Scott's Take: Gamora And Nebula: Sisters In Arms by Mackenzi Lee

Gamora And Nebula: Sisters In Arms by Mackenzi Lee tells a story from two different points of view. Gamora and Nebula are the daughters of Thanos which is a different character than the movies. In the comics and in this book, Thanos is in love with Death, who has a physical form and is female, and is trying to get her back as they have a love/hate relationship. Abusive warlord wants what he wants and he manipulates his daughters, who do not get along at all, so that they go to the planet, Tordune, on separate missions to steal an object its core. Tordune is a polluted and dying world that once was a lush green planet until a valuable energy source was discovered beneath the surface. Mining has decimated the world and now the population is oppressed by a massive corporation known as the Mining Corporation.

 

In exchange for help to get to the core of the planet, Gamora allies herself with the rebels that are attempting to free their world from the Mining Corporation. At the same time, Nebula arrives on planet and allies herself with the Universal Church Of Truth (a cult). She agrees to “diplomatically” deal with the rebels so that the Church can continue to profit off the energy source through their controlling interests in the Mining Corporation. Like her sister, she is using this connection to get help to travel to the core to recover the object. Both sisters individually soon suspect that the object in question is far more important than they were told and have to decide if they will fight or work together.

 

The story being primarily told through two different perspectives that have very different personalities makes this read interesting. Thanos has raised his daughters to see each other not only as his personal living weapons, but as a direct threat and another face of competition. He has thoroughly and repeatedly traumatized both girls as they grew up and each sister has a different reaction to that ongoing trauma. The tale is heavily defined by their sibling relationship which frequently leads to some predictable cliches.

 

Gamora And Nebula: Sisters In Arms has action, drama, and humor and is a standalone book set in the Marvel Universe. Other than the understanding that this Thanos has little in common with the movie version, one does not need to know much about the Marvel Universe to understand and follow. I recommend this book for Marvel fans and newcomers alike. This author also wrote Loki: Where Mischief Lies which is also a stand-alone book set in the Marvel Universe. Both books are good and highly enjoyable.  

 

  

Gamora And Nebula: Sisters In Arms

Mackenzi Lee

http://www.mackenzilee.com/

Marvel Press

https://books.disney.com/book/gamora-nebula/

June 2021

ISBN# 978-136802225-5

Hardback (also currently available in audio and eBook formats)

400 Pages 

 

My reading copy came from the Audelia Road Branch of the Dallas Public Library System. 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2021

Scott's Take: Thanos: Death Sentence by Stuart Moore

Thanos: Death Sentence by Stuart Moore features the Marvel villain Thanos on a cosmic walk about after his latest defeat at the hands of the Avengers. Since this is the marvel comic version of Thanos -- not the movie version -- he is radically different then what movie fans would expect. Thanos in the comics does everything he does out of being in love with Death. He wants her. Thus, he seeks to kill every living thing in the galaxy to impress and win the love of Death. She has spurned him again after he was defeated by the Avengers. Spurned and having been defeated yet again, Thanos goes on a journey to figure out what he wants and who he is.

The book guest stars the Avengers, the Black Order, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and others as it takes readers across the Marvel Universe. The book is a focus on Thanos and his flaws and why he will never be happy for as long as he chooses to cut a bloody trail across the universe.

This is an original tale that is fairly dark with murder and sexual content. The many murders are very graphic though the sexual content is not. This is not a book for younger readers. Neither is particularly graphic, but this is not a book for younger readers. As one reads this, one must understand than Thanos himself is an unreliable narrator. Called the “Mad Titan” for a reason, he frequently lies to himself as well as many others so there are times in the read where one does not know if what Thanos is saying is true.

If you are Marvel fan this may not be the book for you as the Avengers are not in most of the book. If you are a Thanos fan, or are open to reading from the perspective of the hated villain, Thanos: Death Sentence by Stuart Moore is for you. I enjoyed the read and recommend it with the understanding as outlined in this review.

My reading copy came from the Central, aka Downtown Branch, of the Dallas Public Library System back in the middle of March shorty before the library system closed their doors due to the ongoing pandemic.

Scott A. Tipple ©2020