Kingdom of the Blind

by David Bishop

Review by James R.Cain

'Kingdom of the Blind' is a Judge Dredd novel, penned by David Bishop, author of the Black Flame Dredd title 'Bad Moon Rising'.  David Bishop is also the long-time editor of Judge Dredd Megazine in the period when the title was acclaimed Britain's best comic every year from 1992-1995.  His previous novels include three Dredd novels from Virgin books.

In 'Kingdom of the Blind' we have Dredd up against Mega-City One crime boss and terrorist Jesus Bludd, and the exotic Psi-Assasin, Kara.  Bludd's intent on sabotaging a gathering of the senior judges from around the world who've been summoned to negotiate an extradition treaty with Mega-City One.  Or is he?

"In the valley of the blind, the one-eyed man is king," says Bludd, and so unravels Bludd's scheme to cripple Mega-City One and bring it into a state of anarchy, holding the world's mega-cities to ransom in the process.  The stakes are high.  Bludd secures a functional command and control centre and has at his disposal an arsenal of old-world weapons of mass destruction.  I don't want to say too much beyond that.  There are some interesting twists as the tale progresses.  I felt the book was a little slow to start, but once it picked up, the tale was was nicely paced and had a unexpected surprise at the end.  

What more is there to say?  'Kingdom of the Blind' is set when Judge Hershey is Chief Judge, and Dredd is joined by Judge Giant, a familiar name to Dredd fans.  Some of the minor characters were very interesting: the cadet Ryan, the delegates from the other Mega-Cities, and Judge Scattergood to name a few.  

I did feel that Bludd's ultimate motives beyond extortion on a massive scale were not clearly defined, but that really won't matter to Dredd fans.  It's solid Dredd fiction and left me wondering at the price of justice, something that's important to us all in the world following 9/11.    

Publisher: Black Flame

ISBN: 1-84416-133-1 - Paperback (247 pages)