3.5 stars

The X-Men, Avengers, 3 of the Fantastic Four, and independents, plus their antagonists like Dr. Doom, Doc Oc, and various others get drawn into a battle to the death by an extra-dimensional being curious as to what they would do to gain the ultimate prize. Though there are almost too many characters to follow, but I found the story hung together fairly well in spite of the that.

Enjoyable listen. ( )

I’ve not read the Secret Wars comic event yet, so I had no expectations for this novel adaptation. I started reading the Marvel novels with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, which was excellent. Unfortunately, this wasn’t.

It started out well enough. A group of heroes including Captain America, Charles Xavier, Hulk, three of the Fantastic Four and more, wake to find themselves on a spacecraft. On a second ship, Professor X senses many of their enemies, including Galactus. A mystery is introduced right from the start. Magneto is with the heroes – why? As the ship slows, they see a planet being patch-worked together by a cosmic entity known as the Beyonder, who announces that the “winner” will get everything they desire. Welcome to Battleworld.

I expected the book to be a series of showdowns, but it wasn’t. The two groups separate, with Cap leading the heroes and Dr. Doom taking charge of the villains. There is a LOT of internal bickering in both groups, and some clashes between them, but the book quickly becomes about Dr. Doom. He refuses to play the game, instead developing his own scheme. This could have been fine, except that few of the story threads are pursued and the book has no resolution.

Though the heroes wonder many times why Magneto was placed with them, it’s never explained. Nor is why some heroes were not also kidnapped, such as the Invisible Woman. Xavier knows more than he is letting on to the other heroes, or to the reader it turns out. Dr. Doom succeeds in his plan, but then doesn’t, and we never know what happens to him! The heroes kinda sorta “win” but we don’t see them get home. Some of the villains, including a significantly powered up Molecule Man, start making their way back to Earth, but they never arrive. The story just stops.

Overall, I can’t recommend this – it felt like I only had half a book. I also own this as a full cast audio production, and can only hope the publisher made some changes, like giving the story an actual conclusion. Skip this. ( )