Fans of Batman are lucky to get Greg Rucka--the talented, gritty young author of Keeper and Finder, among others--sharing time with their favorite licensed character in this novelization of DC's complete No Man's Land comic series. (And fans of Rucka--assuming they get around to reading this at all--will still likely hold the opinion that Atticus Kodiak could take Batman in a standup fight any day.)

DC shook up Gotham--literally--in its 1999 Batman plot arc: a 7.6 earthquake rocked Gotham City, wreaking enough destruction to bring the broken, crime-ridden, runt kid-brother of Metropolis and New York to its knees. In the story line's most indulgent liberty, those fat cats in Washington decide to write off Gotham, à la Escape from New York, blowing up the connecting bridges, mining the surrounding waterways, and signing into law the Federal Declaration of No Man's Land, which makes it a crime to even set foot in the city. The usual suspects from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Penguin, the Riddler and Dr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Mr. Zsasz, file out to begin running the show, strong-arming and manipulating the block-by-block turf battles that envelop the now-ultraviolent city. A conflicted Batman shows up fashionably late, only to find that these lunatics are the least of his worries: Lex Luthor, Superman's archfoe, has nefarious designs on Gotham too. Could this possibly get any better? Sure, No Man's Land is derivative fiction, but the appeal of Rucka--and, of course, Batman--can make this one worth the read. --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly
WHAP! POW! Pocket Books joins DC Comics to bring Gotham's Dark Knight to the trade shelves for the New Year, in a savage millennial tale of urban implosion, divided loyalties and vigilante justice. Rucka (Shooting at Midnight) valiantly transcribes an essentially visual chronicle to print, no mean feat, given Batman's 60 years of history in comics, TV and film. In the new millennium, following a cataclysmic earthquake, the federal government has cut off Gotham City from the rest of the country, leaving the No Man's Land, with its masses of casualties and survivors, in the hands of the "lunatics" released from Arkham Asylum. They are the Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face and the ubiquitous Joker. Newly married Commissioner Gordon makes a suicidal stand to maintain control with a handful of determined officers, and the former Batgirl (now the cyber-savvy paraplegic known as Oracle, thanks to a bullet from the Joker) tries to keep tabs on the chaos while hoping for Batman's superhero help. Batman is on the scene with a new Robin as well as the former Boy Wonder, now grown up and known as Nightwing. The inevitable showdown between the forces of good and evil is played out against a backdrop of violent urban decay, but the subject of sex (and death), which the series has often flirted with but largely skirted, is now candidly explored. The conception of the battle between costumed, urban criminals and crusaders as a gang war (with the Bat signal replaced by graffiti tags) is logical, and other familiar bat-tropes are ably transposed into contemporary milieus. The expected wordplay and punning retain the classic comic-book characterizations, infusing the tale with lively dialogue right up to the dramatic surprise ending. Agent, David Hale. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A massive earthquake has leveled Gotham City, leaving its populace open to the predation of such notorious villains as the Joker, the Penguin, and Lex Luthor as the city's forces for justice wait in suspense for the arrival of their greatest protector, the legendary Batman. Rucka's (Keeper) grim voice and brooding prose successfully capture the atmosphere of gothic fantasy characteristic of the world of DC Comics' most popular superhero. With particular appeal to fans of the comic series as well as readers of pulp fantasy, this volume belongs in most fantasy collections. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A novelized version of the venerable comic strip almost makes it as a top-drawer thriller. An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale has leveled Gotham City. So woeful is its condition that the federal government decides it's beyond repair and cordons it off from the rest of the country. Thus, officially, Gotham City ceases to exist and NML (No Man's Land) is born. Not everyone joins in the exodus, however. Scavengers and predators hang on for the sake of increased opportunity, but they're not alone. Police Commissioner James Gordon, for instance, stays because his commitment to law and order is inescapable. Then there are the nutcases familiar to generations of the Caped Crusaders fans: the Penguin, Two-Face, the Joker, Black Mask, Poison Ivy. Their motives for remaining are even more irrational than Gordons, but that's as it should be. Meanwhile, gangs roam untrammeled. Murder replaces basketball as the urban game of choice. Territories are staked out, and the NML becomes, in effect, a kaleidoscope of war zones. It's a situation that cries out for the Dark Knight, and yet after 90 days Batman is still a non-player. Turns out he's been engaging in a Hamlet-like soul-search for answers, values, meaningbehavior most unbecoming an action stalwart. Fortunately, he snaps out of it in time, and with the aid of Robin, Nightwing, and an updated version of Batgirl, confronts the forces of evil, now including villainous multibillionaire Lex Luthor (Superman's nemesis, visiting from Metropolis). Despite the formidable array of villainous talent, most readers will probably count on a happy ending, though the publisher has chosen to withhold the last two chapters from advance copies. Rucka (Shooting at Midnight, 1999, etc.), canny suspense writer that he is, wrings so much from his high-colored cast you almost forget that theyre, well, comic strip characters. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
Nextplanetover.com Rucka gets it right.

ANNOTATION

"Featuring No law and a new order and Fear of faith."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Leveled by a massive earthquake that has left thousands dead and millions more wounded, Gotham City has been completely cut off from outside aid, transformed into a lawless battleground - a No Man's Land - where the survivors are turning against one another, and where the city's protectors are torn by a crisis that may consume them all." "Gotham now teeters at the edge of the abyss ... and Batman is missing.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

WHAP! POW! Pocket Books joins DC Comics to bring Gotham's Dark Knight to the trade shelves for the New Year, in a savage millennial tale of urban implosion, divided loyalties and vigilante justice. Rucka (Shooting at Midnight) valiantly transcribes an essentially visual chronicle to print, no mean feat, given Batman's 60 years of history in comics, TV and film. In the new millennium, following a cataclysmic earthquake, the federal government has cut off Gotham City from the rest of the country, leaving the No Man's Land, with its masses of casualties and survivors, in the hands of the "lunatics" released from Arkham Asylum. They are the Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face and the ubiquitous Joker. Newly married Commissioner Gordon makes a suicidal stand to maintain control with a handful of determined officers, and the former Batgirl (now the cyber-savvy paraplegic known as Oracle, thanks to a bullet from the Joker) tries to keep tabs on the chaos while hoping for Batman's superhero help. Batman is on the scene with a new Robin as well as the former Boy Wonder, now grown up and known as Nightwing. The inevitable showdown between the forces of good and evil is played out against a backdrop of violent urban decay, but the subject of sex (and death), which the series has often flirted with but largely skirted, is now candidly explored. The conception of the battle between costumed, urban criminals and crusaders as a gang war (with the Bat signal replaced by graffiti tags) is logical, and other familiar bat-tropes are ably transposed into contemporary milieus. The expected wordplay and punning retain the classic comic-book characterizations, infusing the tale with lively dialogue right up to the dramatic surprise ending. Agent, David Hale. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal