I bet you didn’t have ‘an Epic Reads article lamenting the nonexistence of a sequel to an animated movie from 2012’ on your bingo card, but why should things start getting predictable now?
And yes, I am watching Rise of the Guardians as I type this. Because this movie is fantastic and I am still lamenting the fact that it never got the sequel it deserved. But thankfully, I have something that might be even better. Seasons of the Storm is finally on shelves, and I feel like I’ve been wanting to yell about it for a minute. This book is everything I could have wanted.
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What is ‘Rise of the Guardians,’ you ask?
Rise of the Guardians is an iconic and criminally underrated film that focuses on Jack Frost, who was once a normal teenager. He’s revived into the immortal entity that we all know as the playful power behind winter, but that’s just the beginning. The film is about the battle between the guardians who are forced to team up—a buff Santa Claus, an even more buff Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman—to stop Pitch Black from bringing eternal night upon the world. Also, Hugh Jackman voices the Easter Bunny. It’s important to me that you know this.
I’m going to pause here, because I acknowledge you may have questions. However, as this is an article and not a live interview, I cannot answer any you actually have, and the best thing for both of us, I think, would be for me to keep writing.
If you’ve seen Rise of the Guardians, you know what a masterpiece this movie is (Rise of the Guardians deserved what Frozen got and I’m willing to defend that), but if you haven’t, I admit this sounds absolutely deranged. Do us both a favor and watch it. Only, you’ll need to brace yourself, because the true heartbreak comes once the credits start rolling:
This movie never got a sequel.
It’s an emotional rollercoaster about the power of believing in your heroes and having others believe in you, and the characters, as ridiculous as they may seem, were crafted with a careful depth that should have allowed two, three, four films or more. I would even settle for a TV series at this point. But luckily (!!!), I don’t have to.
Enter: ‘Seasons of the Storm’
When Jack Sommers was faced with the choice of living forever—according to the ancient, magical rules of Gaia, of course—or die, he chose to live. With echoes of the Jack Frost I already love (see above), this Jack plays off expectations while still being wholly his own. He becomes a Winter, the embodiment of the season on Earth, but this time, there’s no comedic alliance awaiting him. Isla Fisher’s sweet and adorable hummingbird-accented fairy doesn’t pop in for reassurance.
Instead, Jack finds out that every year, he must hunt the season who comes before him. Xem thêm: Youtube Ai Dám Hát Tập 1 : Thử Thách "Chiếc Hộp Bí Ẩn" Của Đội Miu Lê
On a nightmarish (yet entertaining, for us) action-packed loop, Spring is killed by Summer, who is in turn then killed by Autumn, and then, always, Winter, and so on. It’s an endless cycle with a mythology that’s as brutal as it is wondrous, and despite their fates, the characters are so full of life that they jump off the page.
Of course, the story doesn’t stop there, because what kind of perfectly angsty fantasy tale would this be if it did? In Seasons of the Storm, Jack does the unthinkable: he falls for Fleur, a Spring. If they want to be together, they’ll have to escape the cycle that’s forced them apart for all their afterlives and face the creator who you know won’t let them get away without a fight. Where Rise of the Guardians harped on the power of believing in yourself and others, Seasons of the Storm is about fate, destiny, love, and freedom. Just like any good sequel should and would, it ups the ante.
I honestly cannot give anything else away…
Because I don’t want to ruin all the fantastic twists and scenes and moments Seasons of the Storm has. So, please do yourself a favor and, if you ever found yourself wishing that Rise of the Guardians got the sequel it deserved, read this book and talk to me about it. Preferably soon. Preferably now.
About ‘Seasons of the Storm’
One cold, crisp night, Jack Sommers was faced with a choice—live forever according to the ancient, magical rules of Gaia, or die.
Jack chose to live, and in exchange, he became a Winter—an immortal physical embodiment of the season on Earth. Every year, he must hunt the Season who comes before him. Summer kills Spring. Autumn kills Summer. Winter kills Autumn. And Spring kills Winter.
Jack and Fleur, a Winter and a Spring, fall for each other against all odds. To be together, they’ll have to escape the cycle that’s been forcing them apