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+