Bureau 13: Full Moonster

Rating:
Summary: What else can I say but - wow!
Review: Each and every time I think there is no possible way for the author to make the next book better, and each time I'm proven wrong. From the fight at the smoke house to the (will not mention location here. Don't want to give away the surprise ending), the action is as nonstop as the jokes. How our hero Ed beats the villian was just about the funniest thing I've ever read, and yet totally logical. I have managed to find an old copy of his sci-fi novel ILLEGAL ALIENS, and can only hope its half as good as this series.

Rating:
Summary: What else can I say but - wow!
Review: Each and every time I think there is no possible way for the author to make the next book better, and each time I'm proven wrong. From the fight at the smoke house to the (will not mention location here. Don't want to give away the surprise ending), the action is as nonstop as the jokes. How our hero Ed beats the villian was just about the funniest thing I've ever read, and yet totally logical. I have managed to find an old copy of his sci-fi novel ILLEGAL ALIENS, and can only hope its half as good as this series.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the trouble of finding
Review: Full Moonster was the first Bureau 13 book I ever read. Recently, I found Doomsday Exam, and the push is on to find Bureau 13. Full Moonster had some of the BEST laughs I've gotten reading in a long time. The cure for Lycanthropy alone made me take a break from reading just to catch my breath. This series definately deserves movie treatment, or even better, a TV series, since so few anymore are worth watching. Nick, thanks for a great book, and I'll hope to catch you at Inconjunction sometime in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Funny
Review: I have a vast library of books, including great classics...but it is THIS book that gets the most reading time. Its truly funny each and every time that I read it. The characters are well fleshed out and unique, the B13 world was masterfully used and the book is just a fantastic read, over and over. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Worked with the author, and recommend his works
Review: I have playtested and contributed to the upcoming Bureau 13 D20 System Handbook, also from Wildside Press. Mr. Pollotta has captured the essesnce of the Bureau 13 world with his humor and wit. I had to research for the writing and playtesting by reading all three of the Bureau 13 novels. I was visibly laughing while reading the books. I have roleplayed for 20 years and the books have only added to my own Bureau 13 campaign. Mr. Pollotta has added new things to the Bureau 13 canon, and has made it so that we fans await the fourth B13 novel eagerly.

Rating:
Summary: Worked with the author, and recommend his works
Review: I have playtested and contributed to the upcoming Bureau 13 D20 System Handbook, also from Wildside Press. Mr. Pollotta has captured the essesnce of the Bureau 13 world with his humor and wit. I had to research for the writing and playtesting by reading all three of the Bureau 13 novels. I was visibly laughing while reading the books. I have roleplayed for 20 years and the books have only added to my own Bureau 13 campaign. Mr. Pollotta has added new things to the Bureau 13 canon, and has made it so that we fans await the fourth B13 novel eagerly.

Rating:
Summary: Lunatic plot and crazy action sequences.
Review: Mr. Pollotta writes fight scenes worthy of The Matrix--grand and chaotic. He uses a fair dose of humor, but never so much that the narrative turns goofy.

When you read the opening chapter, you will not think my description above applies. He starts each of his Bureau 13 books with a separate scene that sets up the plot, but is not part of it. In these opening chapters, he writes with a steady hand worthy of Stephen King or Tim Powers, proving that he doesn't write humorous stories because he is incapable of being serious. One day we will see a book from this man that transcends the fantasy-comedy sub-genre. Nevertheless, I hope the Bureau 13 stories keep coming, because they are immensely entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Leaving the best 'til last
Review: The last volume in Nick Pollotta's Bureau 13 series is barely different from the first two. Team Tunafish continue the fight against all manner of monsters and magic, using an impressive and gloriously silly range of incantations and incendiaries themselves. Plot? Something about werewolves, with a Deus Ex Machina blatant enough to make your eyes water. The characters are still 100% cardboard, but now they're recycled cardboard. Like the game on which it is based the book veers from broad comedy to serious action and horror, an uneasy mix at times, and here the attempts at satire are overworked and uninspired. The series still reads like a write-up of a gaming session. Yet from the dreadful mess of ideas and ammunition Pollotta has once again managed to create a book you'll love to read. It zips by at sprinting speed and you'll be lucky to tease three hours of reading from it, but "Full Moonster," feeble title and all, still earns four stars for sheer entertainment. The role-playing game is due to reappear in a new edition soon; sadly, plans to re-release the novels were shelved indefinitely last year. Check the second hand market... but don't pay too much.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent weave of fantasy, magic, combat.
Review: This book is the final in what has been a three book series (so far). The series showcases the adventures of a team of FBI agents in Bureau 13, who fight evil and magical beasts and monsters. The series is witty, fast paced, and just plain fun. The author does not make the mistake of leaving the comic-book violence entirely cost-free; characters pay prices for their pain. This is fluff, but fun fluff. The reader is left wanting more.

Rating:
Summary: Yee-haw!
Review: This is my favorite B13 novel, and I have waited years for it to finally get back into print. My old copy simply fell apart from all the rereading. (g)
So when is a NEW Bureau book coming out?