''Road Wars'' is the twenty-third book in the series of ''

Deathlands Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel, ''Pilgrimage to Hell'', was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name ''Jack Adrian''. Lowde ...

''. It was written by

Laurence James Laurence James (21 September 1942 – 9 or 10 February 2000) was a British science fiction writer, especially known for his involvement with the "Deathlands" series. James originally worked in publishing other people's books. In 1972 he embarked ...

under the house name

James Axler James Axler is a Collective pseudonym, house name used by the publishing company Gold Eagle Publishing, the action adventure series published by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. The name was first used for the "Deathlands" series, which began in 1986 ...

Plot synopsis

The novel is primarily composed of three separate plots, interleaved throughout the course of events. In the main plot,

Ryan Cawdor Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel, ''Pilgrimage to Hell'', was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name ''Jack Adrian''. Lowder ...

and J.B. Dix set off for

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

in an armawag, leaving their friends behind at

Jak Lauren Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel, ''Pilgrimage to Hell'', was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name ''Jack Adrian''. Lowde ...

's farm. Ryan and J.B. intend to meet up with Abe, a friend and formerly employed by their once-leader, Trader. The two had long believed Trader was dead after disappearing into the Colorado mountains, but Abe has since sent word that the Trader is alive. More importantly, Abe's note says that he and the Trader will be waiting to meet Ryan and J.B. near the ruins of Seattle, but only for the next six weeks. Scant hours into their trip, Ryan and J.B. are stopped by a group of "fladgies": religious extremists who practise self-

flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

. The group's leader doesn't just ask for food and supplies, he demands them, earning a denial at gunpoint from the two friends. Ryan and J.B. travel onward, not bothering to kill the group. Some days later J. B. and Ryan link up with a traveling animal show, run by a woman named Ellie Kissoon and her three daughters. The group heads to Weatherill Springs, and that evening put on a show outside the local bar for the ville's occupants. During the show an audience member extinguishes his cigar on one of the group's lions in a show of bravado, causing the animal to attack and starting a panicked firefight. In the aftermath several audience members are dead and Ryan is asked by Ellie to put down the mortally wounded lion, which he does. The group leaves town quickly, chased by gunfire from angry residents, and escape unharmed. Afterward Ryan notes that the bar's lockbox was missing following the incident, and after some hinting one of Ellie's daughters outright admits that they stole it during the confusion. This earns bemused approval from both Ryan and J. B., but the two nonetheless decide to part ways with the group, not the least reason being that Ellie and her daughters have expressed romantic interest in the two over objections that they are both in committed relationships.

External links

JamesAxler.com
1994 American novels Deathlands novels American science fiction novels Works published under a pseudonym Harlequin books {{1990s-sf-novel-stub