Judge Anderson by Alec Worley (2017)
A fist full of fun
Book cover blurb
In years to come, Cassandra Anderson will be a living legend, Psi-Division’s most famous Judge. But for now it’s 2100, and a young Judge Anderson is fresh out of the Academy, the Eagle still gleaming on her shoulder. It’s time to put her training—and her judgement—to the test.
Tackling a love-obsessed telepathic killer at a Valentine’s Day parade, plunging into the depths of madness in a huge new psychiatric prison, and probing the boundaries of reality itself as she hunts a psychic virus to its roots, Cass will be forged in the fires of Justice, emerging as something extraordinary.
Interested in buying this title?
Click the link to find this book via a favourite online store.
Amazon.co.uk
My Review
This book delivers exactly what was expected, a whole lot of fun.
I quite enjoyed the format of this book, yes it's three novella stories, but they are presented progressively over the course of Judge Anderson's first year as a full eagle Judge, so it feels more like a novel than three separate novellas.
The three stories also progress in quality, premise-wise, each getting better as we move along. But none are weak, they are all entertaining, and are very easily visualised directly from the pages of 2000AD. Which I'm assuming, if you pick this book up, is exactly what you want and expect.
One slight negative, at least from my own point of view: I never really considered Anderson a good enough character to stand on her own. She was a fantastic counterpoint/sidekick to Judge Dredd when they were partnered up, but I was never really convinced she was strong enough to take on the leading role herself. And in this book, you feel that. You want to get behind her, support her and feel for her, but I struggled to do that. Case in point, in the third entry, "A Dream of Nevertime", I found myself more drawn to Marion's character, an old battered cowbot (cowboy robot), than Anderson. But that's just me looking to balance the good with a touch of not-so-good. This is still a great read, especially if you know and love the Big Meg!
My copy of this novel
Abaddon Books paperback edition.
Published in 2017
379 pages
ISBN 9781781085554