Bloodshot by Fred Van Lente is a fresh and engaging take on the legendary Valiant comic book character by the same name. The novel is truly for longtime fans of Bloodshot and those, like myself, new to the tales of the action-packed tales.

He wakes up in the middle of the woods with chalk-white skin, the ability to heal from any injury, and no memory of who or what he is. He is Bloodshot, and now he’s caught between the shadowy defense contractor that wants to capture him, and the underground network of psychic teens that want to destroy him.

Now, Kalea, the girl who found him, has a target on her back just for trying to help him. To save himself and his friends, Bloodshot must stay alive long enough to unravel the mystery of his own identity—and deal with the real possibility that his own family are the ones who most want him dead.

Until I stumbled upon Van Lente's latest Bloodshot novel, I had never had the real desire to dive into the stories of the iconic Valiant character. With the number of comics I currently read, on top of novels and other stuff, I felt like adding a new book to my pull list was just not in the cards. Now, after briskly reading Bloodshot, I may have been persuaded to pick up a few Bloodshot comics during my next trip to my local comic shop.

Van Lante's story is truly accessible to most fans of comics or action-packed tales. Entering with no real knowledge, outside that Bloodshot is a Valiant character, I felt like I was able to slide right in and enjoy the story for what it was—an action-packed superhero tale with plenty of mystery. The author crafted a novel that is for those who are new to the character while also making sure to keep the universe true to the comics (once I finished the story, I did some research). This makes for a great jumping on point for those looking to find out more about the Valiant comics world.

While Van Lente takes an iconic character to adds a bit of a twist to the lore, the overall story is true to form. The novel format allowed the author to crafter a longer story without the constraints of a 22-page floppy comic. While comics are a stellar way to tell a tale, sometimes the story is meant to be told in a different form and it felt like this Bloodshot tale was destined for prose storytelling. Van Lente tells a story with vivid visuals and plenty of action that comic fans are used to when opening up their monthly books.

In the end, Fred Van Lente’s Bloodshot delivers more than just explosive action sequences—it provides introspection wrapped within suspenseful storytelling that appeals beyond traditional comics alone. Van Lente crafted a story that goes beyond the character origins and allows newcomers to Bloodshot a place to jump in and enjoy the ride. Wether you are a longtime fan looking to dive into another Bloodshot escaped or a newcomer trying to find out what this iconic characters is all about, Van Lente's latest novel is a good place to be.

I have been a long time of comic books and I’ve always enjoyed the Valiant Comics line. When I heard that Valiant was coming out with some original prose novels, I knew I had to check them out. I was not disappointed.
Bloodshot tells the story of a young man who wakes up in a charred field with little memory. After making a couple of friends who help him along the way, he begins to piece things together.
After a slightly slow start to get pieces into place, the book really took off. It didn’t really surprise me, though. Author Fred van Lente has written some great issues of the Bloodshot comic. He knows the character and his background.
A book like this is a good jumping on point for people who have never read any of the comics before. There were little Easter eggs littered throughout the book, but none of them would take anything away from the enjoyment of the story.
If you’re a fan of Valiant and Bloodshot, you’ll like this. If you’re a comic book fan but have never read and Valiant, you should give this a try.

An action-packed and ambitious take on Bloodshot as a younger character with a story that feels like a brilliant mixture of Bourne Identity and X Men. The action is cinematic and the pacing is fantastically satisfying.

Valiant gets in on the prose novel game. It's a variation of the Valiant universe. Bloodshot is now a teenager and his dad is the original Bloodshot. He meets up with Generation Zero from the comics after getting his mind wiped and it more or less adheres to the comics from there except for the end. It was alright. It's not the best thing Van Lente has written, but nor is it the worst. It's right there in the middle ground.

This one was a bit weird and dark. But that is expected with that cover right? The story is hard to follow just a tad bit, but when you figure it out about a third of the way through it really starts to go fast. Teenage Bloodshot by the author was a bit weird, but not bad.

Man this is a weird one. On one hand the plot isn't very bad at all. In fact, its quite decent. It hits all the notes. But teen aged Bloodshot is weird.