Deathlands is an acquired taste; when I was younger, I loved these books. It simply seemed to be the only fiction on the market aimed at men (read: angst-ridden teenagers) that included the trifecta: sex, violence, cool horror/sci-fi themes.
I recently picked up a few handfuls of these books from a secondhand vendor and must report I was disappointed. This is not to say anything about taste, but rather, after returning to the books as an adult I can see the glaring faults in the series. In this particular title (nearly a prediction of Fallout 3), the gang heads to and thru post-fallout DC.
The series are all written with the design that any reader at any time can pick up the series. Admirable, but the fault lies here. The constant catalog of weapons, character descriptions, character quirks, character backgrounds, ad nausea grows so tiresome. How many times would you like to hear about "fiery" redhead and LeMat revolvers? Well, you are going to hear about them. Again and again.
If scripted as an action film or a TV series Deathlands could thrive with the right direction. As fiction, you really have to be willing to overlook the nearly impassable trail of adverbs, dialogue attribution tags, sex scenes with two filthy, absolutely makes-no-sense-at-the-moment characters, and the like.
I gave the title two stars for creativity and world-building, along with a nostalgic nod to the past. I've skimmed some of the new titles which are still being published and was disappointed to see much hasn't changed. For those of you who love the series, please understand this is a literary criticism, not a content criticism (ok, well, a little).