Book Review-The Justice Riders by Chuck Norris et al.

Title: The Justice Riders

Author: Chuck Norris, Ken Abraham, Aaron Norris, and Tim Grayem

Format-Hardcover, Broadman and Holman Publishers

Published: 2006

 

Things to look for that should raise your concerns about the quality of a book…

One-When a celebrity is listed as an author of a fiction work. Granted, this is not always a bad sign, pointing out Kareem Abdul Jabar’s recent work or the novels by Steve Allen as solid examples of good writing. With that said, though, a celebrity from tv or film penning a fiction work usually doesn’t read well.

Two-When said celebrity appears on the cover of the book, or at least an image obviously meant to be said celebrity graces the cover.

Three-And this is the biggest red flag-When there are four authors listed on one fiction novel that isn’t a round robin or a collection spotlighting each author.  When it takes four authors to write a singular novel, there may be issues with that work.

Such is JUSTICE RIDERS.  Riding on the prestige of not only Chuck Norris alone, but also the much loved WALKER, TEXAS RANGER tv series, Chuck, his brother Aaron, and the Canon Group decided that this book was a good idea. Focused on Ezra Justice, a Southerner in the Union Army, this book sees Justice commissioned to form a multicultural group of men dedicated to secretly ending The Civil War.

Not a bad premise, but every opportunity to do it right was missed.

The dialogue is ham fisted and heavy.  The descriptions of the characters are not only stereotypical, they’re either loaded with sweetness like syrup if they’re white hats or reek of sulphur if they’re black hats.  History is also played with fast and loosely throughout the book, although it hangs its Stetson on being loosely based on real events.  There is nothing redeemable about JUSTICE RIDERS, except perhaps that it didn’t ever become something other than a book to ignore.

One page out of five, and that’s only because there’s not a ‘Hell, No, Don’t Read This’ ranking. But please, don’t read this…ever.