Sun Lord

Rating:
Summary: Better than "Awakening" but not up to snuff
Review: "Sun Lord" was better than "Awakening" on many levels but still had a lot of the same problems as that book--characterization inconsistencies and continuity issues, the major one being the interphaser shown being in use after it was destroyed in "Mad God's Wrath."

There was some good action sequences and an interesting new setting and I enjoyed the Aztec mythology worked into it. I wasn't offended by "Sun Lord" like I was with "Awakening" but this writer has a long way to go to get up to the standards established by Mark Ellis.

Rating:
Summary: Beware of Immitators
Review: "Sun Lord" was better than "Awakening" on many levels but still had a lot of the same problems as that book--characterization inconsistencies and continuity issues, the major one being the interphaser shown being in use after it was destroyed in "Mad God's Wrath."

There was some good action sequences and an interesting new setting and I enjoyed the Aztec mythology worked into it. I wasn't offended by "Sun Lord" like I was with "Awakening" but this writer has a long way to go to get up to the standards established by Mark Ellis.

Rating:
Summary: Sun Lord only lukewarm
Review: First the good news. Sun Lord is much better than Victor Milan's first OL outing, Awakening. The bad news is that there is still a lot of room for improvement particularly in the areas of character consistency and series continuity with the tech and backstory. There is an awful lot of continuity errors in Sun Lord where the writer obviously didn't understand how things worked in the "Axlerverse".

There are other errors that should have been caught by the editors, like the interphaser still being used after it was destroyed in the previous book Mad God's Wrath, not to mention that its operation was completely wrong. This kind of stuff is very aggravating and distracting since to me it's due to laziness or apathy on the part of the editors. I won't list all the errors, just take my word for it that there are a lot.

The plot of Sun Lord is interesting and takes place in a new and colorful setting, a civilization based on Aztec mythology built on the ruins of Mexico City. In classic OL style two factions are struggling for control each using "gods" from Aztec mythology to battle it out. Kane, Brigid, Domi and eventually Lakesh end up channeling the aspects of four Aztec deities.

How this is done scientifically isn't explained in much detail, but it has something to do with Danaan or Annunnkai and even Archon technology. It's hard to tell since the writer gets them all mixed up, claiming that Lam, Balam's father, was an Annunnkai instead of one of the First Folk and this alien tech is just lying around.

Once Kane, Brigid and Domi get the powers of the gods, Sun Lord becomes like a cartoon show version of OL, with them showing off various super powers in over the top special effect heavy battle sequences, shooting rays out of their hands and controlling the weather. As colorful and entertaining as it was at first to see OL by way of X-Men, by the third time it was getting old.

There's a gratutous sex scene between Kane and a female hybrid and afterward he wonders if he impregnanted her. There is no mention whatsoever of Quavell, the pregnant hybrid who has been living in Cerberus since Far Empire.

The pacing of Sun Lord was slow compared to most OL novels and some chapters were very cumbersome and hard to get through. However, the main characters act more like themselves than in Awakening even though I had some problems with Grant and Domi's behavior.

Also for some reason Kane addresses Lakesh as "Doc" and more than once Lakesh is called "Dr. Lakesh." Always before when he's been addressed that way he's called "Dr. SINGH" since that's his last name. Lakesh is his middle name.

Overall I enjoyed this book more than I did Awakening but it was definitely written on a more juvenile level than the OL novels by Mark Ellis. Not as immaturely as DL, but still it had a juvenile feel to it.

I would have given this book 4 stars out of 5, but all the continuity breaches just piled up way too much and spoiled my enjoyment. My suggestion is for the editors to actually read the series they're editing and for Victor Milan to pay a little more attention to the finer details of this series.

I can't come right out and recommend this book to a long-time completist Outlanders fan. But if you're just a casual reader and aren't too concerned by off-model characterization and continuity errors, then you'd probably enjoy Sun Lord since the setting is colorful and is full of vivid but sort of mindless action.

Rating:
Summary: Beware of Immitators
Review: If I had to describe Sun Lord in only one sentence it would be as a smoking pile of fecal matter. This has to be one of the worst offerings ever to be trotted out by Gold Eagle, just the latest in a seemingly endless line of sloppy, substandard, and just outright disappointing storylines. It is becoming painfully apparent that anyone other than Mark Ellis who writes for the Outlanders series is going to produce a smoking pile of crap. What sounded like an outstanding plotline line was reduced to a never-ending parade of blunders that included poor characterization, an obsession with a naked Domi, sloppy construction of action scenes, and what amounts to a total disregard for the continuity and series history that Mark Ellis has worked so tirelessly to establish since Outlanders was first introduced.

Mr. Milan's attempt to use ancient Aztec gods, though a unique idea, was so convoluted and crowded with gods whose names sounded so similar that I found myself asking which gods where fighting which gods and who was on what side of the fight. The elements of science and myth weaved into fiction and fact that makes Outlanders such an enjoyable series to read was completely absent in Sun Lord. The plot was full of gaps, the largest being the how and why for Kane and companies resurrection as Aztec Gods in the ruins of Mexico City. A rich and colorful culture filled with ceremony and ancient rituals was almost completely ignored in favor of two-dimensional gods and characters that hardly entertained me much less enticed me to care about their ultimate fates.

Over all, Sun Lord for me was a colossal waste of time, energy, and my hard earned money. It was poorly written, not to mention written on a level that makes me seriously question if Mr. Milan even thinks his readers have the intelligence much above a block of granite. I could spend days listing all of the things that made this latest Outlanders book a painful read that does not even earn the right to have the Outlanders name attached to it. But it comes down to Gold Eagles ignorance as to why Outlanders has such a loyal and fanatical following. The usual fast paced thrill ride that Outlanders is. The bone-jarring journey through exotic landscapes filled with vibrant characters. A universe filled with twisting, spiraling, roads that wind through the halls of history weaving ancient myth and folklore with fiction, mystery and the truths behind the shadows that fill our world.

If these are the things that draw you to the Outlanders Series then do yourself a favor and avoid Sun Lord as if it carried the black plague as none of these things are even remotely present in this Outlanders offering. I been generous in giving this dreadfully awful piece of literature (A word I use loosely) a score of two out of five. I'm sorry that I took a chance on something in the Outlanders series that was not written by Mark Ellis. It is not a mistake I intend to make again.

Rating:
Summary: Good idea, poor book
Review: Sun Lord, a book by the fill-in writer who authored the dreadful "Awakening" has an interesting concept but the execution is poor.

There were plenty of inconsistencies and outright errors in both characters and the Outlanders continuity. As in Awakening, poor Domi has the most damage inflicted on her character. Grant and Brigid don't fare much better either.

I liked the basic idea of Sun Lord a lot more than I liked the book itself. The Aztec setting and the channeling of the powers of the gods was interesting, even though the explanation of how it was accomplished was confusing.

Although the plot was a good idea, all the errors detracted from my enjoyment. No one seemed to be in character, especially after everyone ended up in Mexico. The overstated "anam-chara" bond between Kane and Brigid came off as as unnatural and forced.

Also, the tone of the book was very "comic-booky" and the characters presented rather immaturely which further affected my enjoyment.

Unfortunately, the bad parts of Sun Lord drag the good parts down, and it all builds up to an abrupt, unsatisfying finale.

I've been an avid Outlanders fan for years, but this rather lame entry makes me wonder if the publisher thinks that the fans can't tell the difference between the usual well-researched and character-centered tales that have been a hallmark since the first book and childish fill-in material like this.

Rating:
Summary: Good idea, poor book
Review: Sun Lord, a book by the fill-in writer who authored the dreadful "Awakening" has an interesting concept but the execution is poor.

There were plenty of inconsistencies and outright errors in both characters and the Outlanders continuity. As in Awakening, poor Domi has the most damage inflicted on her character. Grant and Brigid don't fare much better either.

I liked the basic idea of Sun Lord a lot more than I liked the book itself. The Aztec setting and the channeling of the powers of the gods was interesting, even though the explanation of how it was accomplished was confusing.

Although the plot was a good idea, all the errors detracted from my enjoyment. No one seemed to be in character, especially after everyone ended up in Mexico. The overstated "anam-chara" bond between Kane and Brigid came off as as unnatural and forced.

Also, the tone of the book was very "comic-booky" and the characters presented rather immaturely which further affected my enjoyment.

Unfortunately, the bad parts of Sun Lord drag the good parts down, and it all builds up to an abrupt, unsatisfying finale.

I've been an avid Outlanders fan for years, but this rather lame entry makes me wonder if the publisher thinks that the fans can't tell the difference between the usual well-researched and character-centered tales that have been a hallmark since the first book and childish fill-in material like this.

Rating:
Summary: SUN LORD SHINES!
Review: This latest Outlanders installment is a bit crazier than the others - and that's saying something!

In short, our main characters, starting with Kane, are imbued with god-like powers out of ancient Mexican myth. Kane awakes from a mat-trans jump into the body of a warrior out of time, with the powers of the sun at his disposal.

As the rest of his comrades look for him, they eventually find him in Mexico, where they too - except Grant - take on the embodiments of goddesses with different powers. And they are pretty cool too.

Fast-paced action and adventure, along with god-like battles with monsters in the guise of humans, thrown with some passionate sex, and you have one whale of a tale here.

If you like your sci-fi mixed with some fantasy, then this one's for you.