Man Of Steel
Written by: Greg Cox
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1781165998
The official novelization of the new Man of Steel movie featuring Superman. The movie, from director Zack Snyder and slated for release on June 14, 2013, stars Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Amy Adams as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane, and Michael Shannon as General Zod. Also starring are Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Ayelet Zurer, Lawrence Fishburne and Russell Crowe.
MOVIE novelisations tend to be strictly for the completists out there and there’s little on display in Greg Cox’s adaptation of Man Of Steel to say otherwise. If you’ve seen the film then you’ll know exactly how this story pans out and while Cox adds a number of flourishes there isn’t enough here to appeal to anyone apart from hardcore fans of Zach Snyder’s movie. It’s by no means a bad book, like the film it’s based on, it moves at lightning pace, sadly though it also shares the film’s flaws as well. The second half of the tale is instantly forgettable as any hints of characterisation or depth are lost as we are hit over the head with one action sequence after another until we lose interest.
Cox does come into his own in the early segments of the book, the section on Krypton, in particular, benefits from a little extra depth. It’s established that Jor-El wears red and blue as well, rather than the drab grey he does in the film, which explains why his son would also don a red and blue suit, something that isn’t sufficiently explained in the film.
The angst that Clark suffers as he grows up in Smallville is also further explored making for a sympathetic and much more rounded hero than the one the film offers.
However just like the film, things take a turn for the worst when Zod’s spaceship lands on Earth looking for our hero. What was a surprisingly touching character study turns into a generic action romp. Cox deserves credit for putting some meat on the bones, but when you see how little he has to work with you realise just how threadbare David S Goyer’s script is.
It won’t go down as a great novel by any means but if you want to immerse yourself in the world of Man Of Steel it’s not a bad place to start.
3 out of 5 Nerds
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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