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Nexus: A Novel
From back cover:
Nexus is the greatest avenger the galaxy has evern know, but his power comes from an alien race with its own agenda. Is the mighty Nexus hero or pawn? Deliverer... or destroyer?
Based on the bestselling comic book series created by the award-winning team of writer Mike Baron and artist Steve Rude, comes the definitive tale from the prolific author himself!
Nexus is the greatest avenger the galaxy has evern know, but his power comes from an alien race with its own agenda. Is the mighty Nexus hero or pawn? Deliverer... or destroyer?
Based on the bestselling comic book series created by the award-winning team of writer Mike Baron and artist Steve Rude, comes the definitive tale from the prolific author himself!
405 pages, Unknown Binding
Published January 1, 2020
9 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 8, 2026
Not a bad novel.
if you are a fan of this unique character, you'll enjoy this book with its humor and sarcasm
if you are a fan of this unique character, you'll enjoy this book with its humor and sarcasm
May 26, 2022
On one hand, Baron writes prose - descriptive passages, dialogue, etc. - effectively, making for a good page-turner when the book is going well. I've read plenty of other comic book writers who couldn't manage that trick, so credit to him there.
The character bits are often very good and insightful, seeking to elucidate the human condition and all its contradictions, even when I disagree with them (Baron and I are polar opposites politically).
On the other hand, his plotting, without the artificial limitations of the comic book page count, is erratic and prone to too many divergences. I would gladly have dropped every page of KJ and Harry's plotlines. (Harry's frenemy relationship with Verner was terribly tedious and, in the end, feels more like a setup for a future novel than anything meaningfully resolved here.) The Thrillkill twins hunt goes on for far too long, well after any interest in the quest had faded into distant memory.
So yeah, there are some really good things in Nexus: A Novel, but I can't say I'd come back for another one. Like Rude's telling of the Gourmando saga revealed, the magic is in the collaboration - the yin/yang of Baron's political/philosophical demagoguery playing against Rude's Kirby/Toth scifi sense of fun. And even then, the last few projects showed a lack of forward progress. I'll always revere that First Comics run of Nexus and I still really enjoy the Dark Horse issues as well, but everything runs its course.
The character bits are often very good and insightful, seeking to elucidate the human condition and all its contradictions, even when I disagree with them (Baron and I are polar opposites politically).
On the other hand, his plotting, without the artificial limitations of the comic book page count, is erratic and prone to too many divergences. I would gladly have dropped every page of KJ and Harry's plotlines. (Harry's frenemy relationship with Verner was terribly tedious and, in the end, feels more like a setup for a future novel than anything meaningfully resolved here.) The Thrillkill twins hunt goes on for far too long, well after any interest in the quest had faded into distant memory.
So yeah, there are some really good things in Nexus: A Novel, but I can't say I'd come back for another one. Like Rude's telling of the Gourmando saga revealed, the magic is in the collaboration - the yin/yang of Baron's political/philosophical demagoguery playing against Rude's Kirby/Toth scifi sense of fun. And even then, the last few projects showed a lack of forward progress. I'll always revere that First Comics run of Nexus and I still really enjoy the Dark Horse issues as well, but everything runs its course.
May 28, 2023
The Nexus is not your ordinary super hero. And Mike Baron is not your ordinary writer. He is extraordinary writer. And the tales he comes up with are fantastical. I fell in love with Nexus instantly after reading Nexus #54 (1989). The Nexus universe is like no other science fictional universe. You need a to check it out, man.
dnf
December 11, 2020Too cutesy for me. Feels too much like it's trying to be Hitchhiker's Guide funny, which also just didn't appeal to me. (Yes, that makes me weird, but I already knew that. :) ) If you enjoyed the HGthG books, you'll probably enjoy this one.
I'm not rating it because it's just not my cup of chai.
I'm not rating it because it's just not my cup of chai.
January 15, 2021
It was fun going on the "way back machine" to a time when comics were fun. I really enjoyed the Mike Baron story for Gormundo. I enjoyed meeting all of Nexus' characters again too. It felt very natural. Solid read but a slightly weak ending lowered the grade to a 4.
November 1, 2020
Great Goulessarian! It's awesome to read new Nexus material!
May 27, 2021
DNF @20% I love the original comic books, but this wasn't doing it for me. Maybe I miss the artwork too much?
November 19, 2021
Solid book. It is very entertaining and fun. It features the trademark quirky wordplay and satire that Mike Baron is known for in the NEXUS comics. It should be enough to know that the main plotline focuses on a scenario as simple as "What if Nexus encountered a giant world devouring alien who also happens to have a chrome-coated herald riding the waves of space on his chromium surfboard?"
But, of course, the real fun is the absurdist interplay between the various characters and their different cultural norms. All of it filtered through a lens seeing a future where pop culture is all-consuming in its effect on Earth and the entire galaxy.
What keeps me from bumping the novel to 4 stars is a couple of reasons, one substantive and one technical. The substantive reason is that, while I had fun with the book, I think that is because I am already well acquainted with Nexus theough the comics. As I was reading I was also pondering what it was that just felt off to me and as I was coming into the final few chapters it dawned on me what it was. The book is a novel but it reads more like a comic than a novel, if that makes sense. It is almost 400 pages and nearly all of it is dialogue but not much in the way of really taking advantage of the novel format. In a comic, the writing can do this by depending on your artist collaborator to fill in those visuals for the reader. In a novel is that chance to really create a visual in the readers minds eye that could even be impossible for an artist to render. That's my main disappointment.
The second thing is the formatting of the book. Overall it is a nice job but there were some inconsistencies in the first pages of chapters where the initial few words were supposed to be larger and bolded but the formatter missed it. Also, Chapter 37 inexplicably changed font size then changed back by 38.
I do recommend the book for fans of NEXUS comics and for readers who enjoy clever dialogue and absurdist satire.
But, of course, the real fun is the absurdist interplay between the various characters and their different cultural norms. All of it filtered through a lens seeing a future where pop culture is all-consuming in its effect on Earth and the entire galaxy.
What keeps me from bumping the novel to 4 stars is a couple of reasons, one substantive and one technical. The substantive reason is that, while I had fun with the book, I think that is because I am already well acquainted with Nexus theough the comics. As I was reading I was also pondering what it was that just felt off to me and as I was coming into the final few chapters it dawned on me what it was. The book is a novel but it reads more like a comic than a novel, if that makes sense. It is almost 400 pages and nearly all of it is dialogue but not much in the way of really taking advantage of the novel format. In a comic, the writing can do this by depending on your artist collaborator to fill in those visuals for the reader. In a novel is that chance to really create a visual in the readers minds eye that could even be impossible for an artist to render. That's my main disappointment.
The second thing is the formatting of the book. Overall it is a nice job but there were some inconsistencies in the first pages of chapters where the initial few words were supposed to be larger and bolded but the formatter missed it. Also, Chapter 37 inexplicably changed font size then changed back by 38.
I do recommend the book for fans of NEXUS comics and for readers who enjoy clever dialogue and absurdist satire.
September 5, 2021
Written by one of the co-creators of the greatest indie comic ever, Nexus is a new and fun trip down memory lane. The entire cast is back with a new adventure that touches on the original comic, but adds some new characters and adventures. A fast, fun read that will entertain fans old and new.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews