andrewmashley's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-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? Yes
4.0
This is the third prose novel I've read from Titan Books and this is my favourite. I've always been a big fan of X-Men despite their funky cinematic timelines, and this book helped strengthen that.
I really admire how Stuart Moore keeps Jean Grey as the focus, whether it be through hers or someone else's perspective. And the way he expresses her powers is so much more exciting than anything in the cinematic world. This book is everything I wish the films were, absolutely fantastic.
I really admire how Stuart Moore keeps Jean Grey as the focus, whether it be through hers or someone else's perspective. And the way he expresses her powers is so much more exciting than anything in the cinematic world. This book is everything I wish the films were, absolutely fantastic.
jjbookaday's review
4.0
I got this book as a gift from a friend!
If you are unfamiliar with the Jean Grey / Phoenix arc, this is an excellent starting point. One thing this book allows you is that you for one see how badly the movies have handled this arc and for second you see how much better a character Jean Grey is rather than how she is portrayed in said movies. what I also want to say is that this is a novelized form of the comics so if you’re familiar with her one of many outcomes, this is nothing new. I for one have read bits of the comics and to have a fuller more concise story, it helps with my love of the character. I give this one 4 stars because in some parts it dragged and Storm, although not the focus felt a little flat as a character as well as many others like Cyclops and Wolverine.
If you are unfamiliar with the Jean Grey / Phoenix arc, this is an excellent starting point. One thing this book allows you is that you for one see how badly the movies have handled this arc and for second you see how much better a character Jean Grey is rather than how she is portrayed in said movies. what I also want to say is that this is a novelized form of the comics so if you’re familiar with her one of many outcomes, this is nothing new. I for one have read bits of the comics and to have a fuller more concise story, it helps with my love of the character. I give this one 4 stars because in some parts it dragged and Storm, although not the focus felt a little flat as a character as well as many others like Cyclops and Wolverine.
quirkycatsfatstacks's review
4.0
X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga is the perfect read for both new Marvel fans – and old. Written by Stuart Moore, this is an experience not to miss out on. Though I should mention that I took advantage of the audiobook version (narrated by Nancy Wu) to enjoy this tale.
Jean Gray takes center stage for this tale (though any longstanding Marvel fan probably already knew that!). She saved the X-Men, but doing so came at a cost. When she came to, she found herself possessed by one of the most powerful forces in the Marvel Universe – the Phoenix. Naturally, that is around the time when everything gets utterly insane for Jean Gray. Her world has been turned upside down, all while she's struggling to adapt to and control these powers.
This is one of those iconic Marvel moments that every fan needs to experience at least once in their life. It's dramatic, intense, and fun all at the same time. Nancy Wu's narration brought even more to the table, as she really did capture Jean Gray's voice. Pure perfection.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Jean Gray takes center stage for this tale (though any longstanding Marvel fan probably already knew that!). She saved the X-Men, but doing so came at a cost. When she came to, she found herself possessed by one of the most powerful forces in the Marvel Universe – the Phoenix. Naturally, that is around the time when everything gets utterly insane for Jean Gray. Her world has been turned upside down, all while she's struggling to adapt to and control these powers.
This is one of those iconic Marvel moments that every fan needs to experience at least once in their life. It's dramatic, intense, and fun all at the same time. Nancy Wu's narration brought even more to the table, as she really did capture Jean Gray's voice. Pure perfection.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
jolis79's review against another edition
4.0
I have been a fan of the X-Men for quite some time and The Dark Phoenix Saga is probably one of my favorite and most reread arcs from their very long history. I even managed to write a chapter on it in my PhD dissertation. Which is to say, I’m really familiar with the story and it holds a special place in my heart. That is why whenever I come across an adaptation of the story into a non comic medium I’m both willing to give it a shot, and anxious it is going to be terrible. Hello both attempts at adapting it into a film. Having been burned a lot at this point, I nervously pushed play on the audiobook. First, just as a heads up, this is the audiobook of Stuart Moore’s novelization of Claremont and Byrne’s comics. I initially went in thinking it was a audio play type performance like the recent Sandman or some of the DC Comic audios I have listened to before. That said, I wasn’t disappointed, all in all it was really enjoyable.
