"Iron Man: Extremis" by Marie Javins

            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.