The Chronicles of Riddick

The Chronicles of Riddick
Alan Dean Foster | 2004-04-27 00:00:00 | Del Rey | 352 | Movie Tie-Ins
Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.INo matter how long or how hard they strive, no matter how extensive their education as a species, no matter what they experience of the small heavens and larger hells they create for themselves, it seems that humans are destined to see their technological accomplishments always exceed their ability to understand themselves.Certainly there was no understanding, no meeting of the minds, on the world called Aquila Major. There was only the devastation of one mind-set by another. Proof of it took the form of a statue fashioned of advanced, reinforced preformata resin. It was an imposing piece of work, for all that it had been reproduced by its originators on many other worlds. Too many other worlds, according to some. Not nearly enough, according to those who had put it in place, its massive footing firmly rammed into the resistant soil of Aquila Major. It was a Conquest Icon of the Necromongers. Over five hundred meters tall, it gaped openmouthed at the utter desolation and wreckage that spread outward from its base. Whether it was seen as wailing in despair at its surroundings or moaning in triumph depended on whether one was a surviving citizen of that world's once-splendid capital city, now reduced to waste and ruin, or a member of that peculiar space-dwelling group who called themselves followers of the faith known as Necroism. They had been preparing for such moments for a very long time. They had burst out of the great darkness to impose themselves on the civilized worlds with a forcefulness and cool brutality that was as stunning in its single-mindedness as it was in its efficiency. Aquila Major was not the first of their conquests, nor would it be the last. As long as there were worlds to be freed, as long as humans lived who dwelled in ignorance of their true destiny, the Necromongers would continue with their work.Unlike so much of the humankind who had spread explosively throughout the galaxy, the Necromongers were driven by genuine purpose beyond the need to merely exist. They believed fervently in their work, and went about it with a determination and competence that was breathtaking to behold. In the majority of cases, literally breathtaking. Furthermore, there was no meanness in them, no suggestion of brutality for its own sake or of sadism. Like all true believers since the beginning of time, they saw only good arising out of the destruction they inflicted. Everything they did was for the benefit of the destroyed, they knew. Nor was their great work devoid of irony.For it was the dead who triumphed by passing on, while only the most dedicated forced themselves to carry on the work by continuing to live until due time.
Reviews
Several of Alan Dean Foster's books number among my all-time favorites, but this book won't be one of them. Little to no effort was put into expanding the original screenplay, which is unfortunate, as the screenplay was awful. Foster would have done better had he not only expanded on the original screenplay, but deviated from it as much as possible. This is "paint-by-the-numbers" fiction, the author could have written it in his sleep.



This book was written for a quick paycheck. I found it a waste of both my time and money.



Avoid this book unless you're a rabid, rabid, rabid Riddick fan.
Reviews
Having seen the movie this book brought the memories to life.

Alan Dean Foster writes his own best selling sci fi space operas,

so David Twohy should be happy with this conversion of his script.

It is nice that they can't get any Riddick II or III out of this,

but there are two pre-Cronicles movies that are pretty good too:

one an animation.

At one point Kyra says: "I hate not being the bad guy."

That sort of sums up Riddick stories:

he hates not being the villain...

they have hunted him his whole life

and he has survived.
Reviews
Personally, I loved the films, even if the movie adaptation of this book was a little on the, if slightly, cheezy side. It was still a good film for what it was, and the characters are enough to make you want to watch it over and over.

What the book succeeds in however, is being infinately more brutal, more in depth, and more explanative of the characters you come to know. It is graphic in it's explanation, and if you can just picture Vin Diesels voice in your own head while reading, it's like an uncut version of the film. It's very much an enjoyable read, and if you love the universe of Riddick as I do, this is a must have next to the films and games, it will help add in those little pieces that were always missing from this film for you.




Reviews
This is actually a very well written book. I'm not saying it wins any awards or anything like that.

I might be a little bias cuz I do like the Riddick charcter, though. I was hoping this book might shed more light on the history of Riddick or tell us something new. But, unlike other books, this book is based off the movie. Pretty much the movie written scene for scene into a book. A nice read all the same.
Reviews
I read this book because I wanted to know more about what was behind the characters and concepts in the film. What was beneath those awe-inspiring visuals?



In the case of the Necromongers there was a wealth of information provided. Their entire history from the first Lord Marshal was laid bare- how Covu the scientist-philosopher founded the order based on the teaching that there was more than One God. It is told how he was tortured to the point that he could no longer feel pain- so his persecutors turned their attentions on his family... His escape and flight is told- and how at last he came to the Threshold of the glorious place that he called the UnderVerse. Here he found the new, almost magical strength to spread his crusade across the galaxy. The single goal of which was to bestow the blessing of death to all that lived in the universe. When the last living being was harvested then the Necromongers themselves would be promoted from quasi-dead to full dead...



In the case of Riddick, there wasn't a great deal more to learn. This was primarily because Riddick did not know all that much about his own origins- or what manner of being he truly was. It was pointed out that when survival called then his higher philosophical functions shut down in favor of instinct and perfect technical/tactical responses. In this, Riddick was the perfect survivor. His philosophy was that life was a bitch, you looked out for yourself or you didn't, and the galaxy was a cold, cold place. And yet there was something more to the man. You saw this in his standing behind his friends. You saw this when he was faced with certain death and something deep within, that even Riddick was unaware of, lashed out to do the impossible.



I don't think that I am spoiling anything here to say that Riddick becomes king, or Lord Marshal, by his own hand. After this could there be another film? I mean what would be left for him to accomplish? I think the answer lies in his first command- to order the fleet to the Threshold. After all, who is more qualified to storm the Gates of Hell than Riddick?



The soul of Kyra- and all the rest- will be rescued.



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