me in the same way. I might give these a rest for a while.
March 31, 2021
Really not a very good book, though I read to the end to see if it would improve - it didn't. It really needs a good edit to fill in the gaps where it starts a storyline and then never finishes it - or complete removal in many cases. There are also many annoying inconsistencies - one minute it's so cold outside (in post-apocalypse Alaska) that nothing can survive - the next the protagonist is running around with little clothing and survives overnight.
The dwelling on the specifics of the weaponry reads like its intended audience is 13-year-old American gun nuts and the whole MatTrans thing and redoubts that are still functioning and well-stocked after 100 years is just too far-fetched. There were some good parts that could have formed the basis for a good read, but it was clearly rushed to print as pulp fiction.
The dwelling on the specifics of the weaponry reads like its intended audience is 13-year-old American gun nuts and the whole MatTrans thing and redoubts that are still functioning and well-stocked after 100 years is just too far-fetched. There were some good parts that could have formed the basis for a good read, but it was clearly rushed to print as pulp fiction.
August 4, 2022
I think I will say the same thing about every Deathlands book until I find one that is either better or worse than all the others...
They are an insane (inane?) ride through a post apocalyptic version of the movie Hobbs and Shaw on ketamine with mutants and portals through time and space.
If you're interested in the above description, you will more than likely find something you enjoy in the Deathlands series. They are INCREDIBLY formulaic but I thoroughly enjoy the characters, and most story arcs are interesting enough for me to pick up the next one eventually.
The Graphic Audio versions are superbly made.
I'd probably give most Deathlands books a 3.5/5. Since Goodreads doesn't allow that, I'll give them a 4/5.
They are an insane (inane?) ride through a post apocalyptic version of the movie Hobbs and Shaw on ketamine with mutants and portals through time and space.
If you're interested in the above description, you will more than likely find something you enjoy in the Deathlands series. They are INCREDIBLY formulaic but I thoroughly enjoy the characters, and most story arcs are interesting enough for me to pick up the next one eventually.
The Graphic Audio versions are superbly made.
I'd probably give most Deathlands books a 3.5/5. Since Goodreads doesn't allow that, I'll give them a 4/5.
March 14, 2022
The Deathlands series is a series that I’ve been meaning to try out for something like a decade. I knew going in that it wasn’t great literature and that there was a certain pulpiness to the stories but I’m a sucker for a post-apocalyptic story and I thought that the stories would at least be fun. After years of searching for the first book in the series and coming up short I gave up and started with the second. I was right.
The book is tremendously fun. It’s pulp in the best sense. It’s competent writing, with a fun story that never stops moving. It’s the kind of book that you read quickly and just have fun with and I think that I’m going to start looking for more books in the series.
The book is tremendously fun. It’s pulp in the best sense. It’s competent writing, with a fun story that never stops moving. It’s the kind of book that you read quickly and just have fun with and I think that I’m going to start looking for more books in the series.
July 18, 2022
Red Holocaust is a fun read, but definitely suffers the test of time. I like the cold setting of Alaska, but the cold war conflict is somewhat dated. Thankfully, that theme abates somewhat in future titles.
Picking up from the end of Pilgrimage to Hell, the group of friends representing "America" faces off against invading Russians. In doing so, the author sets up a future recurring antagonist that is flat an uninteresting, in my opinion. I am glad the series doesn't keep on this theme too much.
Good for the action, mutant conflict, weapons, and character development. A lukewarm entry into the series overall. Not re-readable, but not worthy of a miss entirely either.
Picking up from the end of Pilgrimage to Hell, the group of friends representing "America" faces off against invading Russians. In doing so, the author sets up a future recurring antagonist that is flat an uninteresting, in my opinion. I am glad the series doesn't keep on this theme too much.
Good for the action, mutant conflict, weapons, and character development. A lukewarm entry into the series overall. Not re-readable, but not worthy of a miss entirely either.
November 19, 2025
The second book in the Deathlands series written by Laurence James is a fantastic read. Punchy and gritty with a touch of mystery and a whole big dose of dirty combat and action makes this one of the better reads and one of the best pulp post apocalyptic series ever written. I really enjoyed this book. It is a reread from over 35 years ago and I thought the characters were wonderful. The Deathlands has great bad guys and the leader of this Mongolian hoard type group from Russia is no exception. A great read!
March 28, 2018
Again reminds me of the Gamma World or Aftermath RPGs and this time a bit more of the humor of the games but also seemed a bit more graphic. Still an enjoyable post-apocalypse action adventure story that was a good read for anyone who enjoys such. Plenty more in this long running series so I won't be lacking in something to fill this niche.
August 5, 2022
My least favorite of the three Deathlands novels I've read so far. The story wasn't great but I'm enjoying this series so far. It scratches the Fallout / Post Apocalyptic itch. I'm going to continue the series but I'm not excited for the next one. Nice pulp pallet cleanser in between longer books or to mix up genres. Recommend if you like post apocalyptic genre.
September 2, 2023
good stuff
Still really Enjoying the ride.. seriously worth reading. Hoping that the ride continues to be entertaining. I Will say that the transition to E book is not that great. There are continuous annoying entries that have nothing to do with the story. I think someone should have proofed the books before releasing to E books.
Still really Enjoying the ride.. seriously worth reading. Hoping that the ride continues to be entertaining. I Will say that the transition to E book is not that great. There are continuous annoying entries that have nothing to do with the story. I think someone should have proofed the books before releasing to E books.
May 10, 2018
The series continues to be bloody and violent, but is basically what you'd expect from the post-holocaust setting. Felt that the antagonists were a bit weaker than the first book, maybe. Still worth reading and will continue one.
September 13, 2018
This went really fast. And it was already short at something over 4 hours time when listening at 1.3x. It really notched up the gore and sound effects in this one. Some moments were very cringeworthy. Action packed and all kinds of bizarre characters. Good fun.
August 7, 2023
Trash in the wasteland
This was s men's sf adventure story where this is a lot of sex and a ton of gorey violence. The good Americans fight the Russians in post apocalyptic Alaska. Dumb. Unpleasant and so much fun to read
This was s men's sf adventure story where this is a lot of sex and a ton of gorey violence. The good Americans fight the Russians in post apocalyptic Alaska. Dumb. Unpleasant and so much fun to read
December 10, 2019
Decent action. Good read. =)
September 28, 2021
Russians "invade" Alaska looking for better things as Ryan and company use the redoubt as a "headquarters."
November 29, 2022
not bad sci-fi old but good
September 4, 2024
Just got too comically ridiculous and bad to finish.
June 16, 2025
A lot more violent than the first, with scenes of torture written in extensive detail. Not for the squeamish.
April 29, 2024
If you look closely, you'll notice that there's a postapocalyptic story in between the thorough descriptions of guns throughout this book.
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