Kong Skull Island Novelization Review

Kong: Skull Island

A Novelization Review

Kong Skull Island, a novelization review! The novelization was written by Tim Lebbon, the film was directed by Jordan Roberts.

SUMMARY: Bill Randel, an agent with Monarch, has reason to believe that an uncharted island in the Pacific is the key to proving his hollow earth theory. He also believes this Island is a hot-spot for incredible lifeforms to exist. Randel manages to persuade his military contact to gather a team of soldiers who just finished their fight in Vietnam, to assist in his exploration of Skull Island. A few other select individuals are brought on the team such as an British special forces guy and a photographer.

Once the team reaches the island, plans and lives quickly fall apart. Kong, a giant gorilla, tramples the uninvited guests in his territory. We follow the team, now on the run for their lives, desperately trying to reach the extraction zone.

CHARACTERS: I’d like to mention two characters. We do see them in the film quite a bit. However, we don’t actually get to know them due to the films poor character development. That’s where this book shines, the development of characters.

Bill Randel: In his youth, he was bullied and ridiculed for his wild and crazy theories. Even as an adult he’s looked at as a weirdo: the earth, hollow… it does sound crazy. Randel gets the opportunity to prove his theory as fact as he’s approved to go on the mission of a lifetime. Though he is thrilled in the results of his finds, he’s heart broken by all the lives lost on his mission.

James Conrad: Conrad was sought out for his impressive tracking/survivalist skills. He’s a former English special forces soldier who remains haunted by a failed mission from his past.. He likes to make a solid plan, not act on assumptions or make rash decisions. Conrad is definitely someone you’d want on your team.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed reading this novelization. It dove deep into characters and told a great story. In the film there’s a lot missing. The book fills in a lot of gaps and explores much more.

This book is better than the film. The only thing you can’t get in the book is the awesome visual effects. It’s too bad really, that the film didn’t go as deep into everything like the novelization.

I’ve heard that a film may be on the horizon, staring Kong and Godzilla! I haven’t read the novelization of Godzilla yet, but I’d like too. Most importantly, I hope the Kong/Godzilla story is as rich as this novelization.

Do I recommend you read Kong: Skull Island? Yes! Read this book before watching or rewatching the film.

RATING: I give this book a 3.5 of 5

Thanks for checking out the Kong Skull Island Novelization Review!

Darth Maul Comic Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

Darth Maul Trade Paperback Review

The Marvel Darth Maul Trade Paperback takes place before The Phantom Menace. At the time of this review, it is the first entry in the canon timeline. In this review, I will give a summary and my overall thoughts for each chapter in the comic.

PART I

Summary: Darth Maul, Sith apprentice to the dark lord, Darth Sidious, is ready and willing to take on the Jedi. After he hunts and slaughters a few Rathtars to appease his blood-lust, he returns to Coruscant. Before Maul returns to his master, he stalks a few Jedi, but defeats the temptation to strike.

Darth Sidious warns Maul to control his rage, to be patient, and wait for the master plan to be fulfilled. After that, Maul’s rage may be unleashed on their foe.

Trade federation is establishing a secret mining facility in the Kellux System. Maul is ordered to go and assist the troubled federation allies being harassed by pirates. Once there, Maul is wiping out the pirates and is mistaken for a Jedi. It’s revealed that a Jedi padawan was captured and to be sold into slavery. Maul then slaughters the pirates and the federation allies. He will find this padawan and destroy him before the Jedi can save him.

Overall Thoughts: A good start to the Darth Maul comic. I like the tie in to The Force Awakens with the Rathtar creatures. It’s nice seeing new things in the canon stretch throughout the timeline. Maul is written well. He’s arrogant, prideful, and impatient. Emperor Palpatine seems happy with, yet somewhat annoyed by his apprentice. He makes it clear that if Maul disobeys him… there will be consequences.

PART II

SUMMARY: Maul heads to the best place to find information, where everyone there has something to hide, Nar Shaddaa. He gets into a scuffle after attempting to find out more info on Xev Xrexus, the name that was dropped on the federation ship pertaining to the Jedi padawan. He can’t use his Lightsaber, word would spread and his identify would surely be revealed. Luckily for Maul, some hired hands show up; Aurra Sing, Cad Bane, and Vorhdeulo.

With a little help from one of Car Bane’s associates, a protocol droid is tortured and interrogated, spilling its knowledge on Xev Xrexus. Maul and his hired bunch, Head to the auction, where the poor Jedi padawan is up for sale.

Once they get to the location, they are greeted and informed of the specimen up for auction, Maul sneaks off and finds the Jedi.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This was an awesome issue! I wasn’t expecting the surprise characters like Aurra Sing! We’ve only seen a glimpse of her in The Phantom Menace. Cad Bane cameo is probably cool for those that like the Clone Wars series.

I was impressed with some of the lore that mentioned. In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine says, “Once more the Sith will rule the galaxy.” I’ve always been intrigued by that line, imagining what that might have been like. In this issue, we get some beautiful artwork, showing a slaughter of ancient Sith by cross-Saber wielding Jedi! One of them even has a silhouette resembling Yoda…. mind was blown. (How about we turn that into a film?!)

I really enjoyed this issue. I’ve never really been a big Maul fan… the comic isn’t changing that, only making my case for disliking him even stronger. He’s too prideful, and that pride led to his downfall. Excited to move on to the next issue!

PART III

SUMMARY: The bidding is about to begin! But beforehand, Maul has snuck around security to get a sneak peak of the Jedi padawan. Lucky for her, she’s well protected by a forcefield. Xev Xrexus catches Maul, threatens to have him incinerated, but let’s him go.

The auction begins, and the bid climbs higher and higher. Maul and his hired crew find out who the winner is… and takes care of them… in a bad way.

However, Xev Xrexus had a plan, deactivating the ship that the padawan is on so that it crashes on the nearby planet. Her new scheme, to have folks buy-in to hunt for the padawan.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The series continues to keep me interested and entertained. Xev Xrexus is a total tool bag, she’s pretty evil. Maul realizes he needs to calm down a bit, and does so. I like that because it shows they the character has a brain.

The ending was a nice surprise, I honestly didn’t expect it to end the way it did. Ready to see how Maul gets out of this problem now, surely he’ll have to wipe out everyone… right? But that can’t be, because Cad Bane and Aurra Sing are with him. Alright, moving on to the forth part in the story!

PART IV

SUMMARY: Maul and company crash land on the Moon of Drazkel. The buy-in for the hunt of the padawan and her abductors takes place! Maul has his hired hands search for ships, to tamper with some and steal one. Maul and the padawan will go out on their own, to lure the hunters away so he can destroy them.

Maul and the padawan trade words. He knows she’s powerful, he actually lets her out of her bindings and gives back her lightsaber. She helps fend off the hunters.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Loved the issue! There is once but that was actually gruesome and disturbing! Poor little Tek-Tek, didn’t do so well after the crash. I like how Maul gives the lightsaber to the padawan, he basically does it to see how well she uses it and to study her style. He keeps it pretty cool in this issue until the end… making this issue the best cliffhanger in the run.

The art was beautiful, the lighting on the planet was purplish pink, it made the two sabers stand out, a nice artistic touch. Can’t wait to finish up this series!

PART V

SUMMARY: Aurra Sing and Cad Bane work to get a ship, taking out a few of the hunters along the way. Darth Maul and the padawan duel!

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I enjoyed this issue. I was glad to see Maul come to his senses somewhat. He realized his arrogance and anger led to him defying his master and his wishes to remain in the shadows. I wasn’t too surprised that he had a rough time taking on the Jedi padawan… I mean, the next padawan he faces cuts him in half! (Obi-Wan in The Phantom Menace)

Do I recommend you pick up the Darth Maul trade paperback? Yes, I had a good time with this series, didn’t have any eye rolling, nonsense moments.

RATING: I give this comic series an A

Star Wars: Canto Bight Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

Star Wars: Canto Bight

Journey to The Last Jedi

SPOILER FREE

Star Wars: Canto Bight, is a collection of four novellas.. The authors involved are Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, and John Jackson Miller. This book is part of the Journey to The Last Jedi.

SUMMARY: On the planet Cantonica, the city of dreams, the oasis of the galaxy, is the city Canto Bight. Canto Bight is a playground for the rich, the root of sorrow for the unlucky and down-trodden. Don’t let the bright lights and wealthy smiles fool you, because this place has some shady underground mafia like shenanigans going on.

Here’s the list of stories in order from best to worst, in my opinion:

1. Rules of the Game: by Saladin Ahmed – A vacation gone wrong for a poor, trusting little alien.

2. Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing: by Mira Grant – A masseur who gets caught up in some dirty underground mafia-like action.

