Chimpanzee Complex, The 2: The Sons of Ares
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Art by: Jean-Michel Ponzio
Publisher: Cinebook
First published: 2009
Originally published as: Le complex du chimpanze - Les fils d'Ares
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The mystery deepens in this second of three Chimpanzee Complex books, written by Marazano and beautifully illustrated by Ponzo. Having been tricked into a mission to Mars, Helen Freeman finally completes the first half of her journey and finds more mysterious space heroes from the past – this time Russian Cosmonauts – still alive and awaiting rescue on a long-abandoned Soviet base. Meanwhile, back on Earth, it’s her daughter Sofia who feels like she’s been abandoned, as her mother explores a planet that’s 35 million miles from home.
Ponzo’s realistic style gives the fantastic element of these future explorers a grounding in plausibility, despite Marazano’s increasingly mysterious and intriguing script. If anything, the Sofia situation starts to feel a bit laboured, right up until a whopper of a cliff-hanger leaves us desperate for the final instalment. It’s hard to fault the space exploration though – it’s a fascinating trip into the unknown.
With its mix of personal and inter-planetary turmoil, the book offers two strands of story which balance reasonably well, though by the end of this volume I felt that the whole ‘Sofia is upset with her space travelling Mummy’ thing was somewhat over-wrought. There’s plenty of questions that are going to need to be answered in the final volume though – I’m looking forward to it.
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Tags: First published • 2009 • Rating • Story • 3 stars • Rating • Overall • 4 stars • Rating • Art • 5 stars • Series • Chimpanzee Complex, The • Publisher • Cinebook • Writer • Marazano, Richard • Artist • Ponzio, Jean-Michel • Review • Genre • Science fiction
