Most of the time we read a book, fall in love with it, and then hope the movie adaptation lives up to the world we created in our heads. The reverse happens when it comes to novelizations, where it’s a case of hoping for the story we saw on the big screen, but with more depth than can be shown in the limited time movies allow. The Dark Knight Rises novelization by Greg Cox contains no surprises, but it does contain that little bit more that Batman fans will appreciate.
As with any novelization, it stays true to the film. It’s very much like reading the movie you just saw, but since you can’t actually see it, Cox fills in the visual gaps with rich descriptions of the landscape and characters. In the film, much of Bruce Wayne’s story was told through the looks of anguish on his face and Cox deftly captures those emotions with internal dialogue.
In some ways, the book gives you more than the movie. Scenes that came and went quickly get a slightly longer treatment, allowing you, the reader, to linger in the moment before moving along. If you loved the movie and want to experience it once again, but with the extra details that only a book can give to a scene, then pick up a copy of The Dark Knight Rises for $7.99 and return to Gotham City.
I received a copy of this book for review purposes.
