They should have named the book Slade...
584725
Considering how many delays there have been getting this Arrow novel into print, I was elated to see it was finally available. This is an Arrow novel based on Season 2 of the CW TV series. Fans of the series may be disappointed that the holy trinity of Oliver, Diggle and Felicity are not the main focus of this book, which unfolds through the perspectives of the villain characters Slade Wilson, Isabel Rochev and Sebastian Blood. In many chapters, Team Arrow ("We don't call it that") is barely referenced except as the target of Slade's obsessive hatred. Although the writing is competent, the novel sheds no light on the thoughts or interplay between the vigilante heroes.

"Vengeance" more-or-less follows the plotlines of Arrow's excellent sophomore season, when the show's writers and actors consistently delivered outstanding episodes so it's frustrating that the book's emphasis is on Slade and Isabel. In my opinion, the book's product description on Amazon should feature a brief synopsis so series fans will know what they're getting for their money.
3765681
The pages are packed with suspense. However, as far as I am concerned, the book loses one star because of the redundant use of universally known name and also making him look like an idiot. The book would have been more enjoyable if it had avoided the name of Sherlock Holmes and used some other common names
117346
In this new incarnation, Slade (now father & daughter), have crafted a leaner style but just as convoluted,as usual. Great history, as usual. And also as usual, the reader is weary of the twists and turns by the time of the last surprise. Slade shows no reservation with disposing of characters you figure would be around for a while, that is different.
2137701
The only thing that really bothered me about this book was how quickly the villian was defeated. RBP developed these characters (Macklin, Crow) with style. But the way they exited from the story was very weak. There should  have been more interaction between Jesse, Macklin, and Crow (who may  possibly return in one of RBP's other books because he got away???). There  was way too much interaction between Jesse, Jenn, and Abby, RBP could tone  that down a little bit as far as I'm concerned. Overall this book is a  decent read, but the first book (Night Passage) in this series was much  better.
1411629
I've read several Michael Slade books over the years and they have certainly been consistent.  The books teem with psycho killers doing unspeakably nasty things to innocents and with the angelic qualities of their heroes.
But along the way, there is lots of well-researched history, alternating perspective and character building.  For the most part, they are informative and interesting thrillers.
My only complaint is that the heroes are nowhere near as interesting as the villians (in Bed of Nails, I was rooting for the villian who, in interest of remaining spoiler free I will not reveal, to get the good guy once and for all). The heroes seem almost cardboard thin and just as stiff and the plot moves them around rather than the other way.
Jay, Rebecca, I enjoy your books and this one was very snappy.  I like the con-geek segments as I've lived those as well. The mention of SCA brought a particular smile to my face as I've been a member for many years.  Keep up the good work!
530918
If you are expecting this book to include either All-American Comics #89 (September 1947) "The Harlequin" or Superman #257 (October 1972) "The Greatest Green Lantern of All!", then you will be disappointed.  DC pulled these stories at the last minute and substituted Green Lantern #74 (January 1970) "Lost In Space".  That doesn't detract from my review rating; I'm surprised word of this change didn't hit the grapevine sooner.
531313
It would have been a better book if it hadn't used Gods name in vain.i don't like to read books with cuss words in it
2881916
it would have been a far better book, if Mr. Ambrose would have limited the military acronyms, that get in the way of the story line.
3829902
The book Tim Ferriss wanted to write and couldn't because he doesn't know half as much as Ben knows.  To have all the overwhelming amount of data it has, You read it as if it was a novel. It should be called "become superhuman without BS shortcuts"
1614259
This book is the aftermath of the mediocre and forced gritty story Cry for Justice. The story deals with Rise of Arsenal and Fall of Green Arrow.  Fall of Green Arrow is the better story collected here. I'm actually surprised by this because I thought both of them were going to be flat out terrible but Fall of Green Arrow was actually the best thing to come out of DC containing anything related to Cry for Justice.

The reason why Fall of Green Arrow worked instead of Rise of Arsenal was because Fall of Green Arrow was that he was written in character and reacted to the crisis like I thought he would have. Although Fall of Green Arrow was a "good" story it was really only a good story when compared to Cry for Justice and Rise of Arsenal.

I really wished that DC learned from when Hal turned evil. They just aren't good at making good guys become villains. All of the stories that feature this all seem to rush themselves and the villain always goes back to being a hero anyways.
1205231
Every time I start one of the Carolina Slade books, I'm struck by how completely different her world is from mine. All the customs and niceties of Southern society and living... are just not me, and not something that would even be on my radar in any other context. And yet. One moment I'm reading along, vaguely interested in my outsider's view of Slade's world, and then.. ZIP! The next thing I know it's 3am, I've burned through half the book, I've already decided I know whodunit and then realized I was wrong several times, and I genuinely can't figure out how or if Slade's is going to get out of the mess she keeps digging herself into.

I tend to be a fan of spoilers -- I shamelessly flip to the back of books (before going back to my original place and continuing reading), and I almost always listen to a spoilercast or read online spoilers before reading a movie. I just like knowing what to look forward to. But as I was writing this, I realized this is also the only time in recent memory that I hadn't even considered flipping to the back of the book. I wanted to know -how- Slade got ... wherever she was going ... at least as much as I wanted to know where she'd actually end up. Maybe that's because I definitely see some of myself in her, not least the ability to keep sticking her foot in it.

Anyway! I guess all I can really say is this book sneaks up on you, and I'm looking forward to reading about whatever Slade gets into next in another few years.
4962919
"Creep Show" comes to mind!
Send this to Stephen King!
Great job Steve!
Sounds like this could've had a slight reference to a particular bully we grew up with...
2194412
I am surprised by the ratings given this series of books. As a fan of Who Dunnit collections, I wish this book had been a better one. Except for the unnecessary soft pornography sprinkled throughout this book, it reads like a 1980's television series.
1864753
I have to say that this book was a bit disappointing. It is not a bad book, I did enjoy reading it, but it is definitely the weakest of the books in the series that I have read so far.

Gin is still likable old, well not so old maybe, Gin the badass assassin. Her friends are still around and are equally likable. This time Gin and Bria get out of Ashland for a while and I had quite hoped that the change of scenery would bring a bit of freshness into the series.

Unfortunately it did not bring as much fresh material as I hoped. In some sense rather the inverse. Gin and Bria starts off with a rather strained relation with some nonsense Bria-the-cop cannot really deal with the fact that Gin is an assassin and are breaking the law. Then to make matters worse Donovan I brought back into the series. I was really happy when that self-righteous, must-not-break-the-law wuss leave. I though it was for good so I got really disappointed when he was brought back. Of course he was the same wuss this time and I quite disliked the pages where he was present and bitching about Gin and how she should just leave. Needless to say he was just as wrong this time as in the previous books.

The parts without him where much more pleasant to read even though the book as a whole still followed pretty much the same recipe as the previous ones. Gin just have to stupidly walk into a mess and get herself beaten up or otherwise half-killed half way through the book in order to later get back and deal out some pain and death the Gin style. For a seasoned assassin she is more than a little stupid and amateurish. This time she seemed to have forgotten all about staking out the victims and actually learning something about them before taking any dangerous actions.

Okay, enough of the complaining. The book is nevertheless enjoyable to read. I like Gin and her friends, I like the dialogue (bitching, bantering whatever) between Gin, Bria, Finn and Owen. I like the action and the no BS throat-cutting and skull-bashing when Gin gets going.

I will definitely continue to read the series despite this little dip in the series.
14153
Clearly Cornish has spent months or years developing the world he set his story in. It is a decent and quick read, I finished it in a few days. Nearly 1/4 of the book is a glossary, which frankly I could have done without, I would rather have had more story. While I enjoyed the unique setting, I felt this 'chapter' of the story quick and unfulfilling, left me wanting more 'meat' of the story.
One thing that did annoy me is the naming conventions in the book. The random characters spread throughout the book had insanely stupid names: the people Fouracres meets on the road were named Fly, Mold and Math. Huh? I hate to say this but it seemed like somethings (names included) were just thrown in to be 'unique' and this came off as annoying to me during the read.
That said however, I enjoyed the book and will continue with the second when it comes out, mainly due to the interesting and detailed world the story takes place in.
2534111
This one's a Walmart exclusive, meaning that they are the only place to get it for the first year of publishing, and it's not on Kindle or any ebook format because of this. Perhaps it would have been better to do this with amazon.com, they wouldn't have alienated their readers who refuse to shop at Walmart and parts of the World this isn't available for them to purchase.

I also think the writing would be better, it wouldn't have been so mediocre and it comes with a flaw in how William W. Johnstone wrote his books. It's something that he never would have done, because it deals with the focus of the second book in the series, and the reader would have been introduced to it in book one.

I will say, the books at it's best when they are writing about Jacob O'Brien. Which is no surprise, he'd make a great addition to Preacher, Smoke, and the Drifter, and be the perfect addition to all the other series even.

The first 100 pages are enjoyable, but it goes down hill fast from there, with too many stories lines going on, the editing isn't crisp, it gets confusing at times because of it, and effects the flow of the book. The four brothers are briefly introduced, but felt they could have been better introduced, and especially with Jacob, since he's a main character in the series

The flaw with this book is that the second book, 'Shadow of the Hangman' about Joshua and Dora DeClare and their quest for revenge against Shamus O'Brien. But nothing is mentioned about them in the first book, actually re-read the O'Brien Brothers thinking I missed something, and just mentions in one line how Shamus would hang people for stealing one cow.

Being an avid fan of William's Westerns, I seriously doubt he would have written it this way, or we'd see something this mediocre being written. I'm not going to bother with the series any more, read the first two books, and halfway through the third book, then I done with picking up anymore titles from the series.

Also another series came to mind, that blows this one away in how it's written. It's Robert J. Randisi's, 'The Sons of Daniel Shaye Series', it's well worth the effort to track down; 'Leaving Epitath'. 'Vengeance Creek', and 'Pearl River Junction'.
3053540
Dick gets a job this issue. I would like to see a miniseries of a superhero bar with the green lanterns and flash and such drinking and complaining to Dick. A female assassin also shows up, and she seems promising.