Book #39

Green Lantern: Sleepers, Book 2, by Christopher J. Priest.  Audio drama.

I was surprised that the story began in the mid-1600s.  I was not surprised that the "modern" portion of the story took place in the World War II era, as it features the Earth-2 GL, whose adventures began in that era. FYI, this is Alan Scott, the GL who in the latest version of the DC Comics, came out of the closet. In this book, he is his "Old 52" self, complete with female love interest.

In the 17^th century, anti-Green Lantern Malvolio seeks power on Earth, but is unable to accomplish his task. He hides the power rings and bides his time. This part of the book is a bit slow, but once the story moves to the 1940s, the pace picks up. Malvolio makes a pact with Hitler, and conquest of Earth appears realistic. The only man who stands in his way is Alan Scott, possessor of one of the “sleeper” rings. The World War II action of the story is strong, as is the final battle with Malvolio.

The out-of-sequence nature of the GL: Sleepers series is irritating. This is the second book, but tells the origins of the rings, the batteries, and the Guardians. At the very end of the book, one of the rings falls into the hands of Eddie "Roach," who is a key character in the first book! Clearly, this one takes place first, and yet this is consistently noted as the second book. That was disconcerting.

There is a spectrum of audio recordings, with single-voice reading at one end and full-cast audio play at the other end. Graphic Audio’s audio versions of DC Comics stories are very close to the latter. The presence of a narrator keeps some purists from calling these works true “audio dramas.” This works has a full cast of voice actors, sound effects and a musical score.