The Hangman: Vengeance by Dee Rose is the tenth and final book in The Hangman Universe series. After being deceived and thrown into an alternate universe, the Hangman managed to find his way back to the earth. This time, though, he has decided to focus all his time and energy on vengeance against “the good guys.” Meanwhile, the underworld has a new demon lord: Lord Leechadon. Although his dream of conquering the earth matches his predecessor’s, his strategies are quite different. Before attacking the earth, he has cooked up a plan to remove these obstacles from his path: The Death Brothers (Tom Padilla and Jericho Cain), The Grand Librarian (Alexander Merryweather), Purgatory’s guardian (BA), Susan Taki, and the Hangman. The beauty of his plan is that instead of spending his own energy in killing the so-called good guys, he will use Hangman to destroy them. Later, he will snatch away Hangman’s rings and conquer earth. As demons, zombies, vampires, and a witch begin their assault on the good guys, they struggle to survive and stick together. Is this the end of the good guys? Or, is there hope still?
The Hangman: Vengeance is a delicious presentation of superheroes vs. supervillains’ action. Dee Rose checks every point off his audience’s checklist. The jaw-dropping action scenes are enough to keep the action-lovers glued to the book. And there are enough such scenes to satiate such readers. As much as action scenes are essential to a book of Fantasy/Supernatural genre, these are not enough to make a novel memorable. Unpredictable twists in combination with well-written characters make or break a plot. Dee Rose has incorporated all these elements to keep his audience rooted to the spot. There are just enough mindboggling twists to keep the plot moving at a steady pace.
“… For now, we’ve got to figure out a way to separate the Hangman from the Power Ring. We can’t make a move on him until we know how to do it first. Do we have any ideas yet?”
– An excerpt from The Hangman: Vengeance
The author has done a praiseworthy job of giving a flashback of previous books of the series. This flashback would help understand the backstory of the Hangman and make a connection with the villain. However, the same cannot be said for others. Not knowing enough aspects of Tom Padilla’s past, it was tough to understand his fury source to be called The Priest. Since his emotional anguish is quite a major part of the book, it was important to make a connection to this character. The same struggle reared its head when it came to feel anything for the Grand Librarian. Also, not knowing the reason for Hangman’s soft spot for Jericho can trouble some readers. For these reasons, I would recommend the readers to start at the beginning and then read The Hangman: Vengeance. Only then, you will be able to make an emotional connection with all the characters. The exception to this advisory is when it comes to Jericho Cain. His witty comebacks and wild spirit are like a ray of light in the dark plot.
“No!” Tom snapped. Drac- Dracool was it, I think.”
Jericho spit out his coffee [,] erupted in laughter. “Dracool? Please tell me you’re kidding me, Tom.”
Tom raised his eyebrow. “No, I’m not. I’m deadly serious. And when we go out, let’s try to get more info about this guy before you kill the people we’re interrogating. Please.”
“I don’t like your tone, Thomas.”
“You’ll get over it… like always.”
– An excerpt from The Hangman: Vengeance
The strong and captivating narration is a testament to the praiseworthy storytelling of Dee Rose. There are many complications and several magical objects that, it would have been easier to be lost or confused. However, Dee Rose has kept it all crisp and clear throughout the book. He has provided his fans with a story worthy of their time. Hangman has come out as a formidable villain who is neither afraid nor arrogant. Instead, he analyzes his opponents and accordingly, creates schemes to trap or kill them. For me, Jericho is hands-down an outstanding superhero who is not afraid of challenges.
Jimmy’s eyes moved back and forth from Leechadon to Jomo’s vampire face. But that guy is hideous right now. Will I look like that? Is this even worth it? I mean, becoming a vampire is one thing, but making a deal with a demon is something else.
– An excerpt from The Hangman: Vengeance
I recommend The Hangman: Vengeance to the readers who enjoy the action in the superheroes vs. supervillains set-up. They will not be disappointed.
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