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Science Fiction & Fantasy |
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BATMAN: Gotham Knight (Batman)
written by Louise Simonson
Studio : Ace
by Ace
Publisher : Ace
Released : 2008-05-27
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780441016136
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 2 reviews)
List Price : $7.99
Our Price : $3.84
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Product Description |
Ushering in a summer of Batman...
The Caped Crusader returns in this prequel to the Warner Bros. blockbuster film—The Dark Knight.After Wayne Manor is burned to the ground, Bruce Wayne establishes a new base of operations, and— as Batman—refines his personal vigilante mission, encountering foes both old and new. |
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Batman Begins meets Gotham Knight |
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This book was a totally unknown quantity upon first reading. My initial impression, with no basis in fact, was that it would not be vastly related to the recently released DVD. Having not seen it but reading accounts of its' contents, their mutual use of similar characters is alike. The book, actually a collection of interrelated storylines, is somewhat analogous to the vignettes in the DVD. They are set in Batman Begins continuity, with many facets, especially the spotlighting on Batman's tech, coming practically straight from the movie. The various storylines encompass a murder of a social activist, a gang war between Italian and Russian cadres, an escape of Arkham Asylum inmates orchestrated by Jonathan Crane and later assisted by Killer Croc, and finally concludes with a valiant confrontation between Batman and Deadshot. The book's weaknesses unfortunately are numerous. It's neither a gripping Batman tale nor an exceptional novel in general. It clearly drags in spots, both through the first third with its' debatable and disproportionate prominence on Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen, and the last third during an overly lengthy and tiresome sequence involving Batman chasing Croc through the Gotham sewers. While plodding through the beginning, one even ponders whether this is a Batman saga or something more befitting Gotham Central. Overall the book lacks cohesion. The use of separate vignettes may work with a DVD, but this disjointed and uneven approach is not ideally suited for a novel. The narrative also is completely lacking in suspense or drama, with none of the requisite plot twists and turns that all stories need in order to keep the reader engaged and eager, with the final result being a rather dull and pedestrian story. Louise Simonson's prose is competent enough, although she certainly is fascinated by fragmented sentences. Indeed novels are a totally different animal when compared to comics, films, or animated movies, and substance and style may vary, but the intrinsic and essential elements that comprise any intriguing Battale is still the same despite the genre or medium. While possibly unavoidable with its' connection to the DVD, this book's ultimate failings may be a case more of misguided method than erroneous execution. |
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The Rare Movie Tie-In That Stands on its Own |
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When I first saw this book in the bookstore, I couldn't believe that Warner Books had published a movie tie-in to a direct-to-DVD film--surely a first in the publishing world. I was even more surprised to find out that, once I started reading the first page, I couldn't stop. Is the writing perfect? No, but it's more than serviceable as light reading and better than expected for a tie-in book. Louise Simonson paints a fairly realistic picture of Chris Nolan's "Batman Begins" Batman universe. The book provides a more cohesive backstory than the "Gotham Knight" animated film, so I would recommend reading the book either before or after the movie. You might even be able to skip the film and read Simonson's adaptation! |
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