Sleeper Vol. 1: Out in the Cold

Sleeper Vol. 1: Out in the Cold
Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader

The writing saves it.

Cold-war spy thriller meets the superhero crowd

Superb conspiratorial crime noir

Dark and powerful

Sleeper Vol. 1: Out in the Cold
Ed Brubaker , and Sean Phillips
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401201156

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Holden Carver is a secret agent, he just happens to be a super powered one. He is sent to infiltrate an organisation whose top hierarchy is also super powered, and quite nasty. When Carver's boss and handler is injured and left comatose he has noone to turn to, and must attempt to make the best of the dangerous situation he is left in.

The writing saves it........2006-04-30

Great plot and character. The art tries to be noir but is mostly rushed and cheesy. In the later trades they get a new colorist who really helps a lot. All told, however, the story rocks and is well-plotted. Conspiracy-theory fans of the X-files and its ilk will love it.

Cold-war spy thriller meets the superhero crowd.......2005-12-13

Tight pacing, a complex and twisty plot, and compelling characters make this a fast and satisfying read. I like that the protagonist isn't a Chosen One, but is just a dumb guy who gets picked for the wrong mission and ends up paying for it for the rest of his life. The basic concept is a character study: a good guy who spends his life in the shadows fighting the hidden wars is co-opted into becoming a mole, and is then left to swing or survive on his own. His actions and decisions become ever murkier, even to himself. Things are made more complex by the fact that he and those around him are all gifted/damned with unusual abilities. If you're a fan of the Le Carre type of spy thrillers, you'll probably enjoy this immensely.

Superb conspiratorial crime noir.......2005-11-23

OUT IN THE COLD is the perfect introduction to Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' stellar SLEEPER series. Holden Carver, an agent of a covert government cell, has been planted within the ranks of one of the world's most formidable international terrorist organisations. Unfortunately, John Lynch, his handler and the only person who knows where Holden's true loyalties lie, has been put into a coma. From this delightful premise, Brubaker builds a story of moral ambiguity and intense paranoia and danger, throwing both Carver and the reader in the proverbial deep end (don't worry, everything you need to know about the characters is in these books, though POINT BLANK is a worthwhile introduction to the series). Oh, and there are some superpowers involved.

In some ways, this is the best volume of SLEEPER, largely due to the rapport between its various characters. Of course, Carver is living in constant fear, both of the seemingly omnipresent TAO (whose group he has infiltrated), and of International Operations (his former allies), who truly believe him to be one of the bad guys. But the darkness of the underlying plot is tempered with the casual interaction between TAO's operatives during their spare time, making violent characters such as Genocide Jones sympathetic, and even appealing.

Phillips' art is cohesive but versatile, working equally well with both dark, oppressive cityscapes and the rich, opulent villas of a secret global monarchy, ultimately lending both a rough texture perfectly suited to the more noirish elements of Brubaker's writing. The book excels in almost all aspects. Conspiracies and plot twists keep the reader intrigued, while character development and moments of surprising humour make them truly care what happens next to these people. Traditional characteristics of the superhero genre (such as the spandex) are significantly downplayed, making OUT IN THE COLD feel more like a crime drama than anything else. I can't recommend this enough.

Dark and powerful.......2005-11-06

Gritty and complex, "Sleeper" is one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. The beginning is confusing but upon establishment of the main characters the story quickly gathers momentum. I was disappointed to hear that Book 4 is the last in the series as I enjoyed Books 1 and 2.

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
As good as Book 1
One of the best graphic novels out there
Vol. 2 of the Best Comic You're Not Reading

Sleeper Vol. 2: All False Moves
Ed Brubaker , and Sean Phillips
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401202888

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Holden Carver continues to work his way up the ranks of the criminal organisation headed by Tao, a man more complex than is seen at first glance.

More problems happen for Holden as his relationship with the twisted minion of Tao, Miss Misery gets more and more involved.

As good as Book 1.......2005-11-06

This book continues the excellent story from Book 1 and left me eagerly anticipating Book 3.

One of the best graphic novels out there.......2005-10-18

People go on and on about how great this series is, and the good news is, it completely lives up to the hype. I came to "Sleeper" after reading a few other titles Ed Brubaker had written, notably DC's deliciously revamped "Catwoman" (which is also a lot of fun)... I was skeptical, but I'm glad I took the plunge with "Sleeper," as it is one of the best comicbook stories I've read in a long while.

The action takes place in the WildCATS/Authority/Stormwatch universe, once a comicbook backwater that has recently been revitalized into a gritty and witty superhero noir... "Sleeper" tells the story of a superpowered secret agent, Holden Carver, who is placed undercover by a Machiavellian Nick Fury type to infiltrate a sinister spy network populated with superpowered, super-amoral bad guys. Brubaker uses the character's specific superpowers to flesh out their inner lives -- Carver's power is the ability to absorb any amount of bodily damage and transmute it into pure pain, which he can zap other people with. Meanwhile, he feels no pain himself and is practically unkillable, a situation that leaves him feeling dead inside and increasingly alienated from the true-believer idealism that lead him into military service to begin with. Brubaker borrows from the well-trod genre of spy fiction, but adds an extra layer with the whole superpower thing that is well thought-out and rewarding. Without getting into spoilers, etc., I'll just say that this was one of those rare comic series that I regretted getting to the end of... the world it depicted was so absorbing and textured that I was bummed I knew the story would end with Volume 4... (The entire "Sleeper" story is contained in four slim volumes, plus the prequel, "Point Blank," which sets the stage for "Sleeper" and should definitely be read as well...)

It should be mentioned that this is not a book for little kids: there are many of the same sort of "adult" elements as DC's Vertigo imprint -- semi-graphic sexuality and some extreme violence -- although to his credit, Brubaker includes these elements for a reason, and does it with far less of the "gee-whiz" gratuitousness that has made the Vertigo books become so tedious and repetitive. The sex elements cut to the heart of Carver's character, while the violence is used to show the seriousness of his predicament; they actually deepen the story and move it along and are not included merely to titillate readers or gross us out. That being said, I highly recommend this series.
(This review written by Joe Sixpack/Slipcue.Com)

Vol. 2 of the Best Comic You're Not Reading.......2004-08-25

Here's what happened when I read Volume One, Out in the Cold: I couldn't put it down. I bought it at my local comic book shop. The store closes at 8 pm and by 7:30 pm (on the same night I bought it), I was calling the shop...

RING RING
DOUG: Hello, Funnybook Factory.
AMY: Tom?
DOUG: No, this is Doug.
AMY: Oh, hi Doug. It's Amy.
DOUG: Hey Amy.
AMY: When you and Tom come over to play Halo later, can you tell Tom to bring volume two of Sleeper. I'll pay him when he gets here.
DOUG: Sure.
AMY: ... Don't forget to tell him, okay? Bring volume two.
DOUG: Okay.
AMY: I got the money here. If he forgets, I'll kill him. I'll KILL him.
DOUG: Jesus, all right. He'll bring it.
AMY: Okay, thanks. Bye.

Yeah, it's that good.

Average customer rating:

Horrible editing
Origin
Good book, not great
Good, but far from great
Story is OK, writing and proofreading not so much

Green Lantern: Sleepers (Book 1)
Christopher J. Priest , and Mike Baron
Manufacturer: I Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 1416504273

Book Description

Kyle Raynor is Green Lantern, a member of the Justice League of America and a space-traveling super hero who is the current heir to one of the most powerful forces in the known universe: the Green Lantern power ring. But he's got a problem: his girlfriend has just taken a liking to an average Joe who is about to be transformed into the most powerful villain Earth has ever faced. Green Lantern must stop the evil Sinestro and the invading hordes of aliens determined to destroy humanity and take over Earth.

Customer Reviews:

Horrible editing.......2006-12-02

This book was almost unreadable it was so fraught with misspellings, lack of punctuation, and typos galore.

At one point, it even refers to Dinah Lance (Black Canary) as Diane Lane.

I think all they did was run a spell checker on it. I've read some other books by this publisher and they all seem to have that problem.

Origin.......2006-03-10

I really loved the book I just wish the author of the book would of used Kyles origin from the Comics.

Good book, not great.......2005-08-31

The book got some things right and some things wrong. This is my first attempt at a comic based novel and it wasn't bad reading.

I think for the most part Priest got Kyle right. A little head strong, good heart, and a hopeless romantic. I think he got Alan all wrong - Alan is basically an old fart and totally downplays his "big gun" status. If you read the end of Kyle's run (Homecoming) in the comics that is basically what Jade is like.

Overall it was a fun read.

I have the second book about Alan and I am hoping he does a better job with him (my favorite thing about Alan was his relationship with Kyle and that was totally ruined in book 1)

Good, but far from great.......2004-11-02

Kyle Rayner, the newest person to wear the Green Lantern mantle, is trying to live his life, balancing being a superhero with maintaining his relationship with his girlfriend, Jade. And, just as things are becoming more and more confused, trouble walks into his life in the form of a local exterminator, who Jade seems to be falling in love with. But, this exterminator is more than he appears to be. Sinestro, the age old enemy of the Green Lantern Corps, left sleepers behind to facilitate the conquest of the Earth, and now it is up to Kyle Rayner to save the day, and his girlfriend.

This novel (NOT a graphic novel!) started out with some interesting action in 1992, and then returned to the present, where it promptly went to sleep. Half way through the book, the action began to pick up again and finally got hot at the end. I did not find the characters very interesting, and never became interested in them or their personal problems (which was a cornerstone of the story).

But, that said, I did enjoy the premise of the book and enjoyed seeing Green Lantern in action, saving the day with his own powers. I just hope that the next books in the series are better made. If you are a Green Lantern or Justice League of America fan, then you will enjoy this new addition to the genre. If, however, you are looking for an exciting superhero story, then I am afraid that this book will disappoint you.

Story is OK, writing and proofreading not so much.......2004-08-09

This novel sees the return of Sinestro in a strange fashion. Time travel plays a part in delivering a ring to a combat medic in WWII. The ring lies unused for years until a little boy finds it. This ring becomes the pivotal part of the story, as it turns the boy into a new Sinestro.

There is a scene that takes place in 1972 (though the book gives 1992 in the heading, which is a missed typo, and later the characters refer to 1971) with Hal Jordan, Green Arrow and Black Canary fighting Sinestro and defeating him handily. This passage really seems pointless to me, as it might have been a factor later in the book, but seemed not to be. Perhaps this will be relevant in the sequel(s). There is also an inconsitency in one part of this scene when Green Arrow gives his bow to Canary, but then still has his bow...?

Hmm, anyway, we move to the present day and get tons of Kyle Raynor agonizing over his personal life, while his girlfriend Jade keeps turning away his offer to commit for real. This really reads like high school claptrap, but it is at least somewhat well-done. This relationship issue ends up leading to the abduction of Jade by Sinestro, with whom she was kinda messing around. So GL has to follow, he gets in trouble, they have to work together to get free, somewhat typical plot development.

There are cameos by Plasticman, Hal Jordan as the Spector, Superman, and the old golden age Green Lantern, Jade's father. Only Spector really seems important to the story, though he does not do much more than change something here, influence something there. We get a lot of angst in his inner thoughts as well. Not too badly done, though.

The resolution is rather abrupt, though it did not really leave anything hanging, which I appreciated. Too many first parts of trilogies leave things obviously open, which vexes me. However, the writing style of this novel was not great to me. Nearly every paragraph relies upon simile and metaphor to explain things, and the references are so contemporary that the book may be unreadable 10-20 years from now. It really got old fast. Also, there was a fretfully large population of typos and word mixups, like "the" for "they" and "breath" for "breathe." I think that a word processing spell check was used, but that a thorough proofread was not performed.

However, the story was not terrible, though it was not a very long book to pay hardcover price for. That, combined with the poor quality control, leads me to recommend that people wait for the paperback version of this one.

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
One of the best graphic novels out there

Sleeper, Vol. 4: The Long Way Home
Ed Brubaker
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

In the fourth volume of Sleeper, Holden Carver has had enough. He has definitely fallen for his colleague Miss Misery, and her motivations have changed a little as well. However, getting out from under a vicous criminal cartel and a dangerous spy organisation may well be impossible, even for a clever, dangerous superhuman spy.

One of the best graphic novels out there.......2005-10-18

Average customer rating:

Postcolonial Summer Reading
"Un tiro de gracia"

Captain of the Sleepers: A Novel
Mayra Montero
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312425430
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Book Description

For fifty years, Andrs Yasin has carried a grudge against J. T. Bunker. Now eighty-three-years-old and dying, Bunker wants to tell his side of the story, the story of his affair with Estela, Andrss mother. As a child Andrs knew Bunker as the Captain of the Sleepersso called because he transported back to Vieques those who had died on the mainland but wished to be buried at home. But what really happened between Bunker and Estela, and between Estela and her one true love, a leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Movement? What did Andrs witness, and what were the real circumstances of his mothers mysterious death?

Customer Reviews:

Postcolonial Summer Reading.......2007-06-26

This is a tropical story of secrets and conflicts: familial, sexual, social, political, all intricately tangled up together in the Caribbean islands. It proceeds along parallel timelines, unfolding in the present day and in the 1940s and '50s, switching narrators at times, evoking disturbing events in which North American expatriates, tourists and Marines play key roles. It tells of love, death and a failed revolution.

The novel begins starkly: "I'm in the last place on earth I'd like to be. Waiting for the last person in this life I thought I'd ever see again." The narrator Andrés has come to St. Croix to meet a man he calls the "Captain of the Sleepers," an old friend and enemy from childhood. The two men are at odds over an incident that occurred some fifty years ago. There's a secret something that Andrés saw or did not see or seemed to see, that the Captain admits, but does not admit: "It never happened. . . . Not in the way you imagine." The Captain, J.T. Bunker, is the son of a man who engineered the U.S. takeover of the Virgin Islands. His father later returned to Maine, but the Captain stayed, eking out a living by flying cargo and passengers around the region, including the small Puerto Rican island of Vieques where he got to know Andrés. Some of his passengers were actually corpses, being ferried home to be buried; bodies that the small boy's parents described to him as merely "sleepers."

The history of the islands will be unfamiliar, perhaps confusing, to many North American readers, but also fascinating. Montero's lyrical prose, full of colors, sounds and smells, brings the reader into close contact with the exotic setting. When the U.S. Navy begins to expropriate land on Vieques for a bombing range, the scene moves from the camp at Montesanto, where displaced women "who'd just given birth died like flies," to the hundreds of American paratroopers practicing their jumps on the beaches to the distressing waves of dead fish, mutilated sharks, even a smashed sea turtle, that wash up on the sands from naval maneuvers offshore.

Amid all the commotion, the novel centers on Andrés and his mother Estela, an enigmatic beauty who says little and never tells her own story in her own words. Readers must try to piece together the fragments other characters contribute, in order to understand Estela's complicated relationships with her son, her husband, her women friends and family, Bunker and Roberto, the doomed leader of a group of Puerto Rican nationalists. Montero's use of male narrators preserves Estela's mystery, which is perhaps the author's goal, but, as a woman reading about a woman in a book by a woman, I felt more than a little cheated of a chance to know Estela from her own perspective. The book is nevertheless intriguing, whether you read it for pleasure on the beach this summer or as an introduction to postcolonial studies when you head back to school this fall.

"Un tiro de gracia".......2005-09-05

A pilot, a small hotel on the beach and an insurrection; from such inspiration, Montero weaves a fascinating tale of love, betrayal and the loss of innocence. Vieques is a small island off Puerto Rico, used for field exercises after World War II, the residents forced to evacuate so that the Navy can blanket their homes and land with bombs. Individual family passions mixed with a nationalist obsession, one man's unfettered lust for Estella and a jealousy that eats away at the mind, are all part of this richly evocative era embroiled in political upheaval, social change and the fanaticism of political beliefs.

The novel begins in the present, but the crux of this story takes place in Puerto Rico in the 1940-50's, the author blending past and present in an exotic tapestry of myth and truth, layered in secrets and mystery. Andres Yasin has waited fifty years to confront the only man alive who may have the answers, J.T. Bunker, now eighty-three and dying of cancer. Yasin has no intention of allowing Bunker to exit this world without revealing the truth of the tragic moment that defined Andres' youth and poisoned his adulthood. One of the secrets Bunker hoards is an affair he supposedly had with Andres' mother, Estela. But there is more he seeks than the details of the affair; Andres yearns as well to learn the circumstances of his mother's death.

Bunker was known in the 1950's as Captain of the Sleepers, a pilot who transported people who died on the mainland back to the island of Vieques for burial, a common practice for islanders. There was a time when Andres believed that "the corpses transported by the Captain in his small plane were travelers who had fallen asleep". Yasin reaches into memory, no longer a child, reliving the impressions from the perspective of childhood, locked in the past that haunts him. The family history is shrouded in mystery, the secrets Andres assumes J.T. will finally disclose answer only one small part of an experience that involved everyone, his father, Estela and the man she so desperately loved and Bunker. All of it came crashing down in one fated day, hopes extinguished for more than his family. As so often happens, Andres' years of rage and confusion have been misspent; the unvarnished truth isn't so easily obtained.

Caught in the great human drama of revolution, Andres' family is central, but to the boy, his parents' political aspirations are irrelevant; he views all through the eyes of a child. Even as a grown man, he is unable to relinquish the hurt feelings of his youth. Forced finally to accept alternative perspectives, the story evolves, images of a time and place where personal freedom is purchased at a great cost, misconceptions perishing along the way. Yasin has pinned all his hopes on the dying declarations of an old man. The truth he uncovers requires courage, and with it, a revelation of self. Luan Gaines/2005.

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
4.5 stars
One of the best graphic novels out there
Excellent as Always

Sleeper Vol. 3: A Crooked Line
Ed Brubaker , and Sean Phillips
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

More of the story of Miss Misery is revealed in the third volume of Sleeper. Holden of course can't help himself, and definitely shags her when possible, and is probably developing feelings for her. Her thing is that she needs to cause pain and suffering in others for her to stay alive, and to charge up her superhuman abilities. This makes it a tad hard to form normal attachments and relationships.

4.5 stars.......2005-11-22

Some of my favorite characters from the first two books were not featured as much in this third one, but otherwise this continues at the high level of rest of the series. Wish the story did not end in Book 4.

One of the best graphic novels out there.......2005-10-18

Excellent as Always.......2005-03-28

This comic is one of the best reviewed that's being published today, and for good reason. This is an excellent comic. The characters are all very interesting, with some of the coolest super powers I have ever seen. Their interactions with one another are interesting and believable. The story is constantly twisting and turning so you're never quite sure who's good and who's bad. Just because this comic has super heroes in it does not mean it's for children. It is very mature and has complex storylines. All in all, If you like crime, secret organizations, superheroes, and mystery, then this comic is for you. If you even like one of those things then this comic is for you. If you like comics then this comic is for you. Am I making my point?

Green Lantern: Sleepers, Volume 3 (Green Lantern: Sleepers)

Average customer rating:

No simple read
Worth the Trouble

Green Lantern: Sleepers, Volume 3 (Green Lantern: Sleepers)
Christopher J. Priest
Manufacturer: IBooks, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1596871032

Book Description

The final volume in an epic trilogy, Sleepers, Book 3 features Hal Jordan, the most famous of Earth's modern-day Green Lanterns. Hal has been stripped of his powers, but it is up to him to fight the clones of the villain Sinestro, set loose by actions in the trilogy's first volume. In order to save the Earth, he may have to sacrifice himself by taking the Sinestro power rings on a one-way trip to the anti-matter universe.

Customer Reviews:

No simple read.......2007-06-27

Priest delivers in usual 'more meat on the steak' fashion. The ride was worth the price of admission. A pity he isn't doing any current comic book work.

Worth the Trouble.......2006-03-10

After reading Book 2, I was not looking forward to finishing this trilogy. There are numberous flaws that are readily writen about in that book's review. However, I'm glad I got to Book 3.

As an long time comic reader, I enjoy the novelization of these heros, but only if they're taken seriously. The author met that criteria in this book. Those of us that know the Green Lantern stories from the 1980s through present day will love to see how the author respects the characters and situations. Those new to the stories will enjoy how the tale unfolds.

One caveat: you need to read Books 1 and 2 for the whole story to make sense. The author answers questions left by those two. However, not reading those two won't take away from the story's impact.

Enjoy!!!

Average customer rating:

Entertaining and riveting; ignore the Wash Post review
Just Okay
Behind the veil
Par
As good a ride as "Bourne Supremacy" ---with scary politics

The Sleeper: A Novel
Christopher Dickey
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743258770

Book Description

Kurt Kurtovic wanted nothing more than to be left in peace, to make a life with his wife and child in Westfield, Kansas. Then September 11 happened and Kurt knew they'd never be safe again unless he did what only he could do, take terror to the terrorists. He knew their world, knew how they worked, knew their weak points. He knew, because he'd been one of them.

But as Kurt wages his bloody campaign, hunting down his former Al-Qaeda comrades in Britain, Spain, and Africa, he becomes the hunted. And so do his wife and child back home. The most dangerous agents of terror, he discovers, are in the United States: those who don't want the wars to end; those who believe "we have waited thousands of years for Judgment Day, never knowing when it would come. But now we can put it on the calendar. We can fix a date." As a man-made apocalypse approaches, Kurt realizes that some of America's most ruthless enemies walk its corridors of power every day.

In the tradition of Graham Greene and John le Carré, this hard-driving narrative of vengeance and redemption by one of America's most prescient writers on espionage and terror is a riveting thriller about the horrors of the recent past -- and the dangers of the near future.

Download Description

"Kurt Kurtovic wanted nothing more than to be left in peace, to make a life with his wife and child in Westfield, Kansas. Then September 11 happened and Kurt knew they'd never be safe again unless he did what only he could do, take terror to the terrorists. He knew their world, knew how they worked, knew their weak points. He knew, because he'd been one of them. But as Kurt wages his bloody campaign, hunting down his former Al-Qaeda comrades in Britain, Spain, and Africa, he becomes the hunted. And so do his wife and child back home. The most dangerous agents of terror, he discovers, are in the United States: those who don't want the wars to end; those who believe ""we have waited thousands of years for Judgment Day, never knowing when it would come. But now we can put it on the calendar. We can fix a date."" As a man-made apocalypse approaches, Kurt realizes that some of America's most ruthless enemies walk its corridors of power every day. In the tradition of Graham Greene and John le Carre this hard-driving narrative of vengeance and redemption by one of America's most prescient writers on espionage and terror is a riveting thriller about the horrors of the recent past -- and the dangers of the near future. "

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining and riveting; ignore the Wash Post review.......2006-08-07

First of all, dismiss the review by the Wash Post book reviewer...that is an arrogantly written, self serving review irrelevant to the novel.

