cover image The Protectors

The Protectors

Trey Dowell. S&S/Simon451, $4.99 e-book (240p) ISBN 978-1-4767-8844-9

Dowell tries and fails to make hay from the familiar theme of aging super-heroes coming out of retirement. Scott McAlister, aka Knockout, can instantly put people to sleep. Knockout was once part of a “team of heroes ready to protect the planet” that included seductive Aphrodite (Knockout’s former love interest, of course, though whether that was by choice or by compulsion isn’t obvious) and electricity-harnessing Blaster. When Aphrodite goes rogue and “embraces” Kim Jong-un, leading him to suspend North Korea’s nuclear program, the CIA yanks Knockout out of retirement and sends him after her. Will he bring her in, or will he join her on her next campaign—liberating her native Iran from the autocratic mullahs? In the right hands, this could have been an entertaining story, but Dowell awkwardly alternates between cartoonish characterization and serious skullduggery, leaving it unclear whether he’s trying to channel Stan Lee or John le Carré. Readers would be better off with either. (Oct.)