COWBOYS & ALIENS

TOR

Novelization by Joan D. Vinge

Based on the Screenplay by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby

Screen Story by Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Steve Oedekerk

Based on Platinum Studios' Cowboys & Aliens by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg

Copyright © 2011 Universal and Dreamworks II Dist. Cowboys & Aliens TM & © Universal Studios and Dreamworks II Dist. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC.



In Cowboys & Aliens, novelization by Joan D. Vinge, is a novelization of the movie Cowboys & Aliens. A stranger wakes up alone in the middle of a desert in the Old West with no memory of who he is. This lone cowboy also has an alien device strapped to his wrist.

Based on the graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the stranger is a cowboy who is a wanted man. After getting involved in the small town of Absolution, New Mexico's politics between the sheriff and the son of the local rich cattle rancher - the town gets invaded by alien ships. After the invasion, the stranger, sheriff, the rancher and a small posse goes after the aliens who kidnapped the townspeople - including the rancher's son.

I liked the fact that all the characters eventually had to work together to battle the aliens in order to bring their people home. The mystery of why the stranger has the alien device is still a little confusing to me, even after reading the book and watching the movie. Although I did like the fact that the stranger wound up with the device, I was hoping it would be for a different reason. This is a wonderful blend of the Old West and aliens from outer space which does not skimp on either genre.

Click here to read the movie review of Cowboys & Aliens.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

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.