This
is a review for the “Iron Man: Extremis” prose novel by Marie Javins and not
the graphic novel of the same name.
Maya
Hansen and Aldrich Killian created a new serum called Extremis, designed to
evolve the recipient with enhanced strength, speed, senses, and even superhuman
abilities. A dose goes to a homegrown would be terrorist named Mallen. Mallen
is not pleased with the way America is currently run and wishes to make a
drastic change. Mallen takes fault in the death of his family by the FBI and
his bitterness spurs him on to take down a corrupt government. Upon seeing just
what his work has done, Killian commits suicide, prompting Maya to call upon
her old connection, Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man to investigate the
situation. Tony had been spending weeks at Stark Enterprises’ facility on Coney
Island as a shut in while trying to assess his life,
After visiting Sal, an
eccentric scientist, Maya and Tony consider the evolution concept. As Mallen
discovers just how powerful he is, he attacks FBI headquarters in Texas,
killing dozens of innocent civilians.
Tony takes it upon
himself to stop Mallen, who now has Maya’s life’s work running through his
veins. Upon confrontation, Mallen’s new abilities prove more than a match for
Iron Man. Gravely injured, Tony returns to Maya for an upgrade. Tony now wishes
to take a dose of Extremis to evolve into an Iron Man who is strong enough to
defeat Mallen.
As a reviewer, on a scale
of 1-10, 1 being the worst, 10 being the best, I rate this novel at a 7. The
story was gripping and exciting, never having a dull moment. It was obvious
that Iron Man will be able to defeat Mallen by the climax of the novel, which
brings me to feel slightly disappointed. Upon their first confrontation, Mallen
proves beyond powerful, too powerful even, and the final altercation between
Iron Man and Mallen did not please me. Tony also developed a new dose of
Extremis to expand his connection to both the Iron Man armor and his control
over technology in general. I did not feel that both Mallen’s and Tony’s new
abilities, particularly Tony’s, were ever properly explored satisfactorily.
That said, the reveal of Mallen’s source did surprise me and make me wonder how
I could not have seen it all along. The epilogue to the novel gave it a nice
touch, adding a bow to the wrapping.
As far as accessibility
goes, I found this very easy for a casual reader to understand. The history was
covered cut and dry, so non-Iron Man fans could easily digest this novel. I
think if you know little or nothing about Iron Man, watching the 2008 “Iron
Man” film is literally all you need to have a masterful grasp on the plot and
history of Tony Stark/Iron Man prior to the point of the beginning to the
story.
As far as the difficulty
level of reading the book, it is a very easy read. The chapters are relatively
short, and the book is only a meagre 266 pages, so diligent readers will be
able to quickly digest this novel.
As for my recommendation
to readers, I give it a reference. If you want to read a sci-fi novel,
particularly geared towards super heroes, I think there is a chance this is a
book for you.
