THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN

POCKET STAR BOOKS

Novelization by
K. J. Anderson

Based on the Screenplay by
James Dale Robinson

Based on the Comic Books by
Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill

Copyright 2003 by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
All rights reserved.

Cover art Trademarked and Copyright 2003 by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
All rights reserved.



In a novelization of the movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, novelization by K. J. Anderson, the novelization of the movie has famous Victorian Era literature characters being brought together to form a League to fight the leader of an evil organization that is bent on starting a World War at the end of the 19th Century.

Based on the comic books by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill,  this has the British Empire bringing together various characters - like explorer and adventurer Allan Quatermain; technological genius Captain Nemo of the submersible Nautilus; Dr. Henry Jekyll and his bestial alter ego Mr. Hyde who was terrorizing Paris; an Invisible Man Rodney Skinner, who makes his living as a thief; the ageless Dorian Gray, subject of the enchanted portrait; chemist Mina Harker, the surviving victim of Count Dracula, who received some of Dracula's abilities; and American Secret Service Agent Tom Sawyer to stop the criminal mastermind "The Fantom." As the League races across the globe determined to hunt down The Fantom = they must also deal with a traitor in The League.


While writer Kevin Anderson can write some interesting stories, this feels like a homogeneous version of the graphic novels and does not seem to have the bite that it should have. My god-niece tells me to ignore this book and read the original books by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. While I have not read the graphic novels, or have seen the movie, the novelization is not that dark or appear to be as literate as it should be although I know Anderson added as much characterization as he could. It is a shame that Anderson basically has to stick to the script exactly because the book is a novelization.

I will say that, since this is a steam punk story, it was rather fun to see the submersible boat Nautilus as well as the technology surrounding the Nautilus that Captain Nemo uses, including a car, as well as the technology that The Fantom uses for his nefarious schemes. It is interesting that Tom Sawyer and Mina Harker develop a relationship, especially after Harker's former relationship with Dorian Grey. I would have liked to have enjoyed seeing more of that relationship if they ever did a sequel.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

FANTASTIC 4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

POCKET STAR BOOKS

A Novelization by Daniel Josephs * Based on the Motion Picture

Screenplay by Don Payne * Story by Mark Frost

Copyright 2007 by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Dune Entertainment LLC. All rights reserved.

MARVEL, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, and all related character names and likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.

Motion Picture Artwork and Photography: Copyright 2007 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Dune Entertainment LLC. All rights reserved.

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the novelization of the movie Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, has Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four about to marry Sue Storm - when the Silver Surfer arrives on Earth causing havoc and destruction.

While the fun part of the book is the continually dashed wedding plans of Sue and Reed at their home, and Johnny's continual marketing efforts to brand the Fantastic Four's name - Gah Lak Tus, the force from space that the Silver Surfer is the herald for so that Gah Lak Tus can consume planets for sustenance, does not seem as menacing as he should be despite the fact that the fate of the world is at stake. It is a galactic cloud and does not seem to have any intelligence behind it. It is good that there are actual events around the world to give the story a sense of actual peril. Victor Von Doom seems more menacing than Gah Lak Tus as the Silver Surfer, Norrin Radd from the planet Zenn-La, causes destruction around the world. The fact that Von Doom actually acquires the power of the Silver Surfer's surfboard makes the unsavory Von Doom goes on a rampage of his own to facilitate the destruction of Earth. It is sad that the military general does not respect Reed Richards enough to truly accept him and his theories on their quest to stop the Silver Surfer.

It is sad when you finally learn the reason the Silver Surfer does what he does, but it still puts the planet Earth in jeopardy.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.