The Legend of Black Dove

An African orphan raised as the protege of a right-wing vigilante in the 80s, returns to New York City twenty years after a supernatural entity killed his mentor, to help the daughter of a slain hero cop track a faceless killer.

The Legend of Black Dove (Superhero Prose)

By Mallon Khan

Independent Publishing Platform

ISBN #978-1720331063

Price $12.95 (Paperback)

182 Pages

Rating 3-Stars

In this confusing tale nothing is as it seems. The story begins as two heroes, White Falcon and Black Dove invade what they believe is a Satanist group performing the sacrifice of a beautiful girl to bring a Demon among them. A monster does appear and kills White Falcon, Black Dove’s mentor. Black Dove attempts to save the girl, but instead it’s she that saves him. Dubbed the DOB (Disciples of Baphomet) Murders, a local cop, Detective Victor Rodriquez is also killed. Two decades later, his daughter, Cynthia Rodriquez is now a detective, and when the killings start again, she wants to investigate the murders, but her lieutenant, Greg Wells, says no. She will investigate on her own to bring closure to her dead father. Black Dove returns to the scene after spending time in Nigeria, as he wants to help Cynthia.

The story is confusing, and names change for no reason. A group of killers appear in the current time targeting the original nine masked villains at the beginning of the story. Their leader is called Levy, sometimes Ze, and is from the past. With Levy there is a giant and a midget, and a Japanese girl name Hisa, and they are after the Disciples of Baphomet. Or how about this: He heard the sound of a six-shooter and knew six rounds had been fired? Really? Rounds go pop, pop, pop, and he could distinguish a six-shooter from another gun? Amazing.

Spoiler Alert: In the end, we are told the truth and the confusion is replaced with chaos. There were no Satanists. Just rich bankers who had bought an alien monster from the Army. They knew White Falcon thought himself an arm of God, and would crash an organization worshiping Satan, so set the fake party up to trap White Falcon, then bring their alien monster in to kill the hero. Levy is the young prostitute they were torturing (her name is Jessica Morris). She almost died in the resulting fire, but lived and plotted the deaths of the nine DOB members. In the end, everyone dies, except Cynthia Rodriquez who wasn’t around in the final confrontation. The alien monster took over Black Dove’s body and merged with him, and they live beneath the ground, away from military control and everyone else.

Personally, I thought this novel wasn’t worth three stars. It was too confusing throughout the story. A drug addict gives Cynthia a clue, a Monarch butterfly. It appears the DOB nine want to go by the name Monarch for some reason. The clue was as dumb as most of the story. And truthfully, Cynthia could have been left out of the story and she wouldn’t have been missed. At one point Black Dove calls Lt. Wells, Sparrow, which makes him a behind the scenes hero, I guess. And Edmund White’s (White Falcon) chauffeur and man servant, Nasir Dajani (Muslim) is Gray Crow, another hero. Black Dove is black, of course. Did I mention all the profanity? This is a comic book prose novel, and leaves the story open for a sequel, in which we will learn if Black Dove will remain a hero, or be a villain now that he is merged with the alien creature. There is no way I can recommend this book, it just wasn’t worth it.

Tom Johnson

Author of THESE ALIEN SKIES

Serpent's Sacrifice

Being a hero could cost her everything...

In 1960's Jet City, women are supposed to want marriage and babies, not cowls and secret identities. When her beloved aunt is murdered by a new crime syndicate, Alice takes up the mantle of the Serpent, a heroine that's been protecting Jet City for decades.

But one mistake will unleash a nightmare villain who will stop at nothing to take control of the city and kill anyone who stands in the way.

Can Alice survive the battle and become the hero she was always meant to be? Or will the price be too much to bear?

If you like brave heroines, chilling villains, and fast-paced action, then you'll love Serpent's Sacrifice, the first novel in an exciting new superhero series. Get your copy today and start the adventure!

Serpent’s Sacrifice (Pulp Action)

The Vigilantes Book #1

By Trish Heinrich

Beautiful Fire Publications

ISBN # 978-0999066911

Price $12.99 (Paperback)

484 Pages

Rating 4.5-Stars

“Great characters, good story telling, and great action.”

In 1947 we’re introduced to Alice Seymour, Marco Meyer, and Lionel. They are children ages 9 to 12, living in a poor section of Jet City. Alice’s father is a drunk and beats her and her mother. When her mother is killed during a robbery, her mother’s sister, Aunt Diane Miller and her husband come to take Alice away. The story then jumps to 1959, and Alice is a young woman, just out of college with a degree in business. She’s taking over her aunt’s business, Atlas Bookstore, and plans to live in the loft.  Her aunt also teaches her how to fight. One night Aunt Diane is killed by a group of men, and now Alice has lost a second person close to her. She’s also attacked one night, and fights the men off, then meets the local superheroes, Shadow Master and American Steel, not recognizing them at first, for they are her childhood friends, Marco and Lionel. Now she joins them and wants to help fight crime and find the killer of her aunt.

With the help of the first super heroine, The Serpent, she takes on the guise of the third incarnation of the super heroine, and learns that a crime syndicate is operating in the city ran by the mysterious Phantasm. Her aunt, Diane was the identity of the second Serpent.

Okay, I loved the story and characters, and the novel was well written. It kept my interest throughout, and kept me turning the pages. But I didn’t like the ending. In comic books you can have the super hero fighting the villain forever, but in a novel, I want to see a conclusion. I want to see the battle between good and evil at the end of the story. I don’t want to read three to four hundred pages, then find out I have to get the second novel to “maybe” find out how the hero wins the struggle with the villain. And that’s the weakness in the novel. The reader has invested their time and thrilled to the action, as it leads to the final confrontation between the hero and villain, and when it doesn’t happen we’re left empty – or mad. Hey, I was expecting a big fight scene between The Serpent and Phantasm. But it didn’t happen. Maybe in the next three to four hundred page novel? But I do recommend this book very highly. Great characters, good story telling, and great action.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE COBRA