"Man of Steel: The Novelization" (2013) By: Greg Cox REVIEW

Why are novelizations made? For readers like myself who loved the film and want to experience it again with more insight. Now, most novelizations aren't like that. The few I've read (Especially junior novelizations) that just spit out sentences. This, however, is not the case for "Man of Steel".
If you've seen the movie or the trailer, then you know what the book's about. To save his son from the doomed planet Krypton, Jor-El sends his one and only son to Earth, in hopes of a better future. Kal-El, a.k.a. Clark Kent, grows into a man and becomes Superman. Wanting to discover about his alien heritage, he seeks out to find answers, which he discovers his meaning and his choice to change the world.
This novelization is smoothly written. The action was amazing and I loved how we got a deeper insight into the characters. Plus, since this book is based on the original script before shooting, it contains scenes not found in the movie.
The only complaint I have about this book was the editing. Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with a missing comma or a missing quotation mark here and there, because those are honest mistakes, but it seems like whoever was hired to edit this book either didn't like Superman or just skimmed through the book. There was a continuity error near the beginning, words missing, commas missing, words added, misspelled words, repeated phrases. I mean, seriously, you'd think that the publishers were going to put extra effort in this project because it's an official novelization, but nope!
Don't buy this at full price ($7.99). I got it from Meijers for only $5.99. This book is not good enough to be a stand-alone, but if the author had more freedom, I bet it could have been. Also, Titan Books, if you so happen to see this, fire the editor of this book.

Book score: 5/5 stars
Editor's job: 2/5 stars

Comments

"Need for Speed" (2014) REVIEW

I know I'm not the only one who thought this movie was going to be a flop. I mean, not only is it a high-speed street racing movie, but it's also a videogame movie. Still, I gave it a shot, but mostly for the D-Box experience. Even with the earnings from winning illegal street races, Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is still unable to keep his auto repair shop from his father open. For a chance to get $500,000, Tobey takes an offer from his street racing rival and successful car dealer Dino Brewster (Domonic Cooper) to finish building the Ford Mustang that Caroll Shelby was working on when he died. After building the car and selling it without Dino's consent, Dino challenges Tobey and Tobey's friend, Pete, to a street race for the money. Nearing the end of the race, desperate for revenge, Dino pushes Pete over a bridge and drives away, leaving Tobey to be blamed for vehicular manslaughter. Two years later, fresh out of prison, Tobey seeks out to knock Dino off his p...

Books on Film by Black Authors

There's no real order to this list, nor can I guarantee which ones are worth reading or not. However, the quality of the books are not the point, but rather we should lend these voices our eyes, ears, and time, giving them a stronger voice than they would have had without at least mentioning them. Titles link to the Goodreads page for the specific book and additional links will be listed to buy the book from Barnes & Noble and/or Thriftbooks (non-affiliated). Don't forget to see if your local bookstore might have these in stock! Missing your favorite? Tweet me @AuthorKLau and I'll update the article! Independent Visions: A Critical Introduction to Recent Independent American Film by Donald Lyon Far from the big money movie machine of Hollywood lies the cutting-edge, artistically fresh world of American independent film. These independent filmmakers, working outside the formulas and constraints of the big studios, produce today’s most exciting and innovative movies. In ...

Blue Beetle Rebirth Vol. 1: The More Things Change (Rebirth #1, #1-#6)

2/5 Jaime Reyes as the Blue Beetle has interested me and been on my reading list for a while. When I first discovered the character watching Batman: The Brave and the Bold , seeing Jaime as a relatable teen arguing with the sentient suit that gives him his powers, his New 52 line had already been cancelled. Then Geoff Johns wrote Rebirth and added a little scene with Jaime Reyes that I thought was both very interesting and promising. In short, Keith Giffen doesn't deliver in this volume until issue #6, where he kind of gives a small splice of what the series could be. Getting the obvious out of the way, the dialogue here is absolutely horrible. I tell myself it feels like a first draft, but then there are moments of repetition and sentences upon sentences of nothing going on. By then, it feels more like a very bloated outline with the characters speaking mostly hot air. The dialogue here isn't flat, it's completely empty. This, in turn, makes all the charac...

Kevin Lau

Search This Blog