War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations by Greg Keyes

(pb; 2017: prequel to the film/movie novelization War for the Planet of the Apes by Greg Cox)

From the back cover

"Driven from their woodland home, Caesar and his apes are still recovering from the takeover by renegade ape Koba. Caesar is desperate to avoid war with the humans, but this is a faint hope, as his enemies are about to receive military reinforcements headed by the ruthless Colonel McCullough.

"While trying to hold off McCullough's soldiers, Caesar sends his son Blue Eyes on a mission to the south to try to find a safe haven for the apes, despite rumors of terrible things happening there. Meanwhile, the supporters of Koba's revolt are spreading dissent among Caesar's ranks."

Review

Revelations is an excellent, entertaining and humane novel that bridges the timeline between Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War of the Planet of the Apes (2017). It starts off as a steady build read and around the middle it kicks into high gear with plenty of oh no cliffhanger moments that continue on to the end of the book.  Revelations ends on satisfactory note, one pregnant with future drama and violence that will, no doubt, be shown in the next film/movie tie-in.

As with previous Ape titles, it has many of the characters from the previous film (as well as Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 2011). Eagle-eyed readers may spot a lot of references to the "classic" Apes films, e.g., Ursus, Armand, etc., which added -- for this reader -- to the enjoyment of Revelations.

Is this worth owning, if you are a fan of the Apes franchise? Heck, yes. Even if you are not, it might prove to be a fun read, one worth checking out from your local library. =)

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm by Greg Keyes

(pb; 2014: book sequel to the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes and prequel to the film/movie tie-in novel Dawn of the Planet of Apes, by Alex Irvine)


From the back cover:

"Caesar and his followers have escaped the clutches of man, fighting their way across the Golden Gate Bridge and taking refuge in the vast redwood forest known as Muir Woods.  There they hope to establish a home, far from the humans who so horribly abused them.

"But mankind has far worse things to worry about.

"The 'Simian Flu' has begun to strike down unsuspecting innocents throughout San Francisco.  What began as isolated cases quickly become a full-on epidemic.  There are those who blame the apes, and would like to take revenge, while others hunt Caesar and his troop for their own insidious reasons.  Either way the result will be the same. . ."


Review:

Firestorm is a cinematically streamlined, smart, humane and entertaining novel that links Rise and Dawn.  Its pace never lags, it shares two main characters (Gary Oldman's Dreyfus and Andy Serkis's Caesar) with Dawn (as well as other supporting characters), while making plot-pertinent mentions of James Franco's Will Rodman from Rise.  Not only that, its tone is consistent with its bookending films and its ending is satisfactory.

Good summer blockbuster read, this.