A review by trudilibrarian
Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon & Groot Steal The Galaxy by Dan Abnett

4.0

What a lovable, enjoyable, adrenalized hoot this was! I still would have preferred to see all the action sequences (of which there were many -- many I tell you) play out on the big screen (sometimes the prose falls a little short of adequately capturing the epic scale and magnificence of the fighting, running, space racing, exploding drama) but overall, for a novelization of two notoriously preeminent comic/cinematic heroes this was a thrill.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot utterly ambushed me in last summer's Marvel blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy completely stealing my heart. I was not expecting to have such a reaction. I had never heard of them, had never read the comics and have been late wading into MCU waters. As I mentioned in another review, my geek sci-fi cred is almost nil, embarrassingly so. But I am committed to making up for past sins and lost time. With Marvel anyway. Doctor Who and Star Wars are gonna have to wait.

But back to my two favorite guys: Rocket and Groot (and by guys you know I mean a talking raccoon and a talking giant tree, right?). They are rogues, badasses, heroes, and sometimes, Guardians of the Galaxy. This is their story, though Gamora has a notable kick-assing role to play. She's a lot fiercer and meaner and scarier in these pages (win!) than the "softer side" we get in the movie. I love her.

But back to Rocket and Groot. By coincidence and accident they cross paths with a Rigellian Recorder (#127) who needs rescuing. It seems everyone in the Galaxy - Multiverse wants their version of hands on this guy. He has "recorded" some very vital information, data that could lead to absolute power over reality itself. I loved 127. In my limited comparison capabilities he reminded me of what little I know of C-3PO. He's SUPER smart containing a trillion Wikipedias, but he's an emotional being, with humor and even desires, developing a crush on Gamora herself and forging a lovely bond with his unlikely allies Rocket and Groot.

So much of this story follows the intrepid heroes (soon joined by Gamora) as they race from planet to planet, escaping the clutches of very many species of races from the Kree to the Nova Corps and Badoons not to mention from the Timely Inc megacorp itself (the ones who stand to gain ALL the power if they should successfully recover 127). Oh yeah, and there's a hired SpaceKnight mercenary in the mix too ready to capture and hand over 127 to Timely Inc.

But Rocket and Groot have decided that's not going to happen. Not on their watch. But it will test every bit of ingenuity and tactical skills that they have to avoid failure and/or a horrible death. It's thrilling, let me tell you, and a ridiculous amount of fun, but it's only made me long even more for the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel (that for the record is still TWO YEARS away). ::sad face::

If it was even possible, I'm fangirling even harder for these two now more than ever. This story is a nice treat, a little gift to help ease the pain of the long wait ahead for the next movie. Abnett needs to write another one stat!!!

Meet Rocket --




And Groot --