Iron Man: Steel Terror

by Dean Wesley Smith, James Patrick Cronin (Narrator)

Tony Stark--the invincible Iron Man--faces the challenge of his life when he and Earth's mightiest heroes, the Avengers, are faced with the threat of Ultron, the villainous super robot that can never be destroyed! Ultron's hatred for humanity reaches its peak when he creates a doomsday weapon that will wipe out all living creatures across the Earth! When some of his teammates are injured by Ultron's robot warriors, it's up to Iron Man to save the planet before it's too late. Alone and outmatched, Iron Man must fight the robotic madman and his steel henchmen, as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance!

Genres: Science Fiction, Superheroes, Marvel

Audio CD

Published September 10, 2019

About the author

Pen Names
Edward Taft
Dee W. Schofield
Sandy Schofield
Kathryn Wesley

Dean Wesley Smith is the bestselling author of over ninety novels under many names and well over 100 published short stories. He has over eight million copies of his books in print and has books published in nine different countries. He has written many original novels in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and romance as well as books for television, movies, games, and comics. He is also known for writing quality work very quickly and has written a large number of novels as a ghost writer or under house names.

With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. The following is a list of novels under the Dean Wesley Smith name, plus a number of pen names that are open knowledge. Many ghost and pen name books are not on this list because he is under contractual obligations not to disclose that he wrote them. Many of Dean’s original novels are also under hidden pen names for marketing reasons.

Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.

Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books.

Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.

Reviews

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted this to be better, but it was free from Audible.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Review of the Audiobook

Originally published in book form in 1996.
Published in 2019 by Marvel.
Read by James Patrick Cronin.
Duration: 2 hours, 15 minutes.
Unabridged (but maybe not - see below)

As the Avengers settle down for a Christmas Eve dinner in Tony Stark's mansion (which doubles as Avengers headquarters), they are interrupted by news of a robot attack on a super secure research facility. TESS-One, a World War II era robot designed to counter super serum soldiers if it turned out to be necessary has returned from the dead. Can robots die? No matter - this robot was thought to be disposed of, but it is back.

Even worse, it is under the control of another robot - the dreaded Ultron. He was also thought to have been killed/destroyed, but he is back and is pursuing his goal to kill off humanity...

My take:

********Caution - spoilers*************

This audiobook was created from a 160 page novel published in 1996 by Pocket Books that was aimed at 12-15 year-olds. If you are expecting a continuation of the characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), you will be disappointed.

The details for the audiobook say that it is unabridged, but I think that 2 hours and 15 minutes is simply too fast for a 160 page novel to be read. An abridgement would explain the breakneck pace of the plot. For example, Black Widow travels from New York to Russia (and has a fight) and then back to New York and then to Antarctica (and has an even bigger fight) and then back to New York in the span of about 12 hours.

Featured heroes include: Iron Man, Black Widow, Jarvis the butler, Vision, Quicksilver, Crystal, Hercules and Hank Pym as Giant Man.

This audiobook was not particularly riveting. There was room for a lot of character development, but instead it became a punch fest (or energy blast attack fest) and Ultron was defeated by lab work done by Hank Pym that took him no more than half an hour to think up, create and then place on a rocket that he programmed to go to Ultron's lair.

Missed opportunities to go for a quick buck on the good name of Iron Man from the MCU..

I rate this audiobook 2 stars out of 5.

https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2021...

[David Macpherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iron Man and the Avengers fight Ultron in the Antarctic. There are battles and near misses. This a brief book that is all forward thrust. There is little finesse and that was more than fine. It was a good old adventure. And I liked it a lot.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel should have been called The Avengers: Steel Terror, as it is really a team superhero novel. Ultron returns, stealing a synthetic form of vibranium that it uses to enhance the durability of its robot army in its ongoing effort to wipeout human life. So the threat is significant on a physical level, but Ultron is also a great villain on a moral and psychological level. It was created by Hank Pym who feels responsible for its rampages. It also created Vision which gives him internal conflicts where Ultron is concerned.

The solution to the novel is a little weak—Hank Pym comes up with an invention—but the story is fast paced and exciting and the characters feel legitimate.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Rob Vitagliano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading the paperback of this years ago, just a random find from Ocean State Job Lot. I was never a huge Marvel fan, but back then, and even now, I occasionally dally in the stories. This one was a neat little adventure with some of the Avengers vs. Ultron long before the CGI snoozefest movie. The audio adaptation is pretty decent, and worth a listen, especially if you have an Audible subscription and it's included.

[Bill Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook has an odd Avengers roster serving as cheerleaders for Iron Man as they try to thwart the newest evil scheme by the latest version of Ultron.

An entry level book, suitable for youngsters.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read, all action, no setting or characterization, little plot. Two stars for OK narration and subject matter (Avengers fight bad guys).

[Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was like a short episode cartoon or comic book. Different then the marvel cinematic universe, but decently fun. Nothing grand, but decent.

[Jey · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent, short read
just on average so don't expect too much

[SaturnineZero · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible writing.