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tuftymctavish's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This ended up being far more superhero-based - Powered people - than I had anticipated. So it read a lot like a Marvel movie style ensemble cast of folks with assorted unique Powers coming together from their own base of operations - a Baxter building in a centralised location if you like - melding abilities to form new potential, rather like a video game.
There are also strong themes of atonement running throughout, life lessons that you don’t realise until you’re older yourself.
There are also strong themes of atonement running throughout, life lessons that you don’t realise until you’re older yourself.
theliteraryapothecary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Hybrid Helix Turn 2
"When you feel the burden of expectations, it is worth remembering how small your existence is in the greater scheme of things. On the other hand, when you are feeling unimportant and of little use to anyone, that is a bad time to remember your place. It's all perspective." (296)
What a wild ride! Return of the Griffin was full of action, adventure, humor and charm (yes, charm!) - oh and lots of out of this world creatures, literally!
CAWPILE Breakdown:
Characters: 9 - JCM Berne creates some of th emost unique characters. They were developed well in this second turn of the Hybrid Helix. They are unique yet relateable, endearing but also flawed in their own ways -- in other words, not perfect but realistic.
Atmosphere/Setting: 9 - Some authors struggle in creating settings that are outside the "real world", and some authors live outside the "real world." Berne not only gives us other worlds filled with "real world" things, but also takes things from other worlds and puts it on "Earth." -- Readers can easily imagine the action and scenes taking place, no matter what world they are on.
Writing Style: 9 - Berne's writing style contiues to improve in every book I read of his. It provides a good, steady pace, humor to break up tense moments, relateable characters and just a wild, fun ride.
Plot: 9 - Simple yet effective. Classic superhero, science fiction, space odyssey plot, yet more complicated than that at the same time.
Intrigue: 8 - I loved the way in which Berne provided us with intrigue and then shortly later, we got the answers and moved onto new intrigue. It was like he was writing from the perspective of a reader. Giving his readers just enough to keep moving.
Logic/Relationships: 8 - Did it all make sense, logically? Not quite. Was it supposed to? The jury is still out. The relationships though - I loved what Berne did with the relationships in this turn.
Enjoyment: 9 - A good time was had.
CAWPILE Total: 61/7 = 8.7 = 4.5/5 stars
chloefrizzle's review against another edition
2.0
I am so FINISHED with angry USA racism and neo-nazi plotlines in *checks notes* Canadian-Desi Superhero Space Opera Fantasy books.
DNF at 57%
DNF at 57%
kevinscorner's review against another edition
4.0
Return of the Griffin is the sequel to Wistful Ascending, a scifi mash-up of the superhero and space opera subgenres. Rohan is a part-human and part-il’Drach Hybrid, giving him extraordinary superpowers. Initially a superhero on earth then a soldier in the intergalactic il’Drach Empire, he has left that life behind after growing jaded with the things he was forced to do. Now in this sequel, he is called back to Earth to take the superhero mantle of the Griffin again after giant, near indestructible, interdimensional creatures threaten its very existence.
This book is a pretty fun and action-packed entry into the series. We get further insight into Rohan as he reunites with some old friends and enemies. I thought the book leaned a bit too hard into the action and left me wanting more of the quieter moments with the characters. But at least we do get to see Rohan confront more of his past as the Griffin and the things he left behind on Earth.
Return of the Griffin is another funny and earnest entry into the Hybrid Helix series that is more superhero adventure and less space opera this time around.
This book is a pretty fun and action-packed entry into the series. We get further insight into Rohan as he reunites with some old friends and enemies. I thought the book leaned a bit too hard into the action and left me wanting more of the quieter moments with the characters. But at least we do get to see Rohan confront more of his past as the Griffin and the things he left behind on Earth.
Return of the Griffin is another funny and earnest entry into the Hybrid Helix series that is more superhero adventure and less space opera this time around.
chloefrizzle's review against another edition
2.0
I am so FINISHED with angry USA racism and neo-nazi plotlines in *checks notes* Canadian-Desi Superhero Space Opera Fantasy books.
DNF at 57%
DNF at 57%
rotewaffel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book lo wasn't up my alley, but it might be yours.
In the first book of the series the main draws for me were the setting (space station) and the premise (former war hero/criminal seeks a peaceful retirement). Book two leaves both behind with The Griffin returning to Earth and all the relationships/drama he left behind.
I'd describe the story as a gritty superhero story, rather than a space opera with superpowers.
The pace is a bit too fast for my taste, it reads like an account of playing a videogame while fasttraveling from one Questmarker to the next (I'm currently playing Starfield, it feels like the first hours of Starfield if you follow the main quest without getting sidetracked or doing anything else).
Book three is set back on the space station according to the blurb, which sounds promising, so I probably won't be dropping the series.
In the first book of the series the main draws for me were the setting (space station) and the premise (former war hero/criminal seeks a peaceful retirement). Book two leaves both behind with The Griffin returning to Earth and all the relationships/drama he left behind.
I'd describe the story as a gritty superhero story, rather than a space opera with superpowers.
The pace is a bit too fast for my taste, it reads like an account of playing a videogame while fasttraveling from one Questmarker to the next (I'm currently playing Starfield, it feels like the first hours of Starfield if you follow the main quest without getting sidetracked or doing anything else).
Book three is set back on the space station according to the blurb, which sounds promising, so I probably won't be dropping the series.
szeththeassassin's review against another edition
5.0
Please read my review at the following link:
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/09/01/return-of-the-griffin-hybrid-helix-2-by-jcm-berne/
Thanks for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/09/01/return-of-the-griffin-hybrid-helix-2-by-jcm-berne/
Thanks for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!
emhamill's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
szeththeassassin's review against another edition
5.0
Please read my review at the following link:
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/09/01/return-of-the-griffin-hybrid-helix-2-by-jcm-berne/
Thanks for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/09/01/return-of-the-griffin-hybrid-helix-2-by-jcm-berne/
Thanks for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!
2ndchance_chad's review against another edition
5.0
I had recently been introduced to the Hybrid Helix series not too long ago when seeing the hype around book one and had the opportunity to read and enjoy it. I figured I'd hop right on into book two and continue this wild adventure!
JCM Berne has a rather unique way to begin his stories. Rohan always seems to be in some kind of trouble right out of the gate, then we travel back into time a few weeks and then fill in the gap on how he ended up in that situation in the first place before continuing where we started from to finish his books. It's different enough for me but isn't really confusing or jarring. In fact, I often find myself forgetting about that opening scene at times and just enjoying the moment within the story. Then I'm either reminded or we catch back up to that timeline and things fall into place and make more sense.
These stories are just so wildly entertaining to me. We have humanoids with powers, kaiju, ships and stations with personalities all their own and in book two we even throw in the mix of a couple of gods to get to know! The action is still high level in book two. However, I felt like we did have a bit more of a light shining on Rohan as he continues to try and grow or mature (only in his emotions and retrospect of his actions in the past, his jokes are still immature and right up my alley). Book two definitely touched on some deeper subjects than book one did but I feel it only added to the depth of our characters and the story.
The character development was on par and perhaps even a bit better in book two. We learn quite a bit more about Rohan as he even learns more about his younger self at the same time. We also meet and learn about several new characters to the story and touch base and see a few connections with existing characters from book one. I always wish we had more Wei Li though and missed Ursula in book two.
The pacing was just as adrenaline filled as book one. As fast pace as these reads are they are very quick and easy reads as well. There isn't a lot of areas in the author's writing style that would trip up readers. They flow very well in my opinion.
The world building continues to be great as well. Last time we got to learn about the space station, the planet it is orbiting and some of the universe around it including a far stretching (via wormhole) culture from another part of the universe. In this one it includes several of those but also starts to fill in more of our own planet Earth and the state of things there currently. We also start to understand a bit more of the Il'Drach empire in book two as well.
All in all these have been great books for simple enjoyment of the story. I know the third book is being released very soon and I hope to get to it next month or December at the latest.
I'd recommend this book and series to anyone interested in a break from epic science fiction or fantasy reads. Or someone who enjoys super hero stories in general. I kind of think of the series as a not so vulgar version of the Boys show which isn't a bad thing. And I absolutely love the humor and banter through the Hybrid Helix series so far!
JCM Berne has a rather unique way to begin his stories. Rohan always seems to be in some kind of trouble right out of the gate, then we travel back into time a few weeks and then fill in the gap on how he ended up in that situation in the first place before continuing where we started from to finish his books. It's different enough for me but isn't really confusing or jarring. In fact, I often find myself forgetting about that opening scene at times and just enjoying the moment within the story. Then I'm either reminded or we catch back up to that timeline and things fall into place and make more sense.
These stories are just so wildly entertaining to me. We have humanoids with powers, kaiju, ships and stations with personalities all their own and in book two we even throw in the mix of a couple of gods to get to know! The action is still high level in book two. However, I felt like we did have a bit more of a light shining on Rohan as he continues to try and grow or mature (only in his emotions and retrospect of his actions in the past, his jokes are still immature and right up my alley). Book two definitely touched on some deeper subjects than book one did but I feel it only added to the depth of our characters and the story.
The character development was on par and perhaps even a bit better in book two. We learn quite a bit more about Rohan as he even learns more about his younger self at the same time. We also meet and learn about several new characters to the story and touch base and see a few connections with existing characters from book one. I always wish we had more Wei Li though and missed Ursula in book two.
The pacing was just as adrenaline filled as book one. As fast pace as these reads are they are very quick and easy reads as well. There isn't a lot of areas in the author's writing style that would trip up readers. They flow very well in my opinion.
The world building continues to be great as well. Last time we got to learn about the space station, the planet it is orbiting and some of the universe around it including a far stretching (via wormhole) culture from another part of the universe. In this one it includes several of those but also starts to fill in more of our own planet Earth and the state of things there currently. We also start to understand a bit more of the Il'Drach empire in book two as well.
All in all these have been great books for simple enjoyment of the story. I know the third book is being released very soon and I hope to get to it next month or December at the latest.
I'd recommend this book and series to anyone interested in a break from epic science fiction or fantasy reads. Or someone who enjoys super hero stories in general. I kind of think of the series as a not so vulgar version of the Boys show which isn't a bad thing. And I absolutely love the humor and banter through the Hybrid Helix series so far!