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mydarlingbookz's review
3.0
The only reason i picked up this book was because my love for oliver and team arrow... and what i love about this book was also our hints of my OTP olicity..
Wish it was more on the couple.. but it was an okay book. Still dislike barry
Wish it was more on the couple.. but it was an okay book. Still dislike barry
miguel's review
3.0
A Generation of Vipers, the Arrow novel following from the Flash: The Haunting of Barry Allen, follows the familiar formula of the mid-season crossover. Whereas the Flash novel brought Arrow to Central City, this novel brings the Flash to Star City. Still, the two novels feel disjointed. Their plots are almost completely unrelated. While the first novel had Barry facing down a strange illness while a team of rogues terrorized the city, this novel's plot is about curing that illness.
A Generation of Vipers, then, works in ways The Haunting of Barry Allen didn't, but likewise stumbles in other ways. The first success is putting Oliver Queen at the center of the novel. The novel offers readers flashbacks to "before the jungle," and "in the jungle" to provide some much needed depth for Oliver. The novel attempts to grapple with some of Oliver's inevitable imposter syndrome and his penchant for taking in strays, even before he was stranded on a deserted island. These themes are generally satisfying. The novel gives readers a little bit more of Oliver than they have ever seen, even if it is ultimately inconsistent with where the television show takes the character.
In terms of plot, A Generation of Vipers leaves a lot to be desired. While it shares the fault of disjointed incoherence with The Haunting of Barry Allen, the general lack of spectacle and climax makes things feel thin. Oliver's foil, Ghasi, a friend from his pre-Lian Yu past, serves his purpose as a tool for character development dutifully, but he's not a compelling plot device. Much of the decisive action happens off-page. And, worse, the novel foreshadows a climactic showdown that simply never comes to pass. I was left scratching my head at many of the decisions about what was important to get onto the page. When Felicity masterminds a fascinating caper, we see Team Arrow inserting SD cards into a clandestine Markovian server. And yet, the results of their efforts are delivered only through exposition.
Still, the same virtues of character vivacity are present in this novel as they were in the novel's predecessor. The characters feel like their television counterparts, and the dialogue feels borrowed from the TV show. While I'm left wanting for a Flash or Arrow novel that reaches the height of pulp entertainment, this couplet is amusing enough.
A Generation of Vipers, then, works in ways The Haunting of Barry Allen didn't, but likewise stumbles in other ways. The first success is putting Oliver Queen at the center of the novel. The novel offers readers flashbacks to "before the jungle," and "in the jungle" to provide some much needed depth for Oliver. The novel attempts to grapple with some of Oliver's inevitable imposter syndrome and his penchant for taking in strays, even before he was stranded on a deserted island. These themes are generally satisfying. The novel gives readers a little bit more of Oliver than they have ever seen, even if it is ultimately inconsistent with where the television show takes the character.
In terms of plot, A Generation of Vipers leaves a lot to be desired. While it shares the fault of disjointed incoherence with The Haunting of Barry Allen, the general lack of spectacle and climax makes things feel thin. Oliver's foil, Ghasi, a friend from his pre-Lian Yu past, serves his purpose as a tool for character development dutifully, but he's not a compelling plot device. Much of the decisive action happens off-page. And, worse, the novel foreshadows a climactic showdown that simply never comes to pass. I was left scratching my head at many of the decisions about what was important to get onto the page. When Felicity masterminds a fascinating caper, we see Team Arrow inserting SD cards into a clandestine Markovian server. And yet, the results of their efforts are delivered only through exposition.
Still, the same virtues of character vivacity are present in this novel as they were in the novel's predecessor. The characters feel like their television counterparts, and the dialogue feels borrowed from the TV show. While I'm left wanting for a Flash or Arrow novel that reaches the height of pulp entertainment, this couplet is amusing enough.
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