2 out of 5

I definitely considered giving this a onesie, but there are moments where it seems like the writer was actually interested in writing a book (and not just turning in a ‘oop, time for a contracted book’ sequel) and some flames get doused with the blood squeezed thru the neckhole of a headless body, so that’s totally an extra star.

The first DM book wasn’t written very well, admittedly, but it twirled through some interesting noir elements and seemed to understand the superhero qualities of the character Raimi wrote into him.  I was looking forward to an entry in the series that wouldn’t be saddled with trying to bridge the gap from movie to book.  Unfortunately, without that extra plotting filler, ‘The Price of Fear’ tries to fill up its pages with really ridiculously unnecessary passages that do nothing to build any kind of suspense or tension or even attempt to explore the characters.  Peyton’s – Darkman’s – (ex?) wife Julie gets inadvertently – and romantically – wrapped up with a real estate tycoon while Darkman gets inadvertently wrapped up with some goons who are trying to hustle some homeowners offa’ their property for a shady, unnamed real estate tycoon.  Fine, the tie there isn’t too cleverly hidden, which means that there’s a twist, la dee da, and some of the procedural plodding of Darkman’s fake face choices and plans and Julie’s research into her new beau’s business choices garner some interest, and there’s a lingering plot thread with a schizophrenic bum that you keep wondering how it’s going to tie in… but by the time you’re about 3/4ths of the way through the book (or by the time I was 3/4ths of the way through), it becomes so painful to read because it’s over.  The whole thing’s over.  And all that’s left are for people to keep making stupid decisions and have stupid thoughts to fill up the pages.  And that bum?  Totally unconnected to any-fucking-thing, just an intro and outro device.  I’m also curious who the book was aimed at, as Darkman was an R-rated flick (if its totally daytime television by nowadays standards) and yet this book about criminals and lawyers and relationships seems to be written without a sliver of research at all.  It was convincing when I was a kid, but as an adult, it read as utter b.s.  Really, a grown, married woman, a lawyer, acts that way?  Really, Peyton, a scientist, is baffled by where adrenaline comes from?  And you can tell Boyll is struggling with the balance of his hero’s powers, as his shifts gears with DM’s pain levels throughout the book, excusing the variations by calling the Rangeveritz Technique (sp?  don’t care?) that severed Darkman’s nerve endings a ‘mystery’.  Which it is, but maybe establishing some rules would ground your character.  (sentence structure implies the technique itself did the severing but ohmygod too lazy right now to correct it)

Sounds bad, right?  Yeah, yeah.  Well, I was expecting it to be bad, but it kept me going for long enough to merit something, plus that blood dousing is so ridiculous.  *sigh*  Boyll drops some comic book stuff, sorta’ hinting at what he’s going for, but the plot lacks the street value of book 1 to sell it, and it isn’t quite campy enough to go the other way.