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.
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.
Star Wars: The Approaching Storm was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Alan Dean Foster. This novel is set during the Rise of the Empire Era, taking place just before Attack of the Clones, 22 years before A New Hope.
SUMMARY
The world of Anison is at a crossroads. They must chose to remain with the Republic, or fall out to join the growing Separatist movement. If Anison does leave the Republic, many other worlds would be influenced by this action and follow suit. The Jedi Council has sent two teams of Jedi to attempt to keep the leadership of Anison happy, and to win them over in order to keep them from leaving the Republic.
With the arrival of the Jedi, the Separatists hire Soergg the Hutt to interfere with the Jedi mission of keeping the peace. Will the Jedi succeed in keeping Anison with the Republic or will the Republic continue to crumble with the loss of not just Anison… but many other worlds?
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I believe this book started off strong. Foster did a great job bringing in our heroes and giving us some good action moments. However, the story did become a bit of a chore to get through. The story certainly had it’s good moments and was a great concept. Yet, the execution of the story is rather dull and the story drags out so much! The novel could have easily been 100-150 pages less. I feel that a lot of the story was filler material, just fluff to meet a page or word count.
Our main characters are met with obstacle after ridiculous obstacle. We meet several locals on Anison, some were decent, while others were just far too silly to be taken serious.
The villains in the book are pretty dull. The situation/temptation of Anison leaving the Republic is far more interesting than the villains. At one point, Barriss is taken by two of the villainous natives, they are absolutely dumb. How she managed to be taken by these two idiots… is beyond me. However, she is able to open up their minds and cleanse them of their stupidity. They had a bit of a reawakening you could say. I didn’t mind this, because I just couldn’t handle the stupidity of these guys.
The dialogue between the characters is mostly good. I’ve never been a fan of the way many authors make natives or lower intelligent life forms speak so silly, with that typical caveman talk (Me no like you, you dumb dumb). However, the communication between the Jedi is more natural. I found the following quote from Luminara to be a really good line of dialogue when speaking to her padawan. Not only does it apply to just Star Wars or a Lightsaber, but in the real world with real weapons or threats:
“Anyone can handle a weapon. Reason is much more difficult to wield. Remember that, the next time you’re tempted to settle an argument with a lightsaber.”
Luminara and Barriss worked well as a team. They are good Jedi, but they did need saving often by Kenobi and Anakin. It was nice seeing how other Jedi and padawn view not just the relationship between Kenobi and Anakin, as they are a bit of an unusual duo; but how they see Anakin. Anakin has so much potential, but he’s cocky and is always questioning everything. The moments between Barriss and Anakin are all wonderful as well.
So, do I recommend that you read The Approaching Storm? Well, it’s certainly not the best story, but to get an idea on how others view Anakin and Kenobi, yes, read it.
Whisper Down the Lane was written by Clay McLeod Chapman. The book is published by Quirk Books (thanks for sending a copy for review).
Click to watch the review!
SUMMARY: It was the early 80’s, when a criminal case opened the floodgates of paranoia for both parents and children. A young boy, Sean, was pressured by his mother, police, and a physiatrist to spill his guts about the dark things that happened in his classroom. He draws disturbing images of the events and tells of satanic rituals that took place during class. The confession altered the lives of many individuals.
This novel will blow your socks off!
In 2013, a man named Richard believes his past is better off behind him and forgotten. Not a soul he comes in contact with knows of the horrible things he’d been a part of. However, history has a tendency to repeat itself. Events unravel in Richard’s small town; familiar, unwanted memories rise up to haunt him. These events, if they rise up out of the shadows and into the light, will alter Richards life in the worst possible fashion.
CHARACTERS: With this story, I’m only going to mention one character, Richard. Richard is an art teacher at an elementary school. It seems he’s living his best life now; newly married, soon to be an adoptive father, and he has a great job. Richard is a good guy, full of love and dreams. When distant memories swell up within him, his grasp on reality gets fuzzy, and his sanity starts to slip away.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: This book… is intense! While reading this book, I felt physically ill, I felt anger, I had goosebumps, I felt paranoia, and I felt joy! Chapman absolutely blew me away with this story from beginning to end. The story alternates between two timelines, 1983 & 2013. It’s extremely easy to follow.
The characters, setting, and descriptions are written so well. the author did a fantastic job with the characters thoughts, expressing the hopes, fears and everything else going on the characters head, was very clear; making the characters feel like real people. The dialogue is great, the actions and reactions of the characters are organic, nothing felt forced or cheesy.
The setting was described perfectly. I feel like I’ve been to the town described in the book. Now that I’m a father of three kids, the things that happen in this book are an all new layer of horror. The book raised my anxiety, I legitimately felt horrified by this story. The end of the book just about blew my socks off, it’s soooo good! I can’t wait to see what Chapman has in store for his next book.
The book does have some legitimate life lessons:
Tell the Truth
Don’t force a narrative
Don’t forget the past
Kindness goes a long way
Do I recommend you purchase Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman? I most certainly do!
RATING: I give this novel an A+, I was very pleased with this intense horror novel!
Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel was written by Ian Fleming
SUMMARY: A high stakes game will be played at the Casino Royale in France. Le Chiffre, the financial paymaster of a USSR intelligence organization has been mishandling the agency’s funds. He sought to build his own wealth by investing the organizations money on brothels… which failed. He’s desperate to pull out of debt and clean up his mistakes, by gambling at the Casino Royale. If Le Chiffre fails, he knows the organization he works for, Smersh, will kill him.
The Secret Intelligence Service of a England has sent a double O agent, James Bond, (a good gambler) to face off against Le Chiffre. The goal is to have the enemy lose at the tables. With this victory, the funds of Smersh will be limited, and in turn they will kill off Le Chiffre.
Does Bond pull off a win at the Casino? Will Le Chiffre uncover Bonds identity?
CHARACTERS: With this first book 007 book, I’m going to mention James Bond and Le Chiffre.
James Boned: He’s 007, a double O agent of the SIS, Secret Intelligence Service of England. He takes his job very seriously, it’s a mater of life or death in the occupation as spy. He’s a splendid gambler. He takes risks, unintentionally he lets his guard down, making him vulnerable. He’s a heavy smoker and a womanizer. He is Bond, James Bond.
Le Chiffre: The financial paymaster of a French workman’s union, controlled by a Russian organization known as Smersh. He’s a crumby man with a wild lifestyle. He isn’t in the the best of shape, when it comes to both finances and health. He’s got two loyal body guards and evil side to him.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I was absolutely thrilled with Casino Royale. I never really thought I’d read a James Bond novel, but some friends of mine are always raving about the spy 007. My first exposure to James Bond was the Nintendo 64 game, Goldeneye. I absolutely loved it. I still consider one of the best games ever made. In 2020, I watched the first film, Dr. No, and enjoyed it. So, I picked up Casino Royale and read it in just a few days.
Ian Fleming wrote a fantastic story. At first, I was thinking… how is this book going to be interesting at all? I don’t know anything about gambling, I’ve never really explored spy type books… Yet, I was glued to the pages! I gasped at a few parts, smiled and even sat bolt upright. The tension throughout the book was high. It held my attention and kept the pages turning.
James Bond went through a lot in this story, (the guy smokes nonstop, at one point it says he lit his 70th cigarette of the day). I believe through his ignorance he learned quite a bit about life and how the line between good and evil could shift from hard edged to blurry. The organizations set up are fascinating as well. The villains were vile and written so very well. Smersh, a Russian organization that hunts down traitors and loose ends, is cold and brutal. Some interaction with the group was handled perfectly in the story. This book was a loads of fun to read!
Star Wars: Victory’s Price was written by New York Times Best Selling Author, Alexander Freed. It was published by Del Rey.
Victory’s Price concludes the Alphabet Squadron trilogy.
SUMMARY: After the events that took place in the Cerberon System, the New Republic has the 204th Imperial Unit Shadow Wing mostly on the run playing defense. Between each run in, the 204th strikes its judgment on select Imperial holdouts in the galaxy. Operation Cinder phase II, has begun. The New Republic, specifically the group lead by General Syndulla, is to put an end to the 204th. The mission gets tricky, as it appears there is a mole within Syndulla’s New Republic ship, as well as one within the 204th!
Victory’s Price is a fast paced nail-biting conclusion to the Alphabet Squadron trilogy.
Many twists and turns entangle the opposing sides, all the way up to the epic, final battle of the Republic and the Empire – over the sands of Jakku.
CHARACTERS: The cast of characters is great, I’m only picking two to discuss.
Wyl Lark: He’s been commanding the squadron, and he’s still homesick. He doesn’t have the fight in him anymore. He want’s the war to end and just go home already. His relationship with his unit is on the rocks, but they still have a bond that holds them together, even by the weakest thread. Whyl is the one character that actually made me feel anger and bitter. Alexander Freed’s writing is just too good.
Kairos: She’s always been the odd one, the mysterious female with something going on internally. She’s unique, the mystery continues with Kairos. She’s a hunter, which makes her an excellent tracker.
The desperation for victory or death drives the plot!
Yrica Quell: All I’ll say in this review, is that she surprised me.
Chass Na Chadic: She’s a wild one, after her wild adventure in the Cerberon system, she’s left scarred and emotionally on edge. She’s a bad A, with an attitude, and shows no fear of anyone or anything. She’s my favorite character in this trilogy.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I liked this book. It was mostly everything I was hoping it would be. The last time we saw these characters, they were all put in really tough and surprising situations. That element continues as many of the cast goes through extreme changes and adjustments. By the time the story concludes, I found some of the character arcs satisfying, while some were left open or just a tad too awkward.
Alexander Freed’s writing is outstanding. The novel feels more than just sci-fi/fantasy – it feels real. From the dialogue to the descriptions, every moment was fleshed out nicely. The way Freed creates characters and what he puts them through is just incredible. The war has changed people, there’s no easy walk in the park for anyone, the hero’s suffer. The desperation for victory or death drives the plot!
The book read quickly, not one moment did I feel I was wasting my precious time or drift off from boredom. I was glued to the pages all the way to end! The only negative I have to say, is there is one moment in the end that feels like a “check the box, gotta include that thing” in the story, it came across unnatural and as an afterthought. However, Overall – Victory’s Price is a fast paced nail-biting conclusion to the Alphabet Squadron trilogy. Freed’s brilliance and storytelling ability is just, next level.
