Characters
But Shin only gets third by virtue of being almost as good as Project Nemesis. However, the overall point of the novel is not a continuation with the Heisei Era Nemesis, it’s supposed to reinvent the character and bring her to the modern day. To reintroduce her to audiences who have read her books, or to simply introduce her to those never heard of Nemesis or any of Robinson’s books. I think, in spite of my nitpicking and complaining, it overall succeeds in this.
Part of the overall problem is the villains are not that compelling. I will give Robinson the credit he deserves and say Divine Retribution in concept was a unique adversary for both our human characters as well as Nemesis, in fact I’m honestly surprised we never got them in the Heisei Saga. The biggest problem is that it was more a faceless entity than a true group. Their sole purpose was to unleash the Golyats on the earth and eat Nemesis, and that was about it. In terms of individual members, Frankie Robles was one and done, Tammy/Original Betty/Cult Betty/Golyat Betty sure was surprising when it was revealed but like Frankie served very little to the plot and Damion Dunn wasn’t even a character to begin with, he was just mentioned and was the Founding Golyat. That’s it. Say what you will about Gordon, but he knew how to be memorable despite being one note himself. At least the Areos were more of an ever-imminent threat to humanity and imposing even though we didn’t see individual members. The point is even if your villains don’t go through arcs you need to make them be cool enough, so you don’t mind that they are evil, especially if you make them more threatening. And while Divine Retribution was threatening in the end, they ultimately lacked the charismatic terror Gordon brought.
The Golyats, as these ever-growing kaiju Zombies were pretty cool and unique (still kicking myself over not finishing the Divide) but they serve the role of little more than foot soldiers for the cult. As I said I’m more of the inhuman monsters, such as Karkinos or Lovecraft, but if you think giant skeletal creatures are more your thing, I can see that. More power to you!
Brewer was an a-hole and could have been a bigger player in the story, but he was relevant only when they needed him or extracted him, but even then, he was almost pointless because he was barely in it. It seemed Robinson wanted him to be a much bigger threat but didn’t execute it properly or just needed a reason to go back to the Underground. He was less Jabba the Hutt and more Greedo than anything, if even that good.
But where our villains stumbled and failed, our heroes were great.
Graham gets the majority of development, which is unsurprising given he’s the main character. His arc is a classic one; a grumpy veteran who warms up to his partner and the people around him and becomes a better person as a result of the experience they have. And I gotta be honest it works perfectly here. He was so closed off because of the guilt he had carried with him for sending people to their deaths, playing an executioner to a dreaded God who would destroy everything if they didn’t appease her. Throughout the story, he mentions he was previously married and even had a kid with someone, but because of the nature of the job he refused to tell his wife what he was going through and the ultimate reason why she left him, which then made him more standoffish and a bit moody. Even though he was a dick at times, he wasn’t outright malicious and cared for the safety of others. The people around him, Maigo especially, chipped away at his hard exterior to find a good person under there. He reminded me of Hank from Detroit Become Human, as I’ve mentioned, who had a similar trauma but by the end (depending on your choices) he eventually becomes a more compassionate person.
I love characters like that! I particularly loved the parts where it was just him and Maigo.
Blackwater, while being the badass leader of the Nemesisters, we don’t see much of her organization save for a handful of women. I guess it would have eaten up more page time, but it would have been nice to see the Nemesisters in a kind of mechanic shop or chop shop as a sort of base of operations for them. As for Blackwater herself, she’s similar to Collins in a lot of ways particularly in the romance department but also being a strong female lead with an abusive ex-husband backstory. However, one chose to go into law enforcement while the other became a vigilante who amassed an army of similar women. There wasn’t much overt development like with Graham, but she was still enjoyable to read, and I think she was a perfect partner for Graham.
Munk was simply great though I could see some people being annoyed by her hyperactive nature. She’s pleasant, especially when we meet her for the first time in the church. However, she really shined when the situation called for action to be made and she delivered and wanted nothing more than to join. Really Graham and Maigo showing up was probably the best thing to have ever happened to her. I like characters like that. In end of the world scenarios, a lot of people will buckle under the pressure, but for others the apocalypse brought out the best in them. Munk is also incredibly thirsty for Collins. I mean…she’s not wrong, she’s gorgeous.
Owens and Collins didn’t necessarily do much for the story. Owens at least kept them up to date on things like Nemesis’s movements or the information on certain Extractions, serving as a sort of Q to Graham. Graham also treated the poor guy like crap when really, he didn’t deserve it. He wasn’t necessarily that rude to Graham or anyone else for that matter, he was actually quite pleasant. Believe me, I’ve had to deal with coworkers who were genuine A-holes to me, and they don’t get nearly as much ire from me as Graham does with Owens, which leads me to believe it’s more the other way around. Collins ultimately served the purpose of being a legacy character returning to a new universe. That’s it.
Speaking of legacy characters, Maigo was probably the best character to bring back save for Nemesis and Kendo. We get a far more different person than we did back in the original Saga. Maigo from the Heisei Era was a tortured soul who was unjustly murdered for no reason, and even when she separated from Nemesis, we got a more brooding teenager who thought her only purpose was to be Nemesis’s pilot, her Voice. Here, Maigo from the Reiwa Era is a person who never underwent that tragedy, instead going through something of a much worse ordeal than simply being murdered. I honestly believe this was the best interpretation of the character between the two because we see a side that has gone through a great ordeal and instead of wallowing in self-pity and nihilism like Graham, she actively tried to find an understanding of her plight, even going so far as to join Divine Retribution, and leaving it instead of being brainwashed like the other Cultists.
Her best moments are with Graham, who was truly the father she never had. It’s different from the relationship she had with Hudson. I’d say it’s different than the relationship she had with Hudson, although I can’t remember it very well, it’s been years since I read Project 731. Maigo is also a snippy little thing, able to go toe to toe with his snark and sarcasm. These two were perfect foils to each other and honestly the perfect person to bring back to a new Era of Nemesis novels.
Speaking of Nemesis herself, she was ultimately absent from her own book with certain parts notwithstanding but when she was there it was great. I think her new design was solid as were some of her new powers and abilities. It’s just a shame we don’t spend too much time with her as opposed to her previous books, but hey, whatcha gonna do?
Concluding Thoughts
Jeremy Robinson’s latest kaiju thriller is a mixed bag for me, with the good outweighing the bad. I must say I find it’s better if you had no prior experience with the previous books, being a perfect standalone kaiju novel on par with some of the recent stuff. The characters are great, the kaiju are mostly well visualized, and the story feels in many ways like a classic monster book. But if you’re like me, someone who compares previous works and continuities and a general continuity porn person, you’ll be hard pressed not to still enjoy it despite many things that hold it back. That doesn’t mean this book isn’t any good, it’s amazing and well written as always, but I find that it doesn’t hold up to its old standard and in places feels a bit fanfiction-ish with Maigo’s survival but I’m also glad it didn’t go too far with it and made Nemesis her dead mother or something. Really, it’s major crime is it feels less like King of the Monsters 2019 or more 2014 Godzilla.
Attack on Shin Nemesis is a flawed book for me, but it is still fairly enjoyable. While not the triumphant return we’ve been waiting for, it did succeed in bringing Nemesis back in an all-new book, fighting some new Kaiju and introducing and reintroducing characters who will live to inspire new generations of Kaiju literature fans. At the time of writing this, Jeremy Robinson has yet to reveal whether or not he’ll continue this new continuity, rewind the clock with a prequel, or make something up as he goes along. Whatever may come our way, I’m excited to see the new direction Nemesis will take. Who knows. There might be a live action movie or TV show about her. Supposedly, there is one in development! Time will tell, and I’ll be there to see it.
If I were to rank all of the Nemesis books, it would go like this:
- Project Maigo
- Project Nemesis
- Shin Nemesis
- Island 731
- Project Hyperion
- And lastly
- Project Legion
Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next big thing I do on this spectacular blog!
See you Space Cowboy!
