Arrow: A Generation of Vipers Review
As you may or may not have known, my favorite TV series at the moment is Arrow. I love the show, the characters, the ships (Olicity of course), and more. I have seen so many books and authors be inspired by Arrow and Olicity. From the names of characters to themes to the actors and more. When I saw there was a book published that not only was a tie in to the show, had Olicity & OTA and many other things I love about the show, and it was cannon to the show, I knew I had to check it out.
This book, Arrow a Generation of Vipers by Clay and Susan Griffith, I honestly read in a few days at it is a pretty fast read (ironically since it was a 400+ page book). That is not technically a bad thing though sicne when I read a book fast, it means I am enjoying it so much I do not want to stop. Which I did not. This book was written perfectly with the types of storylines you will find on Arrow and other DC/CW comic shows, the characters were written very fitting to who they are on the show, the storyline was able to mix the past and present together with an interesting story,the writers were able to put in so many things that were great about the show including: Olicity scenes, OTA scenes, Delicity friendship/mission scenes, Team Flash, Flashbacks scenes that go into the Barry/Oliver scenes (Team Flash also respects Team Arrow in this and does not try to act better or bash Oliver or any other team members in this story), Dyla, Lyla/Felicity going to on a mission together, and so much more.
The story of the book is it is part Flash storyline and part Arrow storyline. This is the continuation of the first part ( Flash: The Haunting of Barry Allen) this two part series. Though if you have not read the Flash book, it is not a huge deal seeing as both books are standalone books. The story of Barry is that he has plasma stuck inside of him that is causing him to have trouble controlling his powers and has "blurs" in his powers. With Oliver's help he will have to try to find a way to get the plasma out and be back to normal. Meanwhile, Oliver is dealing with attacks agains Team Arrow, though this situation is personal. The villain of this story is someone from Oliver's past before the Island.
As I said before I loved so much about this book. I thought that the authors did a great job with being able to not only writing Olicity good, but in some instances writing the ship better than the writers (at least in recent episodes, no offense Arrow writers). I loved all the cute and sweet moments that were tucked into the story. Not only with Olicity, but with all the characters and relationships in the story. It was a perfect balance, never spending too much time on one character interaction or one plot point. We got so much in a story that was such a fast, but engaging read. The Griffith duo gave readers things that Arrow viewers missed/were lacking lately (Olicity, Tommy Merlyn, Delicity scenes, etc. ) and new storylines and plot points we do not have in Arrow ( Friend from Oliver past, Merkovia visit, etc.). The book is able to put so much into a story that only spans a few days, if my memory serves me correct. That is just one of the signs of a great writer or writers I should say. To be able to put so much in a story, but never make the story feel too long or as it has too much packed into it.
While I loved this book, I did have a few slight issues with it. These are both nit picky things, but things I felt the need to point out. One was that there was a slight confusion about the time frame in which the story takes places. While I was pretty sure it took place during the first half of season 4, Oliver uses Felicity's codename Overwatch, which is not given to her until the second half of the season. While this is a small possible error, it was something that I wanted to point out. Another nit pick was the fact that the Island was referred to as The Jungle. This may have just been an artistic choice, but It was something that bugged me somewhat in the story. I understand these are small things and I do not at all feel these things should discourage anyone from reading this fantastic book, but just some edits and minor changes to word choice could make this story even more amazing than it already is. Again not huge things, but things I felt warranted pointing out. I also wanted the story to be longer, but that is less or a critique of a the book and more just a example of how good this story was since I did not want it to end.
To conclude, this book is amazing for any Arrow lover. It may look long but it is an easy and fast paced read. The book contains so much isn't some little time that even if you are not a fan of one interaction or story, you can definitely find something else to love in this Arrow show tie-in. Whether you are a casual fan of the show or a die hard one, Arrow: A Generation of Vipers should 100% be a required read.
