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nathanmwilliams's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
lipsandpalms's review
5.0
I had already read A Boy and his Dog but the other three stories round out this adventure very well. I would definitely recommend the series to anybody with an interest in post apocalyptic settings and science fiction.
The addition of Spike is a welcome one though I wish her character was more fleshed out. I would have liked to have seen a stark contrast between her and Vic.
The addition of Spike is a welcome one though I wish her character was more fleshed out. I would have liked to have seen a stark contrast between her and Vic.
mrclintdavis's review
4.0
I was so ready to give this collection a five-star grade but then I got to the script section and had to knock it down a peg.
Ellison's prose adventures of Vic and Blood are a blast to rip through, and those thankfully make up the first two thirds of Blood's a Rover. They are full of the banter and pitch-black humor and grim situations that make them so beloved. The language is raw, Vic is essentially a villain who deserves none of your support and only becomes slightly sympathetic when viewed against the other nasty figures who dot this world.
And then you get to the final section of the collection, a previously unpublished script for a potential pilot of an NBC TV series following the duo. Obviously, Ellison was a gifted TV writer but this thing is such a neutered version of what we've gotten used to in the other stories that it's painful to read. There's no cursing, no explicit violence, no sex (or even a real mention of it) and nothing depraved or truly frightening at all. It's a network TV version of Vic and Blood, which ends this book with a whimper.
Still, this is worth picking up for the rest of it, which is some of the most exciting and darkly funny sci-fi you'll ever read. The characters are simply unforgettable.
Ellison's prose adventures of Vic and Blood are a blast to rip through, and those thankfully make up the first two thirds of Blood's a Rover. They are full of the banter and pitch-black humor and grim situations that make them so beloved. The language is raw, Vic is essentially a villain who deserves none of your support and only becomes slightly sympathetic when viewed against the other nasty figures who dot this world.
And then you get to the final section of the collection, a previously unpublished script for a potential pilot of an NBC TV series following the duo. Obviously, Ellison was a gifted TV writer but this thing is such a neutered version of what we've gotten used to in the other stories that it's painful to read. There's no cursing, no explicit violence, no sex (or even a real mention of it) and nothing depraved or truly frightening at all. It's a network TV version of Vic and Blood, which ends this book with a whimper.
Still, this is worth picking up for the rest of it, which is some of the most exciting and darkly funny sci-fi you'll ever read. The characters are simply unforgettable.
bill_gauthier's review
5.0
Ellison’s story finally told, BLOOD’S A ROVER is a look into the mind of a ferocious storyteller. I thoroughly enjoyed it though wish that Ellison had pulled it together as a true novel. That said, there a moments of his usual brilliance not only in the most popular section, “A Boy and His Dog,” but also in the stories and screenplay that puts the tale of Blood and his friends fully into the readers hands. Jason Davis’s editing is, as usual, great, and Subterranean Press did another stellar job with the book.
jameseckman's review
3.0
When I first read the original novella nearly 50 years ago, it was shocking, now its decent but nothing surprising. I'm also a bit shocked at how few novels he wrote, four counting this one, which means really three. He primarily was a writer of shorts and screen plays, many of which broke new ground. A historic short story mixed in with some other related writings.
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