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The Long Man (Max August #2)
In The Point Man, DJ Max August was thrust into a hidden war between the forces of chaos and order, where he learned how to use magick and become Timeless!
More than twenty-five years later, Max is summoned by a friend to save Dr. Pamela Blackwell from a mysterious force that is using magick to kill her. Pam’s research could save the lives of countless millions, putting he...more
More than twenty-five years later, Max is summoned by a friend to save Dr. Pamela Blackwell from a mysterious force that is using magick to kill her. Pam’s research could save the lives of countless millions, putting he...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
March 16th 2010
by Tor Books
(first published 2010)
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This is the second book in Steve Englehart's "Max August" series. I've long been a fan of Englehart's comic book writing, and this book brought much of that enjoyment to the longer form. Where the first book in the series was something of a disappointment due to the author's weak prose skills, this book more than makes up for it. In the decades between their publication Englehart has become a much stronger writer.
The story picks up from threads in the first book. In a series of short vignettes,...more
The story picks up from threads in the first book. In a series of short vignettes,...more
Max August, A Dee Jay, Lucked Upon A Timeless Man Who Was More Than Five Hundred Years Old And Taught Him The Art Of Being Timeless When He Was Thirty-Five. Max Was Born When Truman Was The President And He Would Always Be Thirty-five, Unless Another Timeless Person Killed Him. His Mentor Taught Him Much Before He Was Murdered Along With His Wife On Halloween Night And Every Year On The Day Of Her Death He Looked For Her As The Planets Were Aligned So That He Could Call To Her But Val Never Answ...more
I really wanted to like this book because I've gotten to the point where so many novels just don't do it for me anymore. I’ve become a little afraid of them. I pick ‘em up, read ‘em and am left wishing I hadn’t bothered. One man's (or woman's) fiction tends to be this man's Kryptonite. Because, really, just like music, film, whatever, literature is the game of everyman these days and not every man (or woman) is very good at it.
Englehart's got a comic book background. A little Cap America for Mar...more
Englehart's got a comic book background. A little Cap America for Mar...more
Max August is a timeless "alchemist" who manipulates gravitational forces and light. As part of his abilities, he has become Timeless, that is he does not age and has not aged from 35. He is off the grid. He was taught by Agrippa, another Timeless warrior.
Max August has an enemy, Alexandra, a sorcerer, who killed Agrippa and Max's wife Valerie Drake a few years before the action in this novel.
As the novel starts, Max August is called to the dying bedside of Fern, an old friend, who knew Max when...more
Max August has an enemy, Alexandra, a sorcerer, who killed Agrippa and Max's wife Valerie Drake a few years before the action in this novel.
As the novel starts, Max August is called to the dying bedside of Fern, an old friend, who knew Max when...more
Steve Englehart’s “The Long Man” is a part two of a trilogy but you would not know it, as the author quickly gets the reader up to speed in the first few chapters.
Other reviewers have complained that the book moves slow as the characters begin to lecture to each other but I disagree that this is a necessary negative. I think it’s helpful that we know and understand why Max August is who he is – a Timeless alchemist, recent disciple of Agrippa, a man who is a few centuries old – both Agrippa and...more
Other reviewers have complained that the book moves slow as the characters begin to lecture to each other but I disagree that this is a necessary negative. I think it’s helpful that we know and understand why Max August is who he is – a Timeless alchemist, recent disciple of Agrippa, a man who is a few centuries old – both Agrippa and...more
Like others have already said, reading The Long Man felt like reading a scene-by-scene novelization of a comic. An early scene with the "woman with the lurid red hair" played out like a novelization of Phoenix' scenes in the X-Men animated series. At times, I couldn't decide whether I was being talked down to or being "educated", since Englehart name-drops a horde of mythical and pagan terms and at other times takes readers on a ride called rampant exposition. The pop-culture and location refere...more
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The Long Man is a graphic novel without the graphics. Certain passages remind me of reading Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four as a kid, which is not a surprise as the comic genre is Englehart's home. He does a great job with action scenes but also hammered in long expositional passages of philisophical babbling between characters. I don't know why he felt the need to explain the protagonists powers. It's like reading a Superman comic and dealing with pages of scientific description on the molecu...more
Max August became Timeless (or immortal) back in the eighties, not long before his mentor and his wife were murdered. Hunted by their killer, he's gone off the grid until an old friend from his radio days in the seventies calls him to help a friend, Doctor Pam Blackwell, who unknowingly has found a cure for the zombie drug.
This starts them on a race to escape, then stop, a conspiracy to take over the Americas, starting with the tiny nation of Suriname.
The author is best known for his comic book...more
This starts them on a race to escape, then stop, a conspiracy to take over the Americas, starting with the tiny nation of Suriname.
The author is best known for his comic book...more
An interesting story about an immortal radio Disc Jockey from the 70s that has magic powers drawn from the energy of the universe. He lost the love of his life years ago and has been searching for her since, while trying to avoid being recognized. Along the way he's made enemies of other powerful magic users that want him either dead, or to join their cause.
This time out, Max August uncovers a conspiracy of powerful people who are trying to take over small country by turning the population into...more
This time out, Max August uncovers a conspiracy of powerful people who are trying to take over small country by turning the population into...more
I won this book in a give away. I was concerned about not having read the Point Man which is the first book in this series. I should not have worried.
Steve Englehart tells an easy going tale full of action, adventure, and magick that is pleasant to read. This story moved swiftly and kept my intrest through out. The story gave enough background information to explain the past so a new reader can catch up without being lost looking for explanations as to what led up to this point.
That being said,...more
Steve Englehart tells an easy going tale full of action, adventure, and magick that is pleasant to read. This story moved swiftly and kept my intrest through out. The story gave enough background information to explain the past so a new reader can catch up without being lost looking for explanations as to what led up to this point.
That being said,...more
Max August has been a soldier and a radio DJ, but now he's an alchemist who has learned enough to become Timeless, which means he'll stay thirty five years old until someone manages to kill him. When a secretive group bent on world domination tries to murder Pam Blackwell, a scientist who's developed a cure for fugu fish toxin, Max steps in to spoil their plans.
As any horror fans have likely guessed, the fugu fish connection means that zombies are involved. And these aren't the modern day "run a...more
As any horror fans have likely guessed, the fugu fish connection means that zombies are involved. And these aren't the modern day "run a...more
The Long Man is a story about an newly immortal man, he's about 30 years into his immortality. Seems brilliant as you get stories of Acquiring Immortality and stories of 500 year old dudes. This is a guy nearing AARP membership but he looks 35.
Englehart used the phrase "Sanctum Sanctorum" so that should please comics fans. Near the end of the book a character rants for 3/4 of a page and as I read it I thought that he could never do that in a comic.
++++++ +++++++ +++++++ ++++++ ++++++ +++++ +++...more
I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway anhave to say I enjoyed it more than I thought going in to it. Being the second book in the series I felt a bit lost for the first few chapters, but the backstory unfolds well and kept me interested. More than anything though, I enjoyed the unfolding, both the use and the explanation, of Max's magic system. That there are many paths from the same source, and the fact that having a greater understanding of multiple paths helps you to better und...more
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. I didn't realize this was a sequel (to "The Point Man") and was afraid I would be lost, but the author does a fairly good job of filling in the back story of the main character, Max August, while still leaving enough out to make you want to read the first book.
Max August is a Timeless One, which means, through his mastery of magick (yes, I spelled it correctly) he never ages past the age of 35 and is an extremely powerful sorcerer. Max comes to the aid of Dr...more
Max August is a Timeless One, which means, through his mastery of magick (yes, I spelled it correctly) he never ages past the age of 35 and is an extremely powerful sorcerer. Max comes to the aid of Dr...more
In the early 1980's, Vietnam vet and DJ, Max August became involved with the magician Cornelius Agrippa, discovered his own magical talents and was able to make himself "timeless", so that he no longer ages. However, Agrippa and Max's girlfriend Valerie were killed by the demon Aleksandra. In the present day, Max stays on the move to avoid Aleksandra while trying to find a way to bring Valerie back. He becomes involved with a doctor, Pam Blackwell who has been poisoned by a magical dart, which s...more
By coincidence when i received this book free as part of Goodreads First Read program, i was already reading some old Marvel Comics (The Defenders) Mr Englehart had written for. That and the blurb on the back made me excited to read 'The Long Man'. In the end i enjoyed it but it was a bit rough at points. Some days i just couldn't pick it up.
My first peeve was the vagueness of the mechanics behind the magical abilities of the hero. The hero, Max August, seems flat. All we have to identify with...more
My first peeve was the vagueness of the mechanics behind the magical abilities of the hero. The hero, Max August, seems flat. All we have to identify with...more
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. It's still an honest review, but the FTC wanted you to know...
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I won this in a Firstreads giveaway (yay!). Too much integration of pop culture and alternative spellings of words (magick, zombi, etc), but overall an entertaining story about some cool concepts. It's an urban fantasy, but written more like a thriller than other books in the genre (which I think is a good thing). Max August, the protagonist, is reminiscent o...more
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I won this in a Firstreads giveaway (yay!). Too much integration of pop culture and alternative spellings of words (magick, zombi, etc), but overall an entertaining story about some cool concepts. It's an urban fantasy, but written more like a thriller than other books in the genre (which I think is a good thing). Max August, the protagonist, is reminiscent o...more
An enjoyable adventure story from also comic book writer Steve Englehart. It's got fights, chases, zombis (old school Haitian style, not Romero flesh eaters), and a well-developed implementation of both magic and technology. Actually, as I read it, John Twelve Hawks' The Traveler kept coming to mind, insofar as both books deal with secret societies, technology, and magic. The difference is that Steve Englehart doesn't ask you to leave your brain at the door like Twelve Hawks does. The characters...more
Wow, what a surprise! This was honestly one of the best fiction books I've read so far this year. I was worried I wouldn't understand what was happening because this book actually follows The Point Man, which was written several years ago, but I was just fine.
You can tell Englehart has a background in comics and graphic novels, because his descriptions are vivid without being excessively wordy. It's not often that I can clearly picture what's happening in a book, but I was able to in this one.
I...more
You can tell Englehart has a background in comics and graphic novels, because his descriptions are vivid without being excessively wordy. It's not often that I can clearly picture what's happening in a book, but I was able to in this one.
I...more
I received this in a first-reads giveaway. The plot is amazing. It keeps you guessing and sometimes it's hard to put down. I'm from WV so I was interested to see WV mentioned and there weren't any zombies there. Most of the story I was trying to guess what would happen next...and I was usually wrong! Many of the concepts he mentions as to dates and things that happened on those day as "guided" by the codex was interesting and made you think, "hmmm, that makes sense."
Dec 31, 2012
Garyjn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fantacy fans
Recommended to Garyjn by:
Gift
Magic, zombies, a secret society seeking world domination, a strong hero, a capable damsel in distress. If that is what you're looking for in a fast moving, imaginative, easy read to take the mind off the hum-drum world for a while, then you should enjoy this book. I did.
I couldn't really get into this book, although I am sure it will appeal to some other readers. Maybe it was because I hadn't read the first one in the series.
Meh. It was alright. Steve Englehart's writing style would make a better comic book or movie than a novel.
Oct 12, 2010
Loyal Wiens
added it
Fast moving. Kind of simple. Fun to read.
I won this book on First-reads
Excellent so far.
I was disappointed by the writing quality of the Long Man. Seemed really amateurish, or unedited, or something. Odd things, like long stretches of exposition, the worst of tell-not-show, awkward dialogue... Really seemed like it was just passed on unedited to the printer. The story-telling was unexceptional -- if the writing hadn't been strikingly bad, it would have been a decent genre novel.
And Michael Chabon is on the cover praising it? Leaves me wondering if he read it first.
And Michael Chabon is on the cover praising it? Leaves me wondering if he read it first.
Feb 10, 2011
Jacob
marked it as to-read
can't wait to start this, but need to pick up The Point Man first.
Typically not a book I would search out to read. Glad I came accross it it though. Very enjoyable read.
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Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from M...more
More about Steve Englehart...
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