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Rating: 
Summary: JAMES GUNN IS A CRISIS!
Review: "Crisis" creates a crisis because you wonder why you spent your laundry money on this thing. One of the worst science fiction books I've ever read. Make that, one of the worst books I've ever read. Period.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been great... *mild spoilers*
Review: But, alas, CRISIS! by James Gunn suffers from several flaws that prevent it from reaching the masterpiece status it could have had. The idea of a time-traveller who tries to save the world from crisis after crisis, but in doing so loses his memory over and over again, is certainly interesting. It's an eternal cycle that's almost heartbreaking; at any time Bill Johnson could simply give up, but instead he chooses to remain the doomed amnesiac savior, never to be known or rewarded for all his efforts, never to even see the future he left to save. Unfortunately, it's very easy to tell that this book is simply a reprinting of linked short stories. If this had been a true novel, it could have been great. The episodic feel rather hurts it, I believe. What also hurts it is the misleading back cover, which gives the impression that the entire space-time continuum is at stake. It is not. Most of the female characters, it seems, simply exist to be attracted to Bill Johnson; this is fine for one or two, but during the fifth story, it's simply ludicrous. Also, the final story seems rushed. There wasn't a proper conclusion. The reappearance of a character from an earlier story actually made me laugh at how corny it was. The stories themselves are a bit unbalanced; the first was great. The second was good, with a letdown of an ending. The third is unquestionably the best, but the fourth gives it a run for its money. The fifth and sixth stories, though, are rather bad. I should also note that this book has one of the coolest front covers I've ever seen: as a giant skeletal snake unhinges its jaws to swallow the Earth, a dove appears surrounded by white light. Overall, I'd say that CRISIS! is worth picking up if you can find it for the same price I did: two dollars.
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