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Drawn to leadership, \\ Power exists in vacuums \\ Like burning redwoods.

#HaikuPrajna - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm [Book Review]

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/06/20230609-haikuprajna-dawn-of-planet-of.html ]

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Hello readers,

Before getting to the review...

Happy Pride Month! April and I have been attending events here in Brampton and the Greater Toronto Area, celebrating the parts of our identities that we love to express through our work. The Overseer, a prominent character in my more recent works, is a non-binary superhero that I am writing about in order to cope with and express this perspective that I and others I know experience.

Also, the Brampton Library’s 2023-2024 Local Authors Showcase is taking place at the Gage Park Farmers Market on Saturday June 17th between 8am and 1pm!!

My story “Together in Forever'' is being added to the Brampton Library catalogue, and readers have the opportunity to connect with authors while browsing the other vendors during one of the weekends of Brampton’s annual Farmers Market.

Come visit our table to get the paperback books, homemade stickers, self-printed art and polymer clay charms we will be selling--they make great presents for the readers you know and love! [I intend to update this post with our menu before the event]

Huge thank you to Julia and the rest of the Brampton Library faculty for all the assistance and for giving local authors this opportunity to connect with others!

[UPDATE #2 230618

Here are some images from our Local Author Showcase table!

Thank you everyone for coming out! We met new friends and saw familiar faces during a warm summer morning and afternoon. Was a real great day, made even better because later that evening we got to spend an early Father's Day watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie with my dad while eating dinner with my side of the family.

I will add these to the upcoming Roadmap update, too.

Thank you for reading and for getting something from the sales after the photos!

]

[ UPDATED 20230616

For those who are unable to join us at the Farmer's Market for the Local Author's Showcase, there is a week-long Kindle eBook sale and promo on some of the stories that can be found at Brampton Library.

BATTLE Colosseum Pt. I: Hiding One's Tracks

... [FREE until 2023 06 20] https://a.co/d/iRU1o0q

FREE WEDNESDAYS in addition to the usual Mondays and Fridays. Also added "Ado the Owl" and "Hector Blake" to the Mondays and Fridays.

... https://www.amazon.com/stores/Allen-W.-McLean/author/B0867C5D24

... https://books2read.com/u/bP7O6l

... https://books2read.com/u/4jqXzX

The below sales apply to US/UK stores only;

BATTLE Colosseum Pt. II: Unified Field Theory

... [$0.99 until 2023 06 23] https://a.co/d/iBWGlRI

Together in Forever Pt. I-III

... [$0.99 until 2023 06 23] https://a.co/d/b0aK3fD

Fishing for Caribou

... [$1.99 until 2023 06 23] https://a.co/d/9LvqB82

Escape Perennial City

... [$1.99 until 2023 06 23] https://a.co/d/6Dke00c

Thank you again for reading and for visiting our shop!]

Now for the review...

I have always enjoyed reading adaptations from Titan Publishing, and Greg Keyes’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm was a great tie-in novel that I am thankful for over how it captures Caesar and this version of the franchise.

Keyes blended relatable and tragic original characters, such as Malakai, with more recognizable members of the series, including Gary Oldman’s Dreyfus and all the other sasquatch-like evolved apes--like Koba and Maurice--who are more inexperienced and are still learning about their changing world.

Firestorm takes place in the San Francisco Bay redwood forests area from “Rise” before civilization fell by the time period of the sequel movie, “Dawn”. Its story is really carried by its connection to that series; the best parts of the book in itself were its multiple points of view, which seldom converged [in a good way], along with its depiction of Caesar’s colony’s thoughts, memories, motives and inner conflicts.

The rest of the book’s highlights come from the interactions between members of Caesar’s colony. Some favourites include Cornelia and Caesar’s relationship, him recognizing Koba overcoming his vengeance, the government’s coverup of the previous story’s events and insight into what the apes think about the humans and their technology [GPS trackers and TVs].

I had a few minor complaints, though.

The dialogue at times felt “cinematic”, for lack of a better word; there were some instances where I felt characterization was forced or edgy. I even found some spelling and grammar mistakes, which however did nothing to detract from the plot. As I said, the story is carried by its connection to the larger PotA series, and served to bridge the gaps between the movies by exploring aspects like the human Alpha-Omega extremists, and that is where Firestorm really works out.

Back to the good, there is a little neoplatonic idealism [aka. philosophy] that threads the book together, where characters accept and transcend the negative aspects of their apocalyptic situations. While both human and simian characters were faced with certain death and the fear of each other, the focus is without a doubt on the colony with apes like Caesar and Koba being used to explore topics ranging from Plato’s Cave to more abstract ideas such as the ALZ drug opening a kind of empty space in the minds of the apes, which explained the apparent fatal regression in the human’s.

Time to read the other novels based on this series.

Thank you for reading,

Until next time!

Allen W. McLean

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I write mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry on my book reviews and on previews of my metaphysical stories, such as "Escape Perennial City". Learn more about my reviews here [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/book-review-summary-study-notes.html ]

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