3. The Ride: by John Jackson Miller – A gambler down on his luck, may have found a little, in the package of three annoying little aliens.

4. Wine In Dreams: by Rae Carson – A wine saleswoman gets caught up in some drama with competition and two very weird sister aliens.

CHARACTERS: Each story has different characters, so there are quite a few. But I will only mention one.

Kedpin: He’s the main character in the first story, Rules of the Game. I like him because he’s relate-able. He won an all expenses paid vacation to Canto Bight for being salesman of the year within the company he works for. He’s a hard worker, mostly innocent, and almost always down on his luck. He doesn’t like bending the rules either. He’s friendly, vulnerable, and a little too trustworthy of strangers.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book was decent. It’s cool seeing the different things going on to different folks in Canto Bight. It’s very much like Las Vegas.

Do I recommend that you read Star Wars: Canto Bight? Sure, it’s got some fun stories all based in the Canto Bight city.

RATING: I will give this book a 3.5 out of 5.

Star Wars: Adventures In Wild Space: The Darkness Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

Star Wars: The Darkness

Adventures In Wild Space: Book IV

Star Wars: Adventures In Wild Space – The Darkness was written by Tom Huddleston. This book is part four in an ongoing young readers series.

SUMMARY: Lina and Milo Graf, still on the search for their parents, thought they had found a trustworthy partner, to assist in the tracking down their parents, who were taken by the Empire.

The Imperial, Captain Korda, hadhired a bounty hunter to find the pesky children and bring them to him. Too bad for the kids, the one they put their trust into, happens to be the bounty hunter! Shalla Mondatha is in fact, The Shade.

The children are captured and thrown into a cell on The Shade’s ship. More prisoners are brought on board the ship, making the journey a frightening one for the children, especially when the power is shut off.

Part of the cargo contains big crates marked “Cylo.” A crate containing cybernetic spiders that feed on power-cells broke open. This event causes the ship to go quite, in the darkness. Now the kids have to gamble on which other prisoner will be an ally… or an enemy.

CHARACTERS: Because this young readers novel is very short, I’m only going to mention one character.

The Cylo cybernetic spiders: They are pretty interesting creatures/creations. A bit annoying, but prove to be an ominous threat as they can drain power sources. The Last place they should be roaming, is a ship drifting through space.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book was good. In my opinion it’s not as good as the previous book. It really shows how crazy and unpredictable the galaxy can be. These kids just can’t win. Choosing who they can trust has become a dangerous game.

The villains in this book were odd, the Cylo spiders were a cool idea. Really like how this young reader book has a connection to the Darth Vader comic. The other villain is ok, a real trickster. I won’t mention who it is, because I’m reaming spoiler free.

I don’t like the way The Shade was handled in the book, could have made a lot better use out of here. Hopefully she’ll get the spotlight again in one of the other Adventures in Wild Space books.

Do I recommend you read, Adventures in Wild Space: The Darkness? If you’ve read the previous books in the series… yes.

RATING: I give this book a 2.5 out of 5

Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker Book Review

by Matthew Wilson

Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker Book Review

Journey to The Last Jedi

The Legends of Luke Skywalker is a YA book, written by Ken Liu. This book has the banner, Journey to Star Wars: Journey to The Last Jedi.

Summary: A group of you deckhands aboard the cargo freighter, Wayward Current, exchange stories they’ve heard about the mystical, mysterious, and legendary Luke Skywalker. The captain of the Wayward Current is a Hutt, only hiring young naive beings; they won’t be greedy and they won’t get feisty (maybe).

Characters: Although there a few characters in this book, I’ll focus on the main character, Luke Skywalker.

Luke Skywalker: He’s the hero, obviously, but the continuous trait in each tale, is how much he hates violence. It can be a little annoying at times. For example, maybe a minor spoiler, but it’s nothing important, this information won’t ruin your day. Luke and another person are swallowed by a space slug, and he’s worried about giving the beast indigestion.

Overall Thoughts: This book was not good. It was so lame! I just couldn’t get excited reading this book. Some of the material would be cool had it been true. One of the tales mentions Luke on Jakku, bringing down Star Destroyers… but he’s also mentioned as giant mystical being in the stars.

I think the best part of the book is the design of the book itself. The art throughout is very nice. The pages were artistic, down to the unique font that was used. I liked the texture of the book as well.

Do I recommend you pick up The Legends of Luke Skywalker? No. It’s unnecessary and silly.

Rating: I will rate this book a 1.5 out of 5.