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Deathlands #45.5
Encounter
Stories of the Trader and his convoy of war wagons endure in the badlands of post-holocaust America. A dealer in Deathlands' most precious commodities—weapons and fuel—Trader takes note of a young Ryan Cawdor. Surrounded in myth and rumor, Trader sets into motion the beginnings of legend at a place called Virtue Lake....
At Spearpoint, the ultimate redoubt housing a valuable cache of predark technology, two opposing wills clash. Levi Shabazz intends to carve his own empire out of the vast wastelands, but the Trader intends to thwart him and end him bloody siege of power. It all comes to a head at Virtue Lake—a heard lesson for Trader and a grim rite of passage for Ryan Cawdor.
At Spearpoint, the ultimate redoubt housing a valuable cache of predark technology, two opposing wills clash. Levi Shabazz intends to carve his own empire out of the vast wastelands, but the Trader intends to thwart him and end him bloody siege of power. It all comes to a head at Virtue Lake—a heard lesson for Trader and a grim rite of passage for Ryan Cawdor.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published February 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 27, 2013
Audiobook. I'm new to the Deathlands series though I've been looking for Road Warrior-esque post-apocalyptic fiction for years. It's not written particularly well, the characters are often cardboard-ish, and some of the slang is just silly: ("triple" = extremely, "chill" = kill, and "blasters" = guns, really? Really.) Yet, I kind of like it. It's fun. This story is a prequel although being the last book written in the 44-book series. It tells the story of how Trader became such a feared fellow. Legend has it, he blew up an entire refinery and everyone in the village around it, because of a bad trading deal. Well, yes and no, and the story begins. There's violence and sex. There's very cruel bad guys. You've got mutants, cannibal raiders, colorfully insane barons, heavily-armed battle vehicles (called "war wags"), guarded Pre-Dark vaults (called "redoubts"), and lots and lots of gun descriptions. Like every single time a gun is mentioned, you get the model, year, make, ammo type, and modifications it has. Every time. It's kind of ridiculous unless you are a gun collector or war veteran. I realized by the end of the novel, it was also kind of like an RPG (roleplaying game, not rocket propelled grenade in this case) where you get very specific details about weapons before choosing your loadout. Four stars because I liked this book enough to re-listen to parts of it and continue with the series.
As an audiobook, the sound effects and music score are pretty amazing. You feel like you're watching a movie and multiple voice actors are great.
The title, Encounter, is inexplicably mundane in a working title kind of way. They could have gone with Legend (of Trader), or War Wag One (his main ride), or Origin, or Uncle Al's Almanac of Firearms and Ammunition, but no.
As an audiobook, the sound effects and music score are pretty amazing. You feel like you're watching a movie and multiple voice actors are great.
The title, Encounter, is inexplicably mundane in a working title kind of way. They could have gone with Legend (of Trader), or War Wag One (his main ride), or Origin, or Uncle Al's Almanac of Firearms and Ammunition, but no.
May 20, 2017
Pip-Boy Not Included.
Deathlands: Encounter by James Axler is the prequel to the first book in the series (Deathlands: Pilgrimage to Hell). The story is about how The Trader, Ryan Cawdor and J. B. Dix rescue Dr. Tanner from Levi Shabazz. Shabazz is an unscrupulous trader willing to kill for profit. He has no qualms about destroying whole villes to obtain goods for sale.
The best way to describe the Deathlands series is... Snake Plissken Escapes from New York and joins The A-Team to protect Ward Bond's Wagon Train and makes a Quantum Leap through The Time Tunnel... into Thunderdome.
The book also contains all you need to know about how the Deathlands series was created. A must read for fans of The Walking Dead, The Last Ship, Revolution, Mad Max and other post-apocalyptic franchises.
I highly recommend this book for amateur authors. It has several great examples of how to write a Series Idea Outline and a Novel outline.
Deathlands: Encounter by James Axler is the prequel to the first book in the series (Deathlands: Pilgrimage to Hell). The story is about how The Trader, Ryan Cawdor and J. B. Dix rescue Dr. Tanner from Levi Shabazz. Shabazz is an unscrupulous trader willing to kill for profit. He has no qualms about destroying whole villes to obtain goods for sale.
The best way to describe the Deathlands series is... Snake Plissken Escapes from New York and joins The A-Team to protect Ward Bond's Wagon Train and makes a Quantum Leap through The Time Tunnel... into Thunderdome.
The book also contains all you need to know about how the Deathlands series was created. A must read for fans of The Walking Dead, The Last Ship, Revolution, Mad Max and other post-apocalyptic franchises.
