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Traveler #5
Road War
In the midst of the postnuclear wasteland, Traveler braves hideous mutants, savage road rats, and the fanatical Road Wasps to recover a fortune in buried bullion and forestall the President's monstrous war machine
157 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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February 28, 2018Book 5 in the series. Written by John Shirley as D. B. Drumm that takes place 15 years after a nuclear apocalypse and the antics of the remaining survivors.
May 23, 2020
Book 5 in the series. Written by John Shirley as D. B. Drumm.
This is a post-apocalyptic version of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World or Rat Race. Instead of jokes, there are car chases, gunfights, explosions, and a lot of bloody violence.
I remember this being my favorite book of the series back in the 80s. So far it's my favorite of my 2020 rereads.
Traveler and Link stop at a tavern in Drift. While there, an old prospector comes in and announces that he has found a vault full of gold bullion. He also says that he has cancer so he is going to hand out maps so that the bar patrons can kill each other trying to get to his gold. He then starts throwing razer sharp plates of gold with the map stamped on them into the crowd while firing his old Tompson submachine gun. The bartender removes the old man's tumor with a shotgun while general chaos breaks out.
Link gets a hold of a map and Traveler reluctantly agrees to go after the gold.
They have a lot of competition. Their primary competitors are a tribe of roadrats called the Road Wasps. There is also a large group of glory boys, some highwaymen, and a couple of guys in a dragster. The prospector also made sure the map takes everyone past road cannibals, and other feral humans. So many people die in this installment that even Traveler gets sick of killing people.
Nobody wins.
Along the way we discover that the dragster is occupied by Hill and Margolin, the two remaining members of Traveler’s old CIA Special Forces squad (Orwell, from the third volume, being the third). Traveler and Link rescue Rosalita from the Road Wasps and Rosalita becomes Link's love interest. Sadly, before the end of the book, Margolin dies. We find out that Link has been collecting gold maps from vanquished competitors, so they end up with a significant amount of gold. Traveler and his three companions then head off to look for Jan and her tribe.
John Shirley delivers a thrill-a-minute action story with plenty of gore with a heaping helping of dark comedy. You can tell he was having fun as he wrote it, and that fun carries over to the reader.
This is a post-apocalyptic version of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World or Rat Race. Instead of jokes, there are car chases, gunfights, explosions, and a lot of bloody violence.
I remember this being my favorite book of the series back in the 80s. So far it's my favorite of my 2020 rereads.
Traveler and Link stop at a tavern in Drift. While there, an old prospector comes in and announces that he has found a vault full of gold bullion. He also says that he has cancer so he is going to hand out maps so that the bar patrons can kill each other trying to get to his gold. He then starts throwing razer sharp plates of gold with the map stamped on them into the crowd while firing his old Tompson submachine gun. The bartender removes the old man's tumor with a shotgun while general chaos breaks out.
Link gets a hold of a map and Traveler reluctantly agrees to go after the gold.
They have a lot of competition. Their primary competitors are a tribe of roadrats called the Road Wasps. There is also a large group of glory boys, some highwaymen, and a couple of guys in a dragster. The prospector also made sure the map takes everyone past road cannibals, and other feral humans. So many people die in this installment that even Traveler gets sick of killing people.
Nobody wins.
Along the way we discover that the dragster is occupied by Hill and Margolin, the two remaining members of Traveler’s old CIA Special Forces squad (Orwell, from the third volume, being the third). Traveler and Link rescue Rosalita from the Road Wasps and Rosalita becomes Link's love interest. Sadly, before the end of the book, Margolin dies. We find out that Link has been collecting gold maps from vanquished competitors, so they end up with a significant amount of gold. Traveler and his three companions then head off to look for Jan and her tribe.
John Shirley delivers a thrill-a-minute action story with plenty of gore with a heaping helping of dark comedy. You can tell he was having fun as he wrote it, and that fun carries over to the reader.
February 24, 2024
The cheesy 80s action continues. I would maybe ding this entry in the series for bringing slightly fewer ideas to the table, but it's not an unenjoyable time. It has the energy of a movie that you would watch if it were on, but I wouldn't go out of my way to track this one down.
June 27, 2019
Another solid volume in the series. Traveler runs into a couple of friends from his past as he goes after booby-trapped gold.
March 27, 2021
A post apocalypse treasure hunt is what's going on in book #5 in this series. When Traveler and his traveling companion, Link roll in to a town called Drift. They make their way to The Fallout Shelter which is one of the only bars left running in the wastelands. While there, the Old Man in the Hole, a crazy old prospector tells of his fortune of gold. He is dying and gives out maps to his treasure. The thing is, he hates everyone. Booby traps and road rats and all sorts of danger await.
This one flew by. At only 158 pages, there wasn't much time to get in to things. That and we only have Travelers view on things. It would of been nice to have some of the other gangs looking for the gold have some time too. A few more traps. A little more depth in story and this would of been a five star book. Either way, it's still a good time.
This one flew by. At only 158 pages, there wasn't much time to get in to things. That and we only have Travelers view on things. It would of been nice to have some of the other gangs looking for the gold have some time too. A few more traps. A little more depth in story and this would of been a five star book. Either way, it's still a good time.
April 11, 2023
Traveler Road War book 5 in the ongoing Traveler series, is unfortunately the weakest of the books so far. As you can tell from the title, this one is going to be taking place on the road, with a lot of battles happening in the meat wagon.
Unfortunately, that didn’t leave much in terms of story and adventure. I swear this series was written by different authors, because some books dove into the supernatural/radioactive monsters and others, focus on post apocalyptic world, where people just struggle to survive.
This book was the later. The travelers “sixth sense” is very subdued and really just feels like he is an everyday survivor. There was some potential for this one to go places, but the book clocks in at 158 pages, so it never really had a chance to get going. The book just ends with a lack luster finish, and seems like it was used a bridge to get back to the main story.
And that’s what I’m assuming this was. A way for the author to get back on track, and reset his storyline. By no means was the book bad. If you enjoy the traveler series, you will still have fun reading the book. On a side note, the guys who made fallout the video game, no doubt read this series. In this book in particular, they are in a place called drift.
For some reason, Traveler books have been going up in price lately (from $4 to $15-20) so I have been waiting a while to buy this one and when it finally popped up for $4 I bought it. I’m glad I waited however. Hopefully I can find book 6 at a good price, and BD Drumm goes back to his old ways. 4/5 stars.
Unfortunately, that didn’t leave much in terms of story and adventure. I swear this series was written by different authors, because some books dove into the supernatural/radioactive monsters and others, focus on post apocalyptic world, where people just struggle to survive.
This book was the later. The travelers “sixth sense” is very subdued and really just feels like he is an everyday survivor. There was some potential for this one to go places, but the book clocks in at 158 pages, so it never really had a chance to get going. The book just ends with a lack luster finish, and seems like it was used a bridge to get back to the main story.
And that’s what I’m assuming this was. A way for the author to get back on track, and reset his storyline. By no means was the book bad. If you enjoy the traveler series, you will still have fun reading the book. On a side note, the guys who made fallout the video game, no doubt read this series. In this book in particular, they are in a place called drift.
For some reason, Traveler books have been going up in price lately (from $4 to $15-20) so I have been waiting a while to buy this one and when it finally popped up for $4 I bought it. I’m glad I waited however. Hopefully I can find book 6 at a good price, and BD Drumm goes back to his old ways. 4/5 stars.
September 16, 2020
So this is a modern (at least for the 80's/90's) pulp book. A serial series similar to The Destroyer or Longarm that is generally thin on character development and high on action/sex. I remember reading some of these types of novels when I was younger.
This book is really simple and not trying to be anything other than what it is: an action series based around a US Mad Max like character that wanders a wasteland. If you're not looking for complex characterization or a wordy/verbose tome, then pick up any one of the series. They are short enough to not be a tremendous waste of time if you hate it, and if you love it, then there are a number in the series just like it.
This book is really simple and not trying to be anything other than what it is: an action series based around a US Mad Max like character that wanders a wasteland. If you're not looking for complex characterization or a wordy/verbose tome, then pick up any one of the series. They are short enough to not be a tremendous waste of time if you hate it, and if you love it, then there are a number in the series just like it.
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March 24, 2009John Shirley writing as D.B. Drumm.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews