Book Report: The Web of Arachnos

The origin of Statesman and Lord Recluse from the City of Heroes mmorpg, The Web of Arachnos will hold a certain appeal for fans of the game.

And it's an adequate novel, if extremely fluffy. It tries to dip into Shadow/Doc Savage style pulp, but never stays there long enough to get really fun. And some of the characters are good, especially the Furies, but I preferred Marcus Cole the roguish thief to Statesman the hero. He seems to have gotten a large stick stuck in his nether regions along with his superpowers.

But it is an interesting editorial choice to have the premiere character for a line be pretty danged unlikable. I've got to respect it.

Instead of Superman's eternal pursuit of normality (Love me! I'm just like you except I'm really strong and I can fly!) Statesman appears to *know* his powers set him apart from the world and he doesn't care to pretend.

I think part of my problem with book was that I read it with an editor's eye. I could have trimmed at least thirty pages of useless words and overblown hyperbole. A great many men in Paragon City have "fingers like sausages."

And while none of the characters are particularly "deep," some of them crossed the line into cliche. Recluse is a little too "Bwahahahahaha" evil for me, and I didn't buy that his resentment of Cole fueled it. And Maiden Justice was such a bland, lifeless caricature of the plucky girl reporter that she should have been named Lois.

So not perfect by any means, but not terrible, either. But don't bother if you're not a CoX fan.