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Marvel Aconyte Novels
Shadow Avengers: A Marvel: Crisis Protocol Novel
Earth is on course for a devastating invasion from the Dark Dimension, forcing the world’s mightiest heroes into unthinkable alliances, in this heart-stopping new novel in the Crisis Protocol series
Doctor Strange created the Shadow Avengers to save the world from Dormammu, but instead they’re on the verge of dissolution. When sudden weather anomalies across the world correspond with Asgardian heroes emerging from portals ripe with Dormammu’s magical signature, the Shadow Avengers realize the “Master” is making his move. Loki, Venom, and Green Goblin are behind a ceremony plotting to open a portal big enough to encompass Dormammu’s presence. From the Sanctum Sanctorum to the streets of NYC to beautiful Wakanda, the Shadow Avengers must stop Dormammu at any cost – but the Master, in all his cunning wisdom, has something greater in store that will doom the world once and for all.
Doctor Strange created the Shadow Avengers to save the world from Dormammu, but instead they’re on the verge of dissolution. When sudden weather anomalies across the world correspond with Asgardian heroes emerging from portals ripe with Dormammu’s magical signature, the Shadow Avengers realize the “Master” is making his move. Loki, Venom, and Green Goblin are behind a ceremony plotting to open a portal big enough to encompass Dormammu’s presence. From the Sanctum Sanctorum to the streets of NYC to beautiful Wakanda, the Shadow Avengers must stop Dormammu at any cost – but the Master, in all his cunning wisdom, has something greater in store that will doom the world once and for all.
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2022
5 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Carrie Harris
66 books348 followersCarrie Harris is a geek-of-all-trades and proud of it. Brains are her specialty; she used to work at a lab where they were delivered daily via FedEx. After that, it seemed only natural to write a zombie book. Now she lives in Utah with her ninja-doctor husband and three zombie-obsessed children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
May 23, 2022
After the events of Target: Kree, Dr. Strange has formed the Shadow Avengers to stop Dormammu from enslaving the Earth. Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and the Black Panther make up the team. Dormammu's plan this time around is more subtle with Spider-Man just stumbling in to it by mistake. I really liked the relationship Harris establishes between Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel. It's somewhere between big brother / little sister and mentor / mentee. I really like that Aconyte is taking on some of these bigger stories featuring a ton of Marvel characters.
Received a review copy from Aconyte and NetGalley.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
Received a review copy from Aconyte and NetGalley.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
May 3, 2022
I will be very upfront and say that the only thing that saved this is the fact that I love Ms. Marvel and the last chapters that dealt with the big fight against the big evil, Dormamu, and his minions were action-packed and highly entertaining.
I'm usually a big fan of long-form stories featuring my fave comic characters, but this one might have been written with younger readers in mind. I kept finding entire passages that felt completely unnecessary but might be justified as existing to explain basic elements of the characters to younger readers that might not be as familiar with the heroes. I mean, do we really need two paragraphs on Spider-Man thinking in-depth about the mechanics of how he can crawl on walls? There was also the fact that the characters were constantly referred to by full name, ie, Peter Parker or Luke Cage, even when they were referring to themselves, which got annoying pretty fast. It's just a bunch of writing/story decisions that make no sense or just hinder the flow of the narrative to overpower how good certain elements of it are, which is a massive shame.
The story idea is great. The group of heroes that make up the Shadow Avengers is varied and works great together. There are some really amazing action moments and some even better morality/think moments. And I won't even get into how well Harris employs the villains in this. I mean, there were moments when this story was more about Venom than the Avengers and I'm not even mad about that because of how well the character is written.
Overall, I can't decide if this is a wrong-audience issue or a story issue, but there was great potential that wasn't lived up to.
Happy thanks to NetGalley and Aconyte for the exciting early read!
I'm usually a big fan of long-form stories featuring my fave comic characters, but this one might have been written with younger readers in mind. I kept finding entire passages that felt completely unnecessary but might be justified as existing to explain basic elements of the characters to younger readers that might not be as familiar with the heroes. I mean, do we really need two paragraphs on Spider-Man thinking in-depth about the mechanics of how he can crawl on walls? There was also the fact that the characters were constantly referred to by full name, ie, Peter Parker or Luke Cage, even when they were referring to themselves, which got annoying pretty fast. It's just a bunch of writing/story decisions that make no sense or just hinder the flow of the narrative to overpower how good certain elements of it are, which is a massive shame.
The story idea is great. The group of heroes that make up the Shadow Avengers is varied and works great together. There are some really amazing action moments and some even better morality/think moments. And I won't even get into how well Harris employs the villains in this. I mean, there were moments when this story was more about Venom than the Avengers and I'm not even mad about that because of how well the character is written.
Overall, I can't decide if this is a wrong-audience issue or a story issue, but there was great potential that wasn't lived up to.
Happy thanks to NetGalley and Aconyte for the exciting early read!
March 24, 2022
I think the consensus with this latest instalment in the Crisis Protocol, Shadow Avengers, is that it is a fun book. I cannot disagree with this! It’s a fun, fast paced, action packed addition to Aconyte’s ever growing retinue of Marvel Books.
I was a little surprised by the Shadow Avengers as I thought it may be similar in tone to DC’s Justice League Dark. However, I was happy to find that it bore no resemblance to that superhero team that was formed to fight magic.
The premise of the book is that the Shadow Avengers was formed by Dr Strange to combat the ever-present threat from the Dread Sorcerer Dormammu attacking earth. And yes, you guessed it, this is what the story revolves around.
In the Shadow Avengers, we start the story with Venom witnessing Loki dumping what appears to be some form of toxic waste into the water supply in an Oscorp truck. Venom, being the anti – hero that he is attempts to stop Loki, and finds himself enslaved to Dormammu’s plan to invade the earth. Loki disappears in a puff of portal magic leaving Venom to deal with the truck full of toxic waste. (Enter stage left Spiderman as he is on his way to the Shadow Avengers meeting) Well, you can see how this is going to turn out can’t you?
The initial few chapters deal with introductions and various heroes seeing this same incident from a different perspective, including Black Panther.
This is the second Carrie Harris book that I have read in the Marvel Universe and have enjoyed them immensely! She gives already established characters that we all know and love more depth of character. For instance, Spiderman’s relationships with Ms Marvel and how he takes her under his wing to show her the Superhero ropes. It’s a lovely relationship that shows an almost fatherly side to his character as he instructs and nudges her to increase her confidence with her powers and her abilities. He never condescends or looks down on her but gives her patience and understanding. Similarly, with Ms Marvel herself as she grows in confidence throughout the book. At times she is a typical teenager adrift in a sea of grownups, wanting to make her observations known, but at the same time finding it difficult to make her voice known in a group of personalities that includes Dr Strange, Luke Cage and Black Panther.
The writing style is quite light and Carrie Harris has an almost cinematic approach to the book, regularly peppering the story with set pieces that you would expect in a Marvel story, including death defying escapes from planes, massive fight scenes etc etc.
In essence, Shadow Avengers is like a big slice of pie. You know what you are getting, and you get that warm hug that you know you wanted in the first place. Coz, that is why you ate pie!
Please Note: I received this book from Netgalley & Aconyte boks in exchange for a honest review.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
I was a little surprised by the Shadow Avengers as I thought it may be similar in tone to DC’s Justice League Dark. However, I was happy to find that it bore no resemblance to that superhero team that was formed to fight magic.
The premise of the book is that the Shadow Avengers was formed by Dr Strange to combat the ever-present threat from the Dread Sorcerer Dormammu attacking earth. And yes, you guessed it, this is what the story revolves around.
In the Shadow Avengers, we start the story with Venom witnessing Loki dumping what appears to be some form of toxic waste into the water supply in an Oscorp truck. Venom, being the anti – hero that he is attempts to stop Loki, and finds himself enslaved to Dormammu’s plan to invade the earth. Loki disappears in a puff of portal magic leaving Venom to deal with the truck full of toxic waste. (Enter stage left Spiderman as he is on his way to the Shadow Avengers meeting) Well, you can see how this is going to turn out can’t you?
The initial few chapters deal with introductions and various heroes seeing this same incident from a different perspective, including Black Panther.
This is the second Carrie Harris book that I have read in the Marvel Universe and have enjoyed them immensely! She gives already established characters that we all know and love more depth of character. For instance, Spiderman’s relationships with Ms Marvel and how he takes her under his wing to show her the Superhero ropes. It’s a lovely relationship that shows an almost fatherly side to his character as he instructs and nudges her to increase her confidence with her powers and her abilities. He never condescends or looks down on her but gives her patience and understanding. Similarly, with Ms Marvel herself as she grows in confidence throughout the book. At times she is a typical teenager adrift in a sea of grownups, wanting to make her observations known, but at the same time finding it difficult to make her voice known in a group of personalities that includes Dr Strange, Luke Cage and Black Panther.
The writing style is quite light and Carrie Harris has an almost cinematic approach to the book, regularly peppering the story with set pieces that you would expect in a Marvel story, including death defying escapes from planes, massive fight scenes etc etc.
In essence, Shadow Avengers is like a big slice of pie. You know what you are getting, and you get that warm hug that you know you wanted in the first place. Coz, that is why you ate pie!
Please Note: I received this book from Netgalley & Aconyte boks in exchange for a honest review.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
March 4, 2022
With Doctor Strange back in the limelight recently with his new movie coming this year, this is a perfect time for this book to come out, which sees his team, the Shadow Avengers, battling an invasion from the Dark Dimension. Throw in everyone’s favourite bad guy, Loki, who teams up with Venom and Green Goblin, and you’ve got another immensely enjoyable and riotous Marvel romp from Aconyte Books.
Carrie Harris’ “Shadow Avengers” is the latest instalment in the Aconyte’s Books” Marvel - Crisis Protocol series, but it isn’t necessary to have read the previous book (although I recommend you picking up “Target : Kree” by Stuart Moore asap) as it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story.
Chapters are short and dynamic which makes the story pacy and exciting, and there is a veritable who’s-who of Marvel characters. Carrie Harris has a good handle on each of the characters, and she ensures each one gets equal exposure: something which is not always easy in a multi-character story.
Aconyte Books’ Marvel range is an enjoyable alternative history of the Marvel universe with every instalment being excellent. I recommend these books to all Marvel comics fans and want to assure them that they have nothing to fear from the longer prose format as it allows their favourite hero or villain to be fleshed out in a deeper way that comics can’t always achieve. I would go so far as to say that this range is one of the best things currently coming out under the Marvel banner.
I received an advanced reading copy of this book in return for an honest review.
©️MARVEL 2022
Carrie Harris’ “Shadow Avengers” is the latest instalment in the Aconyte’s Books” Marvel - Crisis Protocol series, but it isn’t necessary to have read the previous book (although I recommend you picking up “Target : Kree” by Stuart Moore asap) as it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story.
Chapters are short and dynamic which makes the story pacy and exciting, and there is a veritable who’s-who of Marvel characters. Carrie Harris has a good handle on each of the characters, and she ensures each one gets equal exposure: something which is not always easy in a multi-character story.
Aconyte Books’ Marvel range is an enjoyable alternative history of the Marvel universe with every instalment being excellent. I recommend these books to all Marvel comics fans and want to assure them that they have nothing to fear from the longer prose format as it allows their favourite hero or villain to be fleshed out in a deeper way that comics can’t always achieve. I would go so far as to say that this range is one of the best things currently coming out under the Marvel banner.
I received an advanced reading copy of this book in return for an honest review.
©️MARVEL 2022
January 30, 2022
This book was given to me by Aconyte Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Witches Unleashed was my first arc from Aconyte Books written by Carrie Harris. She didn't miss in that prose and when I saw she was putting out a new book, I just had to make a request. Talk about supporting your favorite tie-in fiction author.
After the defeating Dormammu, with the held of his niece, Clea. Dr Strange went ahead to form the Shadow Avengers to help defeat future crises that would arise if Dormammu should ever return.
Dr Strange now has banded the unlikey heros as a team— Black Panther, Spiderman, Ms. Marvel, Luke Cage, and the resident Sanctum Sanctorum's Cook and Dr Strange's confidant.
Even with defeating Dormammu, Dr Strange is still on his toes anticipating the dark lord's return. But he's not alone in his worry, the other team members of the Shadow Avengers are also finding weird activities around the city.
Now, I will be frank with you. I picked up this book and immediately I was sucked into a cinema room. Because no one can tell Me I was reading. It felt more like I was watching a marvel movie.
There's a way Carrie writes, that brings the superheros and even Villains to life. Honestly I can't explain it, but she didn't miss in the personality department for each characters.
Was it Spidey's constant 5 year old humor? Or Kamala Khan's constant doubt of herself, even Venom's Dialogues with Eddie. I don't know but Carrie, I hope there's a background conversation with Marvel Studios to start shooting this Superhero crossover of unlikely heroes and villains.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL
Witches Unleashed was my first arc from Aconyte Books written by Carrie Harris. She didn't miss in that prose and when I saw she was putting out a new book, I just had to make a request. Talk about supporting your favorite tie-in fiction author.
After the defeating Dormammu, with the held of his niece, Clea. Dr Strange went ahead to form the Shadow Avengers to help defeat future crises that would arise if Dormammu should ever return.
Dr Strange now has banded the unlikey heros as a team— Black Panther, Spiderman, Ms. Marvel, Luke Cage, and the resident Sanctum Sanctorum's Cook and Dr Strange's confidant.
Even with defeating Dormammu, Dr Strange is still on his toes anticipating the dark lord's return. But he's not alone in his worry, the other team members of the Shadow Avengers are also finding weird activities around the city.
Now, I will be frank with you. I picked up this book and immediately I was sucked into a cinema room. Because no one can tell Me I was reading. It felt more like I was watching a marvel movie.
There's a way Carrie writes, that brings the superheros and even Villains to life. Honestly I can't explain it, but she didn't miss in the personality department for each characters.
Was it Spidey's constant 5 year old humor? Or Kamala Khan's constant doubt of herself, even Venom's Dialogues with Eddie. I don't know but Carrie, I hope there's a background conversation with Marvel Studios to start shooting this Superhero crossover of unlikely heroes and villains.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL
March 13, 2022
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Aconyte Books for an advanced copy of my first Marvel Book other than comics.
I had great fun reading this book about some of my favourite Marvel characters. The book is about a division of the Avengers called as "Shadow Avengers" lead by Dr. Strange fighting against one of his biggest enemy Dormammu and his team.
All the characters, Heroes and Villains alike is true to the comics. Their powers, characters traits, reasoning etc. This provided me as a background of what is happening in this book.
The author Carrie Harris explained the scenes very well and it was like i am reading a comic or watching a Marvel Movie. I am excited to read more on Marvel books in the future.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
I had great fun reading this book about some of my favourite Marvel characters. The book is about a division of the Avengers called as "Shadow Avengers" lead by Dr. Strange fighting against one of his biggest enemy Dormammu and his team.
All the characters, Heroes and Villains alike is true to the comics. Their powers, characters traits, reasoning etc. This provided me as a background of what is happening in this book.
The author Carrie Harris explained the scenes very well and it was like i am reading a comic or watching a Marvel Movie. I am excited to read more on Marvel books in the future.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
January 29, 2022
Thank you to Netgalley and Aconyte books for a review copy of this book.
I really enjoy team-up superhero movies, so this book was right up my alley, with two of my favorite super heroes, Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel.
The book has them teaming up with Luke Cage and Dr. Strange to stop Dormammu from destroying earth.
It’s a strange group of characters but it works and it’s made even better by the addition of Loki and Venom, and other Asgardians.
If you loved the latest Spider-man film, this is great to read. Though not related, it has a lot of the same energy to me.
I really enjoy team-up superhero movies, so this book was right up my alley, with two of my favorite super heroes, Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel.
The book has them teaming up with Luke Cage and Dr. Strange to stop Dormammu from destroying earth.
It’s a strange group of characters but it works and it’s made even better by the addition of Loki and Venom, and other Asgardians.
If you loved the latest Spider-man film, this is great to read. Though not related, it has a lot of the same energy to me.
January 25, 2022
Part of the Marvel Crisis Protocol series, this was a first for me because before now I've only ever read comic books, so reading a full size novel was awesome. Being familiar with all of the characters in the book, I could visualise them in all the scenes depicted & envision this in film format.
Very well written & a load of fun to read.
Very well written & a load of fun to read.
April 10, 2023
Cute, but I yearned for more Norman (no surprises there :D).
July 29, 2023
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. It had a unique enough storyline to make it interesting in terms of a specific group of disparate group of heroes coming together to save the day (especially as I generally do not consider Dr. Strange to be a "leader" or much of a leader). It had some humorous moments in the story (more of "asides" than actually pertaining to the story itself). The character development was solid (especially Kamala Khan's character; I do not know much about her, so I enjoyed seeing her grow as a character over the course of this novel. I also liked Eddie Brock's character development over the course of the novel, too). It did feel like it dragged in parts, but once I was able to sit down and devote a solid amount of time to reading the book, the pace did pick up a bit.
I enjoyed the interactions between Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man; I thought they were well done and believable. It was good to see Spider-Man taking Ms. Marvel under his wing and trying to help her learn different aspects of "being a hero" as well as gain confidence in herself. As I said above, I thought Kamala developed the most as a character, and I think her interactions with Spider-Man and the respect he showed her helped her in her character development and self-confidence. No, she wasn't strong and supremely self-confident 100% of the time, but she is still a young hero and I can only imagine how challenging it would be to be in her shoes, trying to be a superhero and surviving high school and the teenager years as well.
Some of the funnier moments for me actually involved Dr. Strange.
I enjoyed Eddie Brock's development over the course of the story as well.
That is not to say the book did not have its weaknesses.
I'll give it 3 stars. I enjoyed Kamala Khan and her interactions with the various heroes quite a bit (as well as with some villains); I think her character's growth and development over the course of the novel alone rates 3 stars. Although I understand the reasoning behind using "alternate-reality Asgardians", I still felt like they were too strong for the Shadow Avengers to defeat. I also enjoyed Luke Cage and his portrayal in the book, too. Overall, I am glad that I decided to read this book.
I enjoyed the interactions between Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man; I thought they were well done and believable. It was good to see Spider-Man taking Ms. Marvel under his wing and trying to help her learn different aspects of "being a hero" as well as gain confidence in herself. As I said above, I thought Kamala developed the most as a character, and I think her interactions with Spider-Man and the respect he showed her helped her in her character development and self-confidence. No, she wasn't strong and supremely self-confident 100% of the time, but she is still a young hero and I can only imagine how challenging it would be to be in her shoes, trying to be a superhero and surviving high school and the teenager years as well.
Some of the funnier moments for me actually involved Dr. Strange.
I enjoyed Eddie Brock's development over the course of the story as well.
That is not to say the book did not have its weaknesses.
I'll give it 3 stars. I enjoyed Kamala Khan and her interactions with the various heroes quite a bit (as well as with some villains); I think her character's growth and development over the course of the novel alone rates 3 stars. Although I understand the reasoning behind using "alternate-reality Asgardians", I still felt like they were too strong for the Shadow Avengers to defeat. I also enjoyed Luke Cage and his portrayal in the book, too. Overall, I am glad that I decided to read this book.
April 29, 2022
Shadow Avengers is the follow-up book to last year's Target Kree, which saw several characters coming together to stop a threat to the Earth that had already destroyed another planet. Towards the end of that book not only did we learn that a larger force was at work behind the scenes, but we saw Doctor Strange recruit Miss Marvel into a new secret team. This book picks up several months later, where this team, the Shadow Avengers, have been working to protect the Earth from the threat of Dromammu.
The story begins in typical comic book fashion, by giving the readers what at first appears to be a completely unconnected super hero fight to get them drawn into the story. Whilst trying to grab some pizza, Eddie Brock, the host to the Venom symbiote, sees an Oscorp truck being driven through NEw York by Loki, the Asgardian trickster god. Following the god, Venom discovers Loki dumping strange looking chemicals into the New York sewer system. A fight ensues between them, over the course of which Loki manages to place a magical necklace around Venom's neck. This necklace puts Venom under the control of some unseen presence; just in time to Spider-Man to arrive and think that Venom is being a villain.
Spider-Man brings up the incident during a meeting of the Shadow Avengers, but gets little interest from Doctor Strange, who wishes to focus on the threat posed by Dormammu. Leaving Spider-Man and Miss Marvel to look into it, things begin to spiral out of control when other strange incidents begin to happen across New York, and Wakanda. With magical storms raging in both locations, and strange portals appearing and dropping out alternate reality versions of Asgardian gods, Strange begins to realise that these incidents may not only be connected, but might be the latest invasion plan from Dormammu.
When I say that Shadow Avengers reads like a comic I mean it in the best possible way. A lot of novels based upon comic properties tend to read like novels, stories that take a more character focused approach, putting us in the heads of one or two main characters and telling a story that whilst great, probably wouldn't work in comic form. This story, on the other hand, feels like its leapt off the comic page. It's paced really fast, with characters always doing something important or learning something new. We jump perspective a lot, going from one member of the team to another, and there's a lot of action and fighting scattered throughout the book. This story would take very little alteration to be made into a several issue long story arc, and making that work in book form is extremely impressive.
As the name suggests, the story doesn't focus on one particular character, but a roster of heroes. There are some who get more stuff to do, such as Miss Marvel, but every single member of the Shadow Avengers does get to do something, and gets at least one moment to shine. The book also manages to give a decent amount of time over to Eddie Brock, who became a much bigger part of the book than I was expecting from the description. Carrie Harris does a good job at keeping all of these plates spinning, at giving every character something to do, and making sure that no one has been left out of things for too long.
One of the things that I liked about the book was how Harris didn't try and make a big thing of the mystery around who was doing things. There is a level of secrecy to begin with, with some of the characters referring to a mysterious master pulling the strings; but with this being a Shadow Avengers book, and them being exclusively about stopping Dormammu it was pretty obvious that's who it was going to be. And thankfully the book doesn't try to make it seem like some huge, unexpected revelation when his identity is revealed during the story. It's not treated like some big revelation that you were never going to guess; and because of that it never feels like the book is trying to trick you or treat you as stupid in any ways. That's something that I can respect.
Shadow Avengers is a good follow-up to Target Kree, a book that took the small hints and promises at the end of that book and gives readers something exciting as the pay-off. It manages to pack in the action, gives just enough mystery to keep readers guessing what might come next, and features some great depictions of some of Marvel's biggest characters. Carrie Harris clearly knows this universe and these characters, and she's the perfect author to tell this story.
The story begins in typical comic book fashion, by giving the readers what at first appears to be a completely unconnected super hero fight to get them drawn into the story. Whilst trying to grab some pizza, Eddie Brock, the host to the Venom symbiote, sees an Oscorp truck being driven through NEw York by Loki, the Asgardian trickster god. Following the god, Venom discovers Loki dumping strange looking chemicals into the New York sewer system. A fight ensues between them, over the course of which Loki manages to place a magical necklace around Venom's neck. This necklace puts Venom under the control of some unseen presence; just in time to Spider-Man to arrive and think that Venom is being a villain.
Spider-Man brings up the incident during a meeting of the Shadow Avengers, but gets little interest from Doctor Strange, who wishes to focus on the threat posed by Dormammu. Leaving Spider-Man and Miss Marvel to look into it, things begin to spiral out of control when other strange incidents begin to happen across New York, and Wakanda. With magical storms raging in both locations, and strange portals appearing and dropping out alternate reality versions of Asgardian gods, Strange begins to realise that these incidents may not only be connected, but might be the latest invasion plan from Dormammu.
When I say that Shadow Avengers reads like a comic I mean it in the best possible way. A lot of novels based upon comic properties tend to read like novels, stories that take a more character focused approach, putting us in the heads of one or two main characters and telling a story that whilst great, probably wouldn't work in comic form. This story, on the other hand, feels like its leapt off the comic page. It's paced really fast, with characters always doing something important or learning something new. We jump perspective a lot, going from one member of the team to another, and there's a lot of action and fighting scattered throughout the book. This story would take very little alteration to be made into a several issue long story arc, and making that work in book form is extremely impressive.
As the name suggests, the story doesn't focus on one particular character, but a roster of heroes. There are some who get more stuff to do, such as Miss Marvel, but every single member of the Shadow Avengers does get to do something, and gets at least one moment to shine. The book also manages to give a decent amount of time over to Eddie Brock, who became a much bigger part of the book than I was expecting from the description. Carrie Harris does a good job at keeping all of these plates spinning, at giving every character something to do, and making sure that no one has been left out of things for too long.
One of the things that I liked about the book was how Harris didn't try and make a big thing of the mystery around who was doing things. There is a level of secrecy to begin with, with some of the characters referring to a mysterious master pulling the strings; but with this being a Shadow Avengers book, and them being exclusively about stopping Dormammu it was pretty obvious that's who it was going to be. And thankfully the book doesn't try to make it seem like some huge, unexpected revelation when his identity is revealed during the story. It's not treated like some big revelation that you were never going to guess; and because of that it never feels like the book is trying to trick you or treat you as stupid in any ways. That's something that I can respect.
Shadow Avengers is a good follow-up to Target Kree, a book that took the small hints and promises at the end of that book and gives readers something exciting as the pay-off. It manages to pack in the action, gives just enough mystery to keep readers guessing what might come next, and features some great depictions of some of Marvel's biggest characters. Carrie Harris clearly knows this universe and these characters, and she's the perfect author to tell this story.
March 1, 2022
Shadow Avengers is A Marvel Crisis Protocol Novel by Carrie Harris from Aconyte books as part of their world expanding tie-in fiction. Extending and expanding the wonderful of the tabletop hobby miniatures game set in the Marvel Universe and it most certainly does not disappoint!
Shadow Avengers sees earth on course for a devastaing invasion from the Dark Dimension, forcing the world’s mightiest heroes into unthinkable alliances. The Shadow Avengers were created by Doctor Strange to save the world from Dormammu, but instead they’re on the verge of dissolution. Suddenly weather anomalies across the world correspond with Asgardian heroes emerging from portals ripe with Dormammu’s magical signature, the Shade Avengers realise the ‘Master’ is making his move. Loki, Venom and Green Goblin are behind a ceremony plotting to open a portal big enough to encompass Dormammu’s Presence. From the Sanctum Sanctorum to the streets of NYC to beautiful Wakanda, the Shadow Avengers must stop Dormammu at any cost. Dormammu in his all cunning wisdom has something far greater in store that will doom the world once and for all.
I have to say right from the first page I knew I would love this. I won’t lie I have a soft spot for Venom (and Eddie) so I knew it would be good, throw in Loki (who DOESN’T like Loki?) and I knew it was going to be great. Carrie Harris does what she does best fuses the high-octane action of the comics (and game) with everyday life and humour to create the perfect prose novel tie-in. Within the first few pages we are drawn right into the action and introduced to some of our anti-heroes, villains and heroes. I was hooked.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The characters, each one is perfect. Harris manages to capture their personality and voice wonderfully and even helps create sympathy for the ‘bad guys’ (or maybe that was just me!). The characterization of some of the most iconic characters in the marvel roster is so on point but it’s more than that, we get a deeper insight into them and their personality and it is just truly fantastic. While it is written beautifully it reads truly like a comic in terms of actions and pace but has the added bonus of going so much deeper in prose form.
As always with any review I don’t want to ruin the plot or spoil it but I will say I was extremely pleased to see my favourite female Asgardian make a cameo (if you know me, you know!). I will also say that the plot is tight and well paced and thought out. We slowly learn what is happening for alternative perspectives and to see how it all fits together with the Master's plan is fantastic. I also adored and kind of hated how Spider-Man interacted with Venom and Eddie. Harris really invoked my love and hate of the webslinger in this book but more importantly she affirmed my love of Vemon as potentially one of Marvel’s best Anti-Heroes.
Honestly Shadow Avengers is a pure delight. It will definitely be enjoyed by fans of the books and showcases the wonderful possibilities the Crisis Protocol tabletop game holds. Not to mention we have a wonderful cast of characters.
Once again thank you for Aconyte and Netgalley for allowing me to review an ARC of this novel for a fair and honest review.
Shadow Avengers sees earth on course for a devastaing invasion from the Dark Dimension, forcing the world’s mightiest heroes into unthinkable alliances. The Shadow Avengers were created by Doctor Strange to save the world from Dormammu, but instead they’re on the verge of dissolution. Suddenly weather anomalies across the world correspond with Asgardian heroes emerging from portals ripe with Dormammu’s magical signature, the Shade Avengers realise the ‘Master’ is making his move. Loki, Venom and Green Goblin are behind a ceremony plotting to open a portal big enough to encompass Dormammu’s Presence. From the Sanctum Sanctorum to the streets of NYC to beautiful Wakanda, the Shadow Avengers must stop Dormammu at any cost. Dormammu in his all cunning wisdom has something far greater in store that will doom the world once and for all.
I have to say right from the first page I knew I would love this. I won’t lie I have a soft spot for Venom (and Eddie) so I knew it would be good, throw in Loki (who DOESN’T like Loki?) and I knew it was going to be great. Carrie Harris does what she does best fuses the high-octane action of the comics (and game) with everyday life and humour to create the perfect prose novel tie-in. Within the first few pages we are drawn right into the action and introduced to some of our anti-heroes, villains and heroes. I was hooked.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The characters, each one is perfect. Harris manages to capture their personality and voice wonderfully and even helps create sympathy for the ‘bad guys’ (or maybe that was just me!). The characterization of some of the most iconic characters in the marvel roster is so on point but it’s more than that, we get a deeper insight into them and their personality and it is just truly fantastic. While it is written beautifully it reads truly like a comic in terms of actions and pace but has the added bonus of going so much deeper in prose form.
As always with any review I don’t want to ruin the plot or spoil it but I will say I was extremely pleased to see my favourite female Asgardian make a cameo (if you know me, you know!). I will also say that the plot is tight and well paced and thought out. We slowly learn what is happening for alternative perspectives and to see how it all fits together with the Master's plan is fantastic. I also adored and kind of hated how Spider-Man interacted with Venom and Eddie. Harris really invoked my love and hate of the webslinger in this book but more importantly she affirmed my love of Vemon as potentially one of Marvel’s best Anti-Heroes.
Honestly Shadow Avengers is a pure delight. It will definitely be enjoyed by fans of the books and showcases the wonderful possibilities the Crisis Protocol tabletop game holds. Not to mention we have a wonderful cast of characters.
Once again thank you for Aconyte and Netgalley for allowing me to review an ARC of this novel for a fair and honest review.
March 29, 2022
(A huge thank you to NetGalley and Aconyte Books for the pre-release read. This galley was given in exchange for an honest review.)
I love reading Marvel comics, but I had never picked up a Marvel novel before this one, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. This book was a fun ride from start to finish—thoroughly entertaining and not too predictable!
If you have never read or watched any Marvel media, you might be a little lost, but it’s nice that this book’s story is strong enough to stand on its own. If you’re a sci fi and fantasy person like me you will appreciate the multiverse elements and action-packed storytelling.
The cast of characters was large in this book, for better or for worse. It was so exciting seeing all of these beloved characters team up, but sometimes I felt like a lot of character moments (development, interpersonal relationships) were set aside in order to achieve this. It is a lot to juggle at once! When you’re reading a good comic, a lot of this character stuff is expressed visually. You don’t really get to go inside a character’s head as much, so I had expectations for a different point of view from these characters in novel form. While there are plenty of fantastic moments with these characters we know and love, one of the reasons I couldn’t give a full five stars was that the character stuff sometimes fell flat. I was so excited that my favorite Marvel hero Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) is featured in this book, but her characterization felt the weakest to me in the whole cast. One of her defining characteristics is that she is an absolutely unabashed fangirl of superheroes. She was portrayed as feeling inadequate amongst the older heroes which I felt was in character for her, but the fact that she never once geeked out over the fact that she got to work with these heroes made it almost feel like she was a different character entirely. Her geekiness is one of the reasons I love her so much—I can SO relate.
The most recognizable characterization was definitely Spider-Man. I felt like his sense of humor and snarky quips were iconic and felt straight out of the comics!
Without giving any spoilers, I thought the book’s plot was really strong and the stakes kept me on my toes enough to want to keep reading. I was definitely hungry to know how things would play out. There were also plenty of unexpected character cameos that will be fun surprises for any Marvel fan.
Overall, I would recommend reading this book if you like Marvel, whether you have only seen the movies or you’re a super fan of the comic books. Where it lacks in character moments, it shines in an entertaining plot—and it will have you rooting for the Shadow Avengers!
#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
I love reading Marvel comics, but I had never picked up a Marvel novel before this one, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. This book was a fun ride from start to finish—thoroughly entertaining and not too predictable!
If you have never read or watched any Marvel media, you might be a little lost, but it’s nice that this book’s story is strong enough to stand on its own. If you’re a sci fi and fantasy person like me you will appreciate the multiverse elements and action-packed storytelling.
The cast of characters was large in this book, for better or for worse. It was so exciting seeing all of these beloved characters team up, but sometimes I felt like a lot of character moments (development, interpersonal relationships) were set aside in order to achieve this. It is a lot to juggle at once! When you’re reading a good comic, a lot of this character stuff is expressed visually. You don’t really get to go inside a character’s head as much, so I had expectations for a different point of view from these characters in novel form. While there are plenty of fantastic moments with these characters we know and love, one of the reasons I couldn’t give a full five stars was that the character stuff sometimes fell flat. I was so excited that my favorite Marvel hero Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan) is featured in this book, but her characterization felt the weakest to me in the whole cast. One of her defining characteristics is that she is an absolutely unabashed fangirl of superheroes. She was portrayed as feeling inadequate amongst the older heroes which I felt was in character for her, but the fact that she never once geeked out over the fact that she got to work with these heroes made it almost feel like she was a different character entirely. Her geekiness is one of the reasons I love her so much—I can SO relate.
The most recognizable characterization was definitely Spider-Man. I felt like his sense of humor and snarky quips were iconic and felt straight out of the comics!
Without giving any spoilers, I thought the book’s plot was really strong and the stakes kept me on my toes enough to want to keep reading. I was definitely hungry to know how things would play out. There were also plenty of unexpected character cameos that will be fun surprises for any Marvel fan.
Overall, I would recommend reading this book if you like Marvel, whether you have only seen the movies or you’re a super fan of the comic books. Where it lacks in character moments, it shines in an entertaining plot—and it will have you rooting for the Shadow Avengers!
#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
December 24, 2022
I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Marvel Crisis Protocol book Shadow Avengers by Carrie Harris, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let this cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
What is Marvel
Look at this point I would bore you with a bit of background to the game/universe, but lets not, you all know the Marvel Universe, if you don’t have you been living under a rock!
Marvel Crisis Protocol is a tabletop skirmish miniatures game from Atomic Mass Games based on the Marvel comic characters, with its starter set conations five of the Avengers (Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Black Widow) and five of the Kabel (Barron Zemo, Red Skull, Crossbones, Doctor Octopus and Ultron).
I own the core set and its well worth investing into, if you fancy it you can purchase it from my Element Games affiliate link!
The Story
This novel starts up a few months following the first book in the series Target Kree by Stuart Moore with Doctor Strange having kept a group of heroes, he calls the Shadow Avengers, to investigate and deal with ongoing threat of Dormammu, a mystical being who desires to bring the entire multiverse under his control, and the Aconyte universe is now square in his sights.
The story kicks off with Spider-Man finding Loki and Venom battling around an OSCORP chemical tanker, pumping a strange green goo down into the water supply.
This leads Doctor Strange, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Black Panther, Wong, and She-Hulk going up against Loki, Venom and the Green Goblin as they investigate a series of mysterious portals opening in Wakonda and New York City, and figure out what these have to do with Dormammu and his sinister plans!
Conclusion
The last book in the series was difficult to review, but as a result it makes this book easier to review, it feels in many ways like the kind of campaign you yourself could play at home, and at the same time, is a really enjoyable story.
Yes, its rather obvious where the story was going, it wasn’t exactly filled with unexpected twists, other than the origin of the stories Asgardians.
But it was very fund to read, very cinematic in nature, and I could easily see this being the novelisation of an animated film, the locations were very well described and I felt like the locations were very real and you could almost feel being in a crocodile filled swamp at one point!
The heart of this book is Ms Marvel, and she really brings out the best aspects of all the charcters, even managing to break through Doctor Strange’s arrogance, and I found using her inexperience in the Avengers as a place for us to sit in her shoes, to be really good and very similar to the introduction of Kitty Pryde to the X-Men.
And the relationship between her and Spider-Man was fantastic, a teacher/student relationship slash big brother/little sister.
I really enjoyed this book and actually went out and bought the physical book as a Christmas present for one of my nibblings about halfway through reading it!
4.5 out of 5 stars!
Shadow Avengers is out now as an ebook and paperback!
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let this cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
What is Marvel
Look at this point I would bore you with a bit of background to the game/universe, but lets not, you all know the Marvel Universe, if you don’t have you been living under a rock!
Marvel Crisis Protocol is a tabletop skirmish miniatures game from Atomic Mass Games based on the Marvel comic characters, with its starter set conations five of the Avengers (Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Black Widow) and five of the Kabel (Barron Zemo, Red Skull, Crossbones, Doctor Octopus and Ultron).
I own the core set and its well worth investing into, if you fancy it you can purchase it from my Element Games affiliate link!
The Story
This novel starts up a few months following the first book in the series Target Kree by Stuart Moore with Doctor Strange having kept a group of heroes, he calls the Shadow Avengers, to investigate and deal with ongoing threat of Dormammu, a mystical being who desires to bring the entire multiverse under his control, and the Aconyte universe is now square in his sights.
The story kicks off with Spider-Man finding Loki and Venom battling around an OSCORP chemical tanker, pumping a strange green goo down into the water supply.
This leads Doctor Strange, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Black Panther, Wong, and She-Hulk going up against Loki, Venom and the Green Goblin as they investigate a series of mysterious portals opening in Wakonda and New York City, and figure out what these have to do with Dormammu and his sinister plans!
Conclusion
The last book in the series was difficult to review, but as a result it makes this book easier to review, it feels in many ways like the kind of campaign you yourself could play at home, and at the same time, is a really enjoyable story.
Yes, its rather obvious where the story was going, it wasn’t exactly filled with unexpected twists, other than the origin of the stories Asgardians.
But it was very fund to read, very cinematic in nature, and I could easily see this being the novelisation of an animated film, the locations were very well described and I felt like the locations were very real and you could almost feel being in a crocodile filled swamp at one point!
The heart of this book is Ms Marvel, and she really brings out the best aspects of all the charcters, even managing to break through Doctor Strange’s arrogance, and I found using her inexperience in the Avengers as a place for us to sit in her shoes, to be really good and very similar to the introduction of Kitty Pryde to the X-Men.
And the relationship between her and Spider-Man was fantastic, a teacher/student relationship slash big brother/little sister.
I really enjoyed this book and actually went out and bought the physical book as a Christmas present for one of my nibblings about halfway through reading it!
4.5 out of 5 stars!
Shadow Avengers is out now as an ebook and paperback!
August 1, 2022
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.0 of 5
Doctor Strange has been preparing for the arrival of Dormammu - a being who rule the Dark Dimension - and formed the Shadow Avengers as a small, super-hero army to do battle with the dark entity and his supporters when the time comes. The team consists of Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and the Black Panther.
The reluctant, anti-hero Venom is one of the first to have an encounter when he sees Loki (under Dormammu's control) dumping toxic waste into the city water supply from an Oscorp vehicle. There's a bit of a battle and then Loki disappears into a magically created portal.
The showdown is nigh and our newly formed group of superheroes, used to working alone, will have to find a way to work and trust one another to save the world from the Dread Sorcerer Dormammu.
This is a children's book ... or a middle-grade reader, at least. It's written 'down' just a little. This is the sort of book one expects to see in one of those school book order flyers (I loved when we got those!) or featured on an endcap of a library shelf taking advantage of the timeliness of the book and the hope that the subject will keep youngsters reading. There's nothing wrong with this thought, but this is taken to an extreme, trying to appeal to all potential readers and not just those who already love these movies (and just who would that be?).
The book spends too much time in idle chit chat - Spiderman and Ms Marvel getting to know each other for an entire chapter, for instance. This doesn't advance the story or the plot, but it does fill in some gaps if you don't know who they are.
Of course if you know who they are already, it really drags the story down. This should be as fast-paced as the movies with a breather for some Spidey sarcasm now and then. Superheroes! World-consuming villainous plans! Evil being from another dimension! Must stop! Must protect! And what we get are a lot of conversations between the superheroes as they get to know one another.
It's comic-related and it's connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so these books will sell, and sell well. I only wish we were hooking young readers on stories that engage.
Looking for a good book? Shadow Avengers by Carrie Harris does provide readers with another opportunity to read the further adventures of some favorite comic book characters, but it's not particularly thrilling despite all the action going on.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
Doctor Strange has been preparing for the arrival of Dormammu - a being who rule the Dark Dimension - and formed the Shadow Avengers as a small, super-hero army to do battle with the dark entity and his supporters when the time comes. The team consists of Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and the Black Panther.
The reluctant, anti-hero Venom is one of the first to have an encounter when he sees Loki (under Dormammu's control) dumping toxic waste into the city water supply from an Oscorp vehicle. There's a bit of a battle and then Loki disappears into a magically created portal.
The showdown is nigh and our newly formed group of superheroes, used to working alone, will have to find a way to work and trust one another to save the world from the Dread Sorcerer Dormammu.
This is a children's book ... or a middle-grade reader, at least. It's written 'down' just a little. This is the sort of book one expects to see in one of those school book order flyers (I loved when we got those!) or featured on an endcap of a library shelf taking advantage of the timeliness of the book and the hope that the subject will keep youngsters reading. There's nothing wrong with this thought, but this is taken to an extreme, trying to appeal to all potential readers and not just those who already love these movies (and just who would that be?).
The book spends too much time in idle chit chat - Spiderman and Ms Marvel getting to know each other for an entire chapter, for instance. This doesn't advance the story or the plot, but it does fill in some gaps if you don't know who they are.
Of course if you know who they are already, it really drags the story down. This should be as fast-paced as the movies with a breather for some Spidey sarcasm now and then. Superheroes! World-consuming villainous plans! Evil being from another dimension! Must stop! Must protect! And what we get are a lot of conversations between the superheroes as they get to know one another.
It's comic-related and it's connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so these books will sell, and sell well. I only wish we were hooking young readers on stories that engage.
Looking for a good book? Shadow Avengers by Carrie Harris does provide readers with another opportunity to read the further adventures of some favorite comic book characters, but it's not particularly thrilling despite all the action going on.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
February 4, 2022
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Aconyte Books for an advanced copy of this new Marvel tie-in adventure.
Team books in any genre can be hard to write. Even in non-fiction books someone always stands out, someone gets the focus of being the lead, be it scientists, sports, detectives, even superheroes. Writing about true team, keeping every character important and interesting and necessary to the story is hard. Carrie Harris in Shadow Avengers: A Marvel: Crisis Protocol Novel makes it look not only easy, but extremely fun reading as well.
The Dread Dormammu has set his fiery eyes on the Earth of the 616 universe, using an army of enslaved Asgardians from another universe, and some helpful villains from this one. Only the Shadow Avengers, formed by Doctor Strange to battle Dormammu and consisting of Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther and Luke Cage can stop the incursion. And what is the role of the creature known as Venom.
The novel is fun and very well plotted. This is book two of a series, but it is not necessary to have read the first. I have not, and it didn't affect my enjoyment. The characters here are all true to their comic origins, and each one has strong role and a reason for being in the story. This goes for the minor characters too. No big namers just to pump up sales on an issue, like when I was growing up. The story works well, and would make a very comic arc or animated movie. Ms. Harris has a real gift for writing these characters, making them not only heroes, but human too. Spider-Man, acts the hero he is, but acts like jerk to Venom, because well it is Venom, and I agree. Little things like this make the story a lot more interesting than the the usual monthly books.
Every release from this publisher has been excellent in all their series. The understanding these writers have, and the plots they develope for them really show. Big stories, that are interesting and engaging, with great characters, dialogue and writing .What I enjoy most about Aconyte Books is that I am exposed to writers that I might have missed or never been exposed too, but know can't wait to read more by Carrie Harris and more in this series. Perfect for comic book fans of all ages, or really anyone who wants to read a good adventure story.
Team books in any genre can be hard to write. Even in non-fiction books someone always stands out, someone gets the focus of being the lead, be it scientists, sports, detectives, even superheroes. Writing about true team, keeping every character important and interesting and necessary to the story is hard. Carrie Harris in Shadow Avengers: A Marvel: Crisis Protocol Novel makes it look not only easy, but extremely fun reading as well.
The Dread Dormammu has set his fiery eyes on the Earth of the 616 universe, using an army of enslaved Asgardians from another universe, and some helpful villains from this one. Only the Shadow Avengers, formed by Doctor Strange to battle Dormammu and consisting of Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther and Luke Cage can stop the incursion. And what is the role of the creature known as Venom.
The novel is fun and very well plotted. This is book two of a series, but it is not necessary to have read the first. I have not, and it didn't affect my enjoyment. The characters here are all true to their comic origins, and each one has strong role and a reason for being in the story. This goes for the minor characters too. No big namers just to pump up sales on an issue, like when I was growing up. The story works well, and would make a very comic arc or animated movie. Ms. Harris has a real gift for writing these characters, making them not only heroes, but human too. Spider-Man, acts the hero he is, but acts like jerk to Venom, because well it is Venom, and I agree. Little things like this make the story a lot more interesting than the the usual monthly books.
Every release from this publisher has been excellent in all their series. The understanding these writers have, and the plots they develope for them really show. Big stories, that are interesting and engaging, with great characters, dialogue and writing .What I enjoy most about Aconyte Books is that I am exposed to writers that I might have missed or never been exposed too, but know can't wait to read more by Carrie Harris and more in this series. Perfect for comic book fans of all ages, or really anyone who wants to read a good adventure story.
April 19, 2022
Thank you to Aconyte and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
So this was my first venture into the Marvel Aconyte novels that have been being published for a couple of years now. I kind of thought they were all standalone, but this one references Target: Kree pretty often and I regretted not reading that first for the context. Fortunately, I'm very familiar with these characters already so I was easily able to jump in
The Shadow Avengers are made up of Doctor Strange, Luke Cage, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Ms. Marvel. It's a very interesting bunch of characters to have work together, although they pretty much pair up and throughout the story and don't work as a group except for a meeting at the beginning, and then again at the end. Standing against them are Dormammu, Green Goblin, Loki, and Venom. I liked this team of villains because not everyone has an equal and opposite member of the Shadow Avengers to fight. We don't actually get to see a lot of the villains except for Venom, who is a point-of-view character.
There is not much character development going on, but that's not really surprising to me. You can only change such well-known characters so much outside of the comics. The fun part was really seeing the characters work together and try to figure out what's going on. Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel are among my favourite Marvel characters and they're teaming up for a good chunk of this book.
The plot was pretty straight-forward and fun to read. I would definitely add more books to my TBR that are written by Carrie Harris, and also more Marvel books published by Aconyte. I recommend checking this one out!
So this was my first venture into the Marvel Aconyte novels that have been being published for a couple of years now. I kind of thought they were all standalone, but this one references Target: Kree pretty often and I regretted not reading that first for the context. Fortunately, I'm very familiar with these characters already so I was easily able to jump in
The Shadow Avengers are made up of Doctor Strange, Luke Cage, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Ms. Marvel. It's a very interesting bunch of characters to have work together, although they pretty much pair up and throughout the story and don't work as a group except for a meeting at the beginning, and then again at the end. Standing against them are Dormammu, Green Goblin, Loki, and Venom. I liked this team of villains because not everyone has an equal and opposite member of the Shadow Avengers to fight. We don't actually get to see a lot of the villains except for Venom, who is a point-of-view character.
There is not much character development going on, but that's not really surprising to me. You can only change such well-known characters so much outside of the comics. The fun part was really seeing the characters work together and try to figure out what's going on. Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel are among my favourite Marvel characters and they're teaming up for a good chunk of this book.
The plot was pretty straight-forward and fun to read. I would definitely add more books to my TBR that are written by Carrie Harris, and also more Marvel books published by Aconyte. I recommend checking this one out!
April 27, 2022
I was given an advance e-book copy by Aconyte, Marvel, and NetGalley for an honest review. #Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review
Shadow Avengers is a solid superhero fiction novel from a great author. I would caution potential readers that this is the second novel in a series that began with Target: Kree: A Marvel: Crisis Protocol by Stuart Moore. While you can read Shadow Avengers as a stand alone adventure, it bothered my obsessive/compulsive nature to not have read the series in order. I would also note that it was unclear which "universe" this novel takes place in. A few of the characters feel like the Marvel Cinematic Universe but there are also references to the comics universe.
I really enjoyed how the author described the interaction between the Venom Symbiote and Eddie Brock. Very cool.
I was surprised how many Marvel characters were featured in the novel. Lot's of fun. The plot is standard comic book, villain invasion stuff, but it is fun to see it broken down to almost a police procedural story. You actually follow the heroes as as they unravel the mystery.
I would recommend this novel for YA readers.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
Shadow Avengers is a solid superhero fiction novel from a great author. I would caution potential readers that this is the second novel in a series that began with Target: Kree: A Marvel: Crisis Protocol by Stuart Moore. While you can read Shadow Avengers as a stand alone adventure, it bothered my obsessive/compulsive nature to not have read the series in order. I would also note that it was unclear which "universe" this novel takes place in. A few of the characters feel like the Marvel Cinematic Universe but there are also references to the comics universe.
I really enjoyed how the author described the interaction between the Venom Symbiote and Eddie Brock. Very cool.
I was surprised how many Marvel characters were featured in the novel. Lot's of fun. The plot is standard comic book, villain invasion stuff, but it is fun to see it broken down to almost a police procedural story. You actually follow the heroes as as they unravel the mystery.
I would recommend this novel for YA readers.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
February 8, 2022
Thanks to the publisher, I had the opportunity to read an advance of this adventure which hits bookstores on April 5th of 2022.
This was another fun Marvel romp, serving as a sequel to 2021's Target: Kree novel by Stuart Moore. Harris picks up on those plot threads and runs with them to a high-stakes, action-filled conclusion. This time we get Dr. Strange leading his special force against one of his dealiest foes. The cast is varied, both with heroes and villains, with everyone coming across exactly as they do in the comics. Harris nails every character angle to a T. She also makes sure to give something to the next author to play as this series continues.
This reminded me, in a very good way, of a 90's Marvel comic series called Secret Defenders. It was a quick read that I would recommend to most Marvel fans (old or new).
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
This was another fun Marvel romp, serving as a sequel to 2021's Target: Kree novel by Stuart Moore. Harris picks up on those plot threads and runs with them to a high-stakes, action-filled conclusion. This time we get Dr. Strange leading his special force against one of his dealiest foes. The cast is varied, both with heroes and villains, with everyone coming across exactly as they do in the comics. Harris nails every character angle to a T. She also makes sure to give something to the next author to play as this series continues.
This reminded me, in a very good way, of a 90's Marvel comic series called Secret Defenders. It was a quick read that I would recommend to most Marvel fans (old or new).
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
May 12, 2022
A Crisis Protocol novel
I received an advance reader copy of this book from Aconyte Books via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a sequel to Target Kree, where refugees from a dead planet were targeted for elimination on Earth. The plot was foiled by Miss Marvel along with several other heroes, and afterward Dr. Strange announced that Dormammu had instigated the plot as part of his plan to add Earth’s dimension to his list of conquests. Dr. Strange formed the Shadow Avengers to help him.
The Shadow Avengers consist of Kamala Khan (Miss Marvel), Luke Cage, Spiderman, Black Panther, and Dr. Strange. Making things harder, Dormammu is manipulating Norman Osborn and Venom along with Loki and several other Asgardians to assist him in his takeover. Readers are treated to a great deal of action, and the author takes advantage of the prose novel format to give us insights into the various characters that graphic novels just can’t provide.
I gave Shadow Avengers five stars. These Marvel prose novels continue to be among my favorites to read and review. I’m looking forward to future volumes in the series.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from Aconyte Books via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a sequel to Target Kree, where refugees from a dead planet were targeted for elimination on Earth. The plot was foiled by Miss Marvel along with several other heroes, and afterward Dr. Strange announced that Dormammu had instigated the plot as part of his plan to add Earth’s dimension to his list of conquests. Dr. Strange formed the Shadow Avengers to help him.
The Shadow Avengers consist of Kamala Khan (Miss Marvel), Luke Cage, Spiderman, Black Panther, and Dr. Strange. Making things harder, Dormammu is manipulating Norman Osborn and Venom along with Loki and several other Asgardians to assist him in his takeover. Readers are treated to a great deal of action, and the author takes advantage of the prose novel format to give us insights into the various characters that graphic novels just can’t provide.
I gave Shadow Avengers five stars. These Marvel prose novels continue to be among my favorites to read and review. I’m looking forward to future volumes in the series.
September 26, 2023
As a big fan of Carrie's work, I was keen to pick up this title - something different in the Marvel books, as it focuses on a comparatively famous team (even if they're 'B' string) rather than an individual.
The plot seemed pulled from Doctor Strange's comic career, full of magic, multi-dimensionality and unravelling of mysteries. However, as the story progressed, it became clear that this was not the only challenge facing the Shadow Avengers.
While the main adventure was good and the characters excellently realized, my favourite part of this book was seeing their humanity. Doctor Strange being so driven that he forgets whatever's outside his focus (causing even more problems). Miss Marvel being so young and nervous about her powers and being part of the team. Spiderman is known for his worries, but his kindness here shone so brightly - I'm sure Tom Holland would approve.
And the 'baddies' being controlled and unable to fight back was a surprise! For a good part of the book, I was looking forward to how this would resolve (messily, I anticipated!).
A great ensemble piece that any Marvel fan will enjoy.
The plot seemed pulled from Doctor Strange's comic career, full of magic, multi-dimensionality and unravelling of mysteries. However, as the story progressed, it became clear that this was not the only challenge facing the Shadow Avengers.
While the main adventure was good and the characters excellently realized, my favourite part of this book was seeing their humanity. Doctor Strange being so driven that he forgets whatever's outside his focus (causing even more problems). Miss Marvel being so young and nervous about her powers and being part of the team. Spiderman is known for his worries, but his kindness here shone so brightly - I'm sure Tom Holland would approve.
And the 'baddies' being controlled and unable to fight back was a surprise! For a good part of the book, I was looking forward to how this would resolve (messily, I anticipated!).
A great ensemble piece that any Marvel fan will enjoy.
March 4, 2022
A typical Marvel universe book. Not bad but not strong. Written for the tween/teen market it does hit its market. The character development is minimal and seems a bit two dimensional. Ms. Marvel is at times strong, other times hesitant. Dr. Strange's character does not seem to match up with the historical context of the 616 universe. Spider-Man is probably the most fleshed out of the characters in the book.
As an older reader. I'm not the target audience for this, but for its audience it is going to do well.
As an older reader. I'm not the target audience for this, but for its audience it is going to do well.
March 1, 2022
Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc.
Let me tell you, I am obsessed with Marvel! I have watched every movie, especially Avenger movies. They are my favorite. I have read some comics, never a novel. This was a fun read and well-plotted. Looks like the author is a fan as well.
And it didn't feel like I was reading something other than one of marvel comics but in a large amount. As I was familiar with the characters, it was easy for me to follow.
Let me tell you, I am obsessed with Marvel! I have watched every movie, especially Avenger movies. They are my favorite. I have read some comics, never a novel. This was a fun read and well-plotted. Looks like the author is a fan as well.
And it didn't feel like I was reading something other than one of marvel comics but in a large amount. As I was familiar with the characters, it was easy for me to follow.
November 9, 2023
Powerful and Compelling.
This was the better novel of the Crisis Protocol series of books. Carrie Harris wrote a fantastic book and the story proceeded with energetic pace. The story was alluring and exciting to read about. This book was more enjoyable to read than Target Kree even though Target Kree was good. The book was so appealing as it featured the Muslim super hero, Kamala Khan, Ms Marvel. Great job, Carrie!!
This was the better novel of the Crisis Protocol series of books. Carrie Harris wrote a fantastic book and the story proceeded with energetic pace. The story was alluring and exciting to read about. This book was more enjoyable to read than Target Kree even though Target Kree was good. The book was so appealing as it featured the Muslim super hero, Kamala Khan, Ms Marvel. Great job, Carrie!!
March 26, 2022
Thanks to NetGalley & Aconyte for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed seeing the perspectives of different heroes--and even villains! It was a fun light read and although I hadn't read the previous book, I was still able to follow along. Kamala and Luke Cage's chapters were my favorites, honestly.
Must-read for any Avengers fan!
I really enjoyed seeing the perspectives of different heroes--and even villains! It was a fun light read and although I hadn't read the previous book, I was still able to follow along. Kamala and Luke Cage's chapters were my favorites, honestly.
Must-read for any Avengers fan!
April 22, 2022
Based on advanced reader copy - lucky to get an advanced reader copy of this book, the second in the series. I missed the first so was coming partway into the story.
Decent novel which has a good premise. Liked that there wasnt too many heros/villians so they could be focused on.
Story was a littme obvious but worth a read nonetheless.
Decent novel which has a good premise. Liked that there wasnt too many heros/villians so they could be focused on.
Story was a littme obvious but worth a read nonetheless.
Read
February 20, 2022#netgalleyarc So. Many. Characters. The chapters were short, which was nice, and the story was chock full of Marvel characters. Overall this was a fun read, perfect for any Marvel fan looking to branch out from the comics. I’ll definitely be buying this for my high school library.
July 29, 2023
shadow avengers
Story flows smoothly and keeps your attention. Writer did her research and portrays each character with respect to their past. Some times the conflict between Eddie and Peter is too much but works in the story
Story flows smoothly and keeps your attention. Writer did her research and portrays each character with respect to their past. Some times the conflict between Eddie and Peter is too much but works in the story
May 30, 2024
I enjoyed this novel, but I didn't rip through it the way I did the Marvel Heroines titles. The combination of heroes was interesting, but each Shadow Avenger individually seemed sort of flat -- like each fulfilled a single trope within the team rather than being their full self.
February 4, 2022
I love these. To me, they're like reading a comic book, I can picture all of the action and the characters are a great blend of being unique while still recognizable to the MCU
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