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Jason X: Planet of the Beast
Third in a brand new series taking the mass serial killer Jason Voorhees into the realms of SF and violence! The motionless body of Jason Voorhees is discovered by scientists on Planet 666. The infamous killer awakes to discover his comatose state has allowed the scientists to create an equally murderous replica.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 7, 2005
125 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Kilpatrick
159 books255 followersNancy Kilpatrick was a Canadian author who wrote stories in the genres of dark fantasy, horror, mystery, erotic horror, and gothic subculture.
She is most known for her vampire themed works.
She is most known for her vampire themed works.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 14, 2024
I thought I was one of the only people on earth to have enjoyed the 10th installment of Friday the 13th films, the infamous "Jason X" that sends backwoods serial killer Jason Voorhees to space. I thought the blend of classic slashers mixed with futuristic science fiction and comedy made for a perfect and loving satire of horror cinema tropes that began in the late 70s with the movie "Alien." Part of me was hoping to see more sequels featuring the further exploits of Jason X in a space opera setting. Though this has yet to happen, New Line thought there was enough interest in the story to at least commission several further adventures in this universe in a series consisting of five novels. When I ran across a cheap mint condition copy of "Planet of the Beast," the third in the series, I decided I simply had to give it a go!
This story centers around a cloning research station in orbit around a dark, inhospitable planet nicknamed "Planet of the Beast" who discover a drifting ship that crashes into the planet. After a series of failed reconnaissance missions, one mad scientist realizes that the body of legendary Jason X was amid the wreckage of the crashed ship, and sets about secretly trying to clone the super human. Big mistake...
I'm not sure what I expected from such a book. I was a little disappointed to find that despite being a rather lengthy (almost 400 pages) third entry into an original scifi series, the overall story did not differ much from the first "Jason X" film. What we have is a contrived set-up to get uber-Jason onto a ship so he can slice his way through the crew. Therefore, we basically have a creature-on-the-loose scifi horror akin to "Alien," "It," and "The Thing from Another World," all with the "Friday the 13th" stamp. If you like that kind of thing as I do, this novel will make you feel like breaking out some buttered popcorn. But overall I was hoping for something a little more original.
Nancy Kilpatrick was a surprising choice to pen this movie tie-in, as she is more noted in horror circles for her vampire and gothic tales, but she does not seem to be out of her element in writing action-packed scifi. I really felt propelled into another world and another time by her writing. My only complaint is that she tended to be a little dry. Other than the mad scientist Dr. Bardoux, all the other characters lacked color or flavor. Most of the dialogue consists of strong women making fun of sleazy weak men, and isn't all that intelligent or interesting. "F--- you, you coward! F--- you, weakling! F--- you, idiot!"
Yep. Pulitzer-winning stuff there. But other than the dialogue, the writing is much smarter than it has a right to be. There are some great ideas regarding nanotechnology, immunology, and cloning that were quite intriguing, and I only wish they didn't take a backseat to all the adolescent "banter." There is also an interesting idea to defeat Jason introduced in the last act, but the science makes no sense and so I was not completely invested even though it was kind of an intriguing twist to the narrative.
The other thing that aggravated me was how it seemed the plot could only move forward by having characters do the most ridiculously stupid things imaginable to create the final peril in which they find themselves. This truly had to be the most incompetent crew in space, and so I could not identify with their problems, which took away from my investment in the stakes. However, Kilpatrick does pause at times to try to tug at our emotions when certain characters meet their demise--and rather effectively--but that's because she kills off the most sympathetic personalities of the bunch earliest in the novel. Why this narrative choice was made, I'll never understand.
One thing that really struck me was how terrifying Jason is as a villain, perhaps even more so than in the movies. Somehow, the author really captures the essence of Jason as a silent, unstoppable juggernaut of hate. There's no reasoning with him. There's nothing you can do to confuse him, or make him pause, or make him consider his actions (unless you pretend to be his mother, like in the second film, but I'm sure he's long past being fooled by that.) He is Godzilla. A hurricane. A tsunami. An atomic bomb. With human eyes.
The kills are rather brutal and inventive, so if you watch the Friday franchise to see how Jason picks off his victims, you will be satisfied with the smorgasbord of gore offered here. This is one of the advantages of the outer space setting, as Jason can do outrageous things to his prey that couldn't be done with garden tools in the woods, a true delight for fans who wish to see the Friday formula dialed to 11!
So in conclusion, this was a bombastic and entertaining romp through space. My two favorite genres are horror and science fiction, so this is like eating a french fry sandwich smothered in cheese and roast beef grease. If you are like me, you'll feel the same. It's junk food. It's McDonald's. I only wish it offered something a little more to warrant the creation of a five-volume series! If the rest of the novels are like "Planet of the Beast," I can see how fans might feel cheated spending so much time investing in an epic with no payoff. But this is only conjecture, as I have not read the others as of this review. And I am not likely to, unless any of you have read some of the others in the series and found that they take an interesting turn away from the "Jason on another ship killing people" trope.
SCORE: Two machetes and a broken hockey mask, rounded up to three stars. I assume if you are reading this review that you are one of the chosen few that found "Jason X" appealing, and so I can simply say that if you run across an inexpensive copy of this book, give it a try.
This story centers around a cloning research station in orbit around a dark, inhospitable planet nicknamed "Planet of the Beast" who discover a drifting ship that crashes into the planet. After a series of failed reconnaissance missions, one mad scientist realizes that the body of legendary Jason X was amid the wreckage of the crashed ship, and sets about secretly trying to clone the super human. Big mistake...
I'm not sure what I expected from such a book. I was a little disappointed to find that despite being a rather lengthy (almost 400 pages) third entry into an original scifi series, the overall story did not differ much from the first "Jason X" film. What we have is a contrived set-up to get uber-Jason onto a ship so he can slice his way through the crew. Therefore, we basically have a creature-on-the-loose scifi horror akin to "Alien," "It," and "The Thing from Another World," all with the "Friday the 13th" stamp. If you like that kind of thing as I do, this novel will make you feel like breaking out some buttered popcorn. But overall I was hoping for something a little more original.
Nancy Kilpatrick was a surprising choice to pen this movie tie-in, as she is more noted in horror circles for her vampire and gothic tales, but she does not seem to be out of her element in writing action-packed scifi. I really felt propelled into another world and another time by her writing. My only complaint is that she tended to be a little dry. Other than the mad scientist Dr. Bardoux, all the other characters lacked color or flavor. Most of the dialogue consists of strong women making fun of sleazy weak men, and isn't all that intelligent or interesting. "F--- you, you coward! F--- you, weakling! F--- you, idiot!"
Yep. Pulitzer-winning stuff there. But other than the dialogue, the writing is much smarter than it has a right to be. There are some great ideas regarding nanotechnology, immunology, and cloning that were quite intriguing, and I only wish they didn't take a backseat to all the adolescent "banter." There is also an interesting idea to defeat Jason introduced in the last act, but the science makes no sense and so I was not completely invested even though it was kind of an intriguing twist to the narrative.
The other thing that aggravated me was how it seemed the plot could only move forward by having characters do the most ridiculously stupid things imaginable to create the final peril in which they find themselves. This truly had to be the most incompetent crew in space, and so I could not identify with their problems, which took away from my investment in the stakes. However, Kilpatrick does pause at times to try to tug at our emotions when certain characters meet their demise--and rather effectively--but that's because she kills off the most sympathetic personalities of the bunch earliest in the novel. Why this narrative choice was made, I'll never understand.
One thing that really struck me was how terrifying Jason is as a villain, perhaps even more so than in the movies. Somehow, the author really captures the essence of Jason as a silent, unstoppable juggernaut of hate. There's no reasoning with him. There's nothing you can do to confuse him, or make him pause, or make him consider his actions (unless you pretend to be his mother, like in the second film, but I'm sure he's long past being fooled by that.) He is Godzilla. A hurricane. A tsunami. An atomic bomb. With human eyes.
The kills are rather brutal and inventive, so if you watch the Friday franchise to see how Jason picks off his victims, you will be satisfied with the smorgasbord of gore offered here. This is one of the advantages of the outer space setting, as Jason can do outrageous things to his prey that couldn't be done with garden tools in the woods, a true delight for fans who wish to see the Friday formula dialed to 11!
So in conclusion, this was a bombastic and entertaining romp through space. My two favorite genres are horror and science fiction, so this is like eating a french fry sandwich smothered in cheese and roast beef grease. If you are like me, you'll feel the same. It's junk food. It's McDonald's. I only wish it offered something a little more to warrant the creation of a five-volume series! If the rest of the novels are like "Planet of the Beast," I can see how fans might feel cheated spending so much time investing in an epic with no payoff. But this is only conjecture, as I have not read the others as of this review. And I am not likely to, unless any of you have read some of the others in the series and found that they take an interesting turn away from the "Jason on another ship killing people" trope.
SCORE: Two machetes and a broken hockey mask, rounded up to three stars. I assume if you are reading this review that you are one of the chosen few that found "Jason X" appealing, and so I can simply say that if you run across an inexpensive copy of this book, give it a try.
April 7, 2022
Jason X will destroy all personnel on a spaceship as well as the rescue ship. Another spaceship will tell stories of Jason severing arms and legs spurting blood in all directions with his machete and somebody will comment that he would not be able to survive in space. Bardox one evil prick. probably one of the most despicable villians in horror history will revive Jason on planet #666 and impregnate one of his colleagues with Jason's DNA. Jason will choke somebody through their spacesuit, punched a head into the air like a soccer ball. He will stalk people and rip apart impenetrable thick steel and his unrelentless chasing with frighten you to the core. He is the ultimate killing machine, the best Jason and one I love
December 8, 2020
You know...it's Jason X: Planet of the Beast. It's a fun read, and it's a little smart than it needs to be.
September 4, 2020
I made a comment on this book a year ago and it was unfair. I don't know why I focused on the negatives, but I'll try to make a fair review now. It's more akin to "Alien." A crew is orbiting a dead planet and Jason is brought on, once discovered by an eccentric scientist who wants to make a race of Jason-like beings. Claustrophobic feelings! My only critique is that the book is a bit too long, but the Black Flame production company supposedly mandated that each of their books had to be 400 pages. minimum.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews