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Endworld #1
The Fox Run
100 YEARS AFTER WORLD WAR THREE
At a compound in Minnesota a small group struggles to survive in a world gone mad.
Chemical clouds poison the air. Mutations abound. Barbarism runs rampant.
When the savage Trolls attack, the Family must rely on their Warriors to drive the
invaders off. But some of their loved ones are taken captive.
Against impossible odds, the Warriors must cross a blasted landscape swarming
with horrific creatures and effect a rescue. Their skill will be put to the test as never
before.
And not all of them will make it back.
At a compound in Minnesota a small group struggles to survive in a world gone mad.
Chemical clouds poison the air. Mutations abound. Barbarism runs rampant.
When the savage Trolls attack, the Family must rely on their Warriors to drive the
invaders off. But some of their loved ones are taken captive.
Against impossible odds, the Warriors must cross a blasted landscape swarming
with horrific creatures and effect a rescue. Their skill will be put to the test as never
before.
And not all of them will make it back.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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371 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 12, 2014
Don't get me wrong . This will never be considered great literature or for that matter anything other than trashy fun. I discovered this series back in my college days.(Those long ago days when unlike my young nephew who complained that his teacher did not give the class pre-printed notes because his hand would get sore, was just glad that someone had finally invented writing and that I wasn't eaten by a sabre-toothed tiger on the way to my teacher's cave.)
The series basically follows the exploits of a trio of warriors in an end of the world setting. They are the head warriors from a survivalist compound that is starting to re-explore what remains of their world. They do manage to find some good things but mainly find bands of scavengers willing to kill for anything that they can get, mutant creatures, and despotic madmen ruling evil little kingdoms.
The lead warrior is Blade, a mixture of John Wayne, Captain America, Andre the Giant, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. His signature weapon is a matched pair of Bowie knives. The second warrior is the deadly marksman known as Hickock. His signature weapons are a matched pair of pearl-handled colt revolvers .The final leg of this trio of warriors is Geromino. One of the last true native Americans, he has a pair of tomahawks for his signature weapons (but he does lose one later in the series). Notice my use of the word signature. This is important because all three use a myriad of weapons throughout the series., all lovingly described in detail. All three of these mighty warriors excel in their abilities. The giant Blade is strong and tough. Armed with nothing more than his Bowies, he can single-handily defeat a giant mutant wolverine or a band of marauders even after being shot(but only through the arm which he was able to keep from bleeding by squeezing his mighty bicep). Hickock armed with his six-shooters(so 12 bullets)could take on a group of 30 crazed warriors armed with automatic rifles each with hundred round magazines and defeat them all with bullets left to spare. Geromino was their scout and woodsman. He could track the memory of his enemy while blindfolded in a raging thunderstorm.
Was it believable? Not even remotely. Was it fun? Most definitely. Being a men's adventure series( and the illegitimate child of pulp fiction writing), the stories followed a set pattern each time. In fact, in every single book, you can find the same description of their home compound. By the same description, I do mean word for word same.But unlike most series of this nature there is character development. Usually whatever happens in one book can safely be forgotten by the next book. In the Endworld series, events do carryover from one book to another. While this does seem an obvious improvement, it is a fact that the Endworld(and its spinoff Blade series) did end with less than 30 books(50 books if you include the Blade books) in its entire run, some of those other unchanging series have run into the hundreds of books in their runs.
These books came out often with little time in between each. There was even a spin-off series called Blade. Some of the stories were reprinted in double volume issues. You can still find the odd edition in used book stores. So if you enjoy movies starring Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Slyvester Stallone, and you can find a copy or two, give this series a chance. Remember they aren't literature(great or not), but they are great fun.
The series basically follows the exploits of a trio of warriors in an end of the world setting. They are the head warriors from a survivalist compound that is starting to re-explore what remains of their world. They do manage to find some good things but mainly find bands of scavengers willing to kill for anything that they can get, mutant creatures, and despotic madmen ruling evil little kingdoms.
The lead warrior is Blade, a mixture of John Wayne, Captain America, Andre the Giant, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. His signature weapon is a matched pair of Bowie knives. The second warrior is the deadly marksman known as Hickock. His signature weapons are a matched pair of pearl-handled colt revolvers .The final leg of this trio of warriors is Geromino. One of the last true native Americans, he has a pair of tomahawks for his signature weapons (but he does lose one later in the series). Notice my use of the word signature. This is important because all three use a myriad of weapons throughout the series., all lovingly described in detail. All three of these mighty warriors excel in their abilities. The giant Blade is strong and tough. Armed with nothing more than his Bowies, he can single-handily defeat a giant mutant wolverine or a band of marauders even after being shot(but only through the arm which he was able to keep from bleeding by squeezing his mighty bicep). Hickock armed with his six-shooters(so 12 bullets)could take on a group of 30 crazed warriors armed with automatic rifles each with hundred round magazines and defeat them all with bullets left to spare. Geromino was their scout and woodsman. He could track the memory of his enemy while blindfolded in a raging thunderstorm.
Was it believable? Not even remotely. Was it fun? Most definitely. Being a men's adventure series( and the illegitimate child of pulp fiction writing), the stories followed a set pattern each time. In fact, in every single book, you can find the same description of their home compound. By the same description, I do mean word for word same.But unlike most series of this nature there is character development. Usually whatever happens in one book can safely be forgotten by the next book. In the Endworld series, events do carryover from one book to another. While this does seem an obvious improvement, it is a fact that the Endworld(and its spinoff Blade series) did end with less than 30 books(50 books if you include the Blade books) in its entire run, some of those other unchanging series have run into the hundreds of books in their runs.
These books came out often with little time in between each. There was even a spin-off series called Blade. Some of the stories were reprinted in double volume issues. You can still find the odd edition in used book stores. So if you enjoy movies starring Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Slyvester Stallone, and you can find a copy or two, give this series a chance. Remember they aren't literature(great or not), but they are great fun.
May 7, 2018
The actual first volume in the Endworld series. Enjoyed it. As with all first volumes in a series, there is some set up time involved. We get to know the characters and environment a bit. But there is still a high level of action.
Read
October 16, 2011I read most of this series in the 90s, love it!
February 1, 2015
still love these books just for the fact it has action and to me quite imaginative.read these books when I was in high school and at one time had them all
January 26, 2016
Another post-apocalyptic adventure series. Quick and easy read. Recommended
September 18, 2020
Flat. Absolutely flat in every conceivable way; flat dialogue, flat action, flat prose, flat plot(holes).
January 11, 2018
This series was a huge inspiration on my writing, and probably the greatest source of my lov for post-apocalyptic fiction.
Robbins' world-building is top-notch, and his explorations of both post-collapse societies and mankind's myriad warrior cultures make the series a genuine treat, even if science and society have marched on a touch from the time the series was originally written.
Highly recommended.
Robbins' world-building is top-notch, and his explorations of both post-collapse societies and mankind's myriad warrior cultures make the series a genuine treat, even if science and society have marched on a touch from the time the series was originally written.
Highly recommended.
January 31, 2016
The story is interesting and easy to read. There were a lot of typos in the published work, but for some reason it didn't bother me. I was unsure whether I would find it intriguing enough to read a whole series, but I found as I read the last few pages that I wanted to get the next in the series tomorrow.
December 26, 2012
Post-apokalyptistä hupsuttelua. Suoraviivaista hölmöilyä, väkivaltaa ja rautalangasta taivutettu rakkausdraama. Sekä tappajaorava ja tappajasammakko.
Kirja, joka saa nauramaan vedet silmissä ääneen niin, että kolleegat katsovat suu auki, ei voi olla läpeensä huono.
Kirja, joka saa nauramaan vedet silmissä ääneen niin, että kolleegat katsovat suu auki, ei voi olla läpeensä huono.
July 2, 2018
Very happy
I so enjoyed this book again. I still have all the Endworld books put away. Even the Blade spin-off. Will you be putting the rest on e-books? I will be watching and waiting.
I so enjoyed this book again. I still have all the Endworld books put away. Even the Blade spin-off. Will you be putting the rest on e-books? I will be watching and waiting.
June 4, 2010
Pretty good book. I can't wait to read the next in the series.
July 26, 2013
no literary masterpiece but still a fun read.
April 4, 2018
Read back in the 1980's. Very good book in a very good series
November 27, 2022
Not a bad post-apocalyptic book but I was largely disconnected because the verbiage from the characters did not match their situation.
June 29, 2019
0.7/5
What a mess...
This book was just bad. I made it about halfway through before I decided I couldn't stand this book anymore. The prose was badly handled, with conversations interrupted by page-long spiels of expository dialogue and "sameness" (as in, everyone talks the same, minus the elder), with further interruptions caused by Mr. Robbins himself as he desperately throws in as much world-building information as possible. Some Mack Bolan novels (written by other writers decades after the series' initial inception) are guilty of this exact same thing, spending several pages exploring the backgrounds and motivations of snipers or other hitmen that are trying to sneak up on Bolan, all of which turns out to be filler material anyway since their backstories last longer than they do in the end--and I hate it. Books that interrupt a scene to go off on a tangent about the history of something when it is not important to whatever's going on in that scene multiple times are books that ought to be edited at least twice more before it is published. With the multiple typos I found in the first hundred pages, it was probably edited only once--or skimmed post-haste for errors. Many were missed.
On top of sameness, the dialogue lacks authenticity--somehow, even after a hundred years in a post-nuclear holocaust wasteland, everyone, including the bladed weapons expert who apparently couldn't shoot a panoramic window if it were two feet in front of him, is an expert on every gun in the Family's armory stockpile, right down to the original name, the caliber of the bullets, the type of magazine, the weight, the length; everything off by heart. No. And this is just one example out of several I could include, but won't.
The way this is written is so juvenile at times that I hesitate to add the "adult" shelf in my list of bookshelves. It talks down to its readers, reminding them of the most mundane things that most readers would remember the first time ("How he hated the mutates!!! After all, they killed his father.") It tries to be philosophical, but it's about as intellectually compelling as Rob Schneider's acting career.
The characters are lifeless cutouts. Blade's two friends are especially obnoxious, along with Joshua, the religious tag-along, and Blade himself is no great shakes. All three of them are clueless morons that make the at-first naive Princess Diana during the first half of Wonder Woman look like a knowledgeable traveling merchant. The elder leader, Plato, is especially annoying, wasting almost fifty pages keeping everybody in suspense about a vehicle the main trio is going to take on their expedition for no reason other than to be the dick equivalent of the class clown who laughs at his own lame jokes. Alone. What is this expedition for, you ask? An actual decent reason which I will not spoil, but I promise you that the expedition itself will disappoint you, and will not be nearly as long as anyone would expect it to be. It's one of those side-tracked plots, where the subplot takes over, and the main plot is saved for a sequel. This book wastes a hundred fucking pages for something that ultimately never happens.
Which is when I stopped reading.
What a mess...
This book was just bad. I made it about halfway through before I decided I couldn't stand this book anymore. The prose was badly handled, with conversations interrupted by page-long spiels of expository dialogue and "sameness" (as in, everyone talks the same, minus the elder), with further interruptions caused by Mr. Robbins himself as he desperately throws in as much world-building information as possible. Some Mack Bolan novels (written by other writers decades after the series' initial inception) are guilty of this exact same thing, spending several pages exploring the backgrounds and motivations of snipers or other hitmen that are trying to sneak up on Bolan, all of which turns out to be filler material anyway since their backstories last longer than they do in the end--and I hate it. Books that interrupt a scene to go off on a tangent about the history of something when it is not important to whatever's going on in that scene multiple times are books that ought to be edited at least twice more before it is published. With the multiple typos I found in the first hundred pages, it was probably edited only once--or skimmed post-haste for errors. Many were missed.
On top of sameness, the dialogue lacks authenticity--somehow, even after a hundred years in a post-nuclear holocaust wasteland, everyone, including the bladed weapons expert who apparently couldn't shoot a panoramic window if it were two feet in front of him, is an expert on every gun in the Family's armory stockpile, right down to the original name, the caliber of the bullets, the type of magazine, the weight, the length; everything off by heart. No. And this is just one example out of several I could include, but won't.
The way this is written is so juvenile at times that I hesitate to add the "adult" shelf in my list of bookshelves. It talks down to its readers, reminding them of the most mundane things that most readers would remember the first time ("How he hated the mutates!!! After all, they killed his father.") It tries to be philosophical, but it's about as intellectually compelling as Rob Schneider's acting career.
The characters are lifeless cutouts. Blade's two friends are especially obnoxious, along with Joshua, the religious tag-along, and Blade himself is no great shakes. All three of them are clueless morons that make the at-first naive Princess Diana during the first half of Wonder Woman look like a knowledgeable traveling merchant. The elder leader, Plato, is especially annoying, wasting almost fifty pages keeping everybody in suspense about a vehicle the main trio is going to take on their expedition for no reason other than to be the dick equivalent of the class clown who laughs at his own lame jokes. Alone. What is this expedition for, you ask? An actual decent reason which I will not spoil, but I promise you that the expedition itself will disappoint you, and will not be nearly as long as anyone would expect it to be. It's one of those side-tracked plots, where the subplot takes over, and the main plot is saved for a sequel. This book wastes a hundred fucking pages for something that ultimately never happens.
Which is when I stopped reading.
June 3, 2021
A society that was preplanned to survive emerges to explore a world 100 years after a nuclear holocaust. I tried to like this beginning book to the Endword series, but it offered little insight into the human condition and had no reason for existence other than being a poorly written adventure. It seemed to be written on a level below Edgar Rice Burroughs (whom I have enjoyed) and designed to appeal to the young male reader. It has your warriors, karateka, and gunslingers. The main villain is a totally loathsome killer, and yet the hero finds some admiration for him at the end for...I'm not sure what. Perhaps some sort of puerile panache the killer inexplicably develops. Robbins has written several hundred books under many pen names. He is an Oregon writer and not to be confused with another author of the same name, but of Virginia. I really have to remember all of his pen names so as to avoid reading him again.
October 5, 2024
Boken börjar rätt segt men knappt halvvägs in blir den riktigt spännande. Den blir också rejält grym och rätt grafisk i sin berättarstil och det är ju något jag uppskattar. Särskilt den delen där järvarna är med känns grym. Sedan kan jag nog tycka att järvar har ett oförtjänt dåligt rykte, de är djur som lever efter sin instinkt men de används titt som tätt som ett slags onda monster i böcker.
Karaktärerna tar tid att knyta an till, precis som själva handlingen är de rätt intetsägande till en början. Men också det blir bättre med tiden, även om jag inte hinner fästa mig ordentligt vid någon. Men det kanske ändras i nästa bok.
Jag gillar när de berättar om hur de hanterar olika fordon, sådana som deras generation inte har en aning om hur de fungerar. Det blir lite humor i det hela.
Betyg: 6/10
Karaktärerna tar tid att knyta an till, precis som själva handlingen är de rätt intetsägande till en början. Men också det blir bättre med tiden, även om jag inte hinner fästa mig ordentligt vid någon. Men det kanske ändras i nästa bok.
Jag gillar när de berättar om hur de hanterar olika fordon, sådana som deras generation inte har en aning om hur de fungerar. Det blir lite humor i det hela.
Betyg: 6/10
August 18, 2021
Came across these many years ago in my teens and loved them.
They aren’t deep novels, just quick reads with some adventure. Honestly giving this a 3 stars for the nostalgia factor. It’s quite clearly of it’s time and feels like other after world war 3 set books of the time. Will I go in a read the rest of the series, certainly not now but there was enough here for my to say maybe when I want a quick fun read, then I will likely read on.
They aren’t deep novels, just quick reads with some adventure. Honestly giving this a 3 stars for the nostalgia factor. It’s quite clearly of it’s time and feels like other after world war 3 set books of the time. Will I go in a read the rest of the series, certainly not now but there was enough here for my to say maybe when I want a quick fun read, then I will likely read on.
April 9, 2023
Good Post-World War III (100 years later) Multifamily Isolationists Society coming back out into the world from a secluded compound prepared for by a multi-millionaire. Who are discovering the world is not as empty as they expected. And not as all as they expected.
January 25, 2020
Horrible, like it was written on a concept and given to an 8 yr old. Tried to finish it several times but just could not get through it. Great concept, poor execution.
April 7, 2020
Good collection
March 8, 2023
Corny but there are some simple pleasures to be found.
August 8, 2023
Similar to myself, this tale hasn’t aged as well as it could have…
Premise works fine but the book is let down by the characters and their forced incongruous dialogue.
Premise works fine but the book is let down by the characters and their forced incongruous dialogue.
January 7, 2014
The Fox Run is an action packed post-apocalyptic tale of humanity one hundred years after the third World War. It tells the story of the Family, who have been secluded in the safety of their compound since the nuclear war raged. But the time has come for the family to venture outside their walls to discover what's become of the rest of the world.
This is the first in what I consider a promising series. Yes, some of the characters are a bit cliché, but I enjoyed them anyway. There's a heavy dose of humor along with the more darker aspects of the book, especially from the gun slinging Hickok, who fashions himself a sort of futuristic cowboy. Then there's the more quiet Geronimo, who may very well be the last person of Native American blood left in America. Their leader is Blade, far more serious and stern but not without his lighter side.
I enjoyed this book and would happily suggest it to any fan of the genre.
July 31, 2013
I received a bunch of books from this series while working at a library during late middle school and high school from a friend who read lots of pulp like this. These days I'm not much a reader of war or 'men's adventure' books, but a couple years back I decided to give this a read before just getting rid of the books. I was actually surprised to find it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I imagine that the concept got stale as the series continued, but this is actually a fairly respectable post-apocalyptic adventure for pulp, and not remotely as misogynistic as I thought it would be. Not unique enough or entertaining enough to continue onto others from the series, even for a quick, easy read.
January 26, 2011
Never got to read this when the series was originally being published, so I was glad to see that it was recently re-released.
Much better than the more recently written prequel novel, but not quite as much of a page turner as the later books in the series.
Still some of the same issues with Robbins' writing. (There is only one female Warrior and she is the only one who dies in the first book? Really? What a surprise.) But, as I said, he can write a page turner. This one was just a little more slowly paced than I remembered.
Much better than the more recently written prequel novel, but not quite as much of a page turner as the later books in the series.
Still some of the same issues with Robbins' writing. (There is only one female Warrior and she is the only one who dies in the first book? Really? What a surprise.) But, as I said, he can write a page turner. This one was just a little more slowly paced than I remembered.
September 13, 2015
This book gives me everything I'm looking for in a post apocalyptic novel. Lots of action, interesting characters, and a positive treatment of women. (By the good guys anyway) I listened to the audiobook version of this, and enjoyed the narration as well. The voiced rang a bit false for me, but they fit the characters well, so it didn't bother me that much.
June 3, 2018
***One of my favorite reads of 2010!***
December 28, 2014
I actually enjoyed the story quite a bit, but the multiple editing errors (wrong or misspelled words, mainly) detracted from the experience. I'll be looking forward to the next book in the series.
March 17, 2020
Great series with colorful characters and very inclusive, people from all different races and creeds all take part in the story
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews