Mandy Reviews: The A-Men Return by John Trevillian

ISBN #: 978-1848766-198

Page Count: 425

Copyright: 2011

Publisher: Matador Publishing

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

Four years have passed since the destruction of the Phoenix Tower and with it the infamous A-Men. The once-great Dead City is now a no-go zone; abandoned and forgotten. Living in this nightmarish underworld Jack is a twisted shadow of his former self, a lone survivor in a world of warring ganglords and their crazed disciples.

Yet something is stirring in the sanctuary of the near-space starstations; a realisation that Heaven's governing sentience is dying and the one thing that can save civilisation fell to earth a long, long time ago.

From unrelentingly visceral to outrageously comic, this is a harsh and poetic twenty-second century noir fable. Yet beneath the hardboiled action is a philosophical journey of one man's rebirth in a harsh and unforgiving world.

It's The A-Men. Only harder, faster: darker.

 

*Side Note: This is the second book in the series. To read my review of the first book, The A-Men, please click here.*

Mandy's Review:

Cover

I love that this cover features Sister Midnight, one of the main characters in this novel, instead of Jack again (another main character).

Plot

We return to the world of a mad scientist, a group of misfits and an unrealistic world, based on a fairy tale, that is slowly dying. It is a futuristic world we enter in which sex, murder and territorial wars run rampant.

The scientist, now on death row, gather the A-Men back together for one last mission. Can they come together again one last time? Or, are the hard feelings they parted with going to hinder them from joining and, ultimately, result in the scientist's death?

Main Characters

Jack - aka The Nowhereman - The main leader of the A-Men. In this novel, Jack finally gets his memory back. He's still a kick-ass, shoot-first-ask-questions-later type which simultaneously gets him in and out of trouble ... depending upon the circumstances.

Susan - aka Pure - She's out for revenge against Jack for how easily he dismissed her the previous summer. She still loves him and ends up helping him ... at least, until her own life is at stake.

Esther - aka Sister Midnight - Although she's turned holy, that doesn't stop her from loving, and helping, Jack when he needs it. She can fight as well as any warrior and sticks with Jack until the end of the mission.

Nathaniel - aka D'Alessandro - Writer and creator of Forevermore, a fairytale (and amusement park) about a perfect world where death doesn't exist. He's a little mad-scientisty and is on death row for his actions against the company he previously worked for.

Overall

Another stellar novel from John Trevillian. I love, love, love the chapters being written in each of the main character's voice. It allows the reader to get to know each of the characters personally. This series of novels could easily be made into a movie (or movies) and/or a television series.

If you are a fan of sci-fi, futuristic events or just a mind-blowing, amazingly written story, then check out John Trevillian's A-Men trilogy: The A-Men, The A-Men Return and Forever A-Men (which I cannot wait to read!).