The final episode of Dark Angel aired May 3, 2002, but fans of the TV show haven't heard the last of Max, Logan and the rest of the gang. A new series of novelizations based on these characters is just beginning. Although the show included brief flashbacks to Max's life before she arrived in Seattle, Dark Angel: Before the Dawn is a welcome prequel, offering fans the chance to read about her early years in chronological order.

On the acknowledgements page at the front of the book, Max Allan Collins thanks a friend of his, a "knowledgeable Dark Angel fan," who helped him write a detailed outline for the novel. Don't let that put any doubts in your mind about Collins' own writing ability. He has written many successful movie and TV tie-ins, as well as the graphic novel Road to Perdition, which was made into a movie starring Tom Hanks. This guy knows how to tell a good story. Collins may not have been a big fan of the TV show, but he does an excellent job of capturing the Dark Angel characters on paper. He maintains the show's dark atmosphere, and creates a believable world that meshes well with the show's storylines. Many months have passed since the show was cancelled -- if you're still having trouble coping, this book series could be just what you need.

	Manticore's DNA experiments aren't that far from the cloning stories we've been hearing on the news lately. If you could choose, would you want your baby to have cat DNA? What would you do if the scientists messed up and instead of being able to jump really high, your child had a tail and kitty ears?
	Did Original Cindy's habit of referring to herself in the third person annoy you more in the book than it did in the show? Why do you think this is?
	Did you find it refreshing to go back in time to when Max only had attractive friends? Do you think the addition of all those freaky looking mutants to the show is what lead to its cancellation?

-- Lisa Beebe