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rogue_leader's review against another edition
4.0
A fun adventure with Rocket and Groot. When they encounter a strange and knowledgeable robot, they find themselves at the center of an intergalactic struggle. This book is a lot of fun and even better if you listen to it. It has a full cast and sound effects. Dan Abnett has done a great job brining these comic book characters into a full length story.
wishanem's review against another edition
3.0
I was pleasantly reminded of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I recommend this book to anybody who wants to read something halfway between the comic and the film.
reillykid7's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
hazelsf's review against another edition
5.0
I was left with a void after Guardians of the Galaxy, and this book literally solutionized the flark out of my problem.
reubend1ca9's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
familiar_diversions's review against another edition
3.0
This is narrated in the present tense by Recorder 127 of the Rigellian Intergalactic Survey. For some reason, 127 has odd blanks in his memory. He knows lots of things and can apply that knowledge in useful ways, but he has no idea why Roamer, a Spaceknight mercenary, keeps showing up and trying to capture him.
Rocket Raccoon sees potential profit in Recorder 127, so he and Groot do their best to stay by his side and keep the Spaceknight from taking him. Plus, Rocket's happy to have an excuse to shoot at all the trouble that keeps following both him and 127 around.
Meanwhile, Timely Inc. is the most powerful corporation in the galaxy, and they have plans to become even more powerful still. They just need to get their hands on Recorder 127 first.
My knowledge of Guardians of the Galaxy is limited to the two movies and one Rocket Raccoon graphic novel volume. As far as I could tell, this worked well as a standalone, although I did have some issues picturing just about everybody in the cast except Rocket, Groot, and Gamora. The book wasn't completely without descriptions, but it definitely assumed more knowledge of what the various alien species looked like than I possessed.
The narrator's voice is not going to appeal to everyone - I think the narrator is part of the reason why I quit reading this the first time I tried it a few years ago. Recorder 127 comments on his own storytelling abilities a lot and makes lots of jokes and asides that the author probably thought were fun and clever. Unfortunately, they didn't really work for me, and sometimes I just wanted Recorder 127 to shut and up tell the story without embellishments. Also, there is only so often readers need to be told about Rocket's "disconcertingly human-like hands" and "unfeasibly large guns" - the author had everyone commenting on them, not just Recorder 127.
A note on Recorder 127 and Gamora: his lusting over her made zero sense to me. It never really went further than "hopeful puppy dog eyes," but since the text made it clear that he wasn't a biological entity, his seemingly biological pants feelings were bizarre. Yes, I understand that Gamora was supposed to be hot, but noting her physical attractiveness to others should have been enough to emphasize that.
The story was almost nonstop action, Rocket, Groot, 127, and (later) Gamora going from one place to another, first in an attempt to escape people trying to capture 127 or kill Rocket and Groot, and then in an effort to finally get to the bottom of whatever Timely Inc.'s plans were. It was confusing but, I think, meant to be that way - the final showdown There were individual moments I enjoyed, even though following along with the whole thing was sometimes difficult. My favorite parts generally involved the Centurion characters, particularly the sentient ship that Rocket managed to talk into helping him.
The plot's reliance on was another one of those things that I suspect was supposed to be seen as clever and fun and instead just felt lazy.
Overall, this was okay, but not the best Rocket and Groot experience I've had, and it didn't leave me wanting to read more of Abnett's fiction.
Extras:
The book ends with a short excerpt from Neil Kleid's Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt, adapted from the graphic novel by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeek.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Rocket Raccoon sees potential profit in Recorder 127, so he and Groot do their best to stay by his side and keep the Spaceknight from taking him. Plus, Rocket's happy to have an excuse to shoot at all the trouble that keeps following both him and 127 around.
Meanwhile, Timely Inc. is the most powerful corporation in the galaxy, and they have plans to become even more powerful still. They just need to get their hands on Recorder 127 first.
My knowledge of Guardians of the Galaxy is limited to the two movies and one Rocket Raccoon graphic novel volume. As far as I could tell, this worked well as a standalone, although I did have some issues picturing just about everybody in the cast except Rocket, Groot, and Gamora. The book wasn't completely without descriptions, but it definitely assumed more knowledge of what the various alien species looked like than I possessed.
The narrator's voice is not going to appeal to everyone - I think the narrator is part of the reason why I quit reading this the first time I tried it a few years ago. Recorder 127 comments on his own storytelling abilities a lot and makes lots of jokes and asides that the author probably thought were fun and clever. Unfortunately, they didn't really work for me, and sometimes I just wanted Recorder 127 to shut and up tell the story without embellishments. Also, there is only so often readers need to be told about Rocket's "disconcertingly human-like hands" and "unfeasibly large guns" - the author had everyone commenting on them, not just Recorder 127.
A note on Recorder 127 and Gamora: his lusting over her made zero sense to me. It never really went further than "hopeful puppy dog eyes," but since the text made it clear that he wasn't a biological entity, his seemingly biological pants feelings were bizarre. Yes, I understand that Gamora was supposed to be hot, but noting her physical attractiveness to others should have been enough to emphasize that.
The story was almost nonstop action, Rocket, Groot, 127, and (later) Gamora going from one place to another, first in an attempt to escape people trying to capture 127 or kill Rocket and Groot, and then in an effort to finally get to the bottom of whatever Timely Inc.'s plans were. It was confusing but, I think, meant to be that way - the final showdown
Spoiler
gathered just about everyone up into one big messy battle.The plot's reliance on
Spoiler
two (yes, more than one) devices with the power to conveniently alter the universe and characters' places in itOverall, this was okay, but not the best Rocket and Groot experience I've had, and it didn't leave me wanting to read more of Abnett's fiction.
Extras:
The book ends with a short excerpt from Neil Kleid's Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt, adapted from the graphic novel by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeek.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
gilsayan's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
noveladdiction's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting. Nothing special about this, though.
ericarobyn's review
4.0
This was a nice read! At first I thought that it was a little hard to get into. I was annoyed with the constant use of, "gentle reader," "loyal reader," etc. and "disconcertingly human-like hand." But once I was introduced to the narrator, and understood what he was, the narration style made much more sense and I was hooked. Typical marvel style, there were lots of funny lines and parts. For example, the last line in one chapter was "'What the -tik!- flark is going on up there?' Gruntgrill asks," and the title of the next chapter was "This Is What The -Tik- Flark Is Going On Up There," LOVE IT!
ssindc's review
3.0
Fast, fun, light, silly ... and true to form. Perfect airplane (or travel) reading or a nice break from from a diet of literary fiction, serious non-fiction, or even though-provoking and heavy sci-fi.
OK, no hiding the ball here: this one isn't for everyone. But ... but ... if you're a comic book reader, if you're a Stan Lee-and-Marvel reader, if you lean towards the second-tier, less conventional, somewhat more than off beat side of things, or if you got sucked into to either of the big screen (surprisingly engaging and successful) Guardians of the Galaxy movies, well, you just might want to give it a try.
Granted, there are plenty of folks who want their comic books (or graphic novels) to stay in their intended form, large pages packaged with a central staple and populated with sequential panels full of drawings and speech bubbles.... But if the format is just another medium to you, and you enjoy the story-lines and the characters and the banter and the action and not-terribly-ordinary suspension of disbelief that comes with superhero lore, well, why not give it a try?
At the end of the day, there's a lot more action here than humor (although there's enough to keep it light), and there's far more momentum than common sense (but, let's not lose sight of the fact that it's a novelization of a comic book). But, if you know what you're getting yourself into, well, ... it works.
OK, no hiding the ball here: this one isn't for everyone. But ... but ... if you're a comic book reader, if you're a Stan Lee-and-Marvel reader, if you lean towards the second-tier, less conventional, somewhat more than off beat side of things, or if you got sucked into to either of the big screen (surprisingly engaging and successful) Guardians of the Galaxy movies, well, you just might want to give it a try.
Granted, there are plenty of folks who want their comic books (or graphic novels) to stay in their intended form, large pages packaged with a central staple and populated with sequential panels full of drawings and speech bubbles.... But if the format is just another medium to you, and you enjoy the story-lines and the characters and the banter and the action and not-terribly-ordinary suspension of disbelief that comes with superhero lore, well, why not give it a try?
At the end of the day, there's a lot more action here than humor (although there's enough to keep it light), and there's far more momentum than common sense (but, let's not lose sight of the fact that it's a novelization of a comic book). But, if you know what you're getting yourself into, well, ... it works.