I highly recommend this book for amateur authors. It has several great examples of how to write a Series Idea Outline and a Novel outline.
February 3, 2022
Fun pulp fiction. Not as good as the other Deathlands novel I listened to, but still fun. Will definitely listen/read more of them. A good palate cleanser in between series.
June 30, 2021
Meh. Too bad the novella portion is inconsistent with the pilgrimage to hell. It's kinda but not really an alternate start to the series.
The some of other stuff included in the book is a bit interesting. Not worth picking up.
The some of other stuff included in the book is a bit interesting. Not worth picking up.
November 2, 2021
A great booke, deatailing the Traders early life setting up his legend throughout the wastelands, highly recommended read.
August 23, 2022
Just as enjoyable as the series was in the 80’s and 90’s
July 18, 2022
I have started reading the Deathlands series from start to finish (book 125). Though I have read several of the titles in the past, I decided to go back and do it chronologically. Although this title was published after Crucible of Time, it is a prequel to the series. It also has some wonderful extras, not dissimilar to a Bluray feature release with behind the scenes details. Very entertaining.
The story itself dives intro the enigmatic Trader in a particular adventure that would become legend though out the Deathlands. The plot is familiar and the theme is definitely revenge, but that seems to sum up the entire series as well. The bad guys get their comeuppance. And then some!
The series is all a variation on the revenge theme. It appeals to one's sense of justice. It is a formula that works.
There is one thing that irritates me about this book, however. Without giving anything away, the actions of The Trader seem very uncharacteristic in order to develop a pivotal plot point. It is difficult to accept that the character would act in such a fashion, but I do see how it had to be done to set up the series.
I enjoyed reading about characters that did not make it in the series as well as their interaction with Ryan, J.B., and as a team. Poet is a fantastic character, for example, and one I wish would have been in more stories.
Overall, a great book and a wonderful way to start the series from a chronological standpoint.
The story itself dives intro the enigmatic Trader in a particular adventure that would become legend though out the Deathlands. The plot is familiar and the theme is definitely revenge, but that seems to sum up the entire series as well. The bad guys get their comeuppance. And then some!
The series is all a variation on the revenge theme. It appeals to one's sense of justice. It is a formula that works.
There is one thing that irritates me about this book, however. Without giving anything away, the actions of The Trader seem very uncharacteristic in order to develop a pivotal plot point. It is difficult to accept that the character would act in such a fashion, but I do see how it had to be done to set up the series.
I enjoyed reading about characters that did not make it in the series as well as their interaction with Ryan, J.B., and as a team. Poet is a fantastic character, for example, and one I wish would have been in more stories.
Overall, a great book and a wonderful way to start the series from a chronological standpoint.
December 2, 2012
I think this book is great. It tells the story of Trader... who is one of the most well known individuals in Deathlands. The story takes place at Virtue Lake where Baron Lundquist Zeal operated a refinery for gasoline. He captures Trader and his convoy during a trade that was set up as a trap. He wants to use Traders war wag convoy to raid a place known as Spearpoint... some giant redoubt of all redoubts, this place a guarded by the Palmers... these humans who eat these roots poisoned by nuclear energy that get them high and make them like super humans able to withstand grievous wounds and continue to fight . Inevitably his plan is thwarted by both Doc Tanner whom he had captive to control Cerebrus, the volatile guarding mist that the Palmers see as a god at Spearpoint and Ryan Cawdor with his releasing of Trader. Ryan, Poet and Hunaker had set C-4 charges in the refinery while they were on a mission to find trader inside the Virtue Lake ville.... needless to say once Trader is freed he sets off all the C-4... he loses all his goods that were looted and stored in the ville but the refinery and everything around it is completely nuked. A lesson to anybody who wants to mess with Trader. All in all its a great book with lots of fighting and plotting. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of sci fi novels.
November 23, 2023
Wasn't a huge fan of this and I'm kind of disappointed at that discovery. IF the Deathlands series turned out to be enjoyable, there would have been over 100 more books to listen to.
IMHO, there were too many characters...just names with zero backstory and I didn't like the way the author uses so much new, in-world slang without giving enough context to get a feel for the new words. Encounter (book #0) is a prequel that was written more than a decade after Book #1, so maybe book 1 is where I should have started.
IMHO, there were too many characters...just names with zero backstory and I didn't like the way the author uses so much new, in-world slang without giving enough context to get a feel for the new words. Encounter (book #0) is a prequel that was written more than a decade after Book #1, so maybe book 1 is where I should have started.
July 17, 2013
According to this site this is book number 45.5 of the Deathland series. This is the first book I read of the series. The source I had listed it as book number 00. It appears to be a prequel and I don't feel that it gave away anything I shouldn't have read. I'm just now starting book one and will let you know if it has spoilers. I feel it was a good introduction to the series. Lots of action and I enjoy the character named Trader.
September 6, 2016
The "first" in the Deathlands series of post-apocalyptic epic. Not sure on how long to stick with it, maybe a few (4 or 5?). Certainly clearly defined characters fitting into their trope very neatly. It feels like a Mad Max re imagining with out all of his Mel Gibson-ness.
Pure pulp. Nothing wrong with that.
Pure pulp. Nothing wrong with that.
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
March 24, 2017
A fun read with a solid, but thin and cookie-cutter, plot. You know what you're getting when you read one of these.
March 23, 2018
As I write this review at 11:53pm, my creative juices just aren't flowing. That's the kind of book this is.
It's fun. It's invigorating. But it's casual.
When a book strikes me as good, I can usually be found with a friend telling them about it. I'll talk about events in the book where I witnessed character growth, an interesting or intense challenge that must be overcome, or a moment where I felt emotionally invested in the outcome. When I'm talking about a book that I believe was well-written, I'll be so emotionally invested that my friends frequently have to warn me that I'm too loud.
Unfortunately, that isn't the case with Encounter.
You're not going to be walking away from this book itching to tell your friends about the adventure you just had. Don't get me wrong. This book was fun. It started with a pretty big rumor that the entire book unfolds and explains, and that hooked me right off, but there were no climactic moments, no instances of extreme character growth.
Literally, this book is like many of the action movies out there with a lot of cool explosions and fight scenes, but with lackluster characters and only a passable attempt at a story.
Again, it was fun, but I won't be sitting with a friend, talking about this book for very long.
Don't think this book is negative. I believe Axler does an incredible job laying out the world of a post-nuclear America. Simply the novelty of the book kept me going, and in a way that many books of my favorite genre, fantasy, fail to do. In the Deathlands series, I find it easier to relate to the characters--cardboard though they may be--simply because, with a little thinking that any reader should be capable of, I can easily see myself in their shoes, in the world they're in.
Aside from that, you can just tell that Axler had fun while writing this book. This wasn't a job to him, and again, you can clearly tell that. The writing is definitely not up to par with a lot of other books out there, but I can definitely feel a fun vibe that he left behind that I like. I don't have to think to hard, I don't have to imagine a lot, I just have a lot of fun when reading Deathlands.
If you're looking for a series that closely resembles the Fallout video game series, Deathlands is definitely on your list. Just don't expect to get the same kind of mileage out of the series that you did with the game.
It's fun. It's invigorating. But it's casual.
When a book strikes me as good, I can usually be found with a friend telling them about it. I'll talk about events in the book where I witnessed character growth, an interesting or intense challenge that must be overcome, or a moment where I felt emotionally invested in the outcome. When I'm talking about a book that I believe was well-written, I'll be so emotionally invested that my friends frequently have to warn me that I'm too loud.
Unfortunately, that isn't the case with Encounter.
You're not going to be walking away from this book itching to tell your friends about the adventure you just had. Don't get me wrong. This book was fun. It started with a pretty big rumor that the entire book unfolds and explains, and that hooked me right off, but there were no climactic moments, no instances of extreme character growth.
Literally, this book is like many of the action movies out there with a lot of cool explosions and fight scenes, but with lackluster characters and only a passable attempt at a story.
Again, it was fun, but I won't be sitting with a friend, talking about this book for very long.
Don't think this book is negative. I believe Axler does an incredible job laying out the world of a post-nuclear America. Simply the novelty of the book kept me going, and in a way that many books of my favorite genre, fantasy, fail to do. In the Deathlands series, I find it easier to relate to the characters--cardboard though they may be--simply because, with a little thinking that any reader should be capable of, I can easily see myself in their shoes, in the world they're in.
Aside from that, you can just tell that Axler had fun while writing this book. This wasn't a job to him, and again, you can clearly tell that. The writing is definitely not up to par with a lot of other books out there, but I can definitely feel a fun vibe that he left behind that I like. I don't have to think to hard, I don't have to imagine a lot, I just have a lot of fun when reading Deathlands.
If you're looking for a series that closely resembles the Fallout video game series, Deathlands is definitely on your list. Just don't expect to get the same kind of mileage out of the series that you did with the game.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews