| $@%&! level: Low “Bedroom” level: Low (if any) Violence level: Medium-High (fantasy violence, of course) Back Cover: “Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. The Flash. Green Lantern. They are the world's greatest super heroes, fighting endlessly against corruption and injustice. Each of them alone is a formidable opponenet of evil, but banded together their powers are unmatched. Ever ready, they stand united as the Justice League of America. Something has been unearthed in Gotham City, something that should not have been disturbed. An ancient pyramid has unleashed supernatural energies throughout the world. Drawn to the eye of this arcane storm, the heroes of the JLA become caught in the grip of a force far beyond their extraordinary powers. Only Gotham's protector, the Batman, manages to escape—but to free his allies and stop the chaos that is fast engulfing the world, the Dark Knight must somehow unlock the pyramid's secret curse.” |
Okay, so everyone I know should have figured out by now that I'm a Batman fan. I'm not quite to the point where I love all things Batman (Adam West just makes me cringe, for instance), but I love enough of it to know that there are several different styles of Batman. This one reminds me most of the animated TV shows in the 90s. It's got the same kind of team dynamic in the Justice League, and a similar excessive sort of antagonist/global catastrophe.
But, of course, it's not a TV show—it's a novel, which means that we can have a close third-person and get the Batman's thoughts as he figures out how to save the world. (He's even more boss awesome that way!) You get to see the deductive reasoning, the master of disguise, the superb memory, and of course the intense fighting skills. It's always nice to get behind the impassive mask and remember that Batman actually does have some pretty strong emotions and really cares for his teammates, no matter what he tries to pretend. And, incidentally, that they care about him as well.
I always find myself coming back to a few scenes to reread and experience the joy again. The top contenders are Batman's original escape from the Gotham Pyramind; his rescue of the rest of the Justice League from hypnotic entrapment; and the climactic scene at the end, with Batman climbing up the body of a giant, racing against time. The final solution is both simple and clever, which I find ultimately perfect.
Read this one for an easy-reading adventure, easy to understand and hard to put down, but probably not likely to alter your perception of the world or anything.