Death of the Planet of the Apes

I don’t know what possessed writer Andrew E. C. Gaska to write this book, but I’m glad he did. He effortlessly ties all the events from the first classic planet of the apes films and make them coherent and logical. Mr. Gaska has a great writing style and this book is a super entertaining read. I don’t want to give away any of the plot, just know that all the characters are there and they are beautifully written. If you are a fan of the films read this book and hope that someday this book will be made into a film or a mini-series. This is the Planet of the Apes story the fans needed to read. Highest recommendation!!

This fan fiction is a rare gem that stands out due to its exceptional quality and attention to detail. Unlike many others, it focuses on crafting a well-written story rather than forcefully inserting connections for the sake of impressing long term aficionados. It seamlessly aligns with the existing canon of the Apes series, ensuring a consistent and satisfying experience for readers, either new to the saga, or old hands.The main narrative is engrossing, so much so that I couldn't help but skim through the less essential prequel parts about Taylor's life pre-space mission to continue with the main story.If this were to have served as the sequel to the original Apes film, it would undoubtedly be considered the series' masterpiece, albeit a lengthy one, possibly spanning five hours and requiring a substantially larger budget than the films from the 1970s could ever allow.I highly recommend this to any fan of the Apes saga. Its exceptional quality makes it a must-read, and it should be considered canonical (is it? Who cares?) due to its careful and outstanding execution.

Drew Gaska has done it again! I was first introduced to Mr. Gaska’s work through his “Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes” novella beautifully illustrated by Matt Busch and published by Archaia in 2011. That novella told the events of the first Apes movie from the point of view of different characters having “off screen” adventures such as astronaut Landon and ape scientist Milo while also introducing all-new characters. It masterfully filled in gaps and fixed continuity errors. My only problem with it was that it ended with so much more of the story to be told. Now, 7 years later, we get the sequel..."Death of the Planet of the Apes" takes a similar approach with the second Apes film and tells more off screen adventures of characters from the films as well as many other characters (some introduced in Gaska’s first novel, others introduced in this new novel). And to my delight, this is a huge novel - not a short novella like I was expecting.I don’t want to spoil the story, but I will say that Mr. Gaska manages to create a truly engaging story (I could not put this book down!) while masterfully integrating plot lines from so many Apes sources (including the Marvel comics Apes magazine from the 70’s) and fixing even more continuity errors that have crept up between the films. Doing so is not an easy task - often when writers try to tie together characters and plot lines from different, continuity-riddled sources the final product comes off like cheap fanfiction. Never once does that happen here - every sprinkle of a character or plot line from a tangential Ape story (no matter how obscure) is done brilliantly. The only other author I have seen do this as well is Peter David (having done that in books for many genre properties such as Star Trek and Babylon 5). Gaska’s writing style finds the true voices of the well-known characters from the films, injects a fair amount of humor into such a dark story, and moves at a breakneck speed. You will not be disappointed!In a recent interview on the “Talking Apes” podcast, Drew Gaska said he has a 5-book plan he’d like to execute. I can only hope that means he plans on taking a similar approach with the remaining 3 Apes films. I would love to see what he could do with "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" to flesh out that storyline, make it more believable and connect it better to the final film.Now if only the 2nd and 3rd Buck Rogers novella’s Mr. Gaska has written will finally get published...Go Ape!

The book is really interesting how the movies are put in the book and it shows how Taylor became a astronaut. Thanks for the book it was a pleasure to read.

Wonder how the original Planet of the Apes characters got their start? How were the Apes able to get off the planet? What is Taylor's full name? This book fills in the blanks and ties the first two movies together perfectly. If you're a fan of the original Planet of the Apes series then I highly recommend this book.