Cannibal Moon

Cannibal Moon is the 77th book in the Deathlands series under the house name James Axler.

First and foremost, I am a fan of the Deathlands series, it is one of my guilty little pleasures. I say "guilty" because they are pulp, formulaic, predictable, violent, often misogynist and anti-social. Thank goodness they are not racist. Apparently the nuclear holocaust eliminated racism (guess it's not all bad).

Cannibal Moon is focused on (you guessed it) cannibalism. Cannibals often play a part in the deathlands saga. Until this book however, they were usually loosely organized, poorly equipped and easily dispatched by the companions. In Cannibal Moon this is not the case. The cannibals here are organized, very well outfitted and threatening to take over.

Books in this series often focus on different companions as the main character being affected by the story line. In Cannibal Moon it happens to be Mildred. What struck me with this story was how little the rest of the companions contributed. Since Mildred and J.B. have a romantic connection it was surprising to me that he had such a small impact here. Also Jak seemed to be almost a disinterested party to what was happening.

Although I read Deathlands books expecting just what I get; over the top violence, machismo, dystopian societies, and heroes that emerge victorious no matter the odds. I don't expect high quality writing, lofty prose. I expect down and dirty, gritty, in-your-face descriptions of the horrors of the "hellscape". I was a bit disappointed in Cannibal Moon. It struck me as a little flat. I still enjoyed it, but not as much as others in the series. I guess that is to be expected with such a large series; not every book is going to thrill every reader.

Deathlands is still my not so secret pleasure, and  Cannibal Moon may not be the pinnacle of the series but it was enjoyable enough. Fans of the series will still like it. Enjoy!


Mike