Bad Moon Rising

Judge Dredd novels from Black Flame #2

by David Bishop

When twenty-second-century Mega-City One is menaced by a horrific new enemy that threatens to destroy the peace, Judge Dredd, the solitary, ruthless, and hard-nosed crimefighter sets out to exact his own brand of justice. Original.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Comics

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 25, 2004

About the author

David James Bishop is a New Zealand screenwriter and author. He was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000.

He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.

In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.

In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I'm ready," Dredd called to the droid. "Activate the-"
"Control to Dredd!" The metallic voice issued from a speaker above the sleep machine. "Please respond immediately. Control to Dredd, please respond immediately!"
Grumbling beneath his breath, Dredd sat up again and pulled on his helmet. "Dredd to Control, go ahead."

District 9 meets High Rise with strong After Hours vibes too in just one of the best Judge Dredd novels from Black Flame book series, in my opinion.
A funny, sometimes brutal, and compelling read filled with violent satire, action, thrills and much more.
Author David Bishop was 2000 AD magazine editor when title was nominated for best Britain's comic book every year and you can see it for good here, add two unexpected and hilarious Commando and Robocop easter-eggs that totally made made day and I just had to round up my final vote to full five stars.

"Do you have an appointment?"
"At four in the morning? Of course not!"
"Unless you have an appointment, I must ask you to leave - now."
The droids began charging their weapons systems. "Unless you let me in I'll have to disarm you. Permanently."
The droid was not giving in that easily. "You have ten seconds to comply with our request or there will be... trouble."

Drokk!!!

[Scott Hibberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, Bishop captures the grittiness of a Dredd story perfectly. Dredd stories always work best when there’s a subtext of satire and this story nails that. The tensions between the Citi Def and the Aliens can clearly be seen as a mirror for how issues around immigration bubble beneath society in our times. Recommended.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dredd progs are cool and all, and I still enjoy them, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that they’ve never been much in the way of story and even the longer, more famous arcs (“Apocalypse War”, “The Cursed Earth”, anything with Judge Death) were too quickly paced and lacked the depth of a novel. And, they were all cheesy and quite conservative when it comes to violence and bloodshed.

The novels though? Those are a totally different story. And that’s why I’ve loved all of the Dredd novels. They’re longer, contain more depth, action, and of course, violence.

Bad Moon Rising is no different. Bishop isn’t Michael Carroll, but that’s not really a big deal since this story is definitely action packed and non stop. Bishop also isn’t afraid to give a bit more humanity and character to old Stoney face...which, surprisingly, actually worked really well for his character here.

[Robert Jim Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brill read

I started reading 2000ad with prog 1 and these books expand the Meg and it's citizens. A superb novel, well written, fast pace and well worth reading.

[Mark Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read, can be read in one go or over a day or two, depending how gripped you are by the storyline.
Dredds adherence to the LAW is shown in the opening chapter when he deals with an elderly "perp."
He is transferred to Sector 87, where they are shorthanded and he does not get along with the Sector Chief "Caine." She is no fan of his grandstanding and puts him in his place.
Dirty Judges, a fame hungry reporter, Citi-Def Forces and a billionaire businessman are all in the mix
As the graveyard shift unfolds, the layers of plot are peeled away and escalate to the fate of a tower block with aliens housed in the penthouse suites that were meant for the human residents, it all kicks off and we see a softer side to Dredd, regarding an alien child anyway.
Is marble softer than granite?

Typical Dredd?