Review: Return of The Griffin by JCM Berne

Blurb:

Humanity faces extinction. Ten-kiloton monsters are rising from the depths of the Pacific, levelling entire cities in frenzies of destruction. Earth’s heroes have been decimated. The survivors put their hope in one last, desperate plan: find Hyperion, Earth’s most powerful hero, and ask him to return from exile to save them.

What they don’t know is that Hyperion is dead.

The Griffin spent ten years fighting wars across the sector as a weapon of mass destruction for the il’Drach Empire. His victories made his name a curse on a dozen worlds and a nightmare on scores more. He retired to the peaceful station Wistful and discovered that leaving his name behind didn’t clear his sins, his debts, or his conscience.

Earth’s peril may give him a chance for redemption, if he can only find a way to stop the monsters without turning into one. Without becoming The Griffin again.

Review:

Move over, Steve Rogers, we have a new candidate for America’s Ass!

Wait, Rohan’s Canadian? Whatever, never mind, joke was lame anyway, stupid Griffin.

Know what’s not lame, though? Return of the Griffin, that’s what. JCM Berne ups the stakes in the second entry in the Hybrid Helix series, with superheroes galore, world-threatening giant sharks, an endlessly charming lead, and pulse-pounding action all contributing to make an instant page-turner. And, for posterity, KID LIGHTNING!

Monsters have risen from the depths of the Pacific Ocean, and humanity finds itself on the edge of extinction. As entire cities lay devastated, and Earth’s mightiest heroes have fallen, the planet calls to the legendary exiled hero Hyperion to return and save them. The only problem? Hyperion is long since dead. But to answer the call to action in his place is the Griffin, who has long since retired from the hero business to serve on the peaceful station Wistful. It has been over a decade since he returned home, and his return will resurface the sins he has never been cleansed of. But if it is redemption he seeks, saving his home planet may offer him that chance…so long as he does not become the same type of monster he is saving Earth from.

Where the first book in the Hybrid Helix series explored Berne’s world on a galactic scale, Return of the Griffin places the action back on Earth with some classic kaiju-brawling, planet-saving action, and it helps ground the series a bit, insofar as that’s possible when we’re talking about superheroes fighting Godzilla-sized sharks. Throughout Wistful Ascending, we hear plenty of Rohan’s hybrid origins, but it is in this book that we explore the human side of him more. Reluctance marks Rohan’s return to earth—the past has long since haunted him, but what would haunt him more would be to allow his home to falter, and Berne plays off of that dynamic well.

There is also a strong understanding of the stakes at play in Return of the Griffin. Often times in disaster movies or superhero movies, the destruction is part of the spectacle, but so long as the hero comes out on top, whatever lies in its wake is brushed to the side. Here, it’s made clear that millions have died already, and millions more will continue to die should the attacks continue. There’s a palpable sense of dread felt throughout the book by its characters, a countdown to annihilation. Humanity is on its last legs, and countless heroes have fallen already. With all of that at play, it allows Return of the Griffin to pull the reader in immediately, with a lingering urgency that leads one to believe that not everyone will come out of it all unscathed.

And this is all lifted by a strong cast of characters—Powered or otherwise—with eclectic backgrounds and motivations. The exploration of Rohan’s past before he left Earth was a treat. We have known since the first book that his past actions haunt him. He was used as a weapon of mass destruction by the il’Drach Empire, seen as a hero to some worlds and a monster to others. But on Earth, we see that, even as all-powerful as he is, he is still human, and has made human mistakes, once formed strong bonds, and one broke those bonds. We explore familial relationships, past loves, excesses of power, and what happens when a past you have long tried to run from finally returns to catch up with you. Even on Earth, Rohan is not universally viewed as a hero. In some circles, he is a criminal, a monster, and the implications of that are explored very well.

If there’s anything I could take issue with in Return of the Griffin, it’s that the prologue and ending feel a bit disjointed from the rest of the book. As with Wistful Ascending, the prologue begins in medias res, well into the action of the main story. The issue here, though, is that by the time we get to the action alluded to in the prologue, the book is almost over—we return to this scene at around the 90-95% mark, and the resolution to this plot point is tied up far too quickly. There are some minor connections to the rest of the book, but it felt a touch out of place given the rest of the narrative. It’s a minor gripe, but it felt like a scene that could have played well in a different book in the series.

Despite that, Return of the Griffin is still a blast of a book. If you’re looking for a fresh take on the superhero genre, with lasting stakes, deep characters, a very likeable lead, and people punching the shit out of giant sharks, then, well…hopefully you read Wistful Ascending first, because, you know…this is book 2. Read Wistful as well. And then this one, because it’s great.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, KID LIGHTNING!