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Red Sails in the Fallout

(Gamma World)

Paul Kidd

3.91 · Rating details · 124 ratings · 18 reviews

In the fall of 2012, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, embarked on a series of high-energy experiments. No one knows exactly what went wrong, but in the blink of an eye, thousands of possible universes all condensed into a single reality . . . .
Between a desert and a dried up sea lies the town of Watering Hole, the only oasis for miles and the ...more

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Paperback, 307 pages

Published July 5th 2011 by Wizards of the Coast (first published January 1st 2011)

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May 06, 2014 Derek rated it liked it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, gonzo, tie-in, nostagia-fuel

My faded memories of Gamma World--has it been thirty years? Cripes, yes it has--are of a confusing salamagundi of ancient nuclear/biological cataclysm and superscientific artifacts and mutant powers and repurposed twentieth century objects and a bunch of sixth graders not really knowing what to do with any of this but wanting to play the gopher with laser beams coming from its frickin' head.

Regardless of whatever it was back then, this incarnation of the setting tries to resolve the crazy-kitche My faded memories of Gamma World--has it been thirty years? Cripes, yes it has--are of a confusing salamagundi of ancient nuclear/biological cataclysm and superscientific artifacts and mutant powers and repurposed twentieth century objects and a bunch of sixth graders not really knowing what to do with any of this but wanting to play the gopher with laser beams coming from its frickin' head.

Regardless of whatever it was back then, this incarnation of the setting tries to resolve the crazy-kitchen-sink aspects by casting the cataclysm as explicitly interdimensional, where portions of alternate prehistories and distant futures drop into a ruined world of the near future. And then, for some reason, massive mutation, of the form where humble lab rats quickly evolve into extremely humanlike beings. Large doses of radiation are more likely to cause you to sprout tentacles or force field powers than weeping sores and cancers.

Kidd's novel is acutely aware of its own gonzo looniness, and just rolls with it in a good-natured fashion. Despite the seriousness of the protagonists' mission--which has a Damnation Alley vibe--and incredible deadliness of their world, they treat the matter with an adventurous and enterprising spirit, helped by quite a bit of humor and irony on the part of the narration. It's entirely in keeping with the fourth-wall-breaking aspect of the setting, where a gentleman's agreement exists that restrains players from calling each other on the utter stupidity of the monster concepts.

The story's bag of tricks and gags start to grate entering into its fourth quarter, and frankly I would have liked to have the big reveal earlier and with more pages devoted to it. Running gags about backsides and heart-festooned underpants go on too long, and the narration has a weird fixation on getting the main characters--female--into or out of their clothing. And by that time the use of the word "damned" as an adjective has crept out of character dialog and into the narration itself, where it's used frequently enough to become noticeable. ...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Travis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed

Red Sails in the Fallout by Paul Kidd

Red Sails in the Fallout is a stand-alone novel as well as the second book released in the new Gamma World line of novels. The first novel in the Gamma World line is Sooner Dead by Mel Odom. These novels are not connected. Gamma World is a real world post-apocalyptic setting of Dungeons and Dragons. Paul Kidd has written a few other Dungeons and Dragons based novels; White Plume Mountain, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits fo Red Sails in the Fallout by Paul Kidd

Red Sails in the Fallout is a stand-alone novel as well as the second book released in the new Gamma World line of novels. The first novel in the Gamma World line is Sooner Dead by Mel Odom. These novels are not connected. Gamma World is a real world post-apocalyptic setting of Dungeons and Dragons. Paul Kidd has written a few other Dungeons and Dragons based novels; White Plume Mountain, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits for the Greyhawk novel line and Council of Blades for the Forgotten Realms series The Nobles. He has written a number of original work as well; Mus of Kerbridge, A Whisper of Wings, Lace and Steel, The Rats of Acomar, Fey, Dreamscape, Lilith Petal Storm, Neue Europa, and The Fangs of K'aath and its sequel Guardians of Light. He as also written a few short stories that have appeared in Dragon Magazine. Red Sails in the Fallout was released July 2011 and published by Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Xoota was just a simple scavenger looking for old parts that she could sell back in Watering Hole. However, all that changes when the humanoid quoll bumps into a humanoid rat deep into the desert wasteland of Australia. The rat, Shaani, tells Xoota that she's out here for science as she continues to dig deep into the sand, uncovering a ship. But trouble soon follows, and the duo barely make it out alive and decide to head back to Watering Hole. On the way, more trouble arises and they are saved by a swarm of earwigs calling themselves Wig-wig. Shaani invites the swarm to come with them to Watering Hole and now the trio head off. Upon arriving, something isn't quite right. The towns only means of survival, a well, has been contaminated by salt. Shaani quickly understands that the water must come from somewhere, and decide that the trio should head out to find the source of the salty problem. Unfortunately, no one has gone that far into the desert and returned. But after looking around town, Shaani discovers a broken vehicle, which she quickly turns into a ship, able to hopefully cross the desert. However, they still have a problem. With the problem of the salt water, they have no water to make it to where ever the problem is and back before becoming dehydrated. Thankfully and unfortunately, Xoota meets a human named Benek, who thinks himself to be superior to all mutants and non-pure humans, and just so happens to have enough clean water to survive the journey. Benek is looking for a guide to help him find a facility housing thousands of frozen brides, so he can restart the human race. While his mission is creepy, he has the necessary amount of water. Upon the ships completion, all four set off and find themselves facing unknown dangers, and soon discover why no one returns from the desert.

Criticisms:
1) Climax. Red Sails in the Fallout has a very lackluster and sudden climax. While the story did have a decent enough build up to what was going to happen, it just came off as too quick and not all that exciting. It's an average climax that does work, but it could have been better. It will still be a shame to spoil it, so that is not going to happen. Here is the best way to put it, it resolves Benek's quest like it was nothing more than an after thought. What makes it worse is what happens before this concerning Benek and Shaani was downright sinister, and to have the whole thing resolved like it did makes you feel like you were cheated. It's not that the climax is a bad one, but it seemed rather unimpressive and a little too safe. Truth be told, it makes the story feel lackluster and not that exciting. It doesn't ruin the ending, but it does come very close to it. It's not a bad way to do a climax, but it leaves you feeling like it should have done something different.

Praises:
1) Characters. The characters are really interesting and likable. There wasn't a character that didn't feel like they were useless. Everyone seemed very interesting, unique, and they all had good moments. The weakest character is Benek. He is mostly aloof and doesn't really seem that interesting. You can see that he really does think that he is superior, even when he is proven wrong, and that's really his sole trait. However, he does have one glorious moment towards the end. It's just downright cruel what he does and you never suspected he would do that kind of thing, or at least go through with it. Rustle, a three-headed tree that the group meets late in the story, is another weaker character, but he memorable as soon as you meet him. The reason to why he is weaker is because he comes into the story about two-thirds of the way through and doesn't have the time to really develop. He is still good and plays his role nicely. The original three are the best in the novel. Shaani can be a little annoying with spouting out lines about science, how she's a lab rat, and how lab rats and humans worked hand in hand, but she never passed the point of extreme annoyance. She does come close, but she is very charismatic and likable. Truth be told, it's hard for you to really dislike her because has a lot of charisma and her carefree attitude is surprisingly fun. Xoota is good. She's likable, interesting, and really develops by the end of the novel. She goes from a loner to something more and her journey to that makes her a very interesting character. But, the character who really stole the show is Wig-wig. He was just a blast. Just take Shaani's carefree attitude and multiply that by one hundred and you have Wig-wig. Every time he said something, it was extremely hard to not smile. All in all, the characters are very good and really takes this story to the next level.
2) Story. Red Sails in the Fallout is a very surprising story. At the quarter point of the novel, it was hard to see how long this story can keep up without resulting to unusual things happening to just move the story along. Everything that happens, you can see the possibility of it happening, nothing felt forced or added to pad out the story. It all seemed logical and possible. The story itself is simple; save Watering Hole's water supply and find Benek his brides. It doesn't try to do anything more than that and it works. It's not something that feels bigger than it is meant to be. This does help the story to be more identifiable and enjoyable. It's a simple story with plausible events happening that add the necessary drama and action to it.
3) Humor. There was quite a few humorous moments in Red Sails in the Fallout. It isn't laugh out loud humor, but instead more subdued. It's a good type of humor for this story, and it doesn't make the whole thing into a joke. The humor helps to enhance the story around it, without taking away from the more drastic and dramatic moments. In some cases, the humor really helps in these aspects and makes the more dramatic moments more dramatic. The subdued manner helps draw you into the story, and makes you committed to it. It's really just icing on an already fun cake.

Side Notes:
1) Uncomfortable Moments. Red Sails in the Fallout had a lot of uncomfortable moments in it for someone who isn't into anthropomorphic animals. Having Xoota's underwear being brought up every few chapters, focusing on her pouch, and overly describing certain attributes of Xoota and Shaani made me feel very, very uncomfortable. It would have been okay if these things were only brought up once, but to have it repeatedly appear made it hard to really get into the story because I just could not, and would not, picture these characters in that kind of light. It's something that I did try to look past while writing this review because it's a personal bias. I also may be over thinking these things, but to me, it was painfully obvious what the author was going for during these times.
2) Alpha Mutations. The idea of alpha mutations in the Gamma World setting just seem like an easy excuse for deus ex machina. Alpha mutations are daily mutations that the mutants of the world can receive and range from utterly useless to overpowering killing abilities. The use of alpha mutations in Red Sails in the Fallout is, thankfully, subdued and not over used. However, you can really see problems that can possibly arise from this in future novels.
3) Location. The setting for the novel is never really given, but there are hints to it taking place in Australia due to the characters seeing the Aura Australis, or the "Southern Lights". Also, it's hard to not picture these characters talking in an Australian accent.
4) Cover Art. Red Sails in the Fallout has a very action heavy cover. The characters, Shaani and Xoota, do look good. The bright blue of Shaani's chainsaw and the neon green of the armored skeletons really do draw your eye in. The rest of the colors are nicely subdued, which really helps the blue and green stick out. However, the border of the cover is very distracting and really seems unnecessary. It takes away from anything else that could be in the picture. It's a good cover, but it should take up the whole cover instead of three-quarters of it.

Overall: 5/5
Final Thoughts:
Red Sails in the Fallout is a fun story but does have a very lackluster climax. The climax isn't bad, but it could have been something more exciting. It came off as too safe and too sudden. It really does make the seem not as important. The characters are good. There are a few weaker characters, but all in all, they did have some wonderful moments that cause you to like them. Benek and Rustle are rather weak, but they do have a lot of great moments that make up for their weak points. Wig-wig and Shaani had a lot of charisma and you really do like them, even if Shaani does border on annoying. Xoota really goes through a change in the novel and it's great seeing this unfold. The story is really surprising. At first you think that it's going to somehow falter late in the story and make up things to pad it out. But it doesn't. Everything that happens really does seem logical and that's the surprising part. Aside from that, the story doesn't try to do anything that it can't do. It does what it needs and it does it well. Finally, the story has some great subdued humor that really enhances it. It doesn't take away from the dramatic parts or turn the story into a joke. All in all, Red Sails in the Fallout is a good story with some likable characters. It's worth reading, but it can be a little uncomfortable at times. ...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Carl rated it really liked it

I enjoyed the author's Greyhawk trilogy (White Plume Mountain, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, Queen of the Demonweb Pits) for the fun characters, so I read this one as well. Likeable characters doing things that matter in a fun romp through a post-apocalyptic wonderland.

Best captured by this back cover blurb: "But when the uberhuman Benek, and his love of croygenically frozen
brides, enters into the picture, what follows is an adventure for the ages."
...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Jeremy rated it it was amazing

I believe this is now my favorite single book. At about 70% adventure, 20% comedy, and 10% sexy its the perfect blend. It shares a lot with his "Fangs of K'aath" novel, but with a sci-fi setting and a bit more lighthearted. I truly hope this becomes a series. This will definitely be a book I'll read again.
I would like to note that I have practically no previous experience with the "Gamma World" RPG setting, so I can't say how a fan of the setting will find this book. If the RPG is even half li ...more

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Sep 02, 2011 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, gamma-world

Enjoyed this a lot more than the first book. Not that the first wasn't good, this just felt more like the Gamma World I was familiar with and enjoyed. The mutations, the humor, the super-science, all the fun of the game was nicely packaged in this story. Now if they'd do more like this... ...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Chriss added it

Shelves: adventure, fantasy

I'm loving it so far; humorous postapocolyptic adventure. Characters are great and the writing is fun. The opening action scene needed tweaking. ...more

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Apr 06, 2019 Allen McDonnell rated it liked it · review of another edition

An okay adventure story

This novel is set in a later day version of the Gamma World RPG game world. Because the game itself has mutated so much from the first edition I played back in the 1980's the book was all new territory, not what I was hoping for. All of the Dungeons and Dragons novels were set in early versions of that game so I expected the Gamma World novels to follow the same pattern. Instead of being a straight up adventure in a post apocalypse world this novel follows a series of stra ...more

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Feb 15, 2022 Peter Drummond rated it liked it

Shelves: alt-history

A cute, if somewhat superficial, taste of Gamma World’s 4th edition.

From the beginning, I found myself infatuated with this setting and its frantic vitality, and I wanted to read some of its licensed fiction to get a taste of what Wizards’ thinks the line should feel like.

I found the cast of surprisingly upbeat anthropomorphic lab rats, kangaroos with antennae, bird mounts with limited vocabulary, and three-headed man-eating plants more charming than they had any right to be.

Nothing left me wa ...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Roachkin rated it liked it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic

This book was certainly a thing I could read. That sounds a bit harsh. The fact is there's some really great stuff in this, but the good goes by so fast. Paul Kidd enjoys describing landscapes and he does this well, but really when there are basically three distinct landscapes within the entirety of the book, how much of a thing is this? His characters are wonderful ideas and he plainly delights in writing dialogue but when the dialogue is a repetitive buddy cop style back and forth that burgeon This book was certainly a thing I could read. That sounds a bit harsh. The fact is there's some really great stuff in this, but the good goes by so fast. Paul Kidd enjoys describing landscapes and he does this well, but really when there are basically three distinct landscapes within the entirety of the book, how much of a thing is this? His characters are wonderful ideas and he plainly delights in writing dialogue but when the dialogue is a repetitive buddy cop style back and forth that burgeons forth into silly grab ass, it only works if that's what you want in a post apocalyptic book.

This isn't to say that sexy fun isn't something to want or expect in this sort of fiction. Jack Vance himself, one of the standard bearers of fun fiction in broken worlds never shied away from it, but he did two very specific things with it that allowed it to work. One, he didn't allow it to be repetitive and two he didn't let it have a controlling majority over the plot. While the relationship between the two main characters is important to the story and if relationship's progression was to turn sexual then that would be fine as long as it made sense, Mr Kidd unfortunately kept it at one note throughout most of the story, and brought it up enough that the reader is well aware of how static it really is.

The best parts are the component pieces of the story. The places the characters journey to, the observations they make of ancient past and its myriad wonders, and the one chilling scene of a character's faith being shattered are very good, deliciously good. But the slog in between doesn't feel worth it. Much like the vehicle used to get the characters across the desert, the book seems to be a collection of wondrous elements rather haphazardly put together. If you are jonesing for a little post apocalyptic silliness, if you can bear the novel equivalent of a light hearted Skinemax film, or if you like the Gamma World game just that much that you want the very fiction you read to reflect it, I highly recommend reading it. ...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Dustin rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, tie-in, post-apoc, dungeon-and-dragons, nb-author, lgbt-author

I have to say I enjoyed the hell out of this, and it's not just because it's tie-in fiction of a game setting I really enjoy. Paul Kidd has a way of taking absurd character concepts and really making them shine. The main characters are a precognitive quoll, a chainsaw wielding lab-rat, and a sapient swarm of earwigs, and the author does a fantastic job of making them distinct from one another and making you care about their adventures.

I would recommend this for fans of fantast, sci-fi, gonzo po ...more

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Dec 11, 2013 Kim rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

A cute, albeit weird, tale of a mutated marsupial and lab rat who go on a grand adventure in a post apocalyptic world, becoming friends and saving the world. I want to read more!!! Solid female lead characters in a Gamma-World type setting. The characters are reasonably well developed and engaging. The setting is not heavy on realism but it does conform to its own rule set.

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Jan 03, 2013 Kathryn rated it it was amazing

Pure silly adventure. I laughed so hard through this book. Wig-wig is one of the best characters ever.

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Jul 21, 2011 Skloodzi rated it liked it

Pretty good. Too bad Wizards screwed over Paul Kidd tho.

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Mar 24, 2019 Michael rated it really liked it

After enjoying Sooner Dead by Mel Odom set in the Gamma World universe back in August of last year, I was somewhat eager to read the other Gamma World novel, Red Sails in the Fallout by Paul Kidd but it was a little more difficult unfortunately to find a good copy. I did finally find one and I'm glad I did as it was certainly the better of the two.

This story follows Shaani, a mutated lab rat (and scientist) and Xoota, a mutated rabbit (and excellent warrior) as they venture off into the desert After enjoying Sooner Dead by Mel Odom set in the Gamma World universe back in August of last year, I was somewhat eager to read the other Gamma World novel, Red Sails in the Fallout by Paul Kidd but it was a little more difficult unfortunately to find a good copy. I did finally find one and I'm glad I did as it was certainly the better of the two.

This story follows Shaani, a mutated lab rat (and scientist) and Xoota, a mutated rabbit (and excellent warrior) as they venture off into the desert to figure out why the water source suddenly tastes like a salt lick. Along with them they will take a swarm of earwigs (which possess one mind) and Benek, a human who has a lot of fresh water and has heard stories of cryogenically frozen brides that he can "use" to repopulate the earth.

As one can immediately tell, the novel is written on the lighter side with plenty of laughs, many of which are quite hilarious. The book does get a little too serious in the last 50 pages, but thankfully it does not last too long. Mr. Kidd does do a great job besides the hilarity to make an interesting story, full of wonder and adventure. It's a shame that this book didn't get a sequel.

There were a couple of issues with the book, I didn't feel the alpha mutations (though mentioned quite frequently) really played into the chaos build of the book like they could have. I was also expecting them to play into the ending as well which they really didn't. And not to sound like a prude, but why did Shaani and Xoota have to get out of their clothes so darn often. Really, it's a problem, there were about half a dozen times where they make a mention that they stripped of their clothing (either voluntarily or involuntarily). It became distracting (and not because I was trying to think what female nude rabbits and rats looked like, perv).

Minor quibbles aside, I enjoyed the book very much. I can easily see myself re-reading it in a few years which is more than I can say of most books, even of those that I enjoy. I will also try to track down Paul Kidd's AD&D books as well, though by the judge of it are about as hard to find at a decent price as Red Sails was. Enjoy. ...more

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Dec 01, 2021 Joel Flank rated it really liked it

Red Sails in the Fallout was a fun enjoyable read, with just the right mix of whimsy, gonzo over the top super-science and crazy mutations you'd expect from a fun loving romp through a post-apocalyptic wasteland of Gamma World. If you're unfamiliar with Gamma World, it's the original post apocalyptic tabletop RPG from TSR, the makers of Dungeons and Dragons. It is the source of inspiration for games like Wasteland and Fallout, but was even weirder than either of them. The original 1st edition of Red Sails in the Fallout was a fun enjoyable read, with just the right mix of whimsy, gonzo over the top super-science and crazy mutations you'd expect from a fun loving romp through a post-apocalyptic wasteland of Gamma World. If you're unfamiliar with Gamma World, it's the original post apocalyptic tabletop RPG from TSR, the makers of Dungeons and Dragons. It is the source of inspiration for games like Wasteland and Fallout, but was even weirder than either of them. The original 1st edition of the game was based on a typical nuclear event, with radiation mutating just about everything and leaving behind the high tech killer robots and ray guns you'd expect. By the time the Gamma World novels (all 2 of them) were written, the game had gone through 5 more editions, and the most recent had changed the origin of the strange world to be more interdimensional bleed, and introduced the concept of daily random mutations. While that bit isn't as satisfying as good old radiation, that's the setting used for this book, so if you're an OG fan like I am, bear this in mind that the nature of the Gamma World itself has changed a bit.

On to the book itself, at it's heart, it's a journey across an impassible wasteland to save a town's dwindling water supply. But since it's Gamma World, it's a journey made by a mutant rat scientist, marsupial, sentient swarm of psychic insects, and rarest of all, a pure human. Along the way they deal with raiders, storms, and other obstacles, come to form strong bonds (except for the human who barely tolerates mutants in the first place), and eventually need to deal with the still functional installations, and conflicting goals - all a standard adventure in the apocalypse. What makes Red Sails in the Fallout stand out is that the characters aren't just cardboard cutouts of super powered animals on an adventure, but they're written with heart, and come across as fully human with their own emotions, insecurities, petty needs, and are likeable....weird but likeable. ...more

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May 07, 2018 Greg rated it liked it

Shelves: adventure, post-apocalypse

It's silly and it's fun. It almost gets serious a couple of times, but nah, why bother?

One of two novels written in the Gamma World role-playing game setting. You don't have to know what that is to enjoy the book, but obviously it helps. Or maybe it doesn't. If, like me, you are only familiar with the first two "more serious" editions of the game (relatively speaking), this Gamma setting (from either the 4th or 7th edition, depending on how you count) it might be off-putting at first to see the ...more

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May 04, 2022 Landon rated it it was ok

The book has a lot going for it, but I just could not get into it.
Gamma World's strong point is its absurdity and over the top nature. In a game this is a great thing, but in this story it felt jarring. The author did a great job creating interesting and well developed characters, but this only emphasized how out of the place it felt in this world. ...more

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Aug 22, 2021 E J rated it it was ok

Really fun and funny at first but then loses steam because of repetitiveness. Ultimately, the whole thing felt flat. Lots of Australiana atmosphere and references which made the story immersive and occasionally amusing. Except Shaani sounds more like a posh Brit than an Aussie. Should've spent more time at the starport with the clone army. ...more

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