Ray Johnson posted a review of Captain Action: Cry of the Jungle Lord over on audible.com and I thought that I’d share his comments here. He gave the book 5 stars out of 5! This review is, as you may have guessed from the audible reference, about the audiobook version.
Action + Pulp= Good Readin’!
You may not realize this, but Captain Action started out as an Action figure line, in which alternate costumes were made for him so that he could become different heroes. FOr example, there was a Superman costume as well as Lone Ranger one. He was made to kind of offset the domination of the market by the GI Joe action figure. While beloved by the few who got it, the line died, and was revived back in the 90’s. It died too. Then they made some comic books which didn’t last long, either. So the Capt. has had a rough time.
That’s why I’m glad They’ve somehow made it to a third installment of a series of novels, since CA has never really had any luck. I’m going to be honest, even though this is the third novel i the series, it is the first one I have read. I have the other two, but I got this one first, and it is narrated by Roberto Scarlato, one of my “MUST LISTEN TOO” narrators. So, I’ll start there, Scarlato, per usual, nails the narration like he were an electric hammer on overcharge. The man can do voices and drive home action like nobody’s business. He makes the book fun, and when the action starts he is the guy holding the guns. So, expect some amazing storytelling, and settle in for a long listen as he’ll suck you into the tale faster than a sinkhole in Florida.
The story itself is very pulpy, something I appreciate and hope you will too. Books like this are a rare thing nowadays, and listening to this I had the feel of a young kid laying on the floor before a giant radio listening to an Old Time Radio show for the first time. It is fun, nostalgic, and chock fulla action, but just one Captain Action. I really think Beard has a true feel for the Cap, and Reese balances him out. This is a great story that you will not want to miss.
Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like me will decide based on my review.
Thanks for the kind words, Ray! It was so much fun working with Jim on this project and I hope to be able to revisit that collaborative partnership someday in the future.
One of the great tropes of modern heroic fiction is the “dark reflection,” where we get to see a villain that’s very similar to our hero – so much so, that they’re practically two sides of the same coin. Lazarus Gray has clashed several times with a man known as Nemesis, whose very existence is due to a spell to turn him into Gray’s equal.
