Review: Pacific Rim – The Official Movie Novelisation / Author: Alex Irvine / Publisher: Titan Books / Release Date: Out Now
The humble movie novelisation is a grand tradition, harking back to the pre-VHS days in which the grubby old paperback was many folks’ only hope of owning a copy of their favourite film. Despite the leaps and bounds in accessibility that have been achieved since then, the tie-in novel lives on. I’m not sure who’s reading these things any more, but it’s nice that they’re still there.
Alex Irvine’s Pacific Rim adapts Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beacham’s screenplay into a fairly hefty 352 page novel. Author of the Transformers movie tie-ins, Irvine is no stranger to giant battles and carnage on a global scale. While something is inevitably lost in the translation from screen to page, Irvine is very good at what he does. The story, while it won’t surprise anyone who’s seen the film, does have a few extra titbits of information and hints of character motivation. Given that Pacific Rim is all about the giant mech/monster fights and little else, we should be grateful for all that we can get. Some niggling questions are answered, a little extra Kaiju history clarified. The action is broken up with news reports and military files handily scattered between the chapters. It’s a nice idea, keeping the book from feeling too redundant. Fans of the movie impatiently awaiting its DVD release would be recommended to pick up this well-written, fun little book. I prefer a little more surprise in my books, but it is among the best of its kind. Doesn’t hold a candle to Troma’s Toxic Avenger novelisation, though. But then, not many books do.
While Irvine’s Pacific Rim could never hope to compare with seeing the film itself, it’s a treat for fans of film novelisations. When they’re as well done as this one, long may the tradition continue.
