 Johnson keeps his prose punchy and plain. He doesn’t linger. Like Rider (and Rider’s extended team), he gets in, commits to the kill, and gets out. It’s great stuff. OLD MAN RIDER by BEAU JOHNSON ASIN : B0B8JZQT5L Publisher : Down & Out Books (24 Oct. 2022) Language : English Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited Text-to-Speech : Enabled A Book Review by Zachary Ashford Beau Johnson’s fifth Bishop Rider collection closes of the series with another brutal slab of grimy shorts that are as uncompromising as his antihero’s goal. Beau Johnson’s Bishop Rider stories have never been for the faint of heart. Considering Rider’s sole purpose in life is to bring pain and suffering to the rapists, the paedophiles, and the smut-peddlers of his fictional world, that’s a good thing. In this final collection, Johnson brings Rider’s journey to an end, and he does it in typical fashion: with a collection of extremely brutal shorts that get straight to business and beat you down with short, sharp prose that doesn’t shy away from the bloody bits. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rider, he’s the kind of vigilante that would work perfectly in a Punisher comic. Given that this is the final book in the series (as things stand), it’s fair to assume you’re familiar with the character, though. And of course, there’s a big clue in the name alone. Old Man Rider is a fantastic homage to Marvel’s Old Man Logan and Old Man Punisher stories. But this is a review about Old Man Rider, so let’s stick to that. Like the other Rider books, this one features a series of shorts that fall into an easy rhythm to follow. The stories cut straight to the action and create a pastiche of revenge kills that paint a bigger picture. Like all the great revengers, Rider is working his way through an ever-growing list of bad guys who need killing. Typically, this doesn’t come in blaze of glory-style fights but sees Rider laying traps for his victims before cornering them at home, in their basements, and in their rat-warren hideouts. From there, things get violent, very violent. The kills run the gamut of brutal executions, and as the bad guys burn, bleed and lose extremities, Johnson makes sure we smell the concrete, the blood, and the oily smoke. He doesn’t let us turn away from the horrible things that Rider does to these bad guys, but he’s got this great knack of framing it in a way that doesn’t feel overdone. Given the fact there are so many kills coming in such rapid succession, you’d think some kill fatigue would set in. Fortunately, it doesn’t. That’s to do with the way Johnson keeps his prose punchy and plain. He doesn’t linger. Like Rider (and Rider’s extended team), he gets in, commits to the kill, and gets out. It’s great stuff. If you’re wondering why I’ve kept some of the other characters vague, it’s because I don’t want to spoil things for people still working their way through the stories. One thing has to be discussed, though: this is Old Man Rider, and as such, we’re at the end of the tale. By this stage of the story, Rider’s been around a while. He’s a veteran. He’s wounded, and he’s starting to realise that nothing will ever be enough. With that in mind, Johnson puts a bigger play in motion. Others who follow his lead, accomplices who take the mantle, an apprentice in the son of the man who killed his mother and sister, and a great sense of resolution that leaves you knowing you've experienced something epic by the end. That’s not easy to achieve with stories like these, and it’s a commendable achievement. In short, long-time readers will be thrilled with the ending and sense of closure they receive. If you’ve enjoyed the others, pick this up. Old Man Rider: A Bishop Rider Book |
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