The Sleeper was a good, fun read that is easy to follow but with a final showdown that was sort of cloudy and difficult to discern clearly. Dickey does a fine job of mixing action with stream of consciousness thoughts from his 1st person narrator. The narrator is a former Army Ranger who also had become enmeshed in Muslim religion and radicalism while fighting for the Muslims in Bosnia. He has a unique perspective on the war against terror, and his former relationships make him a key weapon of the US side. After 9/11, he departs his quaint Kansas life and returns to the battlefront. This book delivers all you want in a suspenseful, well-written novel. It makes me wish Dickey would write a non-fiction book on his insights into the war on terror.

Just Okay.......2006-06-22

I became a fan of Christopher Dickey after hearing him speak at the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco on NPR. He has amazing depth in Middle Eastern politics and history.
With this in mind I read this novel and was very disappointed. I was hoping to read a novel full of Middle-Eastern complexities. This novel is just okay.

Behind the veil.......2004-11-21

Drawing on the knowledge and expertise gleaned from his years as Newsweek's Middle East editor, Christopher Dickey has written a fastpaced page-turner that takes us behind the headlines of the "War on Terror". Following the horror of September 11th, Kurt Kurtovic, who is living peacefully in the midwest town of Westfield with his wife and daughter, receives a visit from government agents who question his past. This motivates him to set forth to infiltrate Al Quaeda and attempt to forestall further attacks that he senses are imminent.

On a journey that takes him to Britain, Spain, Africa and imprisonment in Guatanamo Bay, Kurtovic uncovers and kills a major Al Quaeda leader, discovers that a series of further attacks are underway using ships with dirty bombs, and is left dangling by unknown American handlers. Ultimately he is freed to return to Westfield where he is reunited with his wife and daughter who have been under Agency protection. But he has a secret, a biological weapon which he has retained from his pre-September 11th exploits. This he destroys. Shadowy figures kidnap his daughter and demand he produce the secret weapon. Together he and his wife manage to outwit and outfight them. Ultimately the trail leads back to the Sleeper, an underground figure in America with friends in high places, who is manipulating many of the players in this tale of evil.

Par.......2004-11-18

This is my first experience with this author. With his background there is no doubt he has some rather intimate knowledge about what he writes.
I found the novel to be fast as well as furious. The writing is what I had a small problem with. It seemed quick and abbreviated with not a great deal of depth. There was certainly no wasted words in this book.
A quick and satisfying read just the same.

As good a ride as "Bourne Supremacy" ---with scary politics.......2004-09-18

"The Sleeper" is a ride on the order of "The Bourne Supremacy" ---Kurt Kurtovic races through Britain, Spain and Africa at a hellacious pace. He's hunting al-Qaeda. But he's also being hunted.

The action in "The Sleeper" is tense, the violence ugly and, sadly, journalistically accurate. The dialogue snaps. The men are dangerous. Trust does not exist. Death is cheap, and there are many willing to deliver it --- and meet it. Read it at night, and you'll feel you should check the door locks.

There are alarm bells in the night; we've conditioned ourselves not to hear them, lest we wake from the dream we're living in, the dream that tells us it's going to be alright somehow. And maybe we're smart to do that. Could any of this book's readers could be as decisive as Kurt? As resourceful? As cold? As effective?

You see the problem this reader's having: He thinks "The Sleeper" is real. Because it's so good --- so fast-paced, so sure-footed, so vividly violent --- it's hard to consign it to the fiction bin. This has to be the way it really works in the shadowy zone where men kill and are killed without a word in the newspapers. An action-packed story with a character Tom Cruise could play --- yes, this is that....but there is so much more here.

As he was in "Innocent Blood," Dickey is once ahead seeing into the future. How scary is that? At 288 pages, it won't take you long to find out.

Average customer rating:

The Worst of Dickens & Lovecraft
a real joy
Something old, something new.
If Dickens Wrote Horror Stories
a bad book

Dark Sleeper: A Novel
Jeffrey E. Barlough
Manufacturer: Ace Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Gridlinked

ASIN: 0441007309
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Book Description

In the fog-enshrouded city of Salthead, metaphysics professor Titus Tiggs and Dr. Daniel Dampe investigate a series of strange, impossible sightings-from phantom ships and ghosts to creatures long extinct. What they uncover is an ancient, mystical evil intent on destroying every person in the town.

Written in a style reminiscent of 19th century authors like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, with tantalizing elements of science fiction and dark fantasy, Jeffrey E. Barlough's Dark Sleeper draws the reader into a complicated plot featuring dozens of fascinating characters and culminating in a surprising and unforgettable climax.

"This is a wonderfully rich book, as vivid and gleaming as a Dore etching; it's a wild carriage ride through the enchanted old streets and perilous country, with odder characters than any this side of Sherlock Holmes's London. You don't read this book, you live in it, and when you've finished you'll want to go back again soon."-Tim Powers, author of the Philip K. Dick Award-winner The Anubis Gates

Customer Reviews:

The Worst of Dickens & Lovecraft.......2002-10-04

Dark Sleeper is an odd duck of a novel, a Weird Tales-style story told in the form of a Dickens pastiche. Though perhaps unlikely sounding, the idea is reasonably fresh, a quality sorely lacking in currently published fantasy.

Bafflingly, though, Barlough has chosen to pastiche not Dicken's skill with description and character, but his most annoying depictions of behavioral and verbal "comic" grotesquerie -- rather than capturing the tone and feel of Dickensian storytelling, Barlough instead conjures the most horrendous bits of Nicholas Nickelby and The Pickwick Papers, eccentrics talking nonsense for pages to finish out Dickens' weekly word quota.

After fifty pages or so this gets pretty tired, but at least there's some nominally creepy Lovecraftian spookiness going on. This holds one's attention to mid-book, at which point the entire mystery is explained in thudding exposition. This recreates the worst of Lovecraft: the rare bits when he stopped to explain what hell was going on. From that point on Dark Sleeper is just silly.

Still, two stars for intent: this isn't another cynically motivated would-be bestseller. Barlough clearly loves the material he pastiches -- he just hasn't managed to pull a successful novel out of it.

a real joy.......2002-04-05

Barlough is a breath of fresh air. Well written dark fanstasy and horror that is also original is a rarity but he succeeds on both accounts splendidly. The characters are marvolous and well constructed as is the background plot. His ability to mimic 19th century english is superb. It feels like you are reading a Dickens novel until Barlough hits you with the horrors that tie the story together. My only real complaint is that the book sometimes gets dragged down in the plethora of subplots but since all the charaters are interesting and thier stories compeling i didn't once object. Not quite as strong as his second outing, "House in the High Wood", but still highly recommended.

Something old, something new........2001-07-17

The problem with your typical fantasy novel is that it's so. . . typical. The quest, the young man or lady with unusually strong powers, the evil bad guy (or girl - let's be fair).

This book has a fine dose of evil, but the rest is a breath of fresh air. If I had to pick a modern-day author to compare Barlough to, it would have to be Tim Powers. The writing is most reminiscent of Charles Dickens', but unlike Charles' novels, I had no trouble getting through this one.

Instead I found myself drawn into an eerie world filled with incredibly charming characters. Even the "bad" guys are charming! This is storytelling at its finest. Nothing is predictable. We are made to experience the amazing events of this world through the eyes of some quite interesting people.

The only problem I had with this book is that I felt compelled to share some of the many very funny scenes in this book with my husband, to find that he'd have to understand the backgrounds of the characters to fully appreciate them. Ah well, guess he'll have to read it too!

So if you are in the mood to savor a different, spooky, funny and richly written novel, you definitely need to read this book. It's the same feeling you get when you go to see a great movie in the middle of a mediocre movie season. "Finally!"

If Dickens Wrote Horror Stories.......2001-05-30

One of the impacts of twentieth century culture on the art of novel writing has been an increased emphasis on the importance of plot. In my more sarcastic moments I blame this on the rise of the cowboy movie. We have become adventure story addicts, and are perplexed when something doesn't happen in every paragraph. In earlier years, plots were sometimes less developed, but emphasis was primarily on characters, dialog and description, i.e., on the power and beauty of the language itself. Too often, best selling books consist of nothing more than stick figure characters mouthing predictable verbiage as they run from event to event on a two-dimensional stage. These can still be fun to read, and there is such a thing as a well-written adventure story, but I sometimes miss the carefully crafted prose of our greatest storytellers.

Fortunately, there are always authors who buck the trend. Recently, China Mieville stands out, with "Perdido Street Station" and "King Rat." Now another new face has appeared, Jeffrey Barlough, whose first work, "Dark Sleeper," is a tour-de-force of finely styled writing. Mr. Barlough, through his service as an editor or older English writing, has a delightful facility with prose, which he has used to concoct a story that is both horror story and lugubrious farce. Imagine, if you will, that "The Pickwick Papers" had been co-written Charles Dickens and H. P. Lovecraft.

"Dark Sleeper" is hardly lacking in plot. Set in an alternate earth where the cataclysmic strike of a comet triggered an ice age during the 18th Century. The world is a wasteland, surrounding a narrow band where civilization managed to hang on. The story takes place in the prosperous town of Salthead `an ocean and a continent' away from where France used to be. It is now three hundred years or more since the cataclysm, but for all practical purposes it is still the 18th Century. Carriages are horse drawn, and candles light the night. Other than a single, silver pocket watch there is no evidence of mechanization. Guns do not exist. The wilderness has reverted, and forests now abound with giant mammoths and saber-toothed tigers.

Unexpectedly, Salthead finds itself haunted by the supernatural. An undead sailor wanders the streets and a ghost ship arises from the ocean. An ill-tempered mastiff becomes a creature from hell. There are rumors that a wizard has moved into the city and demonic figures are seen on cliff tops. Professor Titus Tiggs and his companion Dr. Daniel Dampe are determined to investigate. They come, via a harrowing carriage ride through the mountains to the village of Pease Pottage and the Eaton Wafers estate. There they uncover the roots of a terrible secret that has unleashed a nightmare from ancient times. Salthead and its environs is threatens by an immortal cultist who is determines to reinstate the time of ancient Italy, filling the world with the spirits of dead Etruscans.

All this makes for a dandy plot. But what makes the book special is the author a great deal of time elaborating on the characters, their foibles and faults, and the rich fantasy landscape in which the action takes place. Subplots are introduced and worked to satisfactory conclusions in a novel clearly intended to survive more than one reading. There is already a second volume in preparation for the series. "Dark Sleeper" may not be for everyone, but I believe that it will greatly reward those readers who enjoy such entertainments.

a bad book.......2001-04-06

I felt distinctly cheated after reading this book. I liked the characters and I liked the main theme, but I think the problem was that I expected the two to interact in some way and they really didn't, at least not in any active way. The characters just observe what is going on rather than participating, so there is no center to the book, I ended up not really caring what happens as there was no real conflict amongst the main characters to drive the story. Basically it's two books, the plot occurs amongst minor characters with little impact on the reader, and the main characters though interesting just stand around doing little.

Average customer rating:

Wish it was better
Not so good.
Excellent background information
These reviews are not for this book
These reviews are not for this book

Green Lantern: Sleepers (Book 2)
Christopher J. Priest , and Michael Ahn
Manufacturer: I Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Adventure | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0743498119

Book Description

In effect cosmic police officers responsible for protecting the universe, the Green Lantern Corps is an organization numbering in the hundreds of members, with each Lantern assigned sectors of space to patrol. First introduced in the 1940s, Green Lantern is one of the original superheroes of the DC Universe-with three generations of fans-and his popularity continues today. Hal Jordan, the most famous of Earth's modern-day Green Lanterns, is currently the lead character in the DC Comics limited series New Frontier, written and drawn by red-hot artist Darwyn Cooke. Jordan also "guest-starred" on an episode of the Cartoon Network's Duck Dodgers animated series; his voice was performed by director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back). The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, is a featured member in DC's bestselling JSA series. And John Stewart, the first African-American Green Lantern, is a core character on the Cartoon Network's Justice League animated series.

Book 2: Will stars Alan Scott, revealing how he came to have his power ring and how he uses his powers to fight evil. Scott fights in World War II as both an enlisted man and as a costumed superhero. He must also fight a 17th-century super-villain: an anti-Green Lantern named Malvolio, who wants to take over the world! To this end, Malvolio decides to cut a deal with Adolf Hitler himself-a deal that endangers the entire Allied campaign in Europe and the Pacific. But Malvolio's plans do not stop there. He is determined to eliminate the entire Green Lantern Corps, destroy Earth, and decimate all other worlds that have ever had the protection of a Green Lantern!

Customer Reviews:

Wish it was better.......2006-01-26

I liked the first book and look forward to Book 3: however, this just didn't satisfy me as a reader or comic fan. There's been a lot said about the typos and missing words: it happens a lot through out the book. The story, however, was too drawn out in some areas and didn't explain enough in some. One thing that really bothered me was the author describing Malovio's ring being vulnerable to wood; it should only have been vulnerable to "yellow" if it was a Corp. ring. The book's jacket cover would have you believe that Hal Jordan is a significant part of the book, but he only appears for the briefest time. I hope there is more depth in the third installment.

Not so good........2005-05-01

Acceptable story and retelling of Alan Scott's origin. Not good, but acceptable. What makes this a 1 star review is the number of typos. I think a spellchecker was used on this book, but there are wrong words galore, such as 'duel' for 'dual', and a few sentence that just make no sense. No competent proofreader ever went over this book.

I would call this first rate fan fiction- but I'm mad I paid $22 for it. The cover was nice though.

Excellent background information.......2005-04-10

Very detailed origins of Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern and a forgotten foe that fought Hal Jordan once in the old ACTION COMICS WEEKLY (#632-635): Lord Malvolio. Excellent characteraztion and plot make this a very good book for some great light reading. I highly recommend it to all fans of GL!

These reviews are not for this book.......2005-03-30

They are for the first book in the series.

These reviews are not for this book.......2005-03-30

They are for the first book in the series.

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