Billed as a bridge between Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, this story takes place in the days following the apes' journey across the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Muir Woods; it is a bridge from a bridge, so to speak. When I finished the first film in this series, I wondered how the apes from the zoo who had not been given the ALZ-113 serum knew where to go, as well as whether or not the apes would starve in the woods. This novel touches upon those questions, revealing that the apes from the zoo, though not as intelligent, could follow simple commands, and that the apes stole fruit from stores, searched for insects, and hunted animals. Before reading this, I had not been aware that chimpanzees were omnivores, unlike their herbivore cousins the orangutans.
Another question that was on my mind (as well as the minds of others) was the ultimate fate of James Franco's character, Will Rodman, as well as Rodman's girlfriend, Caroline Aranha. I knew that the characters would not appear in the sequel film, and I hoped that they would appear in this book. Though Will is mentioned frequently and though he appears in a flashback, he never appears following the events of what is known as "Monkeygate." When reporter David Flynn, searching for answers, goes to Rodman's house, he finds that there is nobody there, implying that Will caught the Simian Flu. This fate is realistic, but it would have been nice to have seen Will and Caroline experiencing the outbreak. I predicted that Rodman would appear at the end of the novel just as Taylor appeared at the end of Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Alas, that prediction did not come true.
Speaking of David Flynn (whose realization that human civilization was durable buildings but fragile people is very heartbreaking), it seems too convenient that he knows Dr. Talia Kosar, another protagonist in this book. On top of that, their connection is glossed over for the most part. David's lover, possibly a promiscuous woman, Clancy Stoppard (who has an uncle named Hamm, causing me to wonder if his name is a reference to Sam Hamm, who wrote a screenplay for a Planet of the Apes reboot in the 1990s), joins Malakai Youmans, a man who has lost his wife and son during a conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi decades earlier. Despite their age difference, the two of them have sex when they realize that human civilization is falling apart. This is a cliché that ruins the pacing of the story.
The only human character from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes who appears in this story is Dreyfus, former chief of police who is running for mayor and has a wife named Maddy, with whom he has a 12-year-old son named John and a 14-year-old son named Edward. I kept expecting Dreyfus' family to be infected by the Simian Flu, and they did in the end. The new film even implies that this is what happened to them. I feel that Malcolm's family would have been a good addition to the story. It would have been emotional having his young boy Alexander see his mother as she dies from the illness.
Koba the bonobo is given more depth; throughout the book, he experiences flashbacks to his life before Monkeygate. These passages reveal that, after he was taken care of by Mary at a primate research facility, his mother was beaten to death by an alcoholic caregiver named Roger (who, whether or not the author realizes it, shares the same given name as Roger Mason, the first person to encounter the apes in the woods during this book). He was then sold to a TV studio under the care of Tommy, and starred in a comedy show titled Monkey of the House. There, he met a chimp who knew sing language named Milo (whose name is a reference to Dr. Milo from Escape from the Planet of the Apes). After the show's cancelation, Koba witnessed Milo biting a drunk Tommy after being abused, resulting in Milo having a permanent muzzle. Tommy ended up slashing Koba's face and committing suicide. When Koba was taken to Gen Sys, he bonded with Amol, who was fired by Steven Jacobs (the man whom Koba would kill on the Golden Gate Bridge). In the timeframe of Firestorm, Koba's desperation for Caesar's approval, as well as Caesar referring to Koba as a brother, makes it all the sadder to see Koba become Caesar's Brutus in the new film. Characters calling Koba ugly also brings to mind a scene from the 1968 Planet of the Apes film, during which Zira calls Taylor ugly.
We also see the beginning of the relationship between Caesar and Cornelia. I am glad that they did not fall in love with each other right away, as that trope can be tiring. She does, however, try reasoning with him on certain issues and bond with him by cleaning his fur.
There are some typos throughout the novel, and I feel that another round of editing could have fixed all of them. One glaring error is Koba having a flashback of riding on top of the trolley with Buck, Caesar, and Maurice when it was actually Rocket who rode with them in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I suppose that we could pretend that Koba pushed off Rocket offscreen and took his place. One detail that the author did incorporate was the fact that Simian Flu spread to France right after it originated in San Francisco (which seems fitting since Pierre Boulle's original Planet of the Apes novel was initially released in France). The Alpha/Omega graffiti all over buildings is a nice touch; it echoes the Alpha-Omega Bomb from Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
As for the title, I can understand why they reuse the title of the new film: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes came out soon after this novel, and it is nice for the public to know in which continuity this novel takes place. In my opinion, a nice alternative title would have been Plague of the Planet of the Apes, or even Plague of the Apes. The "Firestorm" in the title makes sense when you see the realistic reactions to Simian Flu resulting in the burning of the Muir Woods.
Though Firestorm is missing elements that would have made it more emotional, it does somewhat enhance the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes viewing experience, if only a bit.