I think for the last several years now, the Fantastic Four novels have been better written then the comic. Case in point is this novel by Pierce Askegren. This writer makes good use of many leading FF characters that first appeared in the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby FF issues. The mad thinker is a complex villain here, Black Bolt and the Inhumans play important roles in the story, and the Fantastic Four are presented as the human heroes that they are. No fancy gimmicks here. It's a straight forward story from start to finish, and I'm very grateful for that.