If you are already familiar The Dark Phoenix Saga, there aren’t going to be a whole lot of surprises narratively. And you can definitely find yourself thinking, oh yeah, next is when we get to ______. There are a number of things that have been updated though so you don’t feel like it is a late 70s/early 80s period piece. So Kitty Pride and her friends have cell phones and text, the machinations of the Hellfire Club are much more high tech. Though this also means some things have been taken out and streamlined for the updating and for the adaptation. Sorry Dazzler fans, we do not get an updated version of our Disco Queen.
So yeah, as I said before, this was really enjoyable. The story is still great, the adaptation makes it easily accessible for new and younger readers, and I really enjoyed the way the some of the characters internal conflicts and personalities were delved into. I can easily see this as the version of this story I would give to my nieces or nephews who have parents that don’t think comics are reading, or others that may be adverse to jumping into the medium and a story with a lot of continuity attached.
Thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
If you are already familiar The Dark Phoenix Saga, there aren’t going to be a whole lot of surprises narratively. And you can definitely find yourself thinking, oh yeah, next is when we get to ______. There are a number of things that have been updated though so you don’t feel like it is a late 70s/early 80s period piece. So Kitty Pride and her friends have cell phones and text, the machinations of the Hellfire Club are much more high tech. Though this also means some things have been taken out and streamlined for the updating and for the adaptation. Sorry Dazzler fans, we do not get an updated version of our Disco Queen.
So yeah, as I said before, this was really enjoyable. The story is still great, the adaptation makes it easily accessible for new and younger readers, and I really enjoyed the way the some of the characters internal conflicts and personalities were delved into. I can easily see this as the version of this story I would give to my nieces or nephews who have parents that don’t think comics are reading, or others that may be adverse to jumping into the medium and a story with a lot of continuity attached.
Thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
tobiasreeks's review against another edition
2.0
The story of The (Dark) Phoenix has always intrigued me, having first seen it adapted in the 1990s X-Men cartoon, but not quite taking in how complicated the X-Men/Marvel universe was at the time and more recently with the X-Men/Fox film franchise that started in 2000, culminating in 2019’s “Dark Phoenix”, starring Sophie Turner as Jean Grey.
So, in the build up, I go looking for material and I come at this as a fan of the film franchise, which created an Earth based singular X-Men universe, rather than an aficionado of the comic books/Marvel universe which incorporates other characters from Marvel’s universe with crossovers from other series as well as multiple timelines.
Here we have a twenty first century novelisation of the graphic novel that is recognised as a classic within the X-Men canon, a difficult task by Moore’s own admission since the original Dark Phoenix Saga was published back in the 1980s - complete with Skype and mobile phones. The characterisation of the X-Men reminded me so much of the cartoon series.
Did I like it? Yes. Would I have enjoyed it more if I were more aware of the Marvel universe and read the comics before hand? Yes.
So, in the build up, I go looking for material and I come at this as a fan of the film franchise, which created an Earth based singular X-Men universe, rather than an aficionado of the comic books/Marvel universe which incorporates other characters from Marvel’s universe with crossovers from other series as well as multiple timelines.
Here we have a twenty first century novelisation of the graphic novel that is recognised as a classic within the X-Men canon, a difficult task by Moore’s own admission since the original Dark Phoenix Saga was published back in the 1980s - complete with Skype and mobile phones. The characterisation of the X-Men reminded me so much of the cartoon series.
Did I like it? Yes. Would I have enjoyed it more if I were more aware of the Marvel universe and read the comics before hand? Yes.
jennmarshall27's review against another edition
4.0
Novelization of the Dark Phoenix Saga.
I am not familiar with the XMen, but it is one of my husbands favorite comic properties. Even with my limited knowledge of the XMen I recognized some of the names. The book has the same feel as a comic.
I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator, but only at single speed. I usually listen to books on double speed. It matches my reading speed a little closer. Listening to the narrator at that speed helped, they were just really slow.
The book is fast paced and a lot happens. I am curious to see how this compares to the original comic.
I am not familiar with the XMen, but it is one of my husbands favorite comic properties. Even with my limited knowledge of the XMen I recognized some of the names. The book has the same feel as a comic.
I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator, but only at single speed. I usually listen to books on double speed. It matches my reading speed a little closer. Listening to the narrator at that speed helped, they were just really slow.
The book is fast paced and a lot happens. I am curious to see how this compares to the original comic.
elyse0988's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0