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Arrowverse #2a
The Flash: The Haunting of Barry Allen
An original novel by Clay Griffith & Susan Griffith based on the hit Warner Bros. series created by Greg Berlanti & Andrew Kreisberg & Geoff Johns
Speeding through Central City, Barry Allen is met with a startling sight—the Flash, older, battered, and badly injured. Before he can speak, the doppelgänger is gone.
Then Barry begins experiencing glitches in his powers—moments that leave him ghostly and immobile in the middle of missions. When a group of his enemies—including Pied Piper, Weather Wizard, and Peekaboo—chooses this time to launch a new assault, the Flash seeks help from his most trusted ally.
Oliver Queen – the Arrow.
Speeding through Central City, Barry Allen is met with a startling sight—the Flash, older, battered, and badly injured. Before he can speak, the doppelgänger is gone.
Then Barry begins experiencing glitches in his powers—moments that leave him ghostly and immobile in the middle of missions. When a group of his enemies—including Pied Piper, Weather Wizard, and Peekaboo—chooses this time to launch a new assault, the Flash seeks help from his most trusted ally.
Oliver Queen – the Arrow.
414 pages, Paperback
First published November 25, 2016
About the author
Clay Griffith
103 books524 followersClay and Susan Griffith are the authors of THE FLASH: THE HAUNTING OF BARRY ALLEN and ARROW: A GENERATION OF VIPERS, as well as the creators of the VAMPIRE EMPIRE series and authors of the CROWN & KEY trilogy.
"Vampire Empire is transforming genre fiction." Paul Goat Allen, B&N Explorations.
If you're on Facebook, please think about going to www.facebook.com/vampireempire and clicking LIKE. If you done it already...Thank you.
Clay & Susan Griffith are a married couple who have written and published together for more than a decade. Their credits not only include two novels for Bantam Doubleday Dell in the mid-1990s and another novel for Pinnacle Entertainment Group in 2002 but also numerous short stories published in many anthologies, some featuring noted genre characters like Kolchak the Night Stalker and The Phantom. They've also written scripts for television and published graphic novels.
"Vampire Empire is transforming genre fiction." Paul Goat Allen, B&N Explorations.
If you're on Facebook, please think about going to www.facebook.com/vampireempire and clicking LIKE. If you done it already...Thank you.
Clay & Susan Griffith are a married couple who have written and published together for more than a decade. Their credits not only include two novels for Bantam Doubleday Dell in the mid-1990s and another novel for Pinnacle Entertainment Group in 2002 but also numerous short stories published in many anthologies, some featuring noted genre characters like Kolchak the Night Stalker and The Phantom. They've also written scripts for television and published graphic novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
April 1, 2017
The Flash & Green Arrow vs one Rogues' team! Nuff’ said!
This is an original story based on the successful TV Shows of “The Flash” and “Arrow”.
WHEN THE HECK IS THIS SET?
If you have read media tie-in novels before, maybe you’re aware of the continuity nightmare that it can be to set the developed story in the original novel since the author (of in this case, authors), must began to write the book several months before that even the current season is shown, and in this case, you have The Flash already in its third TV season, but this book is certainly set at some point of the second season, but even then, creative team of the TV show and book’s writers were surely working at the same time, so being able to set in a definite point of the second TV season isn’t as easy as you think.
Due, made comments and shown characters, this novel was set to be happened at some momento after the TV episode “Enter Zoom”, and while also it’s clear that it should be before “Flash Back”, I would even venture to claim that it should be before “Legends of Today”, with the only understandable absence of Jay Garrick.
THE ROGUES HERE
While The Flash has already faced more than one villain in several moments of the TV series, you still haven’t feel the sense of him facing a full “Rogues” team with five members as you always want to see him battling.
However, you prayers are answered here, in this original novel where The Flash is facing a “Rogues” team and even they aren’t your usual mix of villains: The Weather Wizard, The Mist, Prism, Peekaboo and the Pied Piper leading them, so you can enjoy not only having a Rogues team in the story but also a very original combination of villains.
However, Barry Allen is having troubles with his powers so he will need extra help to deal with the menace of this Rogues team that they are decided to attack Central City without rest.
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
Barry is relunctant to ask for help, since he knows that Green Arrow must be busy with his own mess at Star City, however Oliver Queen, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak didn’t hesitate to go over Central City to lend a hand in this moment of crisis.
Barry’s powers are failing, his speed is getting breaks, his rapid healing abilities aren’t responding and even he is seeing hallucinations and falling into some kind of “blurring comas”. So, it’s clear that The Flash needs all the possible assistance.
His own team, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West and Iris West are doing all what they can to support Barry, however, the reason of his failing powers is mysterious and eluding to be determined.
Then, between the new Rogues team and the problem with Flash’ powers, it’s clear that Team Flash and Team Arrow must join forces to deal with both menaces.
This is an original story based on the successful TV Shows of “The Flash” and “Arrow”.
WHEN THE HECK IS THIS SET?
If you have read media tie-in novels before, maybe you’re aware of the continuity nightmare that it can be to set the developed story in the original novel since the author (of in this case, authors), must began to write the book several months before that even the current season is shown, and in this case, you have The Flash already in its third TV season, but this book is certainly set at some point of the second season, but even then, creative team of the TV show and book’s writers were surely working at the same time, so being able to set in a definite point of the second TV season isn’t as easy as you think.
Due, made comments and shown characters, this novel was set to be happened at some momento after the TV episode “Enter Zoom”, and while also it’s clear that it should be before “Flash Back”, I would even venture to claim that it should be before “Legends of Today”, with the only understandable absence of Jay Garrick.
THE ROGUES HERE
While The Flash has already faced more than one villain in several moments of the TV series, you still haven’t feel the sense of him facing a full “Rogues” team with five members as you always want to see him battling.
However, you prayers are answered here, in this original novel where The Flash is facing a “Rogues” team and even they aren’t your usual mix of villains: The Weather Wizard, The Mist, Prism, Peekaboo and the Pied Piper leading them, so you can enjoy not only having a Rogues team in the story but also a very original combination of villains.
However, Barry Allen is having troubles with his powers so he will need extra help to deal with the menace of this Rogues team that they are decided to attack Central City without rest.
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
Barry is relunctant to ask for help, since he knows that Green Arrow must be busy with his own mess at Star City, however Oliver Queen, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak didn’t hesitate to go over Central City to lend a hand in this moment of crisis.
Barry’s powers are failing, his speed is getting breaks, his rapid healing abilities aren’t responding and even he is seeing hallucinations and falling into some kind of “blurring comas”. So, it’s clear that The Flash needs all the possible assistance.
His own team, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West and Iris West are doing all what they can to support Barry, however, the reason of his failing powers is mysterious and eluding to be determined.
Then, between the new Rogues team and the problem with Flash’ powers, it’s clear that Team Flash and Team Arrow must join forces to deal with both menaces.
March 30, 2017
*insert disenfranchisement about media tie-in novels here*
But actually, this is great. Really great.
I had great fun trying to work out where exactly this is set. Oliver's the Green Arrow, so it's after the beginning of Season 4 of Arrow, and there's mention of Zoom and Barry can throw lightning, so it must be after the first few episodes of Season 2 of the Flash. There's no mention of Harry Wells, or Jay Garrick, and Hartley Rathaway is still a villain so I'm thinking around episodes 3-4 of Flash Season 2. I may just be reading too much into things and should just read this as an AU kind of thing, but I enjoy trying to fit things into continuity, so your mileage may vary.
The actual plot involves a group of the Flash's rogues uniting to terrorize Central City, and the fallout from the temporal singularity at the end of Season 1 affecting Barry both psychologically and physically, to the point where he needs to call on Oliver and Team Arrow to help him save the city.
We get a lot of good perspective changes here, from Barry and Oliver to Peekaboo for the much needed villain point of view, as well as Joe and Iris West too, giving a good overview of everything from all the possible directions. We don't get a lot of Felicity, Cisco, Caitlin, or Diggle, but they play active roles in the plot and this feels like a true crossover between the two series.
There's not a massive cliffhanger to end the book, but there's good reasons for the story to continue as everything isn't tied up into a neat little bow, so I'm definitely going to pick up A Generation Of Vipers as soon as it comes out to see what happens next.
But actually, this is great. Really great.
I had great fun trying to work out where exactly this is set. Oliver's the Green Arrow, so it's after the beginning of Season 4 of Arrow, and there's mention of Zoom and Barry can throw lightning, so it must be after the first few episodes of Season 2 of the Flash. There's no mention of Harry Wells, or Jay Garrick, and Hartley Rathaway is still a villain so I'm thinking around episodes 3-4 of Flash Season 2. I may just be reading too much into things and should just read this as an AU kind of thing, but I enjoy trying to fit things into continuity, so your mileage may vary.
The actual plot involves a group of the Flash's rogues uniting to terrorize Central City, and the fallout from the temporal singularity at the end of Season 1 affecting Barry both psychologically and physically, to the point where he needs to call on Oliver and Team Arrow to help him save the city.
We get a lot of good perspective changes here, from Barry and Oliver to Peekaboo for the much needed villain point of view, as well as Joe and Iris West too, giving a good overview of everything from all the possible directions. We don't get a lot of Felicity, Cisco, Caitlin, or Diggle, but they play active roles in the plot and this feels like a true crossover between the two series.
There's not a massive cliffhanger to end the book, but there's good reasons for the story to continue as everything isn't tied up into a neat little bow, so I'm definitely going to pick up A Generation Of Vipers as soon as it comes out to see what happens next.
December 30, 2017
3.5 RTC
March 7, 2017
I loved, loved, LOVED this book! I was so excited for this book and I was not disappointed.
The last book for one of these shows, Arrow: Veneance, was not exactly my favorite read of the year, I liked it at first but as it went on I wasn't too thrilled with it. But this one was so much better, I loved every page. It feels like watching the show, the plot is fun and true to canon, the characters are all themselves. I can't really ask for more from a tie-in novel. And believe me I've read some tie-ins that were absolutely terrible before, but this one has to be pretty high on the awesome list. Plus it's a crossover story with Arrow, which I didn't really start watching until just now, but it's fast becoming a favorite as well the other DC shows.
There is a cliffhanger, but not a huge one. A wrapped up just enough to be somewhat enjoyable, but you still want to read the next book kind. Overall I really loved this book, in case you missed when I said that before. I can't wait for Arrow: A Generation Of Vipers, which is part two of this crossover story, which is supposed to be coming out in march. And I can't recommend this book enough for Flash fans.
The last book for one of these shows, Arrow: Veneance, was not exactly my favorite read of the year, I liked it at first but as it went on I wasn't too thrilled with it. But this one was so much better, I loved every page. It feels like watching the show, the plot is fun and true to canon, the characters are all themselves. I can't really ask for more from a tie-in novel. And believe me I've read some tie-ins that were absolutely terrible before, but this one has to be pretty high on the awesome list. Plus it's a crossover story with Arrow, which I didn't really start watching until just now, but it's fast becoming a favorite as well the other DC shows.
There is a cliffhanger, but not a huge one. A wrapped up just enough to be somewhat enjoyable, but you still want to read the next book kind. Overall I really loved this book, in case you missed when I said that before. I can't wait for Arrow: A Generation Of Vipers, which is part two of this crossover story, which is supposed to be coming out in march. And I can't recommend this book enough for Flash fans.
December 27, 2017
Thanks so much to my dear friend Ariel for clueing me in to the existence of this book and its sequel, Arrow: A Generation of Vipers, which I'm to read ASAP now. Maybe this one's more of a 4.5 than a 5, being a tad bit bogged down by overwrought prose and a few of my favorite characters not being present due to the book taking place roughly around the start of Season 2, meaning no Harry Wells or Wally West, boo hiss! - and, personally, I feel that the Griffiths' decision to write Barry's POV in third person instead of first was an oversight on their part, a missed opportunity to get into the guy's head like nobody else. But as a story worthy of being part of the CW series' canon, The Haunting of Barry Allen more than delivers enough to earn the full fifth star from me.
As I was telling my friend Koda while kinda-sorta pitching this book to him, it's professional fanfiction, but very good professional fanfiction, y'know? Hell, I noted a few similarities between my own fics and this book, particularly when Ronnie Raymond shows up - you'll know it when you see it. Between this and the other Flash story I read recently, Barry Lyga's more kid-oriented Hocus Pocus, I've got serious competition if I'm ever to take my unofficial Flash fanfiction career and make money from those speedster skills. I prefer the Griffiths' story, though, for several reasons.
One, being more for the adult audience allows it to pack much more of a punch, being a little less fun and games.
Two, the characterizations are not only super-duper on point (not that Lyga lacked in that department - I'm especially impressed with his depiction of Wally West, so superior to what we get on the show and so much more ready for Keiynan Lonsdale to properly portray him), but they give me all the right feels that I've come to expect from this world. Barry's actions from the end of Season 1 shape the story considerably, and the Griffiths take the opportunity to improve on the characterizations of just about everyone from that point in the timeline. Caitlin is smart and clinical but also very warm-hearted, far from her Killer Frost persona that sacrificed book smarts for street smarts. Joe is every bit the loving dad we all know he is. And Iris? She's perhaps best improved because there's no sign of the nonsense that befell her character in Season 2 and beyond, like the show pretty much forgetting her journalism career (the Griffiths don't forget, though), or of course the whole WestAllen adoptive-sibling-shipping shenanigans that have repelled the vast majority of my fanpeople friends. (Sure, maybe there's a hint of WestAllen romance in the future, but this book paints the two of them as best friends, as I feel they should be.) And Barry...my God, Barry. If you don't at least tear up and want to pull him out of the book and hug him, you have no soul.
Three, the very welcome inclusion of the Arrow cast - pretty much Original Team Arrow (Ollie, Dig, and Felicity) owing to the book's location in the timeline, so before the infamous Season 4 which Stephen Amell would have us all forget. They hit it off so beautifully with Team Flash that it makes me wish the Griffiths wrote both shows, because maybe then they'd both be my favorites - though they'd still have Agents of SHIELD to compete with, and that show ain't yielding the top spot on my current faves list easily. And while the main metahuman threat gets eliminated thanks to Team Arrow's help, the Haunting issue...erm...doesn't. There's a pretty meaty cliffhanger to set the stage for A Generation of Vipers, and again, why the hell don't the Griffiths write the two shows already? Or at least the crossovers. They could do better than most of the ones we did get, except for "World's Finest" or "Invasion!" (They only did better than "Crisis on Earth-X" because WestAllen dragged that crossover down for me. Hashtag #SorryNotSorry, I'm dying on that hill!)
Bottom line, this book, which I read in one sitting, forms the beginning of a super-promising two-part crossover that I need to complete ASAP. My review of A Generation of Vipers will come very soon, and my expectations are incredibly high!
As I was telling my friend Koda while kinda-sorta pitching this book to him, it's professional fanfiction, but very good professional fanfiction, y'know? Hell, I noted a few similarities between my own fics and this book, particularly when Ronnie Raymond shows up - you'll know it when you see it. Between this and the other Flash story I read recently, Barry Lyga's more kid-oriented Hocus Pocus, I've got serious competition if I'm ever to take my unofficial Flash fanfiction career and make money from those speedster skills. I prefer the Griffiths' story, though, for several reasons.
One, being more for the adult audience allows it to pack much more of a punch, being a little less fun and games.
Two, the characterizations are not only super-duper on point (not that Lyga lacked in that department - I'm especially impressed with his depiction of Wally West, so superior to what we get on the show and so much more ready for Keiynan Lonsdale to properly portray him), but they give me all the right feels that I've come to expect from this world. Barry's actions from the end of Season 1 shape the story considerably, and the Griffiths take the opportunity to improve on the characterizations of just about everyone from that point in the timeline. Caitlin is smart and clinical but also very warm-hearted, far from her Killer Frost persona that sacrificed book smarts for street smarts. Joe is every bit the loving dad we all know he is. And Iris? She's perhaps best improved because there's no sign of the nonsense that befell her character in Season 2 and beyond, like the show pretty much forgetting her journalism career (the Griffiths don't forget, though), or of course the whole WestAllen adoptive-sibling-shipping shenanigans that have repelled the vast majority of my fanpeople friends. (Sure, maybe there's a hint of WestAllen romance in the future, but this book paints the two of them as best friends, as I feel they should be.) And Barry...my God, Barry. If you don't at least tear up and want to pull him out of the book and hug him, you have no soul.
Three, the very welcome inclusion of the Arrow cast - pretty much Original Team Arrow (Ollie, Dig, and Felicity) owing to the book's location in the timeline, so before the infamous Season 4 which Stephen Amell would have us all forget. They hit it off so beautifully with Team Flash that it makes me wish the Griffiths wrote both shows, because maybe then they'd both be my favorites - though they'd still have Agents of SHIELD to compete with, and that show ain't yielding the top spot on my current faves list easily. And while the main metahuman threat gets eliminated thanks to Team Arrow's help, the Haunting issue...erm...doesn't. There's a pretty meaty cliffhanger to set the stage for A Generation of Vipers, and again, why the hell don't the Griffiths write the two shows already? Or at least the crossovers. They could do better than most of the ones we did get, except for "World's Finest" or "Invasion!" (They only did better than "Crisis on Earth-X" because WestAllen dragged that crossover down for me. Hashtag #SorryNotSorry, I'm dying on that hill!)
Bottom line, this book, which I read in one sitting, forms the beginning of a super-promising two-part crossover that I need to complete ASAP. My review of A Generation of Vipers will come very soon, and my expectations are incredibly high!
January 7, 2017
I loved this book you can tell that the authors watch the flash tv series. they got all the characters spot on including the villians. it was great to see pied piper weather wizard and peekaboo go up against the flash add to the mixture that the flash is having a few problems with his powers and you have the makings of a great book looking forward to the next novel
February 5, 2017
I can often times be a bit leery of media tie-in novels, because they're usually not written by those who write the shows/movies, and that can lead to problems with characterization.
However, this novel written by Susan and Clay Griffith, avoided that.
Barry begins to suffer from what he calls "blurring" during rescues in which he sees an older version of himself and his powers "glitch". These episodes become more and more severe just as a group of villains (Pied Piper, Peekaboo, Weather Wizard, Prism, and The Mist) join forces to wreak havoc on Central City.
Barry, growing more and more weary from the almost constant onslaught of the villains and the blurring (which causes his speed healing to malfunction), calls in The Green Arrow (and Diggle and Felicity) for help.
I really enjoyed this book. For the most part the authors were dead on in regards to the characterization. Not 100%, but pretty darn good all the same.
I also enjoyed the fact that with this being a novel, we got more time to have scenes between characters that we don't normally get in the show. There was a great scene with Iris and Caitlin, for example. And another with Joe and Diggle that I really enjoyed.
The book also spent plenty of time with our villains from their POV, and I absolutely loved the development that Shawna Baez (Peekaboo) got.
As far as where this would fit in the show's timeline, I'd say early season two. After the singularity most definitely, but before Earth-2's Harrison "Harry" Wells shows up. They are aware of Zoom, and I'd say they would have had to have met "Jay Garrick" since Barry knows how to throw lightning in this book, and that's something I was taught by "Jay" (trying so hard not to spoil S2 here). Then again, this isn't exactly show canon, so maybe this is something we're supposed to hand wave, I don't know.
Speaking of Harrison Wells--who is my favorite character, any version of him--I was so disappointed to read in another review that he wasn't in this book. That's not exactly true. While the season 1 version of him isn't a speaking, physical character in the book (due to having been defeated), his presence is hugely felt throughout the entire book, and he is mentioned several times. So, it wasn't as disappointing as it could have been.
I've already preordered the second part of the crossover, Arrow: A Generation of Vipers, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
However, this novel written by Susan and Clay Griffith, avoided that.
Barry begins to suffer from what he calls "blurring" during rescues in which he sees an older version of himself and his powers "glitch". These episodes become more and more severe just as a group of villains (Pied Piper, Peekaboo, Weather Wizard, Prism, and The Mist) join forces to wreak havoc on Central City.
Barry, growing more and more weary from the almost constant onslaught of the villains and the blurring (which causes his speed healing to malfunction), calls in The Green Arrow (and Diggle and Felicity) for help.
I really enjoyed this book. For the most part the authors were dead on in regards to the characterization. Not 100%, but pretty darn good all the same.
I also enjoyed the fact that with this being a novel, we got more time to have scenes between characters that we don't normally get in the show. There was a great scene with Iris and Caitlin, for example. And another with Joe and Diggle that I really enjoyed.
The book also spent plenty of time with our villains from their POV, and I absolutely loved the development that Shawna Baez (Peekaboo) got.
As far as where this would fit in the show's timeline, I'd say early season two. After the singularity most definitely, but before Earth-2's Harrison "Harry" Wells shows up. They are aware of Zoom, and I'd say they would have had to have met "Jay Garrick" since Barry knows how to throw lightning in this book, and that's something I was taught by "Jay" (trying so hard not to spoil S2 here). Then again, this isn't exactly show canon, so maybe this is something we're supposed to hand wave, I don't know.
Speaking of Harrison Wells--who is my favorite character, any version of him--I was so disappointed to read in another review that he wasn't in this book. That's not exactly true. While the season 1 version of him isn't a speaking, physical character in the book (due to having been defeated), his presence is hugely felt throughout the entire book, and he is mentioned several times. So, it wasn't as disappointing as it could have been.
I've already preordered the second part of the crossover, Arrow: A Generation of Vipers, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
June 27, 2022
It was ok.
Mainly fun to read, but at some point there were too much pointless dialogue, which, granted you can say that it resembled the show, but, you expect things to be better, also it read like an episode of the Flash and not a book with the same characters, and that sucked a bit.
A few cringe-worthy scenes here and there, but overall the characters were nicely written and the main plot was cool for what it is. If you watched a few episodes, you know what you're in for.
Mainly fun to read, but at some point there were too much pointless dialogue, which, granted you can say that it resembled the show, but, you expect things to be better, also it read like an episode of the Flash and not a book with the same characters, and that sucked a bit.
A few cringe-worthy scenes here and there, but overall the characters were nicely written and the main plot was cool for what it is. If you watched a few episodes, you know what you're in for.
September 30, 2018
I have been going through a huge Flash phase recently. It all started when I decided to re-watch the series before the new season airs this fall.
This book was the perfect mix of all the plot devices and character developments I love to read. It might have had some rough spots but I wasn't looking for anything particularly "high-level," so to speak. It was the perfect easy read that hit me in all the feels. My take a away from the book was so strong that while I was watching the series, I kept mixing up the show with the events in this book.
Such great drama, character angst, action, and lots and lots of running.
Read, readers, read!
This book was the perfect mix of all the plot devices and character developments I love to read. It might have had some rough spots but I wasn't looking for anything particularly "high-level," so to speak. It was the perfect easy read that hit me in all the feels. My take a away from the book was so strong that while I was watching the series, I kept mixing up the show with the events in this book.
Such great drama, character angst, action, and lots and lots of running.
Read, readers, read!
February 7, 2017
When I discovered this gem on the authors' website, I immediately added the book to my wishlist on Amazon. I couldn't wait for The Haunting of Barry Allen to release in November 2016. I read it - devoured the book, actually - and am glad I purchased a paperback for my bookshelf. As a huge fan of The Flash and Arrow on the CW network I read this book as I see the characters in the tv show. Central City, STAR labs, the characters, their voices, mannerisms....is this review getting weird?!
Anyway, I didn't actually jump on the superhero bandwagon until last summer. Fortunately, that gave me plenty of time to catch up on both shows before their new seasons started in the fall of 2016. I'm still working my way through season 1 of Legends of Tomorrow but that show doesn't really have anything to do with this book.
When 5 of Barry's meta-villain enemies (Hartley Rathaway/Pied Piper; Shawna Baez/Peekaboo; Kyle Nimbus/Mist; Mark Mardon/Weather Wizard; and Bivolo/Prism) try to take siege of Central City, true-to-form, Barry tries to stop them. Except, he's experiencing unusual glitches in his normal speed, an effect called blurring. He becomes transparent and pinned to one spot, unable to move, talk, or escape. When the city is under attack, this is not exactly a great time for one of our favorite heroes to be experiencing issues. Eventually, Barry realizes that it is time to stop putting himself in danger, alone. He needs to bring in reinforcements and calls on Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle.
This tie-in novel for the current tv shows was wonderfully written. The characters were spot on and I had no problem connecting to them just the same as I do with the show. I felt like The Haunting of Barry Allen could very well be acted out by the wonderful casts of both shows. The story was interesting, engaging, and full of action. I absolutely loved this novel and can't wait for the Arrow focused A Generation of Vipers.
My paperback review copy is a verified Amazon purchase.
Anyway, I didn't actually jump on the superhero bandwagon until last summer. Fortunately, that gave me plenty of time to catch up on both shows before their new seasons started in the fall of 2016. I'm still working my way through season 1 of Legends of Tomorrow but that show doesn't really have anything to do with this book.
When 5 of Barry's meta-villain enemies (Hartley Rathaway/Pied Piper; Shawna Baez/Peekaboo; Kyle Nimbus/Mist; Mark Mardon/Weather Wizard; and Bivolo/Prism) try to take siege of Central City, true-to-form, Barry tries to stop them. Except, he's experiencing unusual glitches in his normal speed, an effect called blurring. He becomes transparent and pinned to one spot, unable to move, talk, or escape. When the city is under attack, this is not exactly a great time for one of our favorite heroes to be experiencing issues. Eventually, Barry realizes that it is time to stop putting himself in danger, alone. He needs to bring in reinforcements and calls on Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle.
This tie-in novel for the current tv shows was wonderfully written. The characters were spot on and I had no problem connecting to them just the same as I do with the show. I felt like The Haunting of Barry Allen could very well be acted out by the wonderful casts of both shows. The story was interesting, engaging, and full of action. I absolutely loved this novel and can't wait for the Arrow focused A Generation of Vipers.
My paperback review copy is a verified Amazon purchase.
September 14, 2017
I always enjoy Flash and Arrow crossovers!
May 12, 2017
Trying to stay calm so a singularity plasma doesn’t rip him apart , Barry Allen , the fastest man alive gets the help of the Green Arrow to stop a band of some of the most fearsome meta-humans Barry ever faced . Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen was written by the married couple author duo , Clay and Susan Griffith . The story focuses on Barry Allen a.k.a. , the Flash . It takes place in the Flash’s home , Central City . The main conflict focuses on Barry trying to stay alive and calm whilst figuring out a way to stop the band of metahumans from taking over and completely destroying Central City . In the end , Barry learns to stop carrying around the weight of the world on his shoulders .
Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen fits into the science fiction genre very well . It has all the parts of a science fiction book . To begin with , a science fiction book should have something that could possibly one day become true . I know this because in the science fiction TV show , the Flash , it states , “ And you will create a portal connecting this time to infinite times “ . Right now , it is a known fact that scientists are trying open up wormholes like in the TV show . In addition , Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen states , “ … a device designed to open temporal rifts “ . In addition , science fiction consists of totally made up theories and ideas based on real technological theories . According to www.inc.com , the text states , “ … somebody crawling on walls would be interesting “ . In addition , according to www.express.co.uk , the text states , “ … scientists are claiming to created the first ever wormhole … “ . This ties to my novel as the last piece of textual evidence stated from Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen , they found a worm-hole generator . Last of all , science fiction consists of possible events that could happen but most likely won’t or things and events that seem impossible . According to the text , Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen , “ … as he vibrated his hand through the door lock and sprung it open “ . This event would most definitely never happen in real life and is therefore considered to be a part of science fiction .
I really enjoyed this book because it was based on a TV show that I love and it was a thrilling and exciting read . I was kept in suspense for the better part of the book , kept wondering what would happen next , how will the Flash survive this . Will they cure him from his singularity disease ? I think people who enjoy superheroes , comics or the Flash TV show would really love this book . It has all the excitement of fighting supervillains and anyone who enjoys a little comedy would not be disappointed by this book . So if you are looking for a great book to read , pick up Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen and get reading .
Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen fits into the science fiction genre very well . It has all the parts of a science fiction book . To begin with , a science fiction book should have something that could possibly one day become true . I know this because in the science fiction TV show , the Flash , it states , “ And you will create a portal connecting this time to infinite times “ . Right now , it is a known fact that scientists are trying open up wormholes like in the TV show . In addition , Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen states , “ … a device designed to open temporal rifts “ . In addition , science fiction consists of totally made up theories and ideas based on real technological theories . According to www.inc.com , the text states , “ … somebody crawling on walls would be interesting “ . In addition , according to www.express.co.uk , the text states , “ … scientists are claiming to created the first ever wormhole … “ . This ties to my novel as the last piece of textual evidence stated from Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen , they found a worm-hole generator . Last of all , science fiction consists of possible events that could happen but most likely won’t or things and events that seem impossible . According to the text , Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen , “ … as he vibrated his hand through the door lock and sprung it open “ . This event would most definitely never happen in real life and is therefore considered to be a part of science fiction .
I really enjoyed this book because it was based on a TV show that I love and it was a thrilling and exciting read . I was kept in suspense for the better part of the book , kept wondering what would happen next , how will the Flash survive this . Will they cure him from his singularity disease ? I think people who enjoy superheroes , comics or the Flash TV show would really love this book . It has all the excitement of fighting supervillains and anyone who enjoys a little comedy would not be disappointed by this book . So if you are looking for a great book to read , pick up Flash : The Haunting of Barry Allen and get reading .
December 21, 2021
Really enjoyed this book - I'm definitely on a flash,arrow, legends and supergirl binging spree at the moment so this book was the perfect read! Reading this was just like watching several episodes of the show, the authors obviously know the characters and they way they would react and think in certain situations and they have conveyed that really well, there were a couple scenes between Caitlin and Iris that were lovely bonding moments that I wish we had seen more of in the show. I have ordered 'Arrow a generation of vipers' which is the continuation of this story and can't wait to read it
July 15, 2018
Not a bad book at all. There are a few great moments where I felt they really nailed the characters, like when John Diggle and Joe West are talking about fatherhood. They also do a nice job of explaining the action. The powers of the Flash don't translate well to a medium that contains no visuals, but they found a way to explain it fairly well.
The book is a bit weak on plot though, considering it's a "two-part" series. Basically Barry keeps trying to defeat the collection of Rogues until he sees he needs help and calls in Green Arrow. Then, Flash and Green Arrow both fail to take the Rogues. It's a bit embarrassing for the heroes.
I already bought the next book in the series, so I'll be reading that some time.
The book is a bit weak on plot though, considering it's a "two-part" series. Basically Barry keeps trying to defeat the collection of Rogues until he sees he needs help and calls in Green Arrow. Then, Flash and Green Arrow both fail to take the Rogues. It's a bit embarrassing for the heroes.
I already bought the next book in the series, so I'll be reading that some time.
August 14, 2017
As with any good media-in, the Griffiths manage to highlight everything I adore about an episode of the Flash. Unfortunately, this episode is also an Arrow crossover which are my least favorite. Overall, I adore the book and I'm really happy that the authors understand what makes the show so good - the characters and their relationships. My personal problem is the Arrow chapter during the climax actually bored me to tears because I couldn't care less about the character. Of course, I'm venturing forth to the next book - only for Barry.
March 14, 2017
This book encapsulates everything that made me fall in love with The Flash television series. Set sometime before Flashpoint but after at least part of season two occurred, it incorporates all (in my opinion) the essential characters from The Flash, as well as Arrow (this is, after all, the first of a two-part crossover). I felt the same way about the book versions of the characters as I do about their television incarnations- which is therefore a tribute to the authors' writing style being in line with that of the series. Further, it feels very much like it could be a crossover television event- and it is one I would very much enjoy if that did happen. I truly loved this book.
I fully admit that I have been watching season three of the show and not loving it half as much as I did the first two seasons, so The Haunting of Barry Allen was incredibly effective in reminding me what I loved about the show when it began. Each character has a specific role to play (I particularly enjoyed this incarnation of Diggle, who is probably my favorite Arrow character) and no one feels tacked on without reason. Plus, there is only one hero speedster, which is how I prefer both my Flash comics and television series, so that appeals to me. Barry Allen is the heart and soul of this novel, and that, for me, is what makes it so compelling.
I fully admit that I have been watching season three of the show and not loving it half as much as I did the first two seasons, so The Haunting of Barry Allen was incredibly effective in reminding me what I loved about the show when it began. Each character has a specific role to play (I particularly enjoyed this incarnation of Diggle, who is probably my favorite Arrow character) and no one feels tacked on without reason. Plus, there is only one hero speedster, which is how I prefer both my Flash comics and television series, so that appeals to me. Barry Allen is the heart and soul of this novel, and that, for me, is what makes it so compelling.
March 11, 2021
Given to me by Wanya Greene. Did not think it was going to be that interesting of a read, but it was. Enjoyed how fast paced it felt because of the chapter format.
December 5, 2018
A book that is based on the television series and it takes place during the second season. It is also a crossover with the show Arrow. In this one, we get a a version of the Rogues and this version uses villains we have seen used during the show. While fighting these villains, the Flash is experiencing a problem where he "blurs" out. This "blurring" is the Flash goes transparent and basically frozen in time while he visits the speed force which leaves him and others vulnerable.
The author did an amazing job with the characters from the show. I had no problem picturing any character whether it was from the Flash or members of the Arrow crew. Readers will enjoy their banter throughout. The strength of this book is the characters as we get to see them interact with each other. Who knew I needed to see Iris and Caitlin have some girls time together or Joe and Diggle discuss fatherhood? I really felt like I was watching an episode from the show especially when team Arrow gets involved. There were plenty of callbacks to previous episodes that will delight readers.
This was one of the better media tie-novels that I have read. It really didn't feel like a media tie-in book as the story never felt like it was shoehorned in to feel like it belongs. This story does belong and in my mind it is official canon.
The author did an amazing job with the characters from the show. I had no problem picturing any character whether it was from the Flash or members of the Arrow crew. Readers will enjoy their banter throughout. The strength of this book is the characters as we get to see them interact with each other. Who knew I needed to see Iris and Caitlin have some girls time together or Joe and Diggle discuss fatherhood? I really felt like I was watching an episode from the show especially when team Arrow gets involved. There were plenty of callbacks to previous episodes that will delight readers.
This was one of the better media tie-novels that I have read. It really didn't feel like a media tie-in book as the story never felt like it was shoehorned in to feel like it belongs. This story does belong and in my mind it is official canon.
June 19, 2023
Reread June 2023: I enjoyed this just as much the second time, and I wish there were more novels like this or stories in a similar vein- tie-ins and “bonus episodes” to my favorite TV shows that the network hires to write for the show’s canon. I know that’s not quite what this is, but I love that concept. I love the idea of my favorite shows being expanded into different formats. Since I’m in the middle of rewatching The Flash, this was just a comfort to return to.
Original review:
I thought this was gonna read like a fanfic, but this was actually really good, and it was written almost exactly like the TV show. I really appreciated that it felt so true to the tone of the show. I would’ve loved if this were an actual arc of episodes in season 2, and I actually want to read the sequel!
Original review:
I thought this was gonna read like a fanfic, but this was actually really good, and it was written almost exactly like the TV show. I really appreciated that it felt so true to the tone of the show. I would’ve loved if this were an actual arc of episodes in season 2, and I actually want to read the sequel!
December 29, 2016
This book was a fun read. You can never expect too much from media-tie-in books like this. They are easily consumable, have somewhat dull opening chapters as they feel compelled to introduce characters and situations that it's hard to imagine any readers are not already familiar with, and have questionable characterization (most noticeable in the villains in this story). However, that is to be expected with any book like this.
Ultimately, this book was successful in the complexity of the plot and the unique fun in seeing a whole group of metahumans team up. I would recommend it for any fan of the show, but be aware of what these books are like before you start.
Ultimately, this book was successful in the complexity of the plot and the unique fun in seeing a whole group of metahumans team up. I would recommend it for any fan of the show, but be aware of what these books are like before you start.
February 5, 2017
If you like The Flash TV show, you'll really like this novel featuring a crossover with Green Arrow. Several of The Flash's rogues have banded together under the leadership of brilliant vilian Hartley Rathaway to terrorize Central City. While Flash runs to try and stop them while saving innocent citizens, he starts to experience "blurring" which freezes him in place hallucinating an older version of himself. After almost depleting his speed and energy, he finally calls Green Arrow for help. This book has action, witty dialogue, and above all, heart. Looking forward to the next book - a Green Arrow novel featuring the Flash.
April 10, 2024
Oh to be a teenager watching The Flash and Arrow on the CW every week with my dad again…
This book is fun. It’s nice to get some follow-up on some characters that either never appeared in the show again after the first season (Kyle Nimbus) or appeared again but were totally wasted (Hartley Rathaway, Mark Mardon). The characters are perfectly… uh, in-character, and I can totally picture the events of this book played out by the actors in an extra-long episode of the show.
This book is fun. It’s nice to get some follow-up on some characters that either never appeared in the show again after the first season (Kyle Nimbus) or appeared again but were totally wasted (Hartley Rathaway, Mark Mardon). The characters are perfectly… uh, in-character, and I can totally picture the events of this book played out by the actors in an extra-long episode of the show.
June 21, 2017
Ah, what a relief. The second in Titan Books's series of novel adaptations of TV adaptations of comic books, The Haunting of Barry Allen, is a thoroughly enjoyable read. The unfortunate reality is that this novel, even at its most entertaining, is not as good as an episode of the television show. But if you are anything like me and are seized with a sense of panic as summer sets in and the itch for more Arrow and The Flash can only be vaguely scratched by rewatching Arrow season 2 and The Flash season 1, you might appreciate this novel that is at least one tier above fan fiction.
But if the Griffiths's novel is a cut above fan fiction, it is only just. For canon purists, it is unlikely this novel will ever be alluded to in the show. It is only vaguely placed in the early portion of The Flash's second season and the concurrent Arrow season four. Likewise, as stated, the novel is missing all of the thematic unity of even the worst episodes of the television series. Usually, an episode of The Flash or Arrow involves a running theme that draws together the two parallel plot lines and drives the machinations and motivations of the weekly villain. Still, this can make the plot turns predictable. The Griffiths's novel seems far more like an unrelated sequence of events than any kind of concerted mediation on even the most overt of themes. Barry, faced with an encounter with his aging future-self, who may or may not be a hallucination, remains inoculated from the various other thematic threads in contention. For instance, there's virtually no connection between Flash's mortality, the Green Arrow's position as brotherly mentor, Hartley Rathaway's villainous resentment, and Shawna Baez's aspiration toward familial acceptance. On the villain side, the Mist, Weather Wizard, and Prism are barely worth mentioning, led by the undercooked Rathaway or Pied Piper. There is nothing pulling his motivation together beyond what was revealed on the show. Shawna, Peekaboo, is the most compelling villain by half. But even her motivations seem to fall away toward the novel's end. Her brief encounter with Iris leads the novel in the direction of an attempt at class analysis, but Shawna's desire to take for herself what the rich won't miss runs squarely against a paradigmatic figure for the excesses of wealth, Oliver Queen. Oliver's joking reference to his favorite childhood toy, his Ferrari Testarossa, being the only allusion to Oliver's financial history forecloses the possibility of this theme being expanded on.
But if the novel is lacking on the macro level, where it succeeds is on the micro level. First, despite the plot lacking substance, it is a page-turner. And while Rathaway's plan ultimately reveals itself as incoherent, I find myself forgiving on account of the great character interactions his plotting facilitates. Any occasion to bring together the Flash and the Green Arrow is one of great joy for me. Furthermore, the Griffiths seem to have an excellent grasp of how these characters speak and interact. Diggle's constant confusion and discomfort with metahumans and superpowers are deftly played for laughs. One can imagine the vast majority of the lines being spoken by the TV actors.
Even when The Flash has had its lowest points, and every season following the first has gotten progressively more painful to watch, the delightful characters and better-than-expected acting keeps me watching. And that is precisely what this novel delivers. The characters feel as vividly realized and real as their television counterparts. For those of us who love watching the exploits of Barry Allen, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Joe West, and even Oliver Queen, this novel fills the lengthy gap between seasons with a unique pleasure. This isn't a novel for a general readership, but series fans would do well to crack it open.
But if the Griffiths's novel is a cut above fan fiction, it is only just. For canon purists, it is unlikely this novel will ever be alluded to in the show. It is only vaguely placed in the early portion of The Flash's second season and the concurrent Arrow season four. Likewise, as stated, the novel is missing all of the thematic unity of even the worst episodes of the television series. Usually, an episode of The Flash or Arrow involves a running theme that draws together the two parallel plot lines and drives the machinations and motivations of the weekly villain. Still, this can make the plot turns predictable. The Griffiths's novel seems far more like an unrelated sequence of events than any kind of concerted mediation on even the most overt of themes. Barry, faced with an encounter with his aging future-self, who may or may not be a hallucination, remains inoculated from the various other thematic threads in contention. For instance, there's virtually no connection between Flash's mortality, the Green Arrow's position as brotherly mentor, Hartley Rathaway's villainous resentment, and Shawna Baez's aspiration toward familial acceptance. On the villain side, the Mist, Weather Wizard, and Prism are barely worth mentioning, led by the undercooked Rathaway or Pied Piper. There is nothing pulling his motivation together beyond what was revealed on the show. Shawna, Peekaboo, is the most compelling villain by half. But even her motivations seem to fall away toward the novel's end. Her brief encounter with Iris leads the novel in the direction of an attempt at class analysis, but Shawna's desire to take for herself what the rich won't miss runs squarely against a paradigmatic figure for the excesses of wealth, Oliver Queen. Oliver's joking reference to his favorite childhood toy, his Ferrari Testarossa, being the only allusion to Oliver's financial history forecloses the possibility of this theme being expanded on.
But if the novel is lacking on the macro level, where it succeeds is on the micro level. First, despite the plot lacking substance, it is a page-turner. And while Rathaway's plan ultimately reveals itself as incoherent, I find myself forgiving on account of the great character interactions his plotting facilitates. Any occasion to bring together the Flash and the Green Arrow is one of great joy for me. Furthermore, the Griffiths seem to have an excellent grasp of how these characters speak and interact. Diggle's constant confusion and discomfort with metahumans and superpowers are deftly played for laughs. One can imagine the vast majority of the lines being spoken by the TV actors.
Even when The Flash has had its lowest points, and every season following the first has gotten progressively more painful to watch, the delightful characters and better-than-expected acting keeps me watching. And that is precisely what this novel delivers. The characters feel as vividly realized and real as their television counterparts. For those of us who love watching the exploits of Barry Allen, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Joe West, and even Oliver Queen, this novel fills the lengthy gap between seasons with a unique pleasure. This isn't a novel for a general readership, but series fans would do well to crack it open.
May 7, 2017
Barry Allen is The Flash! He can can tap into the "speed force" to provide him super speed and all the any power that can come from manipulating it. He uses this to fight crime with the help of his adoptive father and STAR Labs. This partnership has developed a few enemies for him. Hartley Rathaway (controls vibrations), Shawna Beaz (teleport to visible location), Mark Mardon (controls the weather), Roy Bivolo (controls everyone's mood) and Kyle Nimbus (turns into a cloud of poisonous gas) team up to take down The Flash. On top that, the Flash is experiencing some glitches with the speed force, leading him to see strange visions. Life is getting complicated for Barry, so he'll need to rely on his friends to help him figure out what's going on.
The Flash: The Haunting of Barry Allen reads almost exactly like an episode of the show. It's a little slower to develop and has quite a bit more complex of a plot (as the medium allows for this kind of thing) but it has heavy influences from the show. Is this a bad thing? On one hand, almost no time is spent introducing the characters, or allowing different interpretations of the character. On the other had, with preordained main characters, it allows more time to be focused on developing the villainous team, particularly Shawna and Hartley. The only real character problem I had was with the heavy handedness the pre-made characters. Sure, there was the "everyone has their assigned task" kind of puzzle solving going on, but the worst part dialogue, especially when introducing characters. It was often stilted, going for a one liner that attempts to defines the character.
Now, as mentioned, this is a more complex plot than can reasonably be cut into an hour of television, or even two in a cross over event. I personally enjoyed the plot Rathaway cooked up to combat the Flash's special brand of powers. The whole "vision" sub-plot was far less interesting to me, though it had a purpose. It was annoying that the book is not completely contained, but I can't complain much as it's intention is right on the cover.
I enjoyed the book, though I think it would be better if the authors had a little bit more freedom. I enjoyed the plot, I enjoy the characters (particularly the development of the villains). My only real problem is the occasional awkward character interaction and trailing plot lines. If you enjoy the tv shows then you should like this book, but I would start with the first season of the tv show (the ending of which was mentioned in the book).
The Flash: The Haunting of Barry Allen reads almost exactly like an episode of the show. It's a little slower to develop and has quite a bit more complex of a plot (as the medium allows for this kind of thing) but it has heavy influences from the show. Is this a bad thing? On one hand, almost no time is spent introducing the characters, or allowing different interpretations of the character. On the other had, with preordained main characters, it allows more time to be focused on developing the villainous team, particularly Shawna and Hartley. The only real character problem I had was with the heavy handedness the pre-made characters. Sure, there was the "everyone has their assigned task" kind of puzzle solving going on, but the worst part dialogue, especially when introducing characters. It was often stilted, going for a one liner that attempts to defines the character.
Now, as mentioned, this is a more complex plot than can reasonably be cut into an hour of television, or even two in a cross over event. I personally enjoyed the plot Rathaway cooked up to combat the Flash's special brand of powers. The whole "vision" sub-plot was far less interesting to me, though it had a purpose. It was annoying that the book is not completely contained, but I can't complain much as it's intention is right on the cover.
I enjoyed the book, though I think it would be better if the authors had a little bit more freedom. I enjoyed the plot, I enjoy the characters (particularly the development of the villains). My only real problem is the occasional awkward character interaction and trailing plot lines. If you enjoy the tv shows then you should like this book, but I would start with the first season of the tv show (the ending of which was mentioned in the book).
November 18, 2018
First in a duology of books set in the Flash/Arrow tv-show universe. It’s also a crossover between the Flash and Arrow tv-shows.
I really like the Flash tv-show and was pleasantly surprised to find books about it. Of course, the quality of tie-in books can vary quite a lot, like with all books. However, I’ve already enjoyed the Vampire Empire series from the Griffiths, so I knew their writing style. Happily I ended up enjoying this book quite a lot. I think this is set during the second season because Iris West is part of team Flash and knows that Barry is Flash but she’s not dating Barry. She’s also still a journalist.
Central City is in danger from various metavillains’ attacks: the Weather Wizard conjures terrible weather, the homicidal Mist turns into poisonous gas, and the Prism puts people into homicidal rage and they start to attack each other. The Mist and the Prism have also a grudge against detective Joe West, Barry’s foster father.
Soon, team Flash realizes that the villains are working together and the teleporting Peekaboo is helping them, and that the Pied Piper is organizing them. Then the Flash starts to see an older version of himself, tired and scared, telling himself to run faster. The visions happen during dangerous times: when he’s running to help people or catch the villains. During these times he “blurs” becomes intangible and freezes up. He also hallucinates other people. When Barry finally tells the team about it, they insist that he call in back up: Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow.
Barry is the major POV character, but we also get POV from Joe, Iris, and briefly from Oliver. From the villains’ side, only Shawna Baez is a POV character which is something of a relief because I, for one, am not interested in being in the head of a homicidal killer. The characters are introduced briefly but for the most part, the reader is expected to know them, so you should watch the show before reading the book.
Of course, a tie-in book can’t have character development for the main cast. Oliver brings with him Felicity and John Diggle, so the cast grows to be quite large. However, I think the Griffiths handle them easily.
This is a great book for the fans of the show: the characters are in character and we get some friendly bickering from them, familiar from the show. Barry’s problems with the blurs continue into the next book, A Generation of Vipers and I’m diving into it next.
I really like the Flash tv-show and was pleasantly surprised to find books about it. Of course, the quality of tie-in books can vary quite a lot, like with all books. However, I’ve already enjoyed the Vampire Empire series from the Griffiths, so I knew their writing style. Happily I ended up enjoying this book quite a lot. I think this is set during the second season because Iris West is part of team Flash and knows that Barry is Flash but she’s not dating Barry. She’s also still a journalist.
Central City is in danger from various metavillains’ attacks: the Weather Wizard conjures terrible weather, the homicidal Mist turns into poisonous gas, and the Prism puts people into homicidal rage and they start to attack each other. The Mist and the Prism have also a grudge against detective Joe West, Barry’s foster father.
Soon, team Flash realizes that the villains are working together and the teleporting Peekaboo is helping them, and that the Pied Piper is organizing them. Then the Flash starts to see an older version of himself, tired and scared, telling himself to run faster. The visions happen during dangerous times: when he’s running to help people or catch the villains. During these times he “blurs” becomes intangible and freezes up. He also hallucinates other people. When Barry finally tells the team about it, they insist that he call in back up: Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow.
Barry is the major POV character, but we also get POV from Joe, Iris, and briefly from Oliver. From the villains’ side, only Shawna Baez is a POV character which is something of a relief because I, for one, am not interested in being in the head of a homicidal killer. The characters are introduced briefly but for the most part, the reader is expected to know them, so you should watch the show before reading the book.
Of course, a tie-in book can’t have character development for the main cast. Oliver brings with him Felicity and John Diggle, so the cast grows to be quite large. However, I think the Griffiths handle them easily.
This is a great book for the fans of the show: the characters are in character and we get some friendly bickering from them, familiar from the show. Barry’s problems with the blurs continue into the next book, A Generation of Vipers and I’m diving into it next.
June 25, 2017
This wasn't for me.
I was an Arrowverse fan for a solid two years, but the recent explosion of DC shows turned me off to the saga. (I don't like feeling punished for not getting a continuity nod that requires giving hours to another series that I otherwise wouldn't care about. Anyway.) I saw that this tie-in novel happens in the early part of season 2 of Flash, which was right before everyone in-universe believed that Barry could do no wrong and that, because he's the Hero, he can do whatever he wants and say whatever he wants, and any consequences are because of the Bad Guys, not because of any actual cause-and-effect. (ANYway.) I figured I'd give this a try.
A few things crashed and burned within fifty pages.
The biggest issue is, the Flash just isn't very exciting. Removed from the show's soundtrack, impressive CG, and Grant Gustin's charisma, the Flash's action sequences fell far short of the thrilling sequences they should have been. I found myself more interested in the Barry Allen sections of the story.
...Which leads to the next issue with the Flash. The characters have always been spotty. From Iris and her bizarre entitlement toward being included in Barry's double life, to Cisco and Caitlin's baffling lack of personal lives, to Barry being undisputed center of the universe, CW's Flash has always needed work on its characters and their interactions. Like the action sequences, without the show's gravitas and melodrama, the events on the page are flawed and boring. Even when the Arrow cast shows up, they too were brought down to the same level of tedium.
Any bugled-up story can still succeed if the villain is outstanding.
This book has all of the villains from season one teaming up.
These are astoundingly generic, cookie-cutter, irredeemingly boring villains. I found myself having enjoyed more inner turmoil and pathos from bad guys in Power Rangers episodes.
All of this came together to create a final sin: I didn't care about any of the events. So what if the world's most lame superhero can't run fast enough to outwit a bunch of B-list bad guys? And so what if said superhero can't solve the riddle of why his powers are fritzing out? None of it resonated.
I've got the second book in this crossover. That may have been a mistake purchase.
I was an Arrowverse fan for a solid two years, but the recent explosion of DC shows turned me off to the saga. (I don't like feeling punished for not getting a continuity nod that requires giving hours to another series that I otherwise wouldn't care about. Anyway.) I saw that this tie-in novel happens in the early part of season 2 of Flash, which was right before everyone in-universe believed that Barry could do no wrong and that, because he's the Hero, he can do whatever he wants and say whatever he wants, and any consequences are because of the Bad Guys, not because of any actual cause-and-effect. (ANYway.) I figured I'd give this a try.
A few things crashed and burned within fifty pages.
The biggest issue is, the Flash just isn't very exciting. Removed from the show's soundtrack, impressive CG, and Grant Gustin's charisma, the Flash's action sequences fell far short of the thrilling sequences they should have been. I found myself more interested in the Barry Allen sections of the story.
...Which leads to the next issue with the Flash. The characters have always been spotty. From Iris and her bizarre entitlement toward being included in Barry's double life, to Cisco and Caitlin's baffling lack of personal lives, to Barry being undisputed center of the universe, CW's Flash has always needed work on its characters and their interactions. Like the action sequences, without the show's gravitas and melodrama, the events on the page are flawed and boring. Even when the Arrow cast shows up, they too were brought down to the same level of tedium.
Any bugled-up story can still succeed if the villain is outstanding.
This book has all of the villains from season one teaming up.
These are astoundingly generic, cookie-cutter, irredeemingly boring villains. I found myself having enjoyed more inner turmoil and pathos from bad guys in Power Rangers episodes.
All of this came together to create a final sin: I didn't care about any of the events. So what if the world's most lame superhero can't run fast enough to outwit a bunch of B-list bad guys? And so what if said superhero can't solve the riddle of why his powers are fritzing out? None of it resonated.
I've got the second book in this crossover. That may have been a mistake purchase.
September 22, 2017
Based on the CW tv shows, this is a media tie-in book that is surprisingly good. They capture the tone of the shows really well, getting all the characters down perfectly. I was really impressed with this. It's far better than most such books.
Central City has had its share of problems since the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Through it all, the Flash has been there defending the city, but making some enemies along the way. Now, things are looking really bad. Weather Wizard, Rainbow Raider/Prism, Mist, Peekaboo, and Pied Piper have teamed up and are attacking the city. Their particular combination of powers is a tough act to beat.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Barry starts getting glitches in his powers. These get worse, developing into full scale hallucinations, periods of intangibility, and a drain on his reserves. The Scarlet Speedster is exhausted, his powers growing more unreliable, and the STAR Labs crew are having trouble coming up with a solution. But Barry isn't alone in his fight.
With a call to Star City, they get help in the form of Green Arrow, Spartan, and Felicity Smoak. Will their combined talents be enough to beat this version of the Rogues? The stakes get higher as the Rogues get more vicious, and the city is blackmailed, not to mention Barry's conditioning worsening. The story continues in Arrow - A Generation of Vipers.
This read like a really well done team up episode. The writers have a great command of the material, and it was a lot of fun to read. If you enjoy the shows, I really recommend this book. I'm about to go start the next one now.
Central City has had its share of problems since the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Through it all, the Flash has been there defending the city, but making some enemies along the way. Now, things are looking really bad. Weather Wizard, Rainbow Raider/Prism, Mist, Peekaboo, and Pied Piper have teamed up and are attacking the city. Their particular combination of powers is a tough act to beat.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Barry starts getting glitches in his powers. These get worse, developing into full scale hallucinations, periods of intangibility, and a drain on his reserves. The Scarlet Speedster is exhausted, his powers growing more unreliable, and the STAR Labs crew are having trouble coming up with a solution. But Barry isn't alone in his fight.
With a call to Star City, they get help in the form of Green Arrow, Spartan, and Felicity Smoak. Will their combined talents be enough to beat this version of the Rogues? The stakes get higher as the Rogues get more vicious, and the city is blackmailed, not to mention Barry's conditioning worsening. The story continues in Arrow - A Generation of Vipers.
This read like a really well done team up episode. The writers have a great command of the material, and it was a lot of fun to read. If you enjoy the shows, I really recommend this book. I'm about to go start the next one now.
July 10, 2017
This book has everything I didn't know that I needed in the tv show. Something about this book that I like is that it shows the other side of the coin: the villains, and not just the heroes. Too many shows about heroes don't really show the villains too much, until it's time for the hero to take them down. Well, this book changes that by showing what Peekaboo, Weather Wizard, and Pied Piper were up to, as well as Team Flash were up to. When Barry starts blurring, and having hallucinations I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see when he was going to come out of the blur. Also, I felt Team Flash's panic as they try to find out why Barry's powers are glitching. With each blur I was on the edge of my seat, and I was worried for Barry's health, and safety. What if he doesn't come out of the blur this time? That was my main worry. Although, I must admit, Team Arrow took their sweet time coming into this book, and I was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to show up, but when they did finally show up, I was a happy camper. I am a little disappointed that Wally wasn't in this though. I wanted to see his reaction to Barry having these glitches. Also, it's hard to tell when this is set. Either way, this book was amazing, and I felt like I was watching an episode of the show, rather than reading a book. I can't wait to get into the sequel. Side note: I HATE mass market paperback. Why was that the only edition of this book?
January 16, 2018
I'm a big fan of the television show "The Flash," so I was excited when I came across this book. And then it sat on my shelf for over a year! Well, I have finally finished the book and it's an enjoyable extended episode of the tv show with appearances by members of the tv show "Arrow" as this is a crossover novel that continues in the follow up that focuses on the characters of "Arrow."
This book is about Barry Allen a.k.a The Flash slowly succumbing to an illness caused by previous acts of heroism as well as the accumulation of psychological fatigue and worry. This causes him to blur at inopportune times such as times when he is in the middle of rescuing people. Barry is also battling a cadre of previous villains who have joined together to wreck havoc on Central City with the added bonus of of murdering Joe West. This situation brings Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, and John Diggle to Central City to assist the team which includes Cisco and Caitlin. If one is not familiar with the show, they won't necessarily know who the villains are and their past histories with the characters of "The Flash." That doesn't deter from the story, but new readers might be a little lost.
I liked that this book went deeper into the characters' thoughts including those of the villains. We learn more about everyone which makes this book a more richer and engaging story than just a normal tv episode. I look forward to reading Part II.
This book is about Barry Allen a.k.a The Flash slowly succumbing to an illness caused by previous acts of heroism as well as the accumulation of psychological fatigue and worry. This causes him to blur at inopportune times such as times when he is in the middle of rescuing people. Barry is also battling a cadre of previous villains who have joined together to wreck havoc on Central City with the added bonus of of murdering Joe West. This situation brings Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, and John Diggle to Central City to assist the team which includes Cisco and Caitlin. If one is not familiar with the show, they won't necessarily know who the villains are and their past histories with the characters of "The Flash." That doesn't deter from the story, but new readers might be a little lost.
I liked that this book went deeper into the characters' thoughts including those of the villains. We learn more about everyone which makes this book a more richer and engaging story than just a normal tv episode. I look forward to reading Part II.
August 25, 2019
I enjoyed this greatly! Of course, it’s no longer exactly canon-compliant, but it’s a nice addition as to how the timeline could have gone if the episode “Flash Back” or Flashpoint as a whole hadn’t happened. It tied in nicely to how Barry felt during early Season 2, conveying lots of the mood that “The Man Who Saved Central City” had set. Barry’s continuous worry and guilt over not doing enough is something that I love most about him and it was wonderful to see the effects it can have on him.
I was also delighted to see the row of villains and the way Hartley led them. He’s been underused in the show and seeing an even darker and more twisted side to him was brilliant. Like Shawna I kept reading him wrong at times, just as I was supposed to. Shawna was a great addition, too. The way they kept circling back to her being a villain out of necessity and how she ultimately does the right thing was a nice callback to the show and I loved her teaming up with Iris.
Generally, the relationships were executed very nicely. Especially between the West family and also Oliver and Barry. Seeing Iris and Caitlin strike up an actual friendship was a nice change. Everyone was very close to canon, so it did feel like I was reading an actual episode of the show.
Can’t wait to dive into the continuation ASAP!
I was also delighted to see the row of villains and the way Hartley led them. He’s been underused in the show and seeing an even darker and more twisted side to him was brilliant. Like Shawna I kept reading him wrong at times, just as I was supposed to. Shawna was a great addition, too. The way they kept circling back to her being a villain out of necessity and how she ultimately does the right thing was a nice callback to the show and I loved her teaming up with Iris.
Generally, the relationships were executed very nicely. Especially between the West family and also Oliver and Barry. Seeing Iris and Caitlin strike up an actual friendship was a nice change. Everyone was very close to canon, so it did feel like I was reading an actual episode of the show.
Can’t wait to dive into the continuation ASAP!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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