While reading Damnation Road Show, I found myself seriously considering the possibility that the Deathlands series is either being written by someone other than Axler, or he has undergone a serious change in the style of his writing. Damnation Road Show, while the story itself was very entertaining, the characters seemed a bit off. J.B. didn't seem stoic enough, Ryan not terse enough, Mildred lost her sarcastic edge, Jak's dialogue wasn't his usual one-to-two word responses, and Doc's usual eloquence was no where in evidence. Dean, a rapidly maturing young man in previous novels, regressed into a rather normal 12 year old, his steely edge gone. In Amazon's Gate (the previous novel), I first suspected that the series was being taken over by others, and Damnation Road Show confirms my suspicions. Since the whole Deathlands series is centered around the relationships between the core characters, the adventure itself coming in second, this change has seriously affected the entertainment value of this book, giving it a rather cartoonish quality.
