REVIEW: RETURN OF THE GRIFFIN (THE HYBRID HELIX #2)

A prodigal son returns...

I'd listened to WISTFUL ASCENDING quite a while ago and had an awesome time with it, but the other books in the series are not available in audio format at the time of writing this, so I sort of had the series on hold for a while outside of reading a prequel short story that the author had available for free. Now, I've at last made some time for this series in my visual reading schedule.

HOW I RATED IT 

4/5 Rohan returns for another adventure and this one is even more bombastic than the first book in the series. Although some minor grievances held this back for me somewhat, I still had a great time with it. 

CHARACTERS

We visit Rohan again shortly after the events of WISTFUL ASCENDING where he continues to serve as Wistful's Tow Chief and takes on various special projects that might be a bit outside the scope of his job title, but are ultimately tasks that only he is really cut out for. Wei Li and Ang (one of the "space bears" take on minor roles in the plot alongside their sentient space station, but Rohan's story takes them away from the home he's made out in space and back to his home planet of Earth. Due to this, the cast is largely brand new though these newcomers are just as fun as the people Rohan worked with previously. There's something so much more personal about this particular installment in the series as Rohan did not leave his home on the best of terms and many of the people he cares about were under the impression that he was dead. In spit of all that, he yearns to be seen as a hero as he comes back to help fight against gigantic landsharks who wreak indescribable devastation upon the human race. His interactions with other powered people (of which there are many in this version of Earth) and even his own mother were deeply compelling and felt achingly sincere. These scenes between Rohan and his mother, his ex, and other past friends/acquaintances/enemies made for some of the best moments the book has to offer and that is impressive considering all of the other things going on. All in all, I think the way that Rohan develops was amazing. It's easy in serialized series like this for the main character to remain somewhat stagnant, but that has absolutely not been the case here and I can't wait to see what ways Rohan will grow in subsequent titles. 

PLOT/TONE

Things were already pretty high energy in the last book with a nice mix of explosive, zany, and heartfelt moments. Somehow, all of that is cranked up even further in what feels like a true homage to the world of superhero comics. There is such a wild juxtaposition between the ridiculousness of Earth's predicament and all the fun tidbits we get about what this version of the planet is like with so many powered people running (or flying, or teleporting, or shifting through reality) around against the truly grizzly stakes of what these heroes are up against. While monstrous, bipedal landsharks might seem like a silly thing to have to face, I quickly found them horrifying due to how powerful they are and how morbidly the death toll rises whenever they show up. Contrasting both of these tones are the more somber notes of Rohan's conversations with the other characters and the personal odyssey that he goes through while the cataclysmic events unfold. No one element ever overshadows another nor did I feel like any of these three sides of the story were overdone. Where things fell apart slightly for me in this area was in some of the political satire that is included. It's not overbearing or anything, there are just some little moments that sort of broke my immersion in the rest of the story a bit. It's not so much that these brief scenes are unfunny exactly, it's just that they sort of clashed with and detracted from everything else. They also sort of fix this story within a timeframe that's at least somewhat close to ours which kind of takes away from what would otherwise be a fairly timeless narrative. I've heard the author speak about how this book is going to be re-released with some of these elements removed or cut down and I think that would be for the better since there's no need for this world to closely mirror certain aspects of ours when there are so many other ways in which it is different. With that said, I can only comment on the version that I've read and evaluate it based on my personal reading experience.

SETTING/WORLD

I'll admit that I wasn't initially sold on the idea of the story heading to Earth. In a universe where Rohan could literally go to any exotic world or just have more adventure come to him on the high-tech space station, heading to a planet we know seemed like a strange choice for the first follow up book in this series. Fortunately, I ended up loving this wacky version of Earth where superheroes are basically a dime a dozen (or at least they were before tragedy struck the planet). The various references to different heroes or teams were so much fun and I loved getting to see how the existence of these powers altered the geopolitical landscape of the planet. There's also some deeper mythology at play and as someone who's into ancient myths and legends I enjoyed both the elements lifted straight from those tales of old as well as some of the original concepts that Berne weaved in. The cumulative effect is that Earth felt just as alien as any other planet Rohan could have explored and I loved that it served as both such an interesting destination as well as a necessary stop in terms of Rohan's character arc. Honestly, I hope the series returns here at some point to check in and show us how things change after a while. I'm also very curious to see how certain unresolved lore elements end up factoring into future books. 

EBOOK

Overall, this is a solid package. The cover looks good, the interior formatting is nice and I liked that the chapters are typically set at manageable, but satisfying lengths. In spite of some of the heavier themes present here, this is the type of book that's quite easy to get through. One small gripe I will add is that I got this sense that the prose itself wasn't always as smooth as it was in the previous book. I don't know if that's just because I listened to the audiobook for that one and the narrator was adding some flair that I wasn't inserting while narrating the story to myself in my head. It's not that any of the writing is bad, there were just certain lines that didn't feel as punchy as others and some scenes that felt like they were chopped up kind of strangely, with a party towards the third act of the story being one example of this where one thing happens then another then another and so on almost like it's all on fast forward. 

CONCLUSION

If you enjoyed WISTFUL ASCENDING, then you absolutely have to continue your adventure with Rohan. This book surprised me in so many ways and it was such a fun ride even if you don't want to give much thought to some of the more personal or ponderous moments that are nicely mixed in. For those that are looking for something a little deeper than a super man overcoming impossible odds, then I think you will be delighted by what this story has to offer. 

(+) A fast paced action story with tons of bombastic fight scenes

(+) Fascinating juxtaposition of several very different tones

(+) The moments between Rohan and members of the supporting cast had me gripped throughout

(+) Earth made for a fantastic setting even though I was initially skeptical

(+) I loved the use of different mythologies, both recycled and original

(+) Previously introduced characters and places are still relevant even if they don't play a major role

(-) Social satire that pulled me out of the story from time to time

(-) Occasional excerpts where the prose/writing fell a little flat or choppy for me