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Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes
Archaia's first illustrated novel! Set during the classic 1968 Planet of the Apes film, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes tells the story of what happened between the scenes and centers on the astronaut John Landon, Gorilla police chief Marcus, and Chimpanzee scientist Dr. Milo. Features over 50 illustrations from various top talents in the industry, including full-color paintings by Jim Steranko, Joe Jusko, Dave Dorman, Barron Storey, Sanjulian, and Mark Texeira, starship designs by Andrew Probert, character portraits by Matt Busch.
- GenresScience FictionFantasy
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 9, 2011
7 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Andrew E.C. Gaska
29 books60 followersWith two decades of experience in the comics and video game industries, author Andrew E.C. Gaska is the Senior Development Editor at Lion Forge LLC. Having previously freelanced for Lion Forge’s Labs division as a script, pitch, and proposal writer, he now generates original IP for the brand, developing both comics and animation projects while working closely with creative teams to guide their vision to fruition.
He is founder/creative director of the guerrilla integrated-media studio BLAM! Ventures, and for the past three years has worked as a freelance franchise consultant to 20TH CENTURY FOX, writing series reference bibles, maintaining continuity, streamlining in-universe canon, and creating detailed timelines for the legacy franchises of ALIEN®, Predator®, and Planet of the Apes®. He was also a sequential storytelling instructor at the School of Visual Arts in New York and for seventeen years served as a visual consultant to Rockstar Games on the Grand Theft Auto series, Red Dead Revolver, and all other releases.
Known as ‘Drew’ to his friends, his online sci-fi and sociopolitical essays on social media and at rogue-reviewer.com draw controversial debate and discussion from all sides. His graphic novels and prose works include Critical Millennium™, Space:1999™, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century®: The Draconian Fire Saga, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes®, Tales from the Forbidden Zone: The Unknown Ape™, and the upcoming novel, Death of the Planet of the Apes®.
Drew resides in Gulf Breeze, Florida with his affectionately glutinous feline, Adrien. Find out more about his upcoming projects at www.blamventures.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 19, 2025
This was a really good tie-in to the original 1968 film that had references to the second and third films. It had awesome artwork by various artists. This was a neat addition to the original story and concept to the POTA. I would recommend this to fans of the original POTA movie. Thanks!
August 18, 2011
I...I think I wrote it!
March 2, 2019
As a lifelong Planet of the Apes fanatic - and also, taking into account the overall quality and Herculean effort that almost certainly went toward the publication of this beautifully crafted volume - it has been very difficult, for quite some time now, for this humble fanboy to actually sit down and pen a truly unbiased and objective review.
To be sure, prolific and highly imaginative author Andrew E.C. Gaska and all of his phenomenally talented creative staff and numerous contributors deserve immense credit for delivering such a remarkably illustrated, imaginatively wrought and mostly, faithfully rendered addition to established Planet of the Apes motion picture canon.
But therein lies the rub, because on a purely personal level perhaps, I was just a tad dismayed at times, with the portrayal of at least one of the long established classic Ape characters that are depicted within the pages of Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes.
I shall not however, labor the point, because I firmly trust, that with sound artistic, stylistic and perhaps even deeply personal intent, Mr. Gaska settled upon the choices he finally made with more than ample reasoning. Yes, admittedly, not all of the characters in the story were rendered in a way that I would have chosen had I headed the project myself, but indeed, I am not Mr. Gaska. And it is Mr. Gaska ultimately who deserves full credit for the outstanding quality of this more than worthy work of imaginative fiction.
That is why I firmly believe that Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes deserves a full five star rating; if for no other reason than the fact that the book is so richly detailed, so well written, and so passingly well crafted in almost every respect. In short, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes, by Drew E.C. Gaska is, taken as a whole, one damn fine work of art.
For starters, the cover and numerous, full color interior illustrations alone are more than worth the price of the book. Further, I would be lying if I said that, despite this or that minor detail (that didn't always jive with my prior understanding of the long established characters), that the story isn't extremely cleverly rendered, as well as more than satisfactorily presented and realized overall.
Even months after greedily devouring Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes from cover to gorgeous cover, I still find myself having occasion to ponder what transpired within its provocative pages. And that, I must admit, always a very good book makes.
Therefore, whether you're a casual or even a more serious fan of the Planet of the Apes classic series of films, or even a complete novice for that matter, I cannot recommend this first volume in Mr. Gaska's planned series highly enough.
Good stuff, Mr. Gaska. Very good stuff. Keep it coming, sir. I know you will. And, one more thing; thank you immeasurably for keeping the true spirit and thought provoking nature of the Planet of the Apes franchise alive and very, very well indeed. I anxiously await the next lovingly produced installment.
To be sure, prolific and highly imaginative author Andrew E.C. Gaska and all of his phenomenally talented creative staff and numerous contributors deserve immense credit for delivering such a remarkably illustrated, imaginatively wrought and mostly, faithfully rendered addition to established Planet of the Apes motion picture canon.
But therein lies the rub, because on a purely personal level perhaps, I was just a tad dismayed at times, with the portrayal of at least one of the long established classic Ape characters that are depicted within the pages of Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes.
I shall not however, labor the point, because I firmly trust, that with sound artistic, stylistic and perhaps even deeply personal intent, Mr. Gaska settled upon the choices he finally made with more than ample reasoning. Yes, admittedly, not all of the characters in the story were rendered in a way that I would have chosen had I headed the project myself, but indeed, I am not Mr. Gaska. And it is Mr. Gaska ultimately who deserves full credit for the outstanding quality of this more than worthy work of imaginative fiction.
That is why I firmly believe that Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes deserves a full five star rating; if for no other reason than the fact that the book is so richly detailed, so well written, and so passingly well crafted in almost every respect. In short, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes, by Drew E.C. Gaska is, taken as a whole, one damn fine work of art.
For starters, the cover and numerous, full color interior illustrations alone are more than worth the price of the book. Further, I would be lying if I said that, despite this or that minor detail (that didn't always jive with my prior understanding of the long established characters), that the story isn't extremely cleverly rendered, as well as more than satisfactorily presented and realized overall.
Even months after greedily devouring Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes from cover to gorgeous cover, I still find myself having occasion to ponder what transpired within its provocative pages. And that, I must admit, always a very good book makes.
Therefore, whether you're a casual or even a more serious fan of the Planet of the Apes classic series of films, or even a complete novice for that matter, I cannot recommend this first volume in Mr. Gaska's planned series highly enough.
Good stuff, Mr. Gaska. Very good stuff. Keep it coming, sir. I know you will. And, one more thing; thank you immeasurably for keeping the true spirit and thought provoking nature of the Planet of the Apes franchise alive and very, very well indeed. I anxiously await the next lovingly produced installment.
February 14, 2014
If you are the kind of geek that likes to watch the deleted scenes from your favourite movies, this will probably work for you.
I am a huge POTA fan (Tim Burton movie aside) but I liked, rather than loved this. The novel fills in the gaps of what happened off screen during the course of the original film, when three human astronauts crash land on a planet they soon discover is ruled by talking chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The dialogue and descriptions of the environment were very true to the look and feel of the film and everything had obviously been very well researched. The text was also interspersed with excellent illustrations capturing the mood of Ape City and the action of the story.
The conspiracy of the title was all material which is present and alluded to in the film itself, just presented in a lot more detail and seen through the eyes of characters who mostly have little to no screen time, plus some which have been made up for the book. It was only really Dr Zaius from the film that had a big part. I was a little disappointed that Zira and Cornelius were only referenced in passing, although this is understandable given that much of the film was from their perspective. Overall the story was cool in a nerdy way, but ultimately a bit like listening to a funny joke when you already know the punch line. Having watched the film you are always one step ahead of where events are going, which dilutes the reading experience somewhat.
Where I felt it also fell down a little was it lacked the fun factor. Amongst the seriousness of the film, there is also some cheeky chimp comedy. With a couple of exceptions, there was not much in this book and a little more humour would have nicely offset the more sombre tone.
I didn’t always find the flow of the text easy to follow, in part because it tended to quickly jump between time, characters and situations. I had to re-read some sentences and paragraphs a couple of times to re- orientate and establish where it had switched to. Without the background knowledge from watching the first two POTA films, I also was not sure that I would have understood the mutant characters and what they were doing, purely from the descriptions provided. While it is unlikely that someone not into the film would pick this up, it would be interesting to know how they found it.
I am a huge POTA fan (Tim Burton movie aside) but I liked, rather than loved this. The novel fills in the gaps of what happened off screen during the course of the original film, when three human astronauts crash land on a planet they soon discover is ruled by talking chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The dialogue and descriptions of the environment were very true to the look and feel of the film and everything had obviously been very well researched. The text was also interspersed with excellent illustrations capturing the mood of Ape City and the action of the story.
The conspiracy of the title was all material which is present and alluded to in the film itself, just presented in a lot more detail and seen through the eyes of characters who mostly have little to no screen time, plus some which have been made up for the book. It was only really Dr Zaius from the film that had a big part. I was a little disappointed that Zira and Cornelius were only referenced in passing, although this is understandable given that much of the film was from their perspective. Overall the story was cool in a nerdy way, but ultimately a bit like listening to a funny joke when you already know the punch line. Having watched the film you are always one step ahead of where events are going, which dilutes the reading experience somewhat.
Where I felt it also fell down a little was it lacked the fun factor. Amongst the seriousness of the film, there is also some cheeky chimp comedy. With a couple of exceptions, there was not much in this book and a little more humour would have nicely offset the more sombre tone.
I didn’t always find the flow of the text easy to follow, in part because it tended to quickly jump between time, characters and situations. I had to re-read some sentences and paragraphs a couple of times to re- orientate and establish where it had switched to. Without the background knowledge from watching the first two POTA films, I also was not sure that I would have understood the mutant characters and what they were doing, purely from the descriptions provided. While it is unlikely that someone not into the film would pick this up, it would be interesting to know how they found it.
December 8, 2013
One of the nagging questions surrounding the Planet of the Apes franchise is: "how did the apes travel back in time?"
In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius, Zira and Doctor Milo landed in 1973 in a spacecraft similar to one piloted by Col. George Taylor in The Planet of the Apes. These chimps - an archaeologist, an animal psychologist and an engineer - actually came from 2,000 years in the future.
In their world, apes hunt man and Taylor and his crew fell victim to this "upside-down civilization."
Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes by Andrew E.C. Gaska is an entertaining alternate take on the popular Apes franchise spawned by Pierre Boulle's classic Monkey Planet. His talent is focusing on the smaller characters - astronaut John Landon, chimpanzee engineer Milo, gorilla security chief Marcus, and sadistic chimp surgeon Doctor Galen.
Landon, an idealist, was seen in the original film constantly taunted by Col. Taylor (Charlton Heston)who cynically referred to him as "the golden boy of '72."
Thanks to Gaska, we learn a lot more about Landon and the doomed mission he flew with Taylor and Dodge. We know Landon had a fling with a female crew member named Stewart, that he had flown a previous mission, and that he also was horrified at being kept by apes.
We also learn he was controlled mentally by mutants in the Forbidden Zone who consider the Apes their enemy.
And he can talk to selected apes, like Milo. Milo is told about the Liberty 1 ship that crashed into a lake in the Forbidden Zone, and that it will prove his claim he came from space.
Milo's adventure in the Forbidden Zone and his discovery of the Liberty 1, foreshadows how he and his friends flew back in time.
While the story is intriguing, I must protest the lazy editing evident throughout.
The book is littered with spelling and grammar mistakes that no professional writer should allow.
For example, someone is lying "prostate" instead of "prostrate." Or saying "peek" instead of "pique" your interest; or "horse" when he means "hoarse."
That aside, the book is entertaining and a worthy inclusion to the Apes franchise.
In Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius, Zira and Doctor Milo landed in 1973 in a spacecraft similar to one piloted by Col. George Taylor in The Planet of the Apes. These chimps - an archaeologist, an animal psychologist and an engineer - actually came from 2,000 years in the future.
In their world, apes hunt man and Taylor and his crew fell victim to this "upside-down civilization."
Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes by Andrew E.C. Gaska is an entertaining alternate take on the popular Apes franchise spawned by Pierre Boulle's classic Monkey Planet. His talent is focusing on the smaller characters - astronaut John Landon, chimpanzee engineer Milo, gorilla security chief Marcus, and sadistic chimp surgeon Doctor Galen.
Landon, an idealist, was seen in the original film constantly taunted by Col. Taylor (Charlton Heston)who cynically referred to him as "the golden boy of '72."
Thanks to Gaska, we learn a lot more about Landon and the doomed mission he flew with Taylor and Dodge. We know Landon had a fling with a female crew member named Stewart, that he had flown a previous mission, and that he also was horrified at being kept by apes.
We also learn he was controlled mentally by mutants in the Forbidden Zone who consider the Apes their enemy.
And he can talk to selected apes, like Milo. Milo is told about the Liberty 1 ship that crashed into a lake in the Forbidden Zone, and that it will prove his claim he came from space.
Milo's adventure in the Forbidden Zone and his discovery of the Liberty 1, foreshadows how he and his friends flew back in time.
While the story is intriguing, I must protest the lazy editing evident throughout.
The book is littered with spelling and grammar mistakes that no professional writer should allow.
For example, someone is lying "prostate" instead of "prostrate." Or saying "peek" instead of "pique" your interest; or "horse" when he means "hoarse."
That aside, the book is entertaining and a worthy inclusion to the Apes franchise.
February 15, 2016
I have always been a Planet of the Apes fan. When I was much younger, I loved the movies and the television show and they became my reality. I still recall watching the evening news with my parents when a story came on about fighting between rebels and guerillas somewhere in South America. I closely examined the video footage of the fighting and asked my mother where the gorillas where. I had expected to see large apes wearing leather tunics, brandishing semi-automatic weapons. My mother laughed and explained the difference between guerillas and gorillas. That apes were not as intelligent in the real world as on Planet of the Apes. That was my first real disappointment. The world was not as cool as I thought it was.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this book as it told the story of the movie, Planet of the Apes (not to be confused with the novel by Pierre Boule which is a somewhat different story), from a different perspective. I also really liked how Gaska set the stage for the next two movies in the series wrapping up some questions one might have about how a second missions was arranged and how three apes came to our world in the 3rd movie, Escape From the Planet of the Apes.
The book is filled with gorgeous paintings that carry the story along and these alone are worth checking out. A fun book for Planet of the Apes fan.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this book as it told the story of the movie, Planet of the Apes (not to be confused with the novel by Pierre Boule which is a somewhat different story), from a different perspective. I also really liked how Gaska set the stage for the next two movies in the series wrapping up some questions one might have about how a second missions was arranged and how three apes came to our world in the 3rd movie, Escape From the Planet of the Apes.
The book is filled with gorgeous paintings that carry the story along and these alone are worth checking out. A fun book for Planet of the Apes fan.
July 25, 2014
In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead fashion, author Andrew E.C. Gaska revisits the story of the 1968 Planet of the Apes film from a new perspective in the illustrated novel Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes. The story follows ANSA astronaut John Landon as he crash-lands on an alien planet, is captured by a gorilla hunting part, and is appropriated by a corrupt surgeon named Galen for his illegal experiments. Other secondary characters from the film (and its sequels), such as Security Chief Marcus and Dr. Milo, are included in the plot and given backstories. There's also an attempt to fill in the missing gaps in the film series' continuity. The writing is especially good, and seamlessly blends this new story in with scenes from the original film. Additionally, the art work is extraordinary; featuring 26 artists using a variety of different styles and techniques. Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes is incredibly engaging and presents a fascinating new vision of this classic series (though a certain level of familiarity with the films is required to fully appreciate it).
April 20, 2012
This book was a lot of fun! The plot runs parallel to the events of the original "Planet of the Apes" movie, but tells the story from the point of view of another of the marooned astronauts (Landon, the bearded one), as well as several of the other apes. There are lots of questions from the movies that are answered in this book: Why did the ship crash? How did they wind up back on Earth? Why were the apes out hunting humans on that particular day? How was the spaceship salvaged? (Remember, the salvaged ship leads to the plot of the 3rd movie, "Escape from the Planet of the Apes.") There is also a lot of backstory about the astronauts' mission and the ape society.
Complaints: The editing of this book was just terrible. There are quite a few misspelled words, typos, and formatting mistakes that distract from the reading experience.
Overall, I would recommend this book to any science fiction fan or to any fan of the Planet of the Apes series.
Complaints: The editing of this book was just terrible. There are quite a few misspelled words, typos, and formatting mistakes that distract from the reading experience.
Overall, I would recommend this book to any science fiction fan or to any fan of the Planet of the Apes series.
December 17, 2014
I went into this book expecting to not like it, and I'm surprised by how much I did enjoy it. It does a good job filling in around the original movie, which I should have re-watched before reading this. The characterizations were good, and the story kept a nice serious tone throughout, and didn't shy away from killing off characters. I thought it was weird that the author made up the Hasslein Curve to provide time dilation, when it already exists in Einstein's equations, but that is a minor quibble. The occasional full page paintings were a nice touch as well.
January 11, 2018
Absolutely perfect!
August 28, 2012
My thoughts
I recently learned of this book and being a fan of the original PLANET OF THE APES film, I had to read it. The story takes place at the same time as the 1968 film but concentrates on the Landon character and other apes and life in Ape City. I found it quite intriguing and enjoyable. This is not a graphic novel but has artwork throughout.
It really gets into the Ape City life, some of which slowed the story down, as does some of the flashbacks of Landon back on Earth and his relationship with the doomed fourth astronaut on the ship, Maryann Stewart. And then there are minor plot lines that explain some what transpires in the sequels. A surprise, but very cool.
This is certainly a keeper for any PLANET OF THE APES Fan.
I recently learned of this book and being a fan of the original PLANET OF THE APES film, I had to read it. The story takes place at the same time as the 1968 film but concentrates on the Landon character and other apes and life in Ape City. I found it quite intriguing and enjoyable. This is not a graphic novel but has artwork throughout.
It really gets into the Ape City life, some of which slowed the story down, as does some of the flashbacks of Landon back on Earth and his relationship with the doomed fourth astronaut on the ship, Maryann Stewart. And then there are minor plot lines that explain some what transpires in the sequels. A surprise, but very cool.
This is certainly a keeper for any PLANET OF THE APES Fan.
January 19, 2013
Gaska reveals himself as a skilled storyteller and a masterful juggler. With his attention to detail and extensive knowledge of the franchise, he not only puts forth a highly entertaining work of science fiction, but also weaves a discordant and often contradictory history into a highly logical summation. Most importantly, however, Gaska stays true to the vision and tone first birthed by writers Boulle, Serling and Dehn by delving deep into the political, religious and sociological aspect of Apes society and holding the Ape mirror up to humankind. A welcome addition to the Apes franchise.
For my full review, please go to: [Namel3ss] Magazine
For my full review, please go to: [Namel3ss] Magazine
August 6, 2011
What a terrific book!
I was intrigued by the concept of following another one of the astronauts through the Ape's world. The book delivered! It interwove the first two movies well, including everything that existed during this time extracted from each. The characters were interesting. The story was well paced.
I really enjoyed how the story mirrored itself occasionally by having different characters in similar situations. I liked the backstory that involved the crew before launch day. It made Landon a for more interesting character.
The illustrations where well crafted and focused on the story. A great read and let
Him down a bit.
I was intrigued by the concept of following another one of the astronauts through the Ape's world. The book delivered! It interwove the first two movies well, including everything that existed during this time extracted from each. The characters were interesting. The story was well paced.
I really enjoyed how the story mirrored itself occasionally by having different characters in similar situations. I liked the backstory that involved the crew before launch day. It made Landon a for more interesting character.
The illustrations where well crafted and focused on the story. A great read and let
Him down a bit.
March 24, 2014
I can't put into words the awesomeness that is this book. If you are a fan of the original Planet Of The Apes movies, then this book is a MUST read.
In Conspiracy of the Planet Of The Apes, Mr. Gaska takes us through the story of Landon, the other survivor. It also takes you through the hierarchy of the apes as well as the power of the "mutants".
This book is what the Planet Of The Apes remake (the Tim Burton monstrosity) should have been.
Again, I can't recommend this enough to anyone who wants to know the whole story.
In Conspiracy of the Planet Of The Apes, Mr. Gaska takes us through the story of Landon, the other survivor. It also takes you through the hierarchy of the apes as well as the power of the "mutants".
This book is what the Planet Of The Apes remake (the Tim Burton monstrosity) should have been.
Again, I can't recommend this enough to anyone who wants to know the whole story.
August 14, 2014
For fans of the original apes movies from the 60s-70s, this fiction book is a must-read because it reveals parts of the first film's story that we didn't know about, links the first and second films, and explains some of what leads to the third. It would be better if it spent less time looking back at the astronaut's personal lives that existed before the time travel (who really cares), and more time focusing on the specific details leading through Beneath and up to Escape (it tries but doesn't go far enough), but still it's an entertaining read for fans.
January 11, 2013
An intriguing story that runs parallel to the events of the original 1968 film, with a few references to characters and events from the second and third films. On the whole it is well written, although it could have benefited from some additional proofreading. The illustrations are top-notch, and actually depict scenes from the story rather than being generic paintings. Worth the price for any Planet of the Apes fan.
December 8, 2011
I'll admit it, I was one of those people who loved watching Planet of the Apes marathons on tv over the course of a weekend back in the day. I adore this entire concept, the pilot movie and the original tv show. I was quite happy when I saw this book. It is a really neat companion to the original series. A must read for any fan of the show.
August 13, 2012
A must read for any fan of the original 5 Ape movies. This book fills in many of the plot holes from the first 3 movies. We find out what happened to Langdon and how did he end up getting the lobotomy; how did Dr Milo find and salvage Taylor's ship and many more stories that the movies left open-ended are completed.
Currently reading
August 24, 2011About halfway through and it's pretty good so far. I didn't dig the dream sequences but the *very* clever reason for Liberty I's crashing more than makes up for it. Looking forward to possibly finishing this up tonight.
February 8, 2013
As a young Apes fan in the 70's I craved more apes and more details about the apes and their world, and I sure got it. 'Conspiracy' pulls in elements from 'Beneath' that enrich the world and characters. I can't wait for the sequel.
July 19, 2014
Interesting approach. Essentially a retelling of the first movie, but from the perspective of the secondary characters. We learn more about what happened to the other astronauts and about the activities of Milo, as well as the political backstory. Fun read!
January 17, 2012
Terrific interweaving of all the old films, not just the original.
August 4, 2012
Really enjoyed this. I'm pretty much open to all things ape but this was especially enjoyable seeking a sequel . . .
September 21, 2014
Wonderfully written filling some of the gaps that never even occurred to me. I want a second volume!!
March 7, 2019
An interesting side-quel to the 1968 Planet of the Apes film, Conspiracy is a neat example of worldbuilding. Andrew E.C. Gaska (along with fellow story writers Rich Handley, Christian Berntsen, and Erik Matthews) builds on the off-screen adventures of astronaut John Landon and a number of the ape supporting characters, along with a heap of references to the expanded universe of the franchise. And yet, it feels like an overlong short story or novella rather than a fully functioning novel, one whose destination is already pre-determined by where it's trying to fit in. As a story, it's frustrating at times but, as an Apes fan since my teens, it's hard not to enjoy it all the same.
It also helps that Conspiracy is superbly illustrated. The number of artists involved and the scenes they depict is worth the price tag alone, each one representing a different take on the settings and characters from that iconic film. The resulting volume is an enjoyable experience for Apes fans.
It also helps that Conspiracy is superbly illustrated. The number of artists involved and the scenes they depict is worth the price tag alone, each one representing a different take on the settings and characters from that iconic film. The resulting volume is an enjoyable experience for Apes fans.
September 20, 2018
A nice parallel story to the original “Planet...” movie. While the movie followed Taylor, this book tells the tale of LANDON.
The good - Characters from future movies (Milo) and the short-lived TV series (Galen), references and set-up to both “Beneath...” and “Escape From...”, and a dive (albeit shallow) into the culture of Ape City
The bad - EDITING ERRORS; Drive me crazy. Misspelled words should NEVER EVER happen in professionally published books. Loooooong set-up; took far too much time getting to the heart of the story. I need to revisit the TV series, but the climax of the book didn’t align with a MAJOR part of the series
Overall this was a fun book for a life-long POTA fan like me!
The good - Characters from future movies (Milo) and the short-lived TV series (Galen), references and set-up to both “Beneath...” and “Escape From...”, and a dive (albeit shallow) into the culture of Ape City
The bad - EDITING ERRORS; Drive me crazy. Misspelled words should NEVER EVER happen in professionally published books. Loooooong set-up; took far too much time getting to the heart of the story. I need to revisit the TV series, but the climax of the book didn’t align with a MAJOR part of the series
Overall this was a fun book for a life-long POTA fan like me!
May 26, 2025
This book was published before “Death of the Planet of the Apes” and I was surprised just how much of a direct series they are to each other. The whole premise of this novel is “what about the other guy” that landed with Taylor and Dodge in the first film.
The story is good, even if the writing is kind of riddled with typos(!), and it connects super well to the events of the first film. The events though aren’t much of a revelation … but the last few chapters really pick up and it ends strong.
In general I love the expanded science fiction elements that Gaska adds to this original POTA series. Some weird shit!
The story is good, even if the writing is kind of riddled with typos(!), and it connects super well to the events of the first film. The events though aren’t much of a revelation … but the last few chapters really pick up and it ends strong.
In general I love the expanded science fiction elements that Gaska adds to this original POTA series. Some weird shit!
March 2, 2020
This book should get 5 stars if we were to judge it based only on the production value. It's fully illustrated, with a Steranko cover and is a really nice looking book. That's not to say that it isn't well written. It is extremely well done, and I liked the chapters that focus on Landon. But the stuff that focuses on the Apes just leaves me cold. I guess I'm just not a super-fan. The early films are amazing, especially the first three. The original book is good too. But I personally could not get into this one.
May 15, 2021
If you are a fan of the original Planet of the Apes films then this is a must read. If you have just a passing acquaintance with them then would strongly advise watching the first two films before reading this book. I saw them over a decade ago and while I enjoyed the book several characters were not as fresh in my rememberance and a few I forgot about completely.
April 16, 2024
Written with love for the franchise, with a bit of a darker edge to it that feels in line with the original run of films. Some plot threads are more interesting than others and I didn't always find the plot holes that Gaska attempts to explain to be satisfying. Still there's a lot of cool, pulpy action that was a lot of fun to read.
Really enjoyed the illustrations.
Really enjoyed the illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews