Clickers III: Dagon Rising

gory, goopy action
In the final (main continuity) outing of the Clickers series, Keene and Gonzalez focus, streamline, and amp up the action. The first novel was the story of a single town and its inhabitants coming under attack from the crab-like mutant monstrosities and their reptilian masters The Dark Ones. The second novel was more like a buffet, as the catastrophe went worldwide and while there were a few main focuses, the story also bounced all over the planet. With DAGON RISING, the authors split the difference.The focus this time is on a single island in the Pacific. It takes a little effort before our characters are all there, but once they are, the action bounces between two parties in the same locale. This time, the Dark Ones aren’t looking for mindless slaughter and conquest, they have a specific goal: to free their god Dagon from his extradimensional prison. The stakes, therefore, are a bit higher, and mysticism and magic users that were largely absent from the first two novels are present in spades.If you liked the previous CLICKERS books, you’ll like this one. There’s no real departure from the gory, goopy action, while still expanding on some of the mythology (Dark One elders, black Clickers, baby Clickers, Dark One-worshipping humans). A fitting conclusion to the trilogy.

The series continues in a decent, but forgettable, third novel…
It’s time for another Xylanic brand spoiler free review….so sit back, take a chair and enjoy! I’ll be dividing my reviews from this point on into sections and an overall score that ties into the star score seen above. As always, my reviews will be specific spoiler free, although may include some general information about the novel to help inform you of a buying decision. If you find this or any of my reviews helpful in any way, please do not hesitate to let me know! I take the time to write these as I am an avid fan of horror, splatterpunk, fantasy and science fiction novels and am glad to share my experiences with you, gentle readers. -=-=-=-=-=-=-= Story -=-=-=-=-=-=-= 2 out of 5 stars. This is the weakest entry in the series in terms of overall story and is generally confined to one central location. This significantly narrows the action as opposed to the prior novels and the cast of characters to be slaughtered is much smaller. The overall story ties into the Dark One’s raising their god, Dagon, from another dimension and the hapless humans who happen to be operating a research colony on the island where the portal to this dimension is located. The novel’s overall story is predictable and there are no major surprises as opposed to the prior novel. Let’s get this out of the way though…if you enjoyed the prior entries, you will enjoy this one. If you have not read the prior entries, do not bother. -=-=-=-=-=-=-= Characters -=-=-=-=-=-=-= 4 out of 5 stars. Most of the recurring characters from the prior novels return, some only briefly. Clickers 3 does a stellar job with it’s characters, ensuring that character development is an important part of the novel. In some cases, the novel seems to almost forget it’s a horror novel and loses a bit of focus from it’s B Movie tales roots of the prior novels. It focuses heavily on character relationships and pasts and does help you connect to several of the characters. It also introduces the previously mentioned Black Lodge and sheds some light on their activities but leaves more questions than answers. The overall character development is fantastic and it’s clear the writers have matured in writing realistic human characters. The novel also delves much more into the mind of the Dark Ones and their point of view, showing how the Dark Ones are not “evil” merely theistic and dedicated to their religion-I enjoyed this aspect a lot. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=–=-=-=-=-=- Writing/Literary Style -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3 out of 5 stars. Readable and a tightly scripted tale with excellent character development but the overall story, as discussed above, is lacking and the overall story leaves quite a few unanswered questions. Some of these may be answered in a future Clickers novel however much of the novel seems to be an advertisement for Brian Keene’s alternate universe and mythology around The Thirteen. I’m a big fan of Brian Keene’s work but the prior novels did not leak much into Brian’s world, despite him being the co-writer for the past two. This one, however, his influence is felt heavily, to the point where many references to other works of Brian’s are made as well as events that happen in alternate dimensions in other Brian Keene works. I don’t feel these need to be part of the Clickers series and it’s obvious certain things will only be cleared up in Brian’s novels and not the Clicker books. Still, it’s a smooth and entertaining read. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Gore Factor -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 2 out of 5 stars. Surprisingly, this entry has the smallest amount of chaos and gore of all the Clickers novel, which was a disappointment to me. It has it’s moments, including one I won’t spoil involving baby clickers, but overall falls short of the utter chaos of Atlantic City and DC from the prior novel and the multiple viewpoints. There are also far fewer characters and as a result the body-count is far fewer. If you’re picking this up merely for the gore factor, there are better choices out there. Overall-3 out of 5 stars. It’s entertaining for what it is, a must for those who have enjoyed the other Clickers novels and Brian Keene’s mythology but it’s also the most forgettable of the series, a dish best served as an appetizer before a different potential main course. Xylanic out.

Clickers is a great trilogy
I thoroughly enjoyed this series. If you enjoy giant monsters tearing up the scenery, violent, gory, over the top stories in which no character is safe, and have a special place in your heart for the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, then this series is for you. I suspect that Brian Keene (he co-wrote the second and third installment) and J.F. Gonzales had as much fun writing this series as I did in reading it.

Awesome…as expected!
Book three was as great as the other ones and all that I had hoped for. Excellent read and I zipped right through it. I loved the introduction of the “Black Lodge” people. There should be a book about them…now THAT would be cool.

If you liked the first two books, you’ll like this one. It does wear its Mythos on its sleeve, so to speak and I think if you’ve read some of Brian Keene’s other books there are a lot of shout-outs and references you’ll enjoy. The only real issue was the ending which felt a little anti-climactic, but it still fit and it is definitely a book I would recommend.