XIII Book 18: The Last Round
XIII Book 18: The Last Round, by Jean Van Hamme & William Vance, Cinebook
VANCE RETURNS triumphant after the previous volume’s guest illustrations by Jean Giraud to deliver femme fatales, luxurious landscapes and the top quality sequential action scenes we’ve come to expect from him on what is the final volume in this series.
The last few books have often felt that Van Hamme has been offering a different overview of the series thus far, and the author does it again as he relates how two books are published in the USA relating the various government conspiracies that lead to the man codenamed XIII’s actions and their subsequent consequences. That he succeeds is both a testament to his writing skills and the necessary continued unravelling of little bits of the mystery he has kept his readers enthralled with for so long. And now that the series is complete in English one can read it all again at one’s own leisure soaking in the drama with greater understanding, but still being amazed as he pulled rabbits out of hats, played the odd deus ex machina card, but still made it all hold together.
XIII and his allies believe the revelations made public in the books will bring about justice and their safe return to the USA, it does but as ever there are implications, and the ending is a bitter sweet one. It ticks the box marked ‘Satisfied’ every step of the way.
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