David Brin's "Captain America Versus Thor"

You can take it too far; you can do too much. We were quite excited to receive a gift of David Brin's graphic novel "The Life Eaters". If you are a David Brin fan, and who isn't, this could be a much-anticipated read.

The Life Eaters extends Brin's "Captain America Versus Thor" short story. The CAVT short story remains one of our favorites. It dealt with the power of hope in a fascinating alternate history tale of World War II. We won't ruin the story for you, but just imagine what would happen if the mythical Norse gods descended on earth and allied themselves with the Nazis in or around 1939.

The CAVT story has a poignant and powerful ending. It is one of those stories that haunt you. Such stories are rare, and should be savored. Which is why extending this story didn't work.

The Life Eaters descends into a huge mess. It attempts to be epic, but instead it seems unfocused. Imagine a mess of vegetable peelings and coffee grinds sitting at the bottom of the kitchen sink. The sweet, powerful ending of the original story becomes completely lost.

So if you want to read The Life Eaters, we'd recommend you go to a used bookstore and find Brin's River of Time (scroll down) collection of short stories and read the original story instead.