Awakening [Mass Market Paperback]

Some people may like this book because of all the violence but that's about all it had.

In fact, it was Robey's review (below) that made me do the search for Victor Milan where I found out that he wrote "The Guardians" series under the nom-de-plume "Richard Austin."

I was going to initially accuse Mr. Milan of blatantly stealing the Guardian's concept as a basis for this book. I mean, come on. . .some guy named Gilgamesh Bates gives them a job to restore America? Granted, it's not _exactly_ the Blueprint For Renewal, but it sounds a lot like it. However, seeing as Mr. Milan actually wrote The Guardians. . .

And Team Phoenix isn't running around in a big V450 Supercommando, but that LAV is awfully close.

Ultimately, though, it comes down to a couple of points.

1. The book is pretty good. Despite the obvious mischaracterizations and oversights, the storyline is quite appealing. If you can forget for a moment that this is supposed to be an Outlanders book and view it with a less-jaundiced eye. . .you might just enjoy it.

2. This is good, old 1980's Cold War Post-Armageddon men's sci-fi laced liberally with testosterone and cordite. The only real problem is that this is now the 21st Century and the Outlanders series has garnered quite a different fan base as written by Mark Ellis. Many of the readers are unfamiliar with the old stuff (Robey notwithstanding!).

My complaint is that Mr. Milan may have misunderstood the demographics of the Outlander following. I remember (and have) each and every one of The Guardians series. I truly enjoyed the series up to the point that they obviously were written by alternate writers. But reading this almost insulted me.

While many of the younger readers may not realize that Team Phoenix is almost identical to The Guardians (four military experts tasked with rebuilding a post-nuke America utilizing the best training and equipment the Continuity of Government program can buy), I sure recognized them. It was this recognition that dampened my enjoyment somewhat. In fact, I almost felt insulted that someone would steal Richard Austin's ideas and try to pawn them off on me twelve years after his series was cancelled.

This was, of course, before I found out that Mr. Milan is actually Richard Austin.

This book, however, is one of The Outlanders series. While I am not the publisher, I AM a devoted reader. I would recommend that Mr. Milan please try to stick to the theme and feeling of the original storyline.

The concept is good, but as Roby pointed out below, the "flavor" is all wrong. I read The Outlanders because I "know" the characters and are comfortable with them. In my opinion, this almost seemed like an attempt at the introduction of a spin-off series centered on Team Phoenix.

This is enjoyable Sci-fi men's adventure. It is NOT, however, The Outlanders as anyone knows it.

Would someone PLEASE let Mr. Milan write a series of his own? He has the experience to do so and writes stories very well. Please let him run with his own series.

Let's leave The Outlanders to Mark Ellis and (occasionally) Mel Odom.

Just my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it.