JUDGES Volume Two

Judges #4-6

by Michael Carroll

The second volume of the hit new series exploring the early history of 2000 AD’s all-powerful “Judges.”

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 2041 A.D.

Eustace Fargo’s new justice system has been in effect for eight years. The old days of waiting times and backlogs are over: judgement is quick, and sentencing is instantaneous. The old police academies have all shut down, and the new order is triumphant.

But are things any better? Unrest is worse than ever. Criminals are more likely to kill rather than be caught.

There’s a war coming for the streets…

This omnibus collects three novellas by Michael Carroll, Joseph Elliott-Coleman and Maura McHugh.

Genres: Science Fiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published May 26, 2020

Reviews

[Daniel Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

JUDGES - Volume Two, is the second single volume collection of three short stories set in the period when the world transitioned from our modern world to the world we know from Judge Dredd comic books and 2000AD. While Volume One focused around the year 2030, this second collection jumps forward ten years to focus around 2040.

The three stories are:
1) 'Golgotha' by Michael Carroll - 3/5
2) 'Psyche' by Maura McHugh - 4/5
3) 'The Patriots' by Joseph Elliott-Coleman - 3/5

I have posted individual reviews for each of the stories, so only include my scores above, and now look at the volume as a whole.

Much like Volume One, chapters always begin on the right page. Unfortunately in this volume that resulted in 49 blank pages that felt noticeable, and I found myself wishing the stories had been a little longer to fill the volume.

The three stories are good, with Psyche standing out as the most memorable for me. I did feel it was an odd choice though, to have two of the stories featuring future PSI judges, and neither of them actually focused around the founding of the Mega-Cities, even though the collection is set during the same time period. Missed opportunity there.

As a collection, taking my score above 10/15, dividing by three and rounding, you get 3/5 for the collection. Still a great read if you are a fan of Judge Dredd, but if you are like me, you'll be a little disappointed overall.

[Esther Lesterfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hit-or-miss by the story, much like the last one but even more-so. Somewhat forgettable but there were highlights. The last story, The Patriot by Joseph Coleman, was my least favorite and probably knocked the whole thing down a star. The overall story was good enough conceptually but something about his writing style reminded me of my own shortcomings as a writer. This can be cause for a boost in creative morale but doesn't make for a fulfilling read. It was fine though, good pulpy fun with solid flow making it a very crushable reading experience.

[Christian Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halfway decent. The first two stories are great. I loved the continuation of one story from the first volume, and the way the second story switched narratives from the present to the future was genius. Really interesting stuff.

Like the last volume, unfortunately the final story was a real stinker. The characterization of the main protagonists was not judge-like at old. It felt like I was reading about two college roommates as opposed to hard, goal-oriented judges. Wasn’t a fan at all.

[Jack Rimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two stories are interesting. But the final story isn't great.

[Christopher Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for the book as a whole, but Psyche was excellent.

[Mat Davies · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. Put it down

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used to the visual tales of Judge Dredd, so a written story is a whole different experience approaching anything within that Megacity One universe (especially the start of the law under the Judges).

Decent storytelling and was enjoyable from the start. Major thumbs up on this.