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amandat's review
5.0
I read the first 2 NML graphic novels, but I wasn't able to find the last 2, so when I came across this full length novel, I was delighted.
And it didn't disappoint.
Why this novel hasn't been adapted into one of DC's fantastic animated films, I don't know. But it should be. Not only is this a complete story, it shows Batman and his team at their finest, along with several interesting moral dilemmas that are raised in the book.
Veers from the comics in places, but that's okay.
A must read for Batman fans.
And it didn't disappoint.
Why this novel hasn't been adapted into one of DC's fantastic animated films, I don't know. But it should be. Not only is this a complete story, it shows Batman and his team at their finest, along with several interesting moral dilemmas that are raised in the book.
Veers from the comics in places, but that's okay.
A must read for Batman fans.
bozimus's review
2.0
This is the novelization of the Batman graphic novel "No Man's Land". I have not read the graphic novel, so I cannot comment on how close the novel followed the events in graphic novel.
In a nutshell, an earthquake devastates Gotham. The U.S., not wanting to face the cost of a clean-up, makes Gotham a "no man's land", essentially abandoning the city and those who refuse to leave it. Lawlessness descends upon the city and Batman (plus his allies) are left to restore civilization to Gotham.
It took me a long time to finish this book. Something always felt "wrong" about it. I like dark fantasy and I am not squeamish when it comes to violence. But this book was a little too dark/violent for me. I think the proper phrase is "over the top". Add that characteristic to my opinion that Rucka's versions of the main characters didn't jive with my mental views created a feeling of "wrongness" that just wouldn't go away.
There are some good points about the book that kept me reading. The pacing was appropriate and there was plenty of pathos (maybe too much pathos in places). Other fans of Batman may like it more than I did.
I would give it 2.5 stars if Goodreads allowed half stars.
In a nutshell, an earthquake devastates Gotham. The U.S., not wanting to face the cost of a clean-up, makes Gotham a "no man's land", essentially abandoning the city and those who refuse to leave it. Lawlessness descends upon the city and Batman (plus his allies) are left to restore civilization to Gotham.
It took me a long time to finish this book. Something always felt "wrong" about it. I like dark fantasy and I am not squeamish when it comes to violence. But this book was a little too dark/violent for me. I think the proper phrase is "over the top". Add that characteristic to my opinion that Rucka's versions of the main characters didn't jive with my mental views created a feeling of "wrongness" that just wouldn't go away.
There are some good points about the book that kept me reading. The pacing was appropriate and there was plenty of pathos (maybe too much pathos in places). Other fans of Batman may like it more than I did.
I would give it 2.5 stars if Goodreads allowed half stars.
thetarantulalounge's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
No Man’s Land was a pretty long crossover event in the DC Comics world about two decades ago. While there’s a series of hardcover compilations of that story arc, this review is about the novelization of the storyline. Interestingly, Greg Rucka penned the novelized version. He’s a big-time comics writer now. Lazarus is possibly his most famous work at the moment. When Rucka wrote this (two decades ago), he was more of a mystery writer and maybe a smaller press guy with Whiteout published by Oni.
The plot of the sprawling series is apocalyptic in nature – Gotham has endured a catastrophic earthquake. The damage to the city is so bad that the US has cut it off from society – Gotham City is a federally designated “No Man’s Land.” After a certain date, people who chose to/had to stay in Gotham are just stuck in there. (I’m pretty sure Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises borrows a bit from this premise.) No federal help. It quickly turns into a Warriors/Escape from New York situation where factions rise up in the city. Penguin has territory, Two-Face has territory, and even the Gotham cops establish “Blue Boys” territory. The factions vie for dominance and pray that Gotham can rejoin America and help will come. In the meantime, though, it’s up to the factions, the vigilantes, and shifting uneasy alliances to band together to try to survive.
This novelization of the comics story earned four stars from me in the category of “novelizations of comic book stories.” While the reader doesn’t get to enjoy the art in the comics series when reading the prose version, it is much more affordable to read the book than to try and buy the whole series. Rucka does a great job of getting us into the minds of Batman, Oracle, Jim Gordon, and other Bat-verse characters, good and bad. I’m sure Rucka’s detective story background helped with writing Batman. The book is thick, nearly 500 pages long. However, Rucka’s writing flows well, and it’s an enjoyable leisure read.
jlsigman's review
5.0
Having never read the comics that this is drawn from, I cannot comment on how faithful the adaption is.
I can say that this is one of the best Bat-team stories I have ever read, hands down. Highly recommended for anyone who loves the character.
I can say that this is one of the best Bat-team stories I have ever read, hands down. Highly recommended for anyone who loves the character.
sapphirestars's review
4.0
Really, really good book. No Man's Land has always been a particularly interesting part of the Batman arc for me. This wasn't even my book but my boyfriend's and after listening to him propound it's awesomeness for the umpteenth time, I decided to read it. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel, how well the characters, especially Arkham's favorite psychopath The Joker and Two-Face were depicted. All the characters, even Barbara Gordon, are realistic and well written and the book has good flow and a solid plot. Would recommend!
jasper_a's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i've read this novel three times over. if you're a Batman fan, this is required reading.
kmsmith's review
4.0
The acting is great. The story is okay. It seemed like the author was trying to fit too many characters in the narrative.
whitejamaica's review
3.0
Let me start by saying that this is the best Batman novel I've ever read (probably the best out there considering the limited number of Batman novels that have been written and the general quality of said novels). Honestly, I can't explain why No Man's Land is better than other Batman novels, all I know is that, for some reason, Rucka's Batman (and Bruce Wayne) worked for me. This book is heads and tails ahead of the novels within the same class, namely because of its realism, plotting, and sheer entertainment value. I just enjoyed this book.
Why it doesn't rate higher:
This book was a potential 5-star read... up until the last 100 or so pages. One of the reasons I enjoyed No Man's Land was because of the unique story presented by Rucka (Gotham is isolated from the rest of society). Inherently, there are several supervillain appearances and cameos and several side plot lines from the main story. Herein lies the issue. After finishing this novel, I'm still not sure what the main plot was... In the last part of the book, Rucka does his best to tie ends together but it just comes off as being rushed and as if Rucka had no initial idea how he wanted to end the book. The ending was very anticlimatic, and it left me wondering what happened to several other main characters that had appeared throughout the novel. Poor job done by Rucka to finish his book.
But it still is Batman. And this book is considerably better than previous attempts to capture the Caped Crusader through text. For Rucka, a brief applause. If you are an avid Batman fan, there is no reason not to give No Man's Land a reading.
3.25/5 Stars
Why it doesn't rate higher:
This book was a potential 5-star read... up until the last 100 or so pages. One of the reasons I enjoyed No Man's Land was because of the unique story presented by Rucka (Gotham is isolated from the rest of society). Inherently, there are several supervillain appearances and cameos and several side plot lines from the main story. Herein lies the issue. After finishing this novel, I'm still not sure what the main plot was... In the last part of the book, Rucka does his best to tie ends together but it just comes off as being rushed and as if Rucka had no initial idea how he wanted to end the book. The ending was very anticlimatic, and it left me wondering what happened to several other main characters that had appeared throughout the novel. Poor job done by Rucka to finish his book.
But it still is Batman. And this book is considerably better than previous attempts to capture the Caped Crusader through text. For Rucka, a brief applause. If you are an avid Batman fan, there is no reason not to give No Man's Land a reading.
3.25/5 Stars
silelda's review
4.0
I was introduced to this book because I expressed a love of novelizations of comic books (seriously, Hellboy novels are the best!!!) I am happy to say that this book did not disappoint. I'm not much of a DC fan, I'm more of a Dark Horse Comics person, but Batman is almost always the exception. And, in this case, I am happy to have made that exception and give this book a try.
Because it's a Batman book, one shouldn't be surprised at how much death, blood, fighting, etc. there is. It isn't gory, by any means, but it's definitely not meant for a younger or particularly squeamish audience. Rucka does a wonderful job of keeping the darkness and grit of a true Batman story without going into extensive, unnecessary levels of detail.
As someone who only occasionally reads Batman, there were a lot of characters I didn't know. That being said, I had no problems getting into the story. There were occasions when I wanted to look up characters, some of which I ended up remembering from the cartoon series, but for the most part, it's very easy to "get" the characters. You learn who they are through their interactions with others and when the story is told from their viewpoint. You don't have to be an avid Batman reader to enjoy the story or understand the characters' motivations.
And there are a LOT of characters in this book. So many classic Batman villains, a character or two from another comic series (no spoilers beyond that), as well as the multiple iterations of Batgirl and Robin, and the Gotham City Police Department too. Because the novelization is based on an already written comic story, I'm not sure how much credit goes to Rucka for balancing the characters and how much goes to Jordan B. Gorfinkel, who wrote the original story. I may have to end up reading the comics to find out. As it is, though, we get several view points from several characters, but it never feels disjointed or convoluted.
I really did enjoy this book and was happy I picked it up. It's a dark and gritty tale that is fitting of a Batman story. If you're more of a fan of thrillers, this might be a good crossover book to get you interested in comics. If you're a comic fan, this might be a good book to get you interested in novels. Overall, I happily give 3.5 hoots.
Because it's a Batman book, one shouldn't be surprised at how much death, blood, fighting, etc. there is. It isn't gory, by any means, but it's definitely not meant for a younger or particularly squeamish audience. Rucka does a wonderful job of keeping the darkness and grit of a true Batman story without going into extensive, unnecessary levels of detail.
As someone who only occasionally reads Batman, there were a lot of characters I didn't know. That being said, I had no problems getting into the story. There were occasions when I wanted to look up characters, some of which I ended up remembering from the cartoon series, but for the most part, it's very easy to "get" the characters. You learn who they are through their interactions with others and when the story is told from their viewpoint. You don't have to be an avid Batman reader to enjoy the story or understand the characters' motivations.
And there are a LOT of characters in this book. So many classic Batman villains, a character or two from another comic series (no spoilers beyond that), as well as the multiple iterations of Batgirl and Robin, and the Gotham City Police Department too. Because the novelization is based on an already written comic story, I'm not sure how much credit goes to Rucka for balancing the characters and how much goes to Jordan B. Gorfinkel, who wrote the original story. I may have to end up reading the comics to find out. As it is, though, we get several view points from several characters, but it never feels disjointed or convoluted.
I really did enjoy this book and was happy I picked it up. It's a dark and gritty tale that is fitting of a Batman story. If you're more of a fan of thrillers, this might be a good crossover book to get you interested in comics. If you're a comic fan, this might be a good book to get you interested in novels. Overall, I happily give 3.5 hoots.
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