"X-Men: Days of Future Past" by Alex Irvine

 

            The following is a review of the prose novel of “X-Men: Days of Future Past” by Alex Irvine. It is NOT a review of the graphic novel or the film baring the same title.

            Hey, guys, welcome to From the Mind of One Tim Cubbin! Today, I am your guide, Tim Cubbin! If you haven’t figured out exactly what this is, I will explain. This is a review. I just finished reading the prose novel “X-Men: Days of Future Past” by Alex Irvine as I said in the opening paragraph. If you’ve been to this blog before, you know how I roll (does anyone say that anymore? I’m just old). I read something, prose novels, graphic novels, comic book events, and I hop into Microsoft Word, type this up, then copy and paste and submit to this page you are reading this on. (I use Microsoft Word to type on so I can have a recorded documentation.) So, as usual, here I am, reviewing this book.

            Okay, if you’ve been to at least two of my reviews, you know I keep a basic structure when I write a review, but I know some of you have never been here before, so I have to explain it so you know how this works. Yes, I always start with my boring introduction, which is what you are reading now, and hoping that I finish right away. Next I am going to briefly touch on the characters. Since this is a review of a super hero story, I’ll tell you the characters’ real names and their code names, and their powers, and a few things it’s important to know if you’re not a regular follower of the X-Men. Then I explain the synopsis of the book, explaining the story using as few spoilers as possible, which is hopefully none, but still, spoilers do pop up from time-to-time. After that, I’ll share some of my personal feelings toward this book, saying a little bit about what I liked and disliked, things I wish there could have been but weren’t or what was there that I feel detracted from my enjoyment of the story. Then I’ll give you a score of how I would rate this novel. After that, I’ll explain the accessibility to the book, what background knowledge I feel you should know before you tackle this novel and who I think the target audience should be. Then I’ll tell you if I recommend this book and to whom I recommend this book to. Then I’ll finish off by explaining a little bit of what else you can find on this blog so you know what else you can look for. Then I’ll say goodbye and leave you to go about the rest of the things on the internet you feel like doing. I hope you got all that, so now we finally get to the things on this review that you actually WANT to read.

            Now, let’s talk about the major players. First off, this book takes place in the present AND the future, so I will specify in the descriptions the time periods they are involved in.

            Kitty Pryde/Sprite (present) Kate Pryde-Rasputin (future): Can turn intangible, phase through solid objects, walk on air, and disrupt electronics when passing through them.

            Logan/Wolverine (present and future): Regenerative power, can heal from almost any wound, has a skeleton coated in the nigh-unbreakable metal adamantium and claws that extend from his knuckles.

            Piotr (Peter) Rasputin/Colossus (present and future): Can turn into organic steel, granting him extra durability and super strength.

            Ororo Munroe/Storm (present and future): Can manipulate and control the weather.

            Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (present): Covered in blue fur, prehensile tail, three fingers on each hand, two toes on each foot, able to teleport.

            Charles Xavier/Professor X (present): One of the most powerful telepaths on the planet.

            Moira MacTaggert (present): Human, one of the world’s foremost geneticists.

            Warren Worthington/Angel (present): Flight due to natural wings.

            Senator Robert Kelly (present): Human, bigoted United States politician.

            Raven Darkholme/Mystique (present): Shapeshifter, leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

            St. John Allerdyce/Pyro (present): Pyrokinetic, evil mutant.

            Fred J. Dukes/Blob (present): Massive body, immovable object, extra-durability, evil mutant.

            Dominic Petros/Avalanche (present): Seismic control such as creating vibrations and earthquakes, evil mutant.

            Irene Adler/Destiny (present): Blind precognitive, evil mutant.

            Rachel Summers (future): Telepath.

            Franklin Richards (future): Manipulator.

            Max Eisenhardt/Magneto (future): Master of magnetism.

            Sentinels (future): Mutant hunting robots.

            Free Canadian Army (future): Humans, Canadian resistance force.

            Now it’s time to explain the story, so I try to make the whole present/future thing make sense.

            Mystique leads a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to eliminate Senator Robert Kelly, an outspoken anti-mutant advocate, as well as Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert. This leads to anti-mutant hysteria. The Sentinels, mutant-killing robots, are reinstated. They overthrow all of humanity, and almost every mutant is wiped out, and the surviving mutants are held in concentration camps with their powers neutralized. A nuclear strike is planned against the United States in an effort to stop the spread of the Sentinels. With time running out, the surviving X-Men Kate Pryde-Rasputin, Colossus, Storm, Rachel Summers, Franklin Richards Wolverine and Magneto decide this whole future must be prevented. The Free Canadian Army get a jamming device and the surviving mutants are able to regain their powers. Rachel sends Kate’s mind to Kitty’s young self’s body to before the Brotherhood assassinates Senator Kelly to prevent it and hopefully avert this dystopian future from ever coming to be. As Rachel in the future holds Kate in the present, the surviving mutants assault the Sentinels’ base in the Baxter Building.

            So, I do believe I have not given any spoilers, but if I did, I ask your forgiveness. Anyway, let me share my thoughts with you. This is going to be highly restrictive as I am now going to be working on a graphic novel/prose novel comparison piece right after I upload this post, and it may even be uploaded by now, so feel free to check it out! What I CAN say is I highly enjoyed this book, I hardly wanted to put it down. I thought that this book was an easy read, which actually can harm books at times, but I have to say that I thought this book was written so well, and I felt being an easy read was not detrimental. To me, I thought the balance of what was there that needed to be there, and what was needed there that didn’t have to there was absolutely perfect. I did not feel that the book dragged on and got boring, yet nor did it feel rushed to me. This is highly key to a novel and I thought Irvine nailed it. I feel the effort was a great attempt and paid off. If you want to know more, check out my comparison piece that will be uploaded shortly. The graphic novel story was featured in “X-Men: The Fate of the Phoenix” which I have already reviewed, so I hope you will also read that, and if you do, you are THE BEST and I appreciate your support!

            Now, I think this is the moment you’ve been waiting for: my score. If you’ve read at least two of my reviews before, you know I am VERY hard to please. I can find faults in just about anything. But for this book, I couldn’t find any. I thought this book was totally perfect! I always score my reviews on a scale of one to ten. One means it was so horrible and the time I invested in reading this book was a total waste of my time; ten means, well this book. That’s right! I give this book a ten. I might have given a ten before, but I’ve written a lot of reviews and can’t remember them all, but this might actually be a first. Well, whatever, but I loved this book, and will definitely read it again in due time. I actually have a thing with books where if I really enjoyed it, I eventually read them again to pick up on things I missed during my first read. For example, I’ve been rereading the “Harry Potter” novels, which I have read all of them a minimum of eleven times each (the earlier ones I have read way more times than that, but I have read the later ones at least that many times, I’ve lost count) and still pick up new things each time. I also do that with movies and binge-watching television shows. But this book is DEFINITELY going to be read again.

            All right, now I have to tell you what I think you should know if you are considering reading the novel after this stellar review. Well, when it comes to comic books, accessibility is very important. If you start a seven part storyline and only join in on issue seven, you’re totally going to be confused and most likely not able to follow or understand the story. It’s like joining a television series in season three, then only watching up to season six, then trying to get back in season eight. You’re not going to know what’s going on. So when reading a novel based on an ongoing comic storyline, sometimes background knowledge is required. In this case, I feel that if you’ve never read X-Men or seen any of the cartoons or movies or played any of the video games, you could still catch on with this book. I feel like the characters’ histories described in the novel is sufficient enough to still make sense to new readers. Plus, you’ve been reading this review (and you are THE BEST!) and I’ve given some good details, so I feel like if you’re interested in reading this book based on this review alone, GO FOR IT! I very rarely enjoy a book this well, and a ten is the highest recommendation I can give, so if I liked it… So, as for target audience, anyone can read it if they have any interest in the X-Men and are looking to read a prose novel based on a comic storyline. And I have to say, if you are an X-Men fan of ANY kind, READ THIS BOOK! And if you liked the original graphic novel this book was based on, READ THIS BOOK! I was totally not disappointed, and “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past” are some of my favorite X-Men storylines.

            So, yeah, I think I’ve assaulted your eyes just about enough. If you liked this review, I’ve literally done DOZENS of others, so there are plenty of reviews to see and may give you new reading considerations. I also write short stories and poetry from time-to-time, and as a journalist I write editorials and essays as well, so there’s always plenty more content to see. I post on a fairly regular basis, so I totally hope you come back, and if you do, you are THE BEST! So I’ll finish this review with just three more words: Tim Cubbin… out!