Rating: 
Summary: A TRUE MORALITY TALE
Review: In the new normal, post 9/11 and the Patriot Act and Abu Ghraib right and wrong go from black and white to a horrid gray. Life is no fantasy. For a fantasy book, Those who Walk in Darkness is harshly real. In the story there are people with amazing abilities, but there are also everyday cops with little more than ordinary sidearms trying to enforce the law. Mind you, the law and what's "right" are two totally different things. I don't mean this in a dismissive sense, but I think some people seem to have come to this book expecting a comic without pictures. This book is more like hard boiled fantasy. It deals more with laws and concepts than empty fluff and is fronted by an anti-hero who is more anti than hero. Definitely not for everyone. Mature readers. Not for the strong language, but for the complexity of thought. An excellent, excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting....
Review: John Ridley's Those Who Walk In Darkness is a futuristic, sci-fi thriller filled with superheroes and super cops in a battle between good and evil. Soledad O'Roark is a tough, no-nonsense rookie on an elite team of police officers whose sole mission is to capture and deport metanormals. Metanormals are humans who have altered genetic traits which enable them to perform extraordinary feats, like fly, manipulate elements (metal, fire, water), become intangible (move through solid objects), etc. However, the most feared and deadly of the metanormals is the telepath who can enter the mind and take total control of one's actions, emotions, and thoughts with little to no warning. If you are picking up a strong "X-Men" vibe, then you are right on point. In this novel, San Francisco and its half million "normal" humans were obliterated from the face of the earth when the good superheroes failed to stop an evil superhero's doomsday device. Thus in a knee-jerk decision, the President issues an Executive Order to deport the metanormals. Europe openly accepts those who are deported, while others hide their capabilities and try to live peacefully incognito in the U.S. However, the "normal" humans (especially the cops) spew so much malice toward any metanormal whether good/helpful or destructive/evil that there is usually conflict in every meeting that ends in a lot of cops dead when trying to capture one metanormal. Most of the story centers on the heroine Soledad; her life and motivation. We learn that she is the typical hard-nosed, loner, idealist cop who believes in "the system" until a series of events leads her to love, threatens her career, and changes her life. The plot's formula is familiar and so are the supporting characters - there is a "lover boy," a dedicated family man, and a "Rambo" type to round out Soledad's four-person crew. At times, I felt like I was reading a screenplay for a new cop show - there were plenty of "shoot 'em up" action passages, characters with misguided anger, and the resonating "woe is me" lament of misunderstood policemen. The story works reasonably well because I kept reading to find out what was going to happen next. True to Ridley fashion, this novel has plenty of comedic scenes and a darker side. It raises issues of human rights and challenges the reader to examine social injustices of the past and potentially the future. I enjoyed all aspects of the book and I am looking forward to his next release. Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
July 9, 2003
Rating: 
Summary: A movie treatment in book form
Review: Leaving aside the plot holes and the lack of anything but the most cursory character development, the book is just badly written and in dire need of an editor. Long chapters of synopsis are combined with sentence fragments to create something that reads like a quickly dashed-off screenplay treatment. I'm sure the destruction of San Francisco and the various metahuman/cop battles will look great on screen, but as a book, this makes comic books look deep.
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY AMAZING
Review: Read a couple of Ridley's other books (great) but I'm thinking SciFi? C'mon. But this one is clever, tough, political. All of Ridley's characters in all of this books could either be in a cage fight, or on a quiz show grudge match. What a world he weaves. What a pleasure it is to read him.
Rating:
Summary: BAMF
Review: Ridley gives you the unexpected. Not a bad thing in today's cookie-cutter world. Not always satisfying, but you have to read. He's on the edge of a big one, I want to see it when it comes.
Rating: 
Summary: Good "Comic Book" Fiction
Review: Ridley has done a nice job of setting up a world of mutants, familiar to many comic book readers, and includes allusions to 9/11 as well. Although another reviewer was upset that the main character is a racist throughout the story, the use of mutants to comment on racism is not a new concept for those of us who have any knowledge of The X-Men. I will agree that I was a little disappointed that there was not more of a change in her viewpoint in this regard, but that flaw is not fatal. If anything, I was a little surprised that for a good portion of the book, mutants are not even at the forefront of the story. There is a long portion in which the main character is under investigation by Internal Affairs and is developing a relationship. This is all well done, however, and only deepens our investment in the story. I would guess that the previous reviewer was so upset by the main characters lack of redemption only because the author had done such a good job creating a character we care about. This looks like a series, so perhaps we'll see that in another story. I hope so.
Rating:
Summary: Noir is back and its Sci Fi.
Review: There is nothing more thrilling for an avid reader than finding a new author to stoke the fires, and keep me up all night. John Ridley's writing is sparse, clean and vivid. Though I avoid most sci fi, this novel blends both mystery, thriller, police procedural and sci fi in the noir tradition. I see the influence of Raymond Chandler and the inagination of Philip Dick with the contempoary flair of Pelecanos.
This is a great concept deftly written and imaginative, dark and moody, but immensely satisfying. I highly recommend "Those Who Walk the Darkness" for anyone loves a good story and great writing. Now, let me know what you think.
Rating:
Summary: A movie treatment in book form
Review: Those Who Walk in Darkness was a decent book. To me it was a book about race relations told through the eyes of a racist. While you don't always agree with Soledad, you can understand where she is coming from. The action scenes were quick and at times brutal; definately not the spectacular kind of action found in comic books like the Justice Leage or Avengers. I guess what I'm saying is that it was as realistic as you can get in this kind of fiction. The prose was James Ellroy like. Terse and quick. Don't use 7 words when 4 will do. It seemed to me like the prose was ment to reflect Soledad. She is not the type to be flowery and neither is the writing. Give this book a shot (pun definately intended).
Rating:
Summary: A QUICK ENTERTAINING READ
Review: Those Who Walk in Darkness was a decent book. To me it was a book about race relations told through the eyes of a racist. While you don't always agree with Soledad, you can understand where she is coming from. The action scenes were quick and at times brutal; definately not the spectacular kind of action found in comic books like the Justice Leage or Avengers. I guess what I'm saying is that it was as realistic as you can get in this kind of fiction. The prose was James Ellroy like. Terse and quick. Don't use 7 words when 4 will do. It seemed to me like the prose was ment to reflect Soledad. She is not the type to be flowery and neither is the writing. Give this book a shot (pun definately intended).
Rating:
Summary: Unpleasant stock character adrift among plot holes
Review: Though the writing is technically sound, and Ridley knows his pacing and is able to punch up the action sequences with real drama, he makes some questionable decisions regarding the development (or lack of it) of his main character. He also leaves several huge holes dangling in the plot that leave the reader wondering about those and why he didn't address them rather than concentrating on the tale he is telling. **Possible Spoilers rest of way** Examples of these are when the gun manufacturers don't want the main characters gun developed because it would be in competition with theirs, when in actuality they would just gobble up the rights, which she had indicated she'd sign away, and sell those to police departments also. Or why don't the police and the government employ meta-normals in an official capacity. Failing to address these simple issues is puzzling. But the main problem with book is that the main character is a bigot. And there are many chances for reasonable people in the book to try to explain to her the idea that some good can come out of meta-normals actions, but surprisingly, this almost never happens or is not followed up on. If this book were about a white cop and the meta-normals were replaced by blacks, or the main character hated Jews, or gays, and hated them with such 100% conviction, this book would not be so warmly praised as many are doing. But there are many cutting it slack because they, like me, are comic collectors, who like to see our hobby given serious treatment in outside mediums. But that doesn't excuse the fact that I spent 300 pages becoming emotionally invested in a bigot, who turns down redemption at every turn. I'm not sure if the author is trying to make a statement here that racism is here to stay. If so, then it's too heavy handed and obvious, so that can't be it. If he's trying to say institutional racism is ingrained in our society than he missess the mark because his character acts outside the bounds of the institution she represents laws. Maybe he's trying to say he has no faith in people. If that's the message of the book, then it could have been said in a short story. He came close to creating a great heroine for modern times. Instead he created a bitter woman who echoes the worst of our past. Is what she tries to do on the side of the road any different than a lynching? I've disliked books in the past. But I have a hard time remembering the last time one made me feel this sad, for the opportunity missed.
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