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Smallville #5
Shadows
A mysterious death near an abandoned missile silo starts Clark searching for a new case of meteor mutation. But he doesn't know that underground, a scientist's meteor experiments are turning humans into murderous monsters. Original.
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2003
184 people want to read
About the author
Diana G. Gallagher
156 books54 followersDiana G. Gallagher was an American author who wrote books for children and young adults. She also wrote the space opera The Alien Dark (1990), but was best known for her tie-in work for television properties including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed, Star Trek and The Secret World of Alex Mack, among others.
She was also a prolific filk creator, winning Pegasus Awards in 1986 and ’94. Gallagher won a Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 1988 under the name Diana Gallagher Wu. She sometimes also wrote under the name Diana Burke.
Born in 1946, in Paterson, New Jersey, she lived in Florida with her husband, the writer Martin R. Burke, who predeceased her in 2011. Gallagher was married four times; her third marriage was to author William F. Wu (divorced 1990).
Gallagher died December 2, 2021 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 75 years of age.
She was also a prolific filk creator, winning Pegasus Awards in 1986 and ’94. Gallagher won a Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 1988 under the name Diana Gallagher Wu. She sometimes also wrote under the name Diana Burke.
Born in 1946, in Paterson, New Jersey, she lived in Florida with her husband, the writer Martin R. Burke, who predeceased her in 2011. Gallagher was married four times; her third marriage was to author William F. Wu (divorced 1990).
Gallagher died December 2, 2021 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 75 years of age.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 15, 2025
Shadows takes place during the first half of Smallville Season 2. The events of 2x05 "Nocturne" are referenced, but it must be before 2x13 "Suspect;" during the brief time when Martha Kent was working as Lionel Luthor's assistant. Not that this factors into the plot at all, but it is referenced quite often.
This is one of the weaker Smallville tie-in stories. Nothing about the plot makes sense - we have a scientist, Farley, who had his funding revoked, but somehow got backing from "Continental Science of Europe." (??) Anyway, Farley comes to Smallville to continue his illegal research using meteor rocks (kryptonite) on human test subjects. For some reason he decides he has to do this in a decomissioned missile launch facility that's left over from the Cold War. Also, he brings his teenage daughter along. And finally, in a move that defies you to find the logic in it, he infects his special ex-CIA enforcer with the same meteor rock formula, despite knowing that it causes severe mental deterioration.
Sure, Smallville can get pretty silly, but this is absolutely nonsensical. I can forgive a stupid plot if the book is fun and entertaining, but Shadows is, on top of everything else, boring!
There aren't even any fun subplots or character interactions to make this worthwhile.
Farley's daughter, Sharon, enrolls at Smallville High and develops a crush on Clark Kent. The insertion of a teenage girl OC seems to be a prerequisite of these Smallville tie-in novels and I really don't understand why. She insinuates herself at the Torch and proceeds to quickly annoy everyone.
There's a bizarre subplot about Lex playing World of Warcraft and considering using his LexCorp capital to develop a competitive MMORPG. Haha wtf is this? This has nothing to do with anything and is completely out-of-character.
Jonathan Kent comes off as somehow even more awful than he was in the show, determined to sue Lex - even at the risk of losing the family farm! - because an old man in the community died from mysterious causes. It must be Lex's fault! How? Why? Jonathan claims the old man could have possibly died from some contamination caused by the Luthor fertilizer plant - except that Jonathan knows about the kryptonite! So, unlike the rest of the town, he should not be blaming the fertilizer plant.
This one didn't work for me. Sadly, a disappointing Smallville read.
This is one of the weaker Smallville tie-in stories. Nothing about the plot makes sense - we have a scientist, Farley, who had his funding revoked, but somehow got backing from "Continental Science of Europe." (??) Anyway, Farley comes to Smallville to continue his illegal research using meteor rocks (kryptonite) on human test subjects. For some reason he decides he has to do this in a decomissioned missile launch facility that's left over from the Cold War. Also, he brings his teenage daughter along. And finally, in a move that defies you to find the logic in it, he infects his special ex-CIA enforcer with the same meteor rock formula, despite knowing that it causes severe mental deterioration.
Sure, Smallville can get pretty silly, but this is absolutely nonsensical. I can forgive a stupid plot if the book is fun and entertaining, but Shadows is, on top of everything else, boring!
There aren't even any fun subplots or character interactions to make this worthwhile.
Farley's daughter, Sharon, enrolls at Smallville High and develops a crush on Clark Kent. The insertion of a teenage girl OC seems to be a prerequisite of these Smallville tie-in novels and I really don't understand why. She insinuates herself at the Torch and proceeds to quickly annoy everyone.
There's a bizarre subplot about Lex playing World of Warcraft and considering using his LexCorp capital to develop a competitive MMORPG. Haha wtf is this? This has nothing to do with anything and is completely out-of-character.
Jonathan Kent comes off as somehow even more awful than he was in the show, determined to sue Lex - even at the risk of losing the family farm! - because an old man in the community died from mysterious causes. It must be Lex's fault! How? Why? Jonathan claims the old man could have possibly died from some contamination caused by the Luthor fertilizer plant - except that Jonathan knows about the kryptonite! So, unlike the rest of the town, he should not be blaming the fertilizer plant.
This one didn't work for me. Sadly, a disappointing Smallville read.
November 29, 2021
An enjoyable novel that felt like watching an actual episode of smallville. Really makes you miss the show haha, so happy I have two more to read.
May 20, 2018
I'm glad this was never a real episode, because I was grossed out enough by Layton just by reading this!
June 9, 2013
Cool but creepy. Meteor power manipulation long before level 33.1. B-.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews