They're OK, not great.
Basically, for a non CoH player, they won't be any good as they're not literary masterpieces. They are good reads for a player though as they fill in a lot of background info on the CoX universe(though there are a few errors/contradictions in them)
If I was to mark them out of 10, I would give a 7 for players of the game and a 4 for other people.
Infernius raves about them, but he is a little on the excitable side 
Worth a read, definitely.
The Freedom Phalanx is, in my opinion, the superior of the two books (Web of Arachnos just irks me slightly with Recluse's near-constant reinforcement of a "Science" Origin), going into a fair bit of depth regarding Statesman, etc.
WoA for the history, FP for the story. 
As noted above, you won't be reading them in ten years or so, but they're certainly worth getting ahold of for any fan of CoH.
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Infernius raves about them, but he is a little on the excitable side
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I can't say I've ever noticed him raving about The Web Of Arachnos, myself. The fact he loves it so much he'll read out whole portions of the book over TeamSpeak could mean so much...heh.
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*Notes down reason 326 never to use TeamSpeak*
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*Wonders why someone so opinionated would have 326 reasons for not speaking to other people outside a text format*
"Idealism is such a wonderful thing. All you really need is someone rational to put it to proper use." - Kerr Avon
Myopic Aardvark on Twitter
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The Freedom Phalanx is, in my opinion, the superior of the two books
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Apart from the fact that it shows what a bunch of weaklings the FP are
SPOILER ALERT
...Especially Sister Psyche, can she actually be any more lame as a super hero?
Manticore's blatant personality transplant from a certain Dark Knight also annoyed me a little.
"Hmm, he uses gadgets and is a good fighter. I know, lets make him a gruff, work alone playboy millionaire who is a hero because his father was killed by a villain. It's the most original idea ever!"
Positron is clearly shown to be an energy blaster, not the Rad defender/blaster hybrid he appears to be in game(Surely not a case of Cryptic screwing with the background of a toon just to make him harder in game ).
Also, why in the Recluse SF does Miss Liberty state that her belt is responsible for her powers when the novel clearly shows that's not the case and I had no idea until I read the book that she's meant to be Statesmans daughter
The way the villains in it are all linked together also seems a bit rushed, like trying to stick a square peg in a round hole.
I also think the first book sucks as Marcus Cole goes from being a profiteering looter to some modern day paladin with no real reason explained for the complete change of character other than him getting some powers. While you could see he was never going to be 'evil' his character up to then was definitely geared around him being more likely to become a super powered mercenary of some sort with his services going to the highest bidder(within certain moral limits) as he was shown to be entirely materialistic
END SPOILER
As I said before, they're solidly, not spectacularly, written and are good books to go through if you're a player of the game.
For non players, they're just a little too simplistic and there are some pretty big plot/motivation holes
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The Freedom Phalanx is, in my opinion, the superior of the two books
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Apart from the fact that it shows what a bunch of weaklings the FP are
SPOILER ALERT
...Especially Sister Psyche, can she actually be any more lame as a super hero?
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I refuse to believe this - in the comics, Sister Psyche is by far the coolest of the Freedom Phalanx - I'd read a novel just featuring her 
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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The Freedom Phalanx is, in my opinion, the superior of the two books
[/ QUOTE ]
Apart from the fact that it shows what a bunch of weaklings the FP are
SPOILER ALERT
...Especially Sister Psyche, can she actually be any more lame as a super hero?
[/ QUOTE ]
I refuse to believe this - in the comics, Sister Psyche is by far the coolest of the Freedom Phalanx - I'd read a novel just featuring her
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Yes, but you were smiten by her bathing in as much water as you might find in a rain puddle.
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The Freedom Phalanx is, in my opinion, the superior of the two books
[/ QUOTE ]
Apart from the fact that it shows what a bunch of weaklings the FP are
SPOILER ALERT
...Especially Sister Psyche, can she actually be any more lame as a super hero?
[/ QUOTE ]
I refuse to believe this - in the comics, Sister Psyche is by far the coolest of the Freedom Phalanx - I'd read a novel just featuring her
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Yes, but you were smiten by her bathing in as much water as you might find in a rain puddle.
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No, because she smiles more than all the others put together, shows signs of a sense of humor, and has a personality
And also, have you seen the state of the Paragon Waterworks? I wouldn't put any more of that water in a bath than I had too either
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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I refuse to believe this - in the comics, Sister Psyche is by far the coolest of the Freedom Phalanx - I'd read a novel just featuring her
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Isn't it a little pointless to talk about "the coolest" hero in the comics? I don't recall the CoX comics being strong on cool in the first place.
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The Freedom Phalanx is, in my opinion, the superior of the two books
[/ QUOTE ]
Apart from the fact that it shows what a bunch of weaklings the FP are
SPOILER ALERT
...Especially Sister Psyche, can she actually be any more lame as a super hero?
[/ QUOTE ]
I refuse to believe this - in the comics, Sister Psyche is by far the coolest of the Freedom Phalanx - I'd read a novel just featuring her
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, but you were smiten by her bathing in as much water as you might find in a rain puddle.
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No, because she smiles more than all the others put together, shows signs of a sense of humor, and has a personality
And also, have you seen the state of the Paragon Waterworks? I wouldn't put any more of that water in a bath than I had too either
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ahhh, you like the cheese cake, i understand.
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I refuse to believe this - in the comics, Sister Psyche is by far the coolest of the Freedom Phalanx - I'd read a novel just featuring her
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Isn't it a little pointless to talk about "the coolest" hero in the comics? I don't recall the CoX comics being strong on cool in the first place.
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True, cool is a matter of opinion 
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
While that may be true, Kin, remember when the book is set; around the formation of the Phalanx, not "modern" Paragon.
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Positron is clearly shown to be an energy blaster, not the Rad defender/blaster hybrid he appears to be in game(Surely not a case of Cryptic screwing with the background of a toon just to make him harder in game ).
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I'm pretty sure the nature of his powers changed somewhat when he was trapped inside his armor
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Also, why in the Recluse SF does Miss Liberty state that her belt is responsible for her powers when the novel clearly shows that's not the case and I had no idea until I read the book that she's meant to be Statesmans daughter
[/ QUOTE ] IIRC the belt boosts her powers, but doesn't cause them.
Was thinking of ordering the two COX novels today but wanted the opinion of someone who's read them before I do.
Are they worth getting?