The Plague of Sound by Alex RaymondMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was a little better than the first one, a little more entertaining, but still... pretty bad.
I'm adding a star for sentimental reasons.
The writing is okay for pulp, surprisingly deft in places, but the plot remains messed up. The demands of the serial comic--constant cliffhangers--require Flash to be continuously in trouble. Either he or Dale is getting captured all the time, and it's super tiresome, and it makes for a choppy plot. Isn't he supposed to be awesome? Isn't he some kind of hero? If that's the case, then why do others get the better of him every single time? And then other people rescue him. That's not very heroic.
We're supposed to believe that he's amazing because of what everyone says about him, but after two novels I've yet to see any sign of his impressiveness, his astuteness, his capabilities. He's brave enough, but is he actually good at anything?
Looked at another way--he's not a very active protagonist. He jumps in, sure, but then he gets defeated and put in a cell and has to wait for someone to save him. The telepathic guy and the shape-changer are the real heroes in this story. I want to find an episode where he actually shows what he's worth.
Anyway, it's fun for other reasons, and worth reading for some folks.
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