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Marvel Berkley/Byron Preiss Productions Prose Novels
Fantastic Four: Countdown to Chaos
"World chaos--courtesy of the Mad Thinker!" The Mad Thinker, with the aid of the Red Ghost and his Super Apes, has hatched a worldwide conspiracy. He has placed lifelike duplicates of hundreds of key people throughout the world--including Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four! The remaining members of the FF must work frantically to uncover the Thinker
274 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1998
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About the author
Pierce Askegren
20Ìýbooks16ÌýfollowersAs a young man, Mr. Askegren took part in his parents high-wire circus act until an accident stopped that career for him at age 11. He acquired a love of comic books and of writing in general, which he turned into a profession. In addition to the Alias book, he wrote several books based on comic book series such as Spider-Man and Iron Man. He died of a heart attack at age 51.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 23, 2021
This book takes place in the Marvel (not cinematic) universe. In this one, Reed pays the Thinker a visit in the Vault as Reed believes he is involved in a scheme that has more to it than meets the eye. Meanwhile, the Inhumans suffer a major tragedy and seek help from the Fantastic Four.
This was a decent offering from this universe. It fits in with my expectations when I read a prose novel about comic book characters. I had no problem visualizing the Fantastic Four. The highlight for me was the inclusion of the Inhumans. My knowledge about them comes from the horrible show that Marvel produced several years ago. It was nice to read about them and their interaction with known by me comic book characters. As for the story and the antagonist I didn't think it was anything special. I had no problem with the plan as it was revealed. I didn't get a feeling of insight of why the Thinker was doing this scheme and what he was going to get out of it in the future. Maybe it was one of those times when it might be helpful to know about the particular character which I do not. I also thought the ending was a little anticlimactic.
This wasn't the best novel based on comic book characters and it wasn't the worst. It was a middle of the road read that never truly excited me but never made me bored. The Fantastic Four was my introduction to comics many, many years ago so I will always like spending time with them. I just wish the story packed more of a punch.
This was a decent offering from this universe. It fits in with my expectations when I read a prose novel about comic book characters. I had no problem visualizing the Fantastic Four. The highlight for me was the inclusion of the Inhumans. My knowledge about them comes from the horrible show that Marvel produced several years ago. It was nice to read about them and their interaction with known by me comic book characters. As for the story and the antagonist I didn't think it was anything special. I had no problem with the plan as it was revealed. I didn't get a feeling of insight of why the Thinker was doing this scheme and what he was going to get out of it in the future. Maybe it was one of those times when it might be helpful to know about the particular character which I do not. I also thought the ending was a little anticlimactic.
This wasn't the best novel based on comic book characters and it wasn't the worst. It was a middle of the road read that never truly excited me but never made me bored. The Fantastic Four was my introduction to comics many, many years ago so I will always like spending time with them. I just wish the story packed more of a punch.
November 10, 2022
A pretty entertaining FF adventure featuring an underutilized villain in the Mad Thinker. Although very clearly written in the late '90s (Lines like "looking toward a new century!" abound) it's pretty spot on in highlighting how the polarization of media, politics and business has accelerated a sense of divisiveness and chaos and how one hyper-intelligent person without a moral compass can have a massive albeit undetectable influence on society as a whole.
Oh yeah, the Inhumans show up as well, which was pretty cool.
Oh yeah, the Inhumans show up as well, which was pretty cool.
August 26, 2020
This is a pretty good Fantastic Four adventure with more matching of wits rather than might than is typical. The Mad Thinker is the main baddie, along with the improbable Red Ghost and the Super Apes... surely they can't make a monkey out of Reed Richards and the First Family of comics even with the help of advanced LMDs? Luckily, The Inhumans are around, and things are always better with Lockjaw, am I right? It's a somewhat complex and convoluted plot, but it all comes together with a convincing conclusion. (As Stan would say, except with more alliteration and exclamation points.) Excelsior, True Believers!
November 5, 2017
From the very creative and imaginative writers at Marvel. Enjoyed it. As an aside, we saw the movie Thor:Ragnarok yesterday. It was great and awesome. Next up Black Panther movie and the Justice League in a few weeks. =) For the kid in all of us....
June 16, 2023
If you enjoy FF, then this is another tale. I enjoyed this one more than others as of late as it wasn't all about Ben and his whoa is me mentality, though that's a part of it and it had two unknown to me villains, which I enjoy. Marvel Snap continues to become better with learning who the heck these people are.
April 26, 2023
I remember reading (not sure if I finished though) in 6th Grade. I remember it being fine, felt like they were cramming alot of Fantastic Four foes into this yet surprisingly no Doom. Read at the height of my interest in the FF so I think I was fine with anything related to the team.
January 3, 2025
Fun book that introduced some villains I wasn’t familiar with, really enjoyed the Inhumans element. MCU has dropped the ball here previously, but I’ve always enjoyed those specific comics.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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