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| {note about the cover : the majority of the books online have the tagline "he came, he squirmed, he conquered"; however, the book i read had the tagline "with great power comes great hilarity"} |
Series: none
Author: A. Lee Martinez
Publisher: Orbit Books
ISBN: 978-0-316-09352-1
Genre: Science Fiction / Parody
Format: hardcover
Pages: 304
from march 2012
Rating: *****
>>>> THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE READING
this is a story that is science fiction. however, if you assume that it will feature fiction doused with science, be warned. the story takes place in an alternate version of our solar system; in fact, there is very little of the story rooted in science as we know it. be prepared to find the planets of the solar system inhabited by other creatures and the world we know as "earth" referred to as "terra". even earth's history is changed; in this story, not only have aliens attempted to conquer earth, but so have the mole people. so have an open mind and hilarity will ensue.
>>>> THIS BOOK CONTAINS
space wars, a clone, a mollusk who is also a former Emperor, alternate solar system, Venusians (creatures from Venus), Saturnites (creatures from Saturn), exo suits, flying saucers, assassins, an ultrapede named Snarg, Atlantis, mind-altering drugs, a jelligantic, suing, the Bermuda Triangle, Dinosaur Island, radioactive dinosaurs and pterosaurs, a volcano, reptilian primates, a "man" raised by wild animals, a talking computer, gigantic mutant insects, space-time, an evil brain, robots, an inside man, Paris, the Eiffel Tower, a secret assassin society, poisons, a gas bomb, mass extinction, a new species of evolved life, a secret nation, a not-so-evil plant monster, alchemy, a fountain of eternal life, scorpions, contented slaves, a butler, parades, celebration fatigue, a radioactive brain, a secret city of peace and tranquility, a council of evil brains, a doomsday device, seeing into the future, radioactivity, and a happy ending
>>>>SUMMARY
emperor mollusk is the ex-warlord of "terra" aka "earth". while trying to adapt to a "normal" life, the mastermind finds himself caught up in a scheme set to end his life. joining forces with his arch-nemesis venusian warrior zala and his pet ultrapede snarg, mollusk will uncover the evil plan of the sinister brain. and although he has given up his title as ruler over all of terra, he still finds himself drawn to the strange and fragile planet and willing to risk it all for it.
>>>>MAIN CHARACTERS
➳emperor mollusk - former warlord and absolute ruler of terra, this neptunon is now officially retired, at least from the whole take-over-the-world business. now content to just sit at home and try to figure out what exactly is the greater good; well to be honest, he does tend to hypothetically create a lot of dangerous experiments. he gets bored easily, but loves to take care of the frail planet of terra. his favorite companion is snarg, his pet ultrapede, though he does seem to consider zala a form of an acquaintance. though he doesn't doubt his abilities, he is always looking for a challenge. despite his ruthlessness at times, he does feel bad about what he did to saturnites. he also has an unhealthy obsession with saving paris and everything about it.
➳zala - a venusian warrior whose ultimate goal is to capture/kill mollusk. the two have a strange enemy/friend relationship. though she doesn't trust the neptunon at first, she learns to suspend her mistrust, at least for this episode. she is often seen with her sword and will destroy anyone who tries to either separate or harm it. her relationship with snarg is complicated; though she hates the slime, she learns to accept the creature's antics.
➳snarg - an ultrapede that was given to emperor mollusk as a gift from the ambassador of the undersphere. she is capable of killing any type of creature. she loves her master emperor mollusk and will kill anything or anyone who gets in his way. she also develops a love for zala, much to the disappointment of the warrior. her favorite food is french.
➳the sinister brain - not much is known about the origins of the brain. it is revealed that he was once a man who gained immortal life by drinking from the fountain guarded by the everlasting dynasty. now by gaining immortal life, he has shed is earthly body and floats about as a brain. he tends to use mollusk's inventions by taking apart any restraint that was set and letting the creation run wild. his motivations are puzzling. he had a flawless background in covert operations, which is also the reason he was recruited.
>>>>REASON FOR PICKING UP AND READING
i came across the book while browsing the new book section of the library. i was drawn to the tagline "with great power comes great hilarity"; that and the fact that the title sounded funny ♥. plus coupled with lovely fonts and graphics was an octopus.
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| {illustration by will staehle} |
be warned : there are several spelling mistakes and grammatical errors throughout the story. however, they are few when compared to the length of the book and hopefully will be fixed in another edition.
the plot is broken into two separate time periods. the chapters that are numbers are happening as the reader reads the story, while the named chapters that are italicized tell the reign of emperor mollusk. the latter chapters tell the story of emperor mollusk's reign, starting at his invasion of terra and ending with his retirement as emperor.
>>>>WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS
➳for teens - the story is fun and dramatic. it's a non-stop thriller that focuses on a fantasy-version of earth/the solar system. it a story about learning to trust each other and trying to overcome the odds, somethings vital while growing up.
➳for adults - though the story is fun and a good read, it also features a good philosophical dialogue between mollusk and zala.
>>>>THOUGHTS
my first thoughts kept me comparing the main character to that in the movie megamind. both are evil masterminds that end up becoming the heroes of the day. i first thought it was just going to be a funny story, but was surprised as i was pulled into a hardcore adventure story. there is a lot of action scenes in the book; in fact, if it was in movie format, critics would say that the plot seems almost too unbelievable with the many strange monsters and obstacles that the reluctant heroes must face.
the book is well-written. the story flows wonderfully and keeps the reader entertained without giving too many secrets away.
though the reader is privy to the thoughts of mollusk, the former emperor does hide his share of secrets [though if you are like me, you might actually guess what will happen].
interspersed between action scenes and plot twists, there is an ongoing philosophical debate between the emperor and zala. though at times hilarious, it is very thought-provoking and questions the real motives behind emperor mollusk's actions.
personally, i loved the story. i know critically, some might say that the plot is a bit far-fetched, but i think that is part of its charm. the one part that might seem too unbelievable is the "clues" that they keep getting, but once you read the ending twist, it kind of all makes sense. a bit of a spolier : there is a slight foreshadowing of the ending in the first chapter.
the story is the kind that starts off with a bang [literally] and keeps on going without pausing to look back or slow down. in my opinion, if you finish reading the book, you will join those hoping for the next emperor mollusk book.
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