Book Review: The Justice Riders by Chuck Norris et al

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Great action scenes

Cons: Weak overall story and characters

The Bottom Line:

There are weaknesses

But the action scenes are good

Result: average

Mixed Reaction to Chuck Norris' The Justice Riders

Captain Ezra Justice has been put in charge of an elite task force during the final days of the Civil War. Their mission is to wreak havoc wherever they can behind the Confederate's lines. The more confusion they can create, the better the chance the Union has of bring the conflict to a conclusion.

Even after the war is over, their job isn't done. There are pockets of resistance left that refuse to surrender. One of these is led by Mordecai Slate. His path seems to cross Ezra's on multiple occasions.

Ezra's current mission, however, is to help with the transportation of prisoner of war. Most of them are weak or sick from their times in the Confederate's prison camps. They are so close to returning home. Yet major danger lurks in their way.

I am not a huge Chuck Norris fan, but have caught a few episodes of his TV show, "Walker, Texas Ranger." This book reads like what I know of the show. The emphasis is on the action, and there are several great action scenes. The main character seems to know martial arts, and uses those in his fights just as often as he uses his guns.

The characters are a little short changed. The line between good and evil is clearly drawn. At times I almost felt like I was watching a melodrama and should boo Mordecai and cheer Ezra. Only a couple characters rise to the level of true characters. Most never move beyond supporting roles, which makes it hard to keep them all straight.

The story, while interesting, could have used some better focus. It wanders all over the place incorporating the forming of the Justice Riders, the end of the war, the conflict with Mordecai's gang, and getting the prisoners home. These are really separate stories with nothing to tie them together except the characters. That having been said, I was drawn into the events and enjoyed reading about them.

The time in history came to life, and I enjoyed the focus on a little known historic event. Of course, I had to laugh at the band Ezra put together. It's a perfect multi-cultural group with one African American, one Irish American, one Englishman, and one Native American among the members. Obviously, they took their history and mixed in a little of today's PC sensibility.

This is obviously a first novel, however, as the writing is weak. The action scenes jump from character to character to bring us the full picture. The dialog can come across as corny at times. And Christianity is shoehorned into the book in a very awkward manner.

Obviously, there are some flaws to The Justice Riders. But I enjoyed reading it in spite of itself. I'm sure Chuck Norris' many fans will enjoy the book. Some more polish would have made it much better. Hopefully, as the series progresses, the flaws of this debut will vanish.