Rating: 
Summary: Speculative fiction with an urban beat
Review: From the writer of the acclaimed movie Three Kings, what would you expect to follow the release of a pulse-charging, plot-twisting sci-fi cop thriller but a June 3, 2003 DVD/VHS release of an urban anime sci-fi movie starring the voice of hip-hop superstar Li'l Kim as the heroine of Those Who Walk in Darkness, Soledad "Bullet" O'Roark?
Ridley's plot revolves around a group of superheroes with "metanormal" abilities who encounter the prejudice and hatred of ordinary people, personified by Soledad.
This well-thought-out science fiction thriller is Training Day meets NYPD Blue meets X-Men, with a little Blade Runner thrown in, plus "Law & Order" when a metanormal-championing defense attorney uses Soledad to further her own ambitions. There's even a love story. Ian seems to be Soledad's salvation from a life of hatred, but pulls the rug out from under her in a twist well-foreshadowed in the plot, but as stunning as the final wrinkle in The Ring.
Soledad's prejudice, coming from a black heroine, is an intriguing social commentary. The ending, while true to Soledad's character, will provoke commentary and debate, as any work of speculative fiction should.
Rating:
Summary: Not what it seems...
Review: At first I only lightly read the jacket of this book and thought it to be a new vampire novel. I was very wrong and very pleased at what it was instead.This book explores a story line that seems to be so obvious you would think that more than a few authors would have already written something along this line, and that's what makes it so unique. The book is a fast paced, action ride for anyone who has ever watched a cartoon or read a Superman comic. It brings a million "what if"s to mind as you read it. The main character is one you hate to love, but can't help it. You continue to read hoping for redemption. I can't wait for this author to put out another book along this story line.
Rating:
Summary: A TRUE MORALITY TALE
Review: Boy, was this book a serious letdown. I rushed out to get it based on my love for comics and fictional futures. The premise is excellent, and Ridley's dialogue is like nothing I've ever read. It's true to life and unique. The only thing that let me down was the main character that we're (I think) supposed to be rooting for (or maybe not...maybe this is Ridley's intention). Soledad comes off as a hateful, bigoted, murderous, merciless human being. And it's not even for an understandable reason. Sure, the disaster visited upon San Francisco is horrific...but Soledad's family never made it to the city. They were all spared. This is the one thing that kept me from thoroughly enjoying the book.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Brilliant
Review: I admit I haven't read comics in a long time, but I loved "3 Kings" so I figured I'd give this a try. Whoa. What this book has that's unique is an absolute lack of moral guidance. The sheer genius of this book is it's absolute lack of moral guidance. Everything I've ever read, no matter how "complicated" it's ethical web might be, there is always the subtle voice of the author saying "here's how you should feel, here's right and wrong". That's what makes most books comforting and that's why I enjoy them. But this? Who is right, who is wrong? There's no hidden road map to let me know how I should feel about this war against super heroes. It reminds a lot of Blade Runner, the director's cut, without that stupid narration. I mean, there was our hero, obviously, the person we're supposed to identify with, and his job is to kill life forms who's only real goals are freedom and life. That's Soledad. I don't know how I feel about her. She's the hero, right? She's the person I'm supposed to identify with, right? But what's her job, to kill people who want to protect us and only because one of them screwed up? Because they made her lose faith in her heroes? Jeez. At least in Blade Runner, he got to do the "right" thing at the end, the thing I would want to do. But at the end of this book? Bottom line, if you want a fun, possibly dark, "easy" sci-fi book that's going to play nice with your moral compass, don't read this. But if you want to be challenged, this book is awesome!
Rating: 
Summary: Those Who Walk in Darkness stumbles in character development
Review: I read this book in one sitting, but I didn't really like it. I could have liked it a lot more, even without a word being changed, if there was a message that this was just the first part of a trilogy. Sadly, I saw no such note. The world setting is much like DC's apocalyptic Kingdom Come. Humans have given birth to metahumans. The reasons for this are never explored. At first some of the mutants live out their superhero fantasies, dress up in garish costumes and - like Peter Pan - think good thoughts and do good works. But
superpowers don't equate with the Freudian "superego"... in other words, metahumans do not have any greater sense of social responsibility than do normal people. Some are "good" and law-abiding, and others get their thrills any way they can. Public perception changes and hardens when San Francisco is destroyed in a firestorm by a pyromaniac metahuman. As in the novel Watchmen, all "mask"s are outlawed, all metahumans ordered to leave the United States within 30 days or face extermination. No exceptions made.... Not even for an angel... The main character in this story is a young woman with a genius for weapon making and a homicidal urge to kill metahumans. Unfortunately she's a cop in an elite unit so her kills are sanctioned at the highest levels. She is the weakest plot point in the entire book. We never learn her "backstory", we don't understand her total black and white view of metahumans.
I found it almost incomprehensible that a young black female cop should not see that she is dehumanizing those who have special attributes and abilities in just the same manner that earlier oppressors had treated women, Jews, and Blacks. She is blind to herself... and it makes it hard to care for her in any way, because she is barely human herself. If the author writes another book about the cop and develops her character and history a bit, I'll gladly read it, but as a stand alone novel THOSE WHO WALK IN DARKNESS" left me in the dark in too many important areas! Paul Memoli
Rating: 
Summary: Dark Comic Book Fiction with a Twist
Review: I usually don't buy books in hardcover and I definitely don't buy books in hardcover that I don't have a really clear idea of what I'm getting in advance, via reviews or word of mouth. So it was really unusual that I bought this book on a whim last week, after just reading the cover flap and never having heard of the book or the author. It was a worthwhile purchase, though, even though I DID read it in a two-sitting binge. I liked the alternate reality world where superheroes and villains exist, and the way bureaucracies and mere humans cope with the day to day of trying to enforce the laws against them. The story itself was suspenseful and hard to put down, and the writing was terse and really added to the story. So many suspense/action novels seem like a waste of trees--why not just go straight to the screenplay sale that this is obviously angling for? Not in this case--while the story WOULD make a great movie, the writing itself adds a dimension to the story that a mere screenplay would not have. But what I most liked was the way I was placed in the position of being sympathetic toward someone whose political views I despised (and like most fans of the x-men, I read anti-mutant as racism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc.) and wanting the best for her even while I root against her side succeeding. The main problem I had with the book was that it wasn't long enough. It obviously is the first of several or a series, or at least I hope it is because much was left unfinished at the end of this book. I'm looking forward to more!
Rating:
Summary: DEEPER THAN THE PAGE
Review: I've had a lot of arguments about this book. For those who just think it's an action story, everywhere in the book insert the words "New York" for San Francisco and "September 11tth" for May Day. This book is about politics, rights, freedoms and what happens when we either take them for granted or abuse them. Not to malign comic book fans, but I think those who are just expecting a simple "chick action" book have missed something very bold, made more so by the fact the "hero" of the book is about the most complicated hero in a story since, maybe, Dekker in Blade Runner. Somebody said to me: "but I don't like Soledad." Uh, you're not supposed to LIKE her. You're supposed to find her FASCINATING. And the woman is fascinating as hell. This book, like most of Ridley's work, is not for everyone. Just for people who like being challanged.
Rating:
Summary: DEEPER THAN THE PAGE
Review: I've had a lot of arguments about this book. For those who just think it's an action story, everywhere in the book insert the words "New York" for San Francisco and "September 11tth" for May Day. This book is about politics, rights, freedoms and what happens when we either take them for granted or abuse them. Not to malign comic book fans, but I think those who are just expecting a simple "chick action" book have missed something very bold, made more so by the fact the "hero" of the book is about the most complicated hero in a story since, maybe, Dekker in Blade Runner. Somebody said to me: "but I don't like Soledad." Uh, you're not supposed to LIKE her. You're supposed to find her FASCINATING. And the woman is fascinating as hell. This book, like most of Ridley's work, is not for everyone. Just for people who like being challanged.
Rating:
Summary: Ridley's work bitter and dark as Soledad herself.
Review: I've read most of the reviews for this novel and it seems like the most bitter reviewers are the ones that wanted Soledad to be redeemed some how at the end. Sorry folks. Ridley didn't write a fairy tale or a comedy. This is a bleak bleak tragedy of suprising depth and raw reality. Splattered against a backdrop of post-catastrophic California the tale of Soledad O'Rourke, a very angry black woman indeed, is spun out to the sound of gun fire and explosions. Soledad has issues, lots of them. Yeah she's a bigot and would probably come out worse in comparison with any flesh and blood racist cop. Just because she's black doesn't mean she has to be particularly reasonable or sensative to differences. Ridley puts it in your face from page one. She's a bigot in a society that has accepted this particular brand of racism. How ever it doesn't keep the reader from routing for her and even actively liking her. At the end Soledad loses quite a lot because of her bigoted nature and her unwillingness to change. She pays for her flaws with several very precious things, including hefty chunks of her soul and humanity. Ridley's writing is urban and very now. An incomplete sentence or two is easily overlooked. The atmosphere is very Gothamesque with Soledad drawing parallels to the Caped Crusader himself. If you're looking for a tale with clearly drawn morals and uncomplicated, one dimensional characters look elsewhere. "Those who walk in Darkness" will keep you thinking long after the last page is turned. I await the next installement with baited breath.
Rating:
Summary: It¿s a brave new world for sure
Review: In a fantasyland USA of tomorrow, mutant human beings stalk the land. Some are heroes who save "normal" human beings from disasters such as bank robberies or giant sinkholes that open in busy streets. However, others are bad, just like some regular human beings, and cause distress and pain. John Ridley's heroine, Soledad "Bullet" O'Roark, doesn't care to make a distinction between the good freaks and the bad freaks; she wants them all dead. Keeping her emotional distance from everyone, she becomes involved in a car accident, and subsequently with the driver of the other vehicle, Ian, who is very similar to Soledad in temperament. They never discuss their past lives, they almost never discuss even the present. They seem, as a couple, to be perfectly happy sharing living space, having sex and not doing much else. Questions cause them to clam up, especially with each other. For a long time, Ian doesn't even know that Soledad is on the M-Tac squad, which was formed specifically to hunt down mutant human beings. When he does learn, he is uneasy, but accepts his new love's job as part of the package. It could be his undoing. Soledad, while on duty, kills a "good" super human - one who can prevent disasters or reverse the damages from calamities that should have killed people. While Soledad O'Roark feels justified in the killing, the husband of the super freak is angry beyond reason. His specialty is mind control and he can make a regular human being kill him/herself by entering that person's thoughts and controlling his/her actions. He begins stalking the M-Tac squad. He wants Soledad dead. In turn, Soledad wants him badly enough to endanger herself and the entire squad. The battle is on. THOSE WHO WALK IN DARKNESS is a quick read and an interesting one. I do tend to like heroines that have some redeeming values and I found Soledad a little hard to take, yet I couldn't stop reading the book. I knew, at some point, that this woman would have to have some small spark of decency in her. John Ridley has come up with a surprise ending that makes an already fantastic book even more so. Reviewed by alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
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