by Matthew Wilson
SOIL
Micro-Fiction by M. W. Wilson
It was from the soil that they had thrown themselves up, into the wind, to spread thinly over the broad horizon. Many had fallen back to the soil, and remained. There were the few that scattered out as far as the sea that churned – and sailed over the dark abyss. Ultimately, they fell to the waters and sank to its depths, back to the soil. From where they came, they were there returned. Yet still, there were others. Others that swept up to the stars and beyond.
From the heavens, the others became watchers, careful not to fall back to the soil. They adopted the void. The silence. The darkness. The peace. With time, the watchers grew in wisdom and became as vast as they were significant. Though, apart from the soil the watchers were, a part of the soil remained within.
Across the universe the watchers ventured. Travelers, mere particles, drifted across infinity. The voyage was grand, until fate had warped the time and distance between the stars. The travelers found themselves at the end, where they had begun. Watchers they were; again, witnesses to the revolving soil before them.
The watchers wept at the sight of the soil. The soil had scarred, the abyss was dry, and the wind was absent. Those who roamed the soil, were few. Wisdom was not attained by the few that had dwelled on the scarred soil. Their minds were weak, their time was short, and against themselves – they directed their rage.
The watchers descended near to the soil. There, they reached down to the few, those that tried to rise up in the absent wind, to flee. Yet, the burden of the few weighed down the watchers, and the few had turned against these others – others that failed to save them.
In the end, fate had betrayed the others, and the others – fell back to the soil.
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm was written by Cavan Scott. Scott has written several Star Wars stories such as the audio-drama script for Dooku: Jedi Lost, comics, and young reader books.
The Rising Storm seriously has one of the greatest openers in a Star Wars book to date!
SUMMARY: Marchion Ro, The Eye of the Nihil, demands that the raiders stay hidden in the shadows to ease the tension in the galaxy before making their next move. Since the events of the first High Republic novel, Light of the Jedi, the Republic and the Jedi have been on the lookout for the vile group. Although the galaxy is still recovering from the damage the Nihil have caused, the Chancellor has prepared a Republic Fair on the world of Valo, to celebrate the Republic and its cultures.
Tension stirs within the Nihil! The raiders are anxious to get back to work, to emerge from the shadows to pillage and kill. Marchion Ro eases the tension by ordering the Nihil to crash the Republic Fair. This is their time to strike, to spread the storm over Valo, to bring destruction and death!
This story is gripping from page one! Just… wow!
CHARACTERS: The High Republic characters continue to impress! Here’s a breakdown of a few before getting to my overall thoughts.
Bell Zettifar, the former Padawan of Loden Greatstorm, struggles to accept the loss of his old master. Loden had told Bell that he was ready for the Jedi trials, to rise up from Padawan to Knight. However, Bell feels he isn’t ready. He has remained a Padawan, under Master Indeera. Indeera also believes Bell is ready for the trials, but Bell feels so empty, a piece of him is missing. In this novel, Bell attempts to overcome his fears, to reconnect and trust the Force.
Tia Toon, the Sullustan Republic senator, is an annoyance to Chancellor Soh. He is dead set on the creation of a Republic Defense Force Program, and any time he has the opportunity to speak his mind to the chancellor and challenge her decisions and actions, he does. While the Chancellor and some of the Jedi find his tactics annoying and rude, Toon certainly proves valid points. While billions have died throughout the galaxy and planets work to rebuild their cities, Toon is furious that the Chancellor would rather fund a giant party with the Republic Fair, than establish a defense program that could potentially prevent the galaxy from suffering at the hand of the Nihil.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Cavan Scott, well done sir! This book knocked me off my feet! The Rising Storm is a sequel to Light of the Jedi and ties in with other High Republic material such as Young Adult novels, Junior Reader books, and comics. I highly recommend that you read that other material from the first wave of The High Republic before diving into this book.
I seriously did not want to put The Rising Storm down! Each chapter kept building up tension, mystery, or awesome revelations were spilled. A real page turner for sure! The Rising Storm seriously has one of the greatest openers to a Star Wars book to date!
Star Wars politics is a touchy subject for some… but really, what part of Star Wars do folks not complain about? The politics were handled wonderfully! I love how it was a recurring theme in the book. The Republic is under the leadership of Chancellor Soh, some like that, others don’t. The conflict taking place between members of the Republic Senate was just as tense as all the other action and drama taking place throughout the story.
Scott handles each character so well. It really feels like I’ve been reading about most of these characters for a long period of time now, knowing their traits and how they’ll react. In my opinion, that is excellent character development. The dialogue is fantastic as well! The relationships between characters are mostly great, I do have a few issues with a few, which felt a bit unnatural and awkward. However the friendship and banter between Elzar Mann and Stellan Gios is absolutely fantastic.
Honestly, I do have a few issues with the story. I mentioned some of the relationships felt odd, but the other issue I have, is that some teases at the end of a chapter really didn’t pay off in the next or following chapter(s).
The plot of the story is great, yet extremely dark. The book is loaded with destruction and death. Scott explores new areas of the Force and how the Jedi can manipulate it for the greater good, and also abuse it. The Nihil are disgusting, geocidal maniacs. Yet, Scott creates a unique power struggle within the group that somehow leaves you routing for one of the villains in a strange twisted way. I really enjoyed The Rising Storm. The plot was driven forward by familiar characters while many new characters are also introduced.
RATING: I give Star Wars: The Rising Strom, an A!
by Matthew Wilson
The novelization of Godzilla vs. Kong, was written by Greg Keyes, and published by Titan Books. It’s based on the screenplay by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein. The story was by Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty, and Zach Shields.
SUMMARY: A few years have passed since the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, when the Titans battled over the earth for dominance. For three years, the Titans have gone silent once again. That is until something lures Godzilla up from the depths of the sea to storm the beaches of Pensacola Florida. Something has awakened the Titan and causes him to feel threatened! Godzilla attacks an area of the city, which happens to have an Apex Cybernetics facility. This sudden attack on the city causes people to panic and believe that Godzilla is no longer a friend of man.
Sometimes, the book based on the film is just so much better!
This Apex Cybernetics, aims to complete two tasks; retrieve a power source from the hollow earth, and create a titan of their own (for “safety and security” but really… a weapon to get whatever they want). Apex funds Monarch to transport Kong from the destroyed Skull Island to Antarctica, where there is a gateway to hollow earth. They put their faith in Kong to guide them to the center of the earth, where Apex will then attempt to extract the power source they seek.
A few individuals, don’t buy into the idea/reports that Godzilla has become an enemy of mankind. They believe Apex is up to no good and will do anything and everything they can, to pull the curtain back on Apex Cybernetics to reveal the sinister truth behind the company walls.
Monarch attempts to keep Kong and Godzilla from meeting, but the beasts sense each other… and the fight for dominance begins.
CHARACTERS: There are many characters in this story, so much more time was spent with characters that were hardly seen in the film, which is awesome. I’m going to mention my two favorites.
Bernie: He’s host of the the Titan Truth (conspiracy) podcast. He also works for Apex, which he believes holds dark secrets that tie them into weapons manufacturing that could potentially kill or control the massive Titans, especially Godzilla. His goal is to discover the truth about the company he works for and expose Apex Cybernetics of corporate conspiracy. His initial discovery of the darker side of Apex came about after the death of his wife. The relationship built up between Bernie and another main character, Madison, is both comical and trusting. They have an unspoken understanding of what drives the Titans and fully believe that there is an organization(s) out there, willing to cause chaos by destroying, or controlling the Titans. Bernie and Madison’s journey together was fun to follow, and their curiosity puts them in great risk.
Ren: He’s an engineer/tech genius that works for Apex. His father was mostly absent from his life while he was growing up. Ren’s father was obsessed with Godzilla, which caused Ren to despise the Titan greatly. Ren knew that his father favored the beast over his own family. Because of this, Ren vowed that he would destroy Godzilla, the beast that robbed him of a father and happy childhood.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I really, really enjoyed this book. Of course, with a novelization for a film like Godzilla vs. Kong, you’re not going to get all the cool special effects, vibrant visuals and intense audio. However, the story was more emotional with the addition of character histories and inner thoughts, making this form of media far superior to the film.
What I loved most about this novelization, is the amount of backstory added to the characters. I was surprised just how well Keyes managed to balance out all the characters while adding so much more to them. Such great additions pushed the plot forward in a way that made way more since than how the film progressed. The leading characters were great, but the secondary characters are expanded upon in such wonderful detail that it adds so much more emotion to the overall story.
The novelization added quite a bit of new material beyond that of just characters. There are plenty of new action scenes with Titans that weren’t even mentioned or seen in the movie. These additions were unexpected, but welcome! They explained a lot of little missing details that the film left out. A lot of the science fiction elements in the story didn’t make much since in the film. The book elaborates a bit more on the technology, making the HEAVs and other forms of tech more believable and less silly.
Greg Keyes does a wonderful job with descriptions and gives even gives us a point of view by the Titans. The action was written out very well, making it easy to visualize the intense Titan fights. The book is a lot of fun and has me craving more Titan action with Kong and Godzilla.
Do I recommend Godzilla vs. Kong? Yes! I believe reading the book before watching the film is ideal.
Rating: I will give this novelization an A!
by Matthew Wilson
The novelization of Gemini Man, was published by Titan Books. It’s based on the film by Ang Lee, with the story by Darren Lemke and David Benioff. The screenplay was by Darren Lemke, Billy Ray, and David Benioff.
SUMMARY: The DIA or Defense Intelligence Agency serves to protect the nation from terrorists and to keep its secrets within its borders. Henry Brogan is on a mission to assassinate a Russian spy, who has vital intelligence on national security. After the mission is complete, Henry knows in his bones that it’s time to retire. The DIA really wants to keep him on board, most in his line of work would die on duty, it’s the preferred form of retirement for the agency, as the secrets held by the agents, would also die.
The DIA isn’t in favor of loose ends. So, a watchful eye shall be kept on Henry. The lies and deception of the agency come to fruition when Henry meets up with an old pal. This friend reveals that the “Russian spy,” wasn’t a spy at all. He was employed by the US government, and his assassination was just a precaution, to assure that whatever secrets he had, couldn’t fall into enemy hands. (the watchful eyes of the DIA, know Henry has learned of this.)
Agents have been sent to silence/assassinate Henry, but he’s ready, and unstoppable. On his attempt to break free, he faces a new enemy, an agent of Project Gemini – a clone of his younger self. Henry has a personal mission to bring justice to those in charge of the DIA and to put an end to Project Gemini (the future military of superior soldiers).
CHARACTERS: For this review I picked two characters to briefly mention, the main protagonist and antagonist.
Henry Brogan is a sharpshooter. He promised himself the exact date of retirement, and stuck to his word no mater what the DIA would do to keep him on board. He want’s to kick back, relax, and make birdhouses. He’s got a sense of humor but also rather serious. He’s a fighter, but also very kind.
Clay Verris is the man behind Project Gemini. He raised the first clone of Henry as a son, giving this clone the name Junior. He’s a horrible father figure, who raised junior as a soldier since his youth. Junior is in his mid-twenties, but Verris treats him like he’s still a child. Verris is selfish, brutal, and greedy. He doesn’t feel what he’s doing is wrong, proving he has no morals whatsoever.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: The novelization for Gemini Man was fun. Was it incredible? No. Was it absolute trash? No. It was a cheesy – decent read, and I’m glad I read the novel. It’s a fast paced story packed with action and has some pretty cool science fiction elements.
A lot of the descriptions are written out very well, including the characters thoughts and emotions. There is also quite a bit of humor sprinkled throughout, mostly coming from our main character, Henry. (Note: I didn’t see this film, but I could hear Will Smith’s voice clearly through the writing.) So, I’d have to say the dialogue was written well.
The problem I had with the story, is that it was a bit too choppy. Time passes rapidly, the characters move around the globe with no timeframe really explained at all. The villain’s motivations were clear, but rather silly. Though, I don’t blame the author for this one bit.
Sometimes it really comes across as goofy that there is this secret defense agency that has these secret assassins that are far superior to any other human warrior in any military service… well maybe that is legit, but the idea to clone one of these assassin warriors to breed an army of this one man’s DNA… that’s the silly part of it.
Do I recommend this book? As someone who has not seen the film but has heard that it has pretty bad CGI, I would say yes – read the book over watching the film.
Rating: This book receives a C+
by Matthew Wilson
Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Timothy Zahn. The book was published by Del Rey (thank you for the advanced material). Greater Good is the second installment of the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy.
SUMMARY: Thrawn is tasked with finding out if the Vagaari Pirates are returning to Ascendancy space to cause havoc or if they have possibly allied with the Paataatus. During this investigation, Thrawn has a run-in with a group of refugees who believe their world and/or its inhabitants have been destroyed. The leader of these people has the authority to order the rest of her race, to end their life to join the “beyond,” to be one with their world once again, in a different form. Thrawn takes it upon himself to prevent these people from killing themselves and to find their world.
Elsewhere, a rare/expensive material is given to a member of the Xodlak family as a gift. The after affects of this gift brings the Xodlak family to call its members together, withdrawing warriors and officials within the Ascendency to report in to a family “emergency.” The Xodlak find the origins of this material and want to claim it for themselves, this could potentially bring them back into a ruling family status.
Will Thrawn save the alien race from committing mass suicide? Will the Xodlak family bring about civil war? Will Jixtus get the answers he’s seeking? You’ll have to read the novel to find the answers to those questions!
CHARACTERS: There are so many characters in this tale that push the plot forward. I’m going to mention just a few.
Thrawn, as always seems to have the upper hand. He’s a problem solver, a leader, and an artist. He still has an issue with authority. Ba’kif (the General of the Chiss Defense Force) lets Thrawn know that the Ascendency is hesitant in allowing Thrawn to venture too far out of known space. Thrawn’s confrontation with Yiv the Benevolent brought unwanted attention by the Syndicure. As a result, the Syndicure doesn’t want the Expansionary Defense Fleet to be spread out too thin across space. Thrawn… disagrees. Thrawn has to be reminded of the Ascendancy policy – no military action should be taken unless Ascendancy territory is attacked first!
Likinda, Commander of the Chiss warship, Grayshrike, has an interesting conflict that arises between her morality and the Xodlak family. With the events that she faces, it gives us deeper insight as to how the families operate.
Jixtus was mentioned briefly in The first book, Chaos Rising. In this tale, he is brought into the story a lot more, but still just a mysterious robed figure with a spy gathering intel on the Chiss. He’s very interested in how the Chiss navigate through space. He believes the Chiss have a navigational device from the people in lessor space, taken from the people long ago when the Chiss had taken part in their wars. Jixtus wants this device.
Quote of the book comes from one of the Chiss upon receiving a gift:
“If one wants the joy of giving, one must in turn except the humbleness of receiving, as to allow others their own joy.”
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I was pleased with book one, Chaos Rising. Was I pleased with part two, Greater Good? Yes! This book offers an excellent story. It’s widely known as the second book in a Thrawn trilogy, but it’s so much more than just a Thrawn story. There are many characters in this book that play a critical role in pushing the plot forward.
There is a lot of conflict in this story, and it’s handled so well. Zahn brings in a whole new level of drama in this book involving differences in alien species, Chiss families, and authoritative conflict within the Ascendancy itself. Thrawn is usually predictable in that, he’s perfect… he knows how to resolve everything – always. While that’s mostly true, the other characters ground the story, making the novel so interesting and unpredictable. I can’t wait to see how Timothy Zahn concludes the Thrawn Ascendency trilogy.
Timothy Zahn creates his own corner of the galaxy… so unique, fresh, yet familiar!
There are a few things I have to say about the Audiobook production. First, the positive – Marc Thompson does an excellent job narrating the story. He’s highly entertaining and puts in a lot of effort with each character of the book.
The negative, I feel that in some parts the music was misplaced and/or too loud. the narration was a little too slow for my taste, which made it a little difficult following along with the story.
Rating: This book receives a B+
