Rating: 
Summary: Apes of a Different Nature
Review: It's the year 2500. Three astronauts have set off from Earth to travel to the distant star of Betelgeuse. Carrying a small variety of vegetables, animals, and a chimpanzee their estimated time of travel is a little over two years.After arriving at the star of Betelgeuse, they find, to their excitement, a planet that looks not unlike Earth. Initial views show landmasses, oceans, and an atmosphere that could possibly support life. Taking a shuttle down to the planet, signs of civilization can be seen as they fly overhead to a landing location. This story reveals the plight of Ulysse Merou, one of the astronauts from Earth. He is thrown into a backwards world were Apes rule, and humans are the animals. The apes of this planet have science, technology, and art. They hunt humans for game and use them for experiments much like the humans of earth use monkeys. How, did a world so comparable to ours evolve into such a different state? This is the first book I've read where I had a hard time separating the book from the movie. This is probably because I've seen the movie so many times before I read the book. I thought I should read it before the next movie comes out. The movie follows closely to the "concepts" of the book. The biggest differences being in how much more technically advanced the apes are in the book. Recognizable characters such as, Cornelius, Zira, and Nova are in the book. Ulysse Merou would actually be the George Taylor of the movie. Boulle elegantly crafts a satire that points out how cruel humans can be. What could happen if the tables were turned? Possibly, even a glimpse of what we could be heading for in the far distant future. This is science fiction at it's finest. The book has a nice twisted ending like the movie. However, it's much different and actually better crafted.
Rating:
Summary: Satirical, not action-packed.
Review: Arguably author Pierre Boulle's best-known work, PLANET OF THE APES receives a new paperback edition with a movie tie-in cover to coordinate with the release of Tim Burton's "reimagining" of the 1968 classic. Though the image of a gorilla warrior on the front is striking and fresh, the contents inside are, luckily, exactly the same as they have always been. An SF-powered satire of modern living, PLANET OF THE APES is not an action-packed spectacular, as both film versions have been, though there is action to be found. Instead, Boulle skewers the construction of contemporary society, values, and the unshakable belief of modern men in their own position at the apex of creation. And though this seems like an invitation for boredom, or preachiness, quite the opposite is the case: Boulle's book is fascinating and entertaining from beginning to end. While those who expect another take on the films will doubtless be confused and perhaps disappointed, readers that are open to an entirely new experience with the "world of apes" concept will find Boulle's novel a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Apes
Review: I love this book. It's a quick read but it also really makes you think. It gets you asking questions that you would never think of. I like this so much more then the movies. However, the American movie offers something a lot more different.
This book is much more political then the movie, and the characterizations are quiet different. I can see why the director of the original move, didn't want the cast to read the book.
Rating:
Summary: Not the movie, but still thought-provoking
Review: A whimsical, fun and quick read, made amusing because, unlike in the 1967 movie, the apes live in modern cities, have present-day technology and wear 20th century human clothing. You can see in the book where screenwriter Rod Serling found many of the elements for the movie, but the book is different from the film in many ways, including in its assessment of man. The story begins in the year 2500, and the Heston character is a French journalist who really does travel to another planet. As in the film, he finds a world where apes are the ruling species with language, science and culture, and humans are dumb, inarticulate brutes who communicate by screeches and are exhibited in zoos. Don't expect Serling's crackling scenes and dialogue, or his blunt and searing indictment of humanity, and there is no Statue of Liberty at the end to wrap it all up. The book is much more in the spirit of Gulliver's Travels; our protagonist is at first considered an odd stranger but is later accepted into the society as almost an equal. But you will learn here the reasons behind some of the unexplained features of the movie: why the humans are mute, and how the planet of the apes came to be. The reasons are part and parcel, though, of the statement Boulle wishes to make about humanity: that truly innovative and revolutionary ideas and the people who bring them forth are very few and far between, and that most people really do not think, and simply follow and imitate the practices of those around them and those who came before them. Boulle wants to take our pride in our superiority above other animals, based on our higher intellectual abilities, down a notch or two, and that he has done so becomes clear after you read the last words and set the book down. I first read this book as a boy enthralled by the movie series, when the "Apes" movies were in the theaters, and I still occasionally thumb through my 25-year-old Signet paperback edition of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic: Planet of the Apes
Review: As a young teenager, I saw the original Planet of the Apes movie featuring Charlton Heston one night on television. The final scene, with Heston screaming on the sea shore at the Statue of Liberty made a tremendous impression on me then and now, ranking right at the top in all time incredible scenes. But, I had never read the book, thinking that it was just a novelization of the movie. Thanks to the release of the new movie, which was okay at best in my opinion, the original book was also released again and I was able to get a copy through my local library. In a future time, a couple is taking a vacation in deep space under solar sail. Adrift, with no destination planned, they find a bottle containing a journal of sorts. One immediately thinks of the idea of castaways throwing their messages in bottles to the sea for possible discovery. A record of what they have seen and done, should the individuals not survive. The journal is unfurled and the couple settles back for the read. The journal begins in the year 2500 on Earth. "I am confiding this manuscript to space, not with the intention of saving myself, but to help, perhaps, to avert the appalling scourge that is menacing the human race. Lord have pity on us." The writer is Ulysse Merou and he was a journalist. He was one of three launched on the first interstellar flight and like his apparent namesake, has been on a long and tragic quest. They were to explore the region surrounding Betelgeuse (Alpha Orion) around three hundred light years from our planet. Professor Antelle made the decision after supervising the project from the beginning. Also along is the Professor's disciple Arthur Levain who is a young physician. The two-year journey goes relatively smoothly and soon they find themselves close to the red sun, Betelgeuse. The professor quickly finds four planets in rotation around the sun, one of which seems to be relatively Earth like for this system. The decision is made to go there, using one of the launches. There are three aboard the main craft and being smaller, are designed for excursions to planetary surfaces. With their ship remaining in orbit, the three adventurers go down to the surface. During the landing sequence their flight takes them over a small town and they quickly realize that the world is inhabited. They land far from the town and go exploring. The planet is virtually identical to Earth in almost every respect and they decide that it should be named. They name it Soror and begin to explore it with their pet monkey, Hector. They soon find a small pool and a waterfall and human tracks in the soil on the banks of the pool. They go for a swim and soon they see someone watching from the cliffs above. It is a young and very lovely naked woman who acts more like an animal than human. It quickly becomes clear that she is an animal, beautiful in a sensual way, but still an animal. Ulysse feels an attraction for her and leads the group back to the pool the next day. This becomes a mistake as the group is seized by the rest of the woman's companions. The expedition is stripped, their vehicle plundered and destroyed, before being marched to the savages camp. There they are fed and begin to adjust to life as prisoners while plotting their escape. Ulysse decides to name the woman Nova and begins to try to teach her a few things such as his name. The teaching is interrupted when panic sets in among the group. Bugles are heard and the bushes are beaten to flush them out as unknown forces attack them. Running through a gauntlet, Ulysse is separated from his companions and captured by Gorillas. Gorillas that walk, talk, ride horses, and act like Englishmen on a hunt, round up all the survivors and take them to town. There begins a rude indoctrination as Ulysse is forced to confront a world where Mankind is not the superior race it believes itself to be on Earth. This is a world where humans are savages, and are the ones subject to extermination or experimentation. Ulysse must confront his own notions of society and civilization as well as his eventual leadership of the caged humans as he is the only one that can talk and think. This book is certainly is a much different version that the movie versions. The writing is stilted at times in the way a lot of classic science fiction will read today. At the same time, the writing is vivid and the author manages to inject observations that are still valid today as when the novel was written. The fundamental question is never answered and left purposefully for the reader to consider. What constitutes a civilization and have we reached the zenith?
Rating: 
Summary: Much better than any of the movies
Review: I really enjoyed this book, I began reading it and could not stop, it is exciting and very interesting.
It is really much better than the movies and of course a lot of questions are answered, it is also not very long.
If you saw the original movie and also the remake you will enjoy this book because both movies took different story lines and they will be understud more.
Rating:
Summary: Read it One Sitting
Review: This book was so good, I had to finish it once I started. It is very different than the first movie but a little bit like the remake. The book certainly has a better story than either of those two films. In this one, the space travelers clearly go to a different planet in another part of the galaxy. They find a race of humans that have become dumb through laziness. The apes had evolved from pets to far more intelligent. However, Boulle makes them literally "apes" in that they can only mimic other things they have seen and thus have no original thoughts. I would tend to disagree. If the apes had gotten that far along, I am sure their brain center that controls creativity would have too.
Rating:
Summary: Apes behind the Drapes
Review: I am a big Planet of the Apes fan, and I believe this book is perhaps the best thing in the whole franchise. It is a short read, and well worth it. If you are a Planet of The Apes fan, there is no reason you shouldn't read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Really Good Book That is Very Different From the Movie
Review: I picked up a mint condition harcover at a used book store because I loved the original movies and even the TV series when I was a child. I was curious to see how close the original book was to the movie. Other than the names of most of the ape characters and some of their personality traits the book is vastly different from the movie. That being said it is still an insightful book that manages to explore many of the issues of race and culture in a way that is palatable. There are many ideas that are completely unrealistic, but that doesn't stop it from being an entertaining and enlightening read. I recommend it to anyone that can find a copy.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic page-turner, oven if you have seen the movie...
Review: I have seen the original Planet of the Apes movie, as well as the new one, yet this book still fascinated me. I decided to read a few pages of this book every evening until I was done. Kind of "just to have done it". Another classic squared away. However, I ended up practically reading the entire book in one night. I just couldn't manage to put it down, even though I was familiar with the story (or so I thought). Get it, this is a must-have!
| 
