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Planet of the Apes Movies #3

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

john jakes paul dehn

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The chilling 20th Century Fox Film becomes a spellbinding novel by John Jakes based on the screenplay by Paul Dehn.

The Time:1990 - The Place : North America where apes are the terrified slaves of men. Then the apes revolt.

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1972
Series
Planet of the Apes Movies

This edition

Format
187 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 1974 by Award Books
ISBN
9780095132411
ASIN
0095132414
Language
English

More editions

About the author

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john jakes

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John William Jakes, the author of more than a dozen novels, is regarded as one of today's most distinguished writers of historical fiction. His work includes the highly acclaimed Kent Family Chronicles series and the North and South Trilogy. Jakes's commitment to historical accuracy and evocative storytelling earned him the title of “the godfather of historical novelists” from the Los Angeles Times and led to a streak of sixteen consecutive New York Times bestsellers. Jakes has received several awards for his work and is a member of the Authors Guild and the PEN American Center. He and his wife, Rachel, live on the west coast of Florida.

Also writes under pseudonyms Jay Scotland, Alan Payne, Rachel Ann Payne, Robert Hart Davis, Darius John Granger, John Lee Gray. Has ghost written as William Ard.

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Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 15 votes)
5 stars
4(27%)
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6(40%)
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5(33%)
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15 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
pocketcroc
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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As far as novelizations go, this is a top notch read. I picked it up hearing it maintained the more extreme ending from the original screenplay and that it functioned as a pretty strong and serious race allegory. Both accounts proved true. I have not watched the film yet. My only exposure to Caesar was through Andy Serkis’ brilliant portrayal in the most recent Apes trilogy. Caesar is a favorite heroic archetype of mine. In this novel he is more violent than the modern trilogy but his characterization remains similar. It made me want to read the subsequent novelizations. Let’s hope the film holds up to the book!
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
Imperade
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Ugly and hate-filled, the Conquest of the Planet of the Apes novel lacks all of the subtlety and nuance of the film. After living a life in hiding in Armando’s circus super-intelligent chimpanzee Caesar visits a metropolitan city and learns that humans have enslaved apes and brutally mistreat them, leading Caesar to stage a rebellion. Author John Jakes goes to extremes to paint humans as monstrous villains, and by the end even Caesar becomes a callous egotist who sees other apes as “animals.” There’s no one to really root for, as each side is acting out of hatred and prejudice. However, there are a few plot points that the book clears up and expands upon, such as explaining how Caesar is able to communicate with the other apes (who can’t talk) and organize them for his rebellion. Also there’s a little more about the political situation and the totalitarian government in this dystopic future. Yet Conquest of the Planet of the Apes utterly fails to capture the mood and tone of J. Lee Thompson’s extraordinarily evocative and compelling film.
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Rojaseb
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Go ahead and yuck it up...but I'll have you know these books were my only friend that long lonely summer when I was thirteen and stuck on my grandparent's farm in the middle of South Dakota with nobody to talk to except a fat shetland pony who chewed her oats and stared all drowsy-eyed at me and a dog named Brownie who refused to learn to shake.

And I had the coolest Planet of the Apes sweatshirt--I'd give up my Planet of the Apes lunch Box to get that sweatshirt back...well no, no I wouldn't.

I saw them here--and it was like finding an old friend.

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sweetestashoney
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Well written violent fiction, a novelization of the movie which out does the original in it's orgy of climactic blood-letting. What can I say as much as I admire the original movie this is based upon and the novelization which this is - I can't help but be a Human Being partisan. When I saw Conquest as a kid, 8 or 9, I was a natural anarchist who cheered the apes on in their riotous anti-human rebellion. As a sober middle-aged man I can't help but shake my head at the simplistic moralizing of both movie and book. Still, it's a classic of sci-fi and early 70's cinema. I can't say I loved the book because it is almost unrelenting grim in it's revenge-porn portrayal but it was a damn gripping read. Did I mention the movie is pretty good and might actually in it's own twisted way be the apex of the original Planet of the Apes series. Thank you very much.
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Denvir
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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A well-written and engrossing novelization of the film which keeps the original brutal ending to the story intact.

SPOILERS AHEAD: In the film, an ending was filmed in which Caesar leads the ape rebellion and has the main antagonist (the human governor) killed, announcing that now apes will be in charge and humans will be slaves. As I understand it, the studio decided to tone this down after a test screening. So Roddy McDowell (as Caesar) recorded some additional dialogue which was awkwardly inserted into the climax, in which he backs off and decides to show mercy.

The novelization retains the grimmer ending. Caesar allows the governor to be essentially tortured to death and goes the "humans will be our slave" route. Also, the novel shows off Caesar's leadership abilities better. Both the film and the novel show Caesar making on-the-fly tactical decisions during the battle, but the novel is able to go into this process with a little more depth without slowing the pace of the action. All in all, an excellent job of retelling the story in prose.
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Gatsu-chan
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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A book that is rather quite unsubtle in talking about race relations. It really shows the humans in the worst light possible, which might turn some off. The last few chapters are quite violent and blood soaked. It does show the digression of Ceasar from an innocent and caring chimpanzee experiencing the slavery of society to an unapologetic conqueror blinded by hate. But then again having read this during 2020, I am sad at how current this book still is almost 50 years on. What with the protests and riots and documented police brutality. Whole scenes seem to have been lifted right out of this book to be shown on the evening news. It is disheartening to think so little has changed.
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6Tallguy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I like this book. As I write that, I notice my shoulders reflexively squaring and my expression shifting into defiant 'So what?' mode. Admittedly, the writing is uneven, but there are moments in this book of intense drama and conflict. The writing is only passable, but I think the way that the subject matter is dealt with was masterful. It almost feels like a comic book conflict: epic and profound and maybe a little ridiculous, too.
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