What do you think?
Rate this book
Zodiac Legacy #1
The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence
When twelve magical superpowers are unleashed on the world, a Chinese-America teenager named Steven will be thrown into the middle of an epic global chase. He'll have to master strange powers, outrun super-powered mercenaries, and unlock the mysterious powers of the Zodiac.
Internal Cover ISBN: 9780545888769
Internal Cover ISBN: 9780545888769
463 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2015
859 people are currently reading
6276 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,581 books2,360 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 879 reviews
July 22, 2015
Steven Lee is on a field trip with his school to Hong Kong China to learn about his heritage when the museum tour guide goes into a restricted area of the place. Steven follows her and ends up in a creepy basement and a green light known as a Qi beam hits him giving him tiger-like powers from the Chinese zodiac. Following a girl with dragon-like powers named Jasmine and a computer genius named Carlos, they go to find the rest of the zodiac-powered people and try to stop an evil man named Maxwell from bringing chaos to the world. Will they succeed? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good YA fantasy thriller and my first book by Stan Lee. The Illustrations from Andrew Tong were pretty good too. If you enjoy action-packed YA fantasy stories with animals and about the zodiac, definitely check this out. I look forward to reading book 2 when it comes out next year. Look for this book at your local library and wherever books are sold.
This was a pretty good YA fantasy thriller and my first book by Stan Lee. The Illustrations from Andrew Tong were pretty good too. If you enjoy action-packed YA fantasy stories with animals and about the zodiac, definitely check this out. I look forward to reading book 2 when it comes out next year. Look for this book at your local library and wherever books are sold.
July 29, 2016
This was a nice start, very elaborated and it helped me know the characters as well as the backround of this story...
I was very intruiged as I really like whatever has to do with animals spirit.
The art was full of colour and it was a fine job.
The story didn't left loose ends which I really liked, but it build a cliffhanger that made me want to get my hands to the second comic
*My thanks to Papercutz and Net galley for the free e-arc*
I was very intruiged as I really like whatever has to do with animals spirit.
The art was full of colour and it was a fine job.
The story didn't left loose ends which I really liked, but it build a cliffhanger that made me want to get my hands to the second comic
*My thanks to Papercutz and Net galley for the free e-arc*
September 21, 2022
I picked up this book on a whim because I saw that Stan Lee wrote it and ended up being pleasantly surprised! I usually don't read that much middle grade but this one was fun with graphic art throughout the book and it had a cool twist on the zodiac animals and how they each gave a unique power.
It's a quick read if you want to read a book similar to a superhero story and with a found family rag tag team!
It's a quick read if you want to read a book similar to a superhero story and with a found family rag tag team!
April 25, 2015
This book was completely new to me until I was lucky enough to have it show up in my mailbox. I was immediately intrigued upon reading the jacket cover, and the promise of a plot based off the twelve Chinese Zodiac signs wasn’t a bad sell either!
Although it is marketed as Middle Grade, I think this series has crossover appeal and can interest a much wider audience. This is especially true for me because I tend to be picky with my MG reads as I prefer Young Adult, but THE ZODIAC LEGACY really impressed me.
It tells a great story with friendship and teamwork at its heart, and revolves around a subject I think most of us have heard of and can’t help but be at least a little interested in: the Chinese Zodiac. This is where our heroes (and heroines), as well as the villains, gain their powers. It’s a really fun concept, even if you didn’t have knowledge of the twelve animals before this.
With such a huge cast of characters, I was worried that it might get confusing but this wasn’t the case, I was able to follow and connect with each one of them. Although a little more character development with the minor characters would have been nice, none of them were one-dimensional, they all had unique personalities and most of them had a lot of depth.
Another huge positive: there was some seriously great pacing. There was action almost right from the start to the end, and I couldn’t put it down-so I didn’t. I finished it in less than a day, which says something as this is a pretty sizable read.
This book also has some illustrated pages, and the art really adds to the experience. It’s in almost a comic book style, which is fitting, and it’s just extremely well done overall. You can see some of the art on the official Zodiac Legacy website from Disney.
THE ZODIAC LEGACY also has a clear ending, there could have been a huge cliffhanger but everything wraps up well. I do like how this story could pretty much stand on its own. There were some epilogue chapters that revealed things that made me really wish for the second book though! This is a series I will be following.
Although it is marketed as Middle Grade, I think this series has crossover appeal and can interest a much wider audience. This is especially true for me because I tend to be picky with my MG reads as I prefer Young Adult, but THE ZODIAC LEGACY really impressed me.
It tells a great story with friendship and teamwork at its heart, and revolves around a subject I think most of us have heard of and can’t help but be at least a little interested in: the Chinese Zodiac. This is where our heroes (and heroines), as well as the villains, gain their powers. It’s a really fun concept, even if you didn’t have knowledge of the twelve animals before this.
With such a huge cast of characters, I was worried that it might get confusing but this wasn’t the case, I was able to follow and connect with each one of them. Although a little more character development with the minor characters would have been nice, none of them were one-dimensional, they all had unique personalities and most of them had a lot of depth.
Another huge positive: there was some seriously great pacing. There was action almost right from the start to the end, and I couldn’t put it down-so I didn’t. I finished it in less than a day, which says something as this is a pretty sizable read.
This book also has some illustrated pages, and the art really adds to the experience. It’s in almost a comic book style, which is fitting, and it’s just extremely well done overall. You can see some of the art on the official Zodiac Legacy website from Disney.
THE ZODIAC LEGACY also has a clear ending, there could have been a huge cliffhanger but everything wraps up well. I do like how this story could pretty much stand on its own. There were some epilogue chapters that revealed things that made me really wish for the second book though! This is a series I will be following.
March 23, 2020
Wow ended up being so good 😊
January 27, 2015
http://www.b00kr3vi3ws.in/2015/01/Zod...
Steven, as a Chinese American kid in America, has always felt like a misfit. Now on a trip to China, he feels even more so, especially when his friends assume that being of Chinese decent, he can read everything in Chinese. He also has some parental issues, who always seem to be busy with their work and have no tie for him. On a class trip to a museum, Steven accidentally gets embroiled is Maxwell’s plan to take over the world with all the zodiac powers. Steven lands up getting the Tiger power and an ally in Jasmine. Will Steven and Jasmine be able to find the others with Zodiac powers before Maxwell and stop his master plan?
The first thing that catches a reader’s attention in this book is the pictures that are sprinkled throughout the book. Even in my e-ARC copy, they seemed attractive. I am sure that they would be more so in the print copies. The second thing about this book is its plot that has a very interesting Premise. Twelve supernatural powers are unleashed on this world and each related to a Chinese Zodiac symbol - one man in pursuit of controlling them all while others band together to stop him. While the plot and the pictures were complimentary to each other, there were instances when certain things felt too easy and convenient for the characters. Talking about characters, there are quite a few and mostly from varied backgrounds and cultures. This added to the flavor of the story. However, most characters felt one dimensional and lacked the depth and growth that I like to see.
The narration style of the author is simple and dainty. It is easy to get into the story and continue with it. There are lots of action and drama infused into the plot to keep it going. A faster pace would have been welcomed but it is okay as it is.
Overall, this book makes for an light and interesting read.
Steven, as a Chinese American kid in America, has always felt like a misfit. Now on a trip to China, he feels even more so, especially when his friends assume that being of Chinese decent, he can read everything in Chinese. He also has some parental issues, who always seem to be busy with their work and have no tie for him. On a class trip to a museum, Steven accidentally gets embroiled is Maxwell’s plan to take over the world with all the zodiac powers. Steven lands up getting the Tiger power and an ally in Jasmine. Will Steven and Jasmine be able to find the others with Zodiac powers before Maxwell and stop his master plan?
The first thing that catches a reader’s attention in this book is the pictures that are sprinkled throughout the book. Even in my e-ARC copy, they seemed attractive. I am sure that they would be more so in the print copies. The second thing about this book is its plot that has a very interesting Premise. Twelve supernatural powers are unleashed on this world and each related to a Chinese Zodiac symbol - one man in pursuit of controlling them all while others band together to stop him. While the plot and the pictures were complimentary to each other, there were instances when certain things felt too easy and convenient for the characters. Talking about characters, there are quite a few and mostly from varied backgrounds and cultures. This added to the flavor of the story. However, most characters felt one dimensional and lacked the depth and growth that I like to see.
The narration style of the author is simple and dainty. It is easy to get into the story and continue with it. There are lots of action and drama infused into the plot to keep it going. A faster pace would have been welcomed but it is okay as it is.
Overall, this book makes for an light and interesting read.
May 19, 2024
Written by the godfather of superhero writing Stan Lee, this series is incredibly underrated, for anyone who enjoys stories revolving around quests and missions, it is sure to be creative enough to enjoy!
January 16, 2015
Too much action, not enough character development. It reads like a really long, underdeveloped origin story. Plus, it seems odd that each character from different countries magically speaks English--with no discussion of how that could even be possible. This felt to me like something that could have been a fun story but was not thought through nearly enough...and yet still managed to clock in at 500 pages.
September 13, 2017
This was for sure a very interesting read. However, a few acts in this story were weak -- poorly executed. The villain was believable and I actually enjoyed his maniacal behavior a hell of a lot more than I have some people. If you are a fan of Stan Lee and marvel I highly recommend this series. Mainly, it's light, easy fiction with sparkle and sass tossed into every turn.
July 10, 2019
Somehow, I don't like the pacing of this book.
November 6, 2020
I have to say, it started off really slow and kinda like I was reading an actual comic book instead of a book.
But then again, Stan Lee is the king when it comes to comics.
I loved this book towards the end. The Zodiacs kept me on the edge of my seat.
But then again, Stan Lee is the king when it comes to comics.
I loved this book towards the end. The Zodiacs kept me on the edge of my seat.
June 4, 2023
R͎e͎a͎d͎ ͎d͎a͎t͎e͎:͎ June 1 - June 4 2023
R͎a͎t͎i͎n͎g͎:͎ 3 stars
O͎w͎n͎e͎d͎ ͎s͎i͎n͎c͎e͎: May 2nd 2023
P͎u͎r͎c͎h͎a͎s͎e͎d͎ ͎a͎t͎:͎ Goodwill
P͎r͎i͎c͎e͎:͎?69¢
R͎a͎t͎i͎n͎g͎:͎ 3 stars
O͎w͎n͎e͎d͎ ͎s͎i͎n͎c͎e͎: May 2nd 2023
P͎u͎r͎c͎h͎a͎s͎e͎d͎ ͎a͎t͎:͎ Goodwill
P͎r͎i͎c͎e͎:͎?69¢
July 4, 2017
Stan Lee is the notable creator of comic book heroes such as Spiderman and the X-Men. He's joined here by Stuart Moore, a comic book editor and writer, to create a new group of action heroes based on the animals of the Chinese zodiac. (The print book also contains occasional art work by Andie Tong, but it's more of a novel with illustrations than it is a graphic novel.)
Chinese-American teen Stephen Lee is on a school trip to China. When at a museum he hears screaming from behind a locked door. There he finds a group of people attempting to gain power from an ancient Chinese artifact showing the animals of the Chinese zodiac. An evil man named Maxwell is attempting to absorb dragon power from the stone. But Stephen also receives tiger power from the stone. Soon he's drawn into a battle. On one side are Maxwell's forces of evil as he leads his own group of people with animal powers (snake, dog, oxen, horse). Stephen becomes part a group of good guys with their own powers (pig, rooster, rabbit, rat). For reasons that are, at first, mysterious his parents let him go globe trotting to help recruit new members.
Let me say that this book is highly rated by readers on Amazon, and most of these reviews come from teen boys. This and the several books that follow have a following. I am not a teenage boy and found the book about as tedious as anything I've read this year.
As comic book writers there seems to have been quite a bit of focus on action and "snappy" dialogue, with barely any consideration for character or location. Descriptions of everything other than fight scenes are pretty minimal. The dialogue is generally things anyone over the age of 15 has already seen in comics, TV, or movies a hundred times before. After being beaten by a character earlier a girl pops into view in a later fight with a triumphant "Remember me?" before pummeling the bad guy in revenge. Stephen, looking at the equipment brought by Maxwell's group, mentions that they "have some very nice toys." "Yeah," says friend Ian cockily. "When I was a kid I always broke my toys." And off he goes to do some destruction. These are just the most gag-worthy of many pages of this stuff. It really wouldn't fly in a modern comic and why they thought they could cram it into a novelized twist on X-Men is beyond my ken.
If you have a kid who loves to read and is begging for this series, buy it by all means. It's generally harmless action with black-and-white morality and mild romance. (Mostly kisses on cheeks.) It's harmless enough but not exactly mind-expanding literature.
Chinese-American teen Stephen Lee is on a school trip to China. When at a museum he hears screaming from behind a locked door. There he finds a group of people attempting to gain power from an ancient Chinese artifact showing the animals of the Chinese zodiac. An evil man named Maxwell is attempting to absorb dragon power from the stone. But Stephen also receives tiger power from the stone. Soon he's drawn into a battle. On one side are Maxwell's forces of evil as he leads his own group of people with animal powers (snake, dog, oxen, horse). Stephen becomes part a group of good guys with their own powers (pig, rooster, rabbit, rat). For reasons that are, at first, mysterious his parents let him go globe trotting to help recruit new members.
Let me say that this book is highly rated by readers on Amazon, and most of these reviews come from teen boys. This and the several books that follow have a following. I am not a teenage boy and found the book about as tedious as anything I've read this year.
As comic book writers there seems to have been quite a bit of focus on action and "snappy" dialogue, with barely any consideration for character or location. Descriptions of everything other than fight scenes are pretty minimal. The dialogue is generally things anyone over the age of 15 has already seen in comics, TV, or movies a hundred times before. After being beaten by a character earlier a girl pops into view in a later fight with a triumphant "Remember me?" before pummeling the bad guy in revenge. Stephen, looking at the equipment brought by Maxwell's group, mentions that they "have some very nice toys." "Yeah," says friend Ian cockily. "When I was a kid I always broke my toys." And off he goes to do some destruction. These are just the most gag-worthy of many pages of this stuff. It really wouldn't fly in a modern comic and why they thought they could cram it into a novelized twist on X-Men is beyond my ken.
If you have a kid who loves to read and is begging for this series, buy it by all means. It's generally harmless action with black-and-white morality and mild romance. (Mostly kisses on cheeks.) It's harmless enough but not exactly mind-expanding literature.
July 11, 2017
I haven't picked this up in weeks and decided I didn't even care about how it ended. I really wanted to like this but at page 282 I just have to give up. It's just...boring. I didn't like it. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. The bad guy felt stereotypical evil and I couldn't take him seriously.
A student recommended this book to me and I'm glad they like it, but I won't be reading this series anymore.
A student recommended this book to me and I'm glad they like it, but I won't be reading this series anymore.
November 29, 2018
I like the idea of this book. The idea of using the Chinese Zodiac to make 12 new super heroes or villains as the case may be. I also like it that they consider the Dragon as the strongest because I was born in the year of the Dragon.
March 27, 2020
Apparently the physical copy of this has illustrations?? I listened to the audiobook and found it a fun adventure.
I wonder if the author is going to expand on the Chinese zodiac because there isn’t much explanation beyond that they each get their powers from the zodiac...
I wonder if the author is going to expand on the Chinese zodiac because there isn’t much explanation beyond that they each get their powers from the zodiac...
February 11, 2016
It was a great book. It is a mix of fantasy and some Japanese culture. I would recommend for people who like fantasy and really well written books.
January 5, 2018
This book started off slow then started to speed up. There was a lot of action(which I really like). The Zodiac was a science fiction book. I usually don't read science fiction but I did this time. The end of this book wasn't that great. It was almost a little hard to follow. I would recommend this book to 5th graders.
January 30, 2022
I read this with my daughter for school and this is her review:
The action in here was great and Liam was the best character in the whole book but the ending was kind of stupid. I probably wouldn't read the next one.
The action in here was great and Liam was the best character in the whole book but the ending was kind of stupid. I probably wouldn't read the next one.
Want to read
May 20, 2022omg wait stan actually wrote this one wtff??
April 8, 2021
This was a very entertaining book. I loved the different take on super powers. I also liked how the characters learned to work as a team. I can't wait to read the next book.
March 3, 2024
3.5 ✨️ A middle grade quick-read about kids having the power of the Chinese zodiacs and learning how to control them while also stopping a world-dominating evil. My daughter chose this one for my read, and I enjoyed it.
December 12, 2015
Premise: a bad guy wants to be a ultra mega bad guy by using the Dragon power of the Zodiac. This guy, Maxwell, accidentally ends up sharing the power with Jasmine. He and his team, Vanguard, are struck-shocked by this and take refuge before fighting against her and her team who are building up to be something powerful when new recruits arrive. Steven Lee takes up the Tiger power, the roar, the strength, the endurance of power. As he, Jasmine and Carlos, a geeky genius, meet up all together, they must race against the clock finding new recruits and save the world from Maxwell's Zodiac power gathering ritual!
Yes, that was ultra dramatic, but the book isn't. At times it is, but this, being a Stan Lee book, was full of humour as well. The characters were... unexpected. I anticipated strong and likeable characters. But they weren't just that. They were witty, powerful, smart, funny, sarcastic, aggressive and daredevils ready to risk their powers for the team that they have joined. My fav? Liam. Liam and his stories about all of his Uncles! I think one of my favourite parts of this book was with Liam in it when they had just met him, a bit before the halfway point of the novel. Ah, such funny moments in this book!
Another favourite character of the squad of mine was Kim! She was just so shy and cute and adorable and silly. At times, I wanted to squeeze the heck out of her in a hug and just be BFF's with her. And her "poof"ing? I mean, what a way to put it! I loved every scene with her in it especially when she was with the Tiger, Steven. He wasn't the most interesting character. To be honest, I'd love a whole book on Kim or Liam, but Steven just didn't have much depth into him. I feel like his character was kind of flat, but maybe that's just me.
THE MAGIC SYSTEM WAS SO COOL. I mean, it wasn't super original, the superpowers but the way it was formed from pools of green liquid in the Zodiac symbol, the compass thing? Wow, that was just so interesting. Plus there was literally action EVERYWHERE. Each page you'd find a fight scene, either within the artwork or the writing.
The artwork, by the way, is stunning. Although I found it a bit annoying that it was only in light and dark shades of red as well as black and white instead of full colour, I loved the details and intricate designs of the artworks. They were magnificently done!
I dunno if this is becoming a movie but it definitely should because THAT FIRST EPILOGUE LIKE WATWATWATWAT. I need the sequel! I mean, Epilogue Two was emotional, but Epilogue One? Wow, Stan Lee and other unfortunately forgotten to my mind authors. Wow.
So, Yep. This was really really fun. I'm going to have to down it to 4.5 stars because of the things I was concerned about above, but I still really really liked hanging out with some fresh Stan Lee characters. I don't know why this was written for Disney, but.... *shrugs*
GOOD CHARACTERS. GOOD WRITING. GOOD PLOT.
Rec from me!
Yes, that was ultra dramatic, but the book isn't. At times it is, but this, being a Stan Lee book, was full of humour as well. The characters were... unexpected. I anticipated strong and likeable characters. But they weren't just that. They were witty, powerful, smart, funny, sarcastic, aggressive and daredevils ready to risk their powers for the team that they have joined. My fav? Liam. Liam and his stories about all of his Uncles! I think one of my favourite parts of this book was with Liam in it when they had just met him, a bit before the halfway point of the novel. Ah, such funny moments in this book!
Another favourite character of the squad of mine was Kim! She was just so shy and cute and adorable and silly. At times, I wanted to squeeze the heck out of her in a hug and just be BFF's with her. And her "poof"ing? I mean, what a way to put it! I loved every scene with her in it especially when she was with the Tiger, Steven. He wasn't the most interesting character. To be honest, I'd love a whole book on Kim or Liam, but Steven just didn't have much depth into him. I feel like his character was kind of flat, but maybe that's just me.
THE MAGIC SYSTEM WAS SO COOL. I mean, it wasn't super original, the superpowers but the way it was formed from pools of green liquid in the Zodiac symbol, the compass thing? Wow, that was just so interesting. Plus there was literally action EVERYWHERE. Each page you'd find a fight scene, either within the artwork or the writing.
The artwork, by the way, is stunning. Although I found it a bit annoying that it was only in light and dark shades of red as well as black and white instead of full colour, I loved the details and intricate designs of the artworks. They were magnificently done!
I dunno if this is becoming a movie but it definitely should because THAT FIRST EPILOGUE LIKE WATWATWATWAT. I need the sequel! I mean, Epilogue Two was emotional, but Epilogue One? Wow, Stan Lee and other unfortunately forgotten to my mind authors. Wow.
So, Yep. This was really really fun. I'm going to have to down it to 4.5 stars because of the things I was concerned about above, but I still really really liked hanging out with some fresh Stan Lee characters. I don't know why this was written for Disney, but.... *shrugs*
GOOD CHARACTERS. GOOD WRITING. GOOD PLOT.
Rec from me!
February 5, 2015
Zodiac by the renown Stan Lee, along with Stuart Moore, and illustrated by Andie Tong, is a really good book! This book packs action from the start to the very end and there it promises more as the series is advertised as a trilogy, and thank goodness, because you will be yelling for more, just as I am. I can't wait to find out what happens to Steven, Jasmine, Carlos, Roxanne, Liam, Duane, and Kim, not to mention Maxwell and his goons. But I am ahead of myself, let me start a bit earlier in the story.
Steven is just a ordinary kid on a once in lifetime school trip in Hong Kong, when in a strange Chinese heritage museum he slips away from his group, following the strange guide down into the basement (of sorts). While down there Steven and the strange guide (Jasmine) are hit and infused with the power of their Zodiac signs while trying to stop Maxwell from hatching his evil plan, and unfortunately also releasing four rogue Zodiac powers into the wild. Now Steven, Jasmine, and Jasmine's friends must join to track down the people infused by the rogue Zodiac powers before Maxwell as his group of paramilitary goons get to them first.
The characters in this book (even with their Zodiac powers) are still believable, they still have the same fears, insecurities, and joys as the rest of us. It is refreshing to see that it didn't get lost, and that maybe things like this can happen to plain everyday people like you and me. It is also nice to see how four kids from very different walks of life and are very different from each other can come together and learn to work as a team. This is also a great book on diversity in so many ways, the weak and the strong, the male and the female, and the different backgrounds and types of people that come together, it just melds together, it's so nice to show that no matter who you are you matter. This is a great book for all the middle graders, boy and girl alike as the two main characters are a boy and a girl and both will make awesome role models and are both strong very capable characters. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat and glued chapter after chapter until you realize you are at the end and you too will be yelling for more.
Steven is just a ordinary kid on a once in lifetime school trip in Hong Kong, when in a strange Chinese heritage museum he slips away from his group, following the strange guide down into the basement (of sorts). While down there Steven and the strange guide (Jasmine) are hit and infused with the power of their Zodiac signs while trying to stop Maxwell from hatching his evil plan, and unfortunately also releasing four rogue Zodiac powers into the wild. Now Steven, Jasmine, and Jasmine's friends must join to track down the people infused by the rogue Zodiac powers before Maxwell as his group of paramilitary goons get to them first.
The characters in this book (even with their Zodiac powers) are still believable, they still have the same fears, insecurities, and joys as the rest of us. It is refreshing to see that it didn't get lost, and that maybe things like this can happen to plain everyday people like you and me. It is also nice to see how four kids from very different walks of life and are very different from each other can come together and learn to work as a team. This is also a great book on diversity in so many ways, the weak and the strong, the male and the female, and the different backgrounds and types of people that come together, it just melds together, it's so nice to show that no matter who you are you matter. This is a great book for all the middle graders, boy and girl alike as the two main characters are a boy and a girl and both will make awesome role models and are both strong very capable characters. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat and glued chapter after chapter until you realize you are at the end and you too will be yelling for more.
February 15, 2015
First thoughts:
I feel I should explain my reasons for reading this...it's simple actually, I read it because Stan Lee. And if you don't know who he is then what are you doing here!?! Joking. He's basically the creator of Marvel Comics...and he wrote a middle-grade book!? Of course, I had to read it!
My synopsis: This book follows Steven Lee(haha) who, while on a school trip to Hong Kong, stumbles upon something he shouldn't aka Maxwell who is in the middle of releasing the powers of the Zodiac. In a wrong place, wrong time kind of situation Steven winds up foiling Maxwells plans and absorbing the power of the Tiger giving him the power to summon the beast when needed harnessing it's strength for his own. After that, it's a race against time to collect the other Zodiac powers which have chosen hosts all around the world before Maxwell reaches them first.
Review:
This is basically a combination Graphic Novel and book, it has pictures but full pages of writing, which makes it a book but it reads a lot like a graphic novel or comic. Just the fast paced nature and writing style, does make it feel like a comic.
If you're looking for a comic in complete book form however I highly recommend it! The art is great and the story is epic and it's just a lot of fun. I liked the characters too, but there wasn't a lot of time(really any) spent on character development or friendship development. It always felt like the characters were strangers to each other, pretending to be friends.
Overall, this book definitely had its faults but I really enjoyed it and if you're a fan of superheroes and comic books then I highly recommend it.
Would I Recommend This? Yes.
Who Too? Superhero and comic fans!
Will I read more from this author(or series)? Yup.
Full review can be found @ The Story Goes...
I feel I should explain my reasons for reading this...it's simple actually, I read it because Stan Lee. And if you don't know who he is then what are you doing here!?! Joking. He's basically the creator of Marvel Comics...and he wrote a middle-grade book!? Of course, I had to read it!
My synopsis: This book follows Steven Lee(haha) who, while on a school trip to Hong Kong, stumbles upon something he shouldn't aka Maxwell who is in the middle of releasing the powers of the Zodiac. In a wrong place, wrong time kind of situation Steven winds up foiling Maxwells plans and absorbing the power of the Tiger giving him the power to summon the beast when needed harnessing it's strength for his own. After that, it's a race against time to collect the other Zodiac powers which have chosen hosts all around the world before Maxwell reaches them first.
Review:
This is basically a combination Graphic Novel and book, it has pictures but full pages of writing, which makes it a book but it reads a lot like a graphic novel or comic. Just the fast paced nature and writing style, does make it feel like a comic.
If you're looking for a comic in complete book form however I highly recommend it! The art is great and the story is epic and it's just a lot of fun. I liked the characters too, but there wasn't a lot of time(really any) spent on character development or friendship development. It always felt like the characters were strangers to each other, pretending to be friends.
Overall, this book definitely had its faults but I really enjoyed it and if you're a fan of superheroes and comic books then I highly recommend it.
Would I Recommend This? Yes.
Who Too? Superhero and comic fans!
Will I read more from this author(or series)? Yup.
Full review can be found @ The Story Goes...
July 27, 2017
My name is Jasmine, and young Steven has accidentally been given the power of the Zodiac Tiger. Maxwell and I share the power of the dragon, but he is cruel, crazy, and a danger to the world. He believes he should hold all of the Zodiac power within himself and has already absorbed the energy of seven Zodiac animals. I need Steven's help to protect and recruit the four individuals around the world who now hold the power of the Rooster, Pig, Rabbit, and Ram. They don't understand what has happened, and I hope I can train them and Steven can become their leader. Maxwell's Zodiacs are more powerful and are trained as soldiers, and I'm having trouble fighting off his attempts to steal my power. Steven doesn't know how important he is to our success.
The story is enhanced by comic book drawings, and it reads like a comic too. I mean that in a good way. The plot is fast-paced and full of action. The characters have unique abilities, as Roxanne's voice is a weapon, Liam is indestructible, Kim can transport, and Duane has a connection with computers. Steven is the insecure leader, and the authors leave some surprises about his abilities until later in the book. The momentum of the plot sways back and forth, as the two sides take turns gaining advantages. The success of Steven's team seems to rely on temporary fixes, and the overall success of Maxwell's Vanguard seems inevitable. What did I like best about the book? I enjoyed the non-stop adventure, as the Zodiac crew battled around the world. The conflict seemed insurmountable, so the tension remained high. What did I like least? I had a hard time visualizing the appearance of the Zodiac animals. I imagined them as ghostly apparitions rising from the characters, but that strategy didn't seem to work during some of the scenes. Overall, I can recommend the book and have already started reading the sequel.
The story is enhanced by comic book drawings, and it reads like a comic too. I mean that in a good way. The plot is fast-paced and full of action. The characters have unique abilities, as Roxanne's voice is a weapon, Liam is indestructible, Kim can transport, and Duane has a connection with computers. Steven is the insecure leader, and the authors leave some surprises about his abilities until later in the book. The momentum of the plot sways back and forth, as the two sides take turns gaining advantages. The success of Steven's team seems to rely on temporary fixes, and the overall success of Maxwell's Vanguard seems inevitable. What did I like best about the book? I enjoyed the non-stop adventure, as the Zodiac crew battled around the world. The conflict seemed insurmountable, so the tension remained high. What did I like least? I had a hard time visualizing the appearance of the Zodiac animals. I imagined them as ghostly apparitions rising from the characters, but that strategy didn't seem to work during some of the scenes. Overall, I can recommend the book and have already started reading the sequel.
May 13, 2019
I will not be finishing this trilogy, and given the exponential decline in reviews the following books have, I'm not the only one with this thought. This book’s disjointed storyline, random epiphanies, and total lack of character development fell so flat, I almost threw it on the DNF pile. I only trudged on as each time I nearly stopped, the story threw out a tantalizing bit about Steven discovering his Asian American heritage. It left me disappointed.
The book writes like an action film, without the depth of facial expressions and cinematography to make the story actually work. In Maxwell I could see echoes of Thanos, which reminded me that this book is by an old white guy who writes very American action stories with lots of pictures. In a comic it’s ok to assume people from France, South Africa, Ireland, and the US can all magically talk to each other and have very American traits. In a comic, it’s normal for a 14 yr old with new superhero powers to be a team leader after less than 5 days of power and less than 2 days of knowing the other superhero teams who are almost all older. In a comic, we can also brush aside details such as how Zodiac powers find people born in the respective years, but the story just brushes off how massive these age gaps can be and what age people actually are supposed to be. This isn't a comic though.
Also, I never quite managed to puzzle out what part of the story each of the cool images were supposed to match up to, so that’s all disorienting.
Maybe it’s me not appreciating the nuances that make a children’s book appeal to children, but this seemed to fall short compared to Percy Jackson, and I already didn’t care much about that story (although I did finish it!).
The book writes like an action film, without the depth of facial expressions and cinematography to make the story actually work. In Maxwell I could see echoes of Thanos, which reminded me that this book is by an old white guy who writes very American action stories with lots of pictures. In a comic it’s ok to assume people from France, South Africa, Ireland, and the US can all magically talk to each other and have very American traits. In a comic, it’s normal for a 14 yr old with new superhero powers to be a team leader after less than 5 days of power and less than 2 days of knowing the other superhero teams who are almost all older. In a comic, we can also brush aside details such as how Zodiac powers find people born in the respective years, but the story just brushes off how massive these age gaps can be and what age people actually are supposed to be. This isn't a comic though.
Also, I never quite managed to puzzle out what part of the story each of the cool images were supposed to match up to, so that’s all disorienting.
Maybe it’s me not appreciating the nuances that make a children’s book appeal to children, but this seemed to fall short compared to Percy Jackson, and I already didn’t care much about that story (although I did finish it!).
March 19, 2015
Once more our minds have been blown to smithereens by Stan Lee. First, he conquers the comic industry, and then he took over the movie industry. Now with the first book in his YA series, Zodiac, Stan seems to have put himself in a position to dominate the book industry. Next all he needs to do is make an award winning video game and he’ll effectively be our entertainment despot.
Zodiac itself is a pretty good book, it’s no Dracula, or Pale Fire, but it certainly is impressive for a first foray into literature. I already know what your first question is going to be, “Is there going to be one of those little scenes where this old guy with white hair and sunglasses is on screen and you’re all like “Hey look its Stan Lee!” No, there is no little scene like that but none the less Stan still managed to shoehorn himself in, as the main protagonist is called, Steven Lee! That’s like me writing a book were the main character is called Brendon Palm.
Other than that the book is pretty good. The plot is pretty straight-forward. Steve Lee wanders into a restricted part of a museum and gets hit by an energy beam that gives him and everyone else in the room, Maxwell a guy with a huge private army who’s gunning for world domination, and Jasmine a girl who’s fighting him, superpowers based on the Chinese zodiac. The rest of the book is basically Steven and Jasmine’s superhero team fighting Maxwell’s superhero team. Like I said it’s pretty straight forward. But then it just grabs you by your nostrils and doesn’t let go till the end.
Review by: Brennan Palm
Full Reviews Available at: http://www.thebookendfamily.weebly.com
Zodiac itself is a pretty good book, it’s no Dracula, or Pale Fire, but it certainly is impressive for a first foray into literature. I already know what your first question is going to be, “Is there going to be one of those little scenes where this old guy with white hair and sunglasses is on screen and you’re all like “Hey look its Stan Lee!” No, there is no little scene like that but none the less Stan still managed to shoehorn himself in, as the main protagonist is called, Steven Lee! That’s like me writing a book were the main character is called Brendon Palm.
Other than that the book is pretty good. The plot is pretty straight-forward. Steve Lee wanders into a restricted part of a museum and gets hit by an energy beam that gives him and everyone else in the room, Maxwell a guy with a huge private army who’s gunning for world domination, and Jasmine a girl who’s fighting him, superpowers based on the Chinese zodiac. The rest of the book is basically Steven and Jasmine’s superhero team fighting Maxwell’s superhero team. Like I said it’s pretty straight forward. But then it just grabs you by your nostrils and doesn’t let go till the end.
Review by: Brennan Palm
Full Reviews Available at: http://www.thebookendfamily.weebly.com
March 2, 2016
This book was really interesting I like how Stan Lee stuck to the Superpowers theme and had that in this book, it made it even more interesting. I love reading about Superheros/Superpowers books although most of them are long I find them all really fun and interesting to read about. I like how instead of having one superhero with a superpower, Stan Lee added more than just one. This book has the kids with superpowers which changes all the times than an Adult would usually have the superpower and not the kids. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about superheros/superpowers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 879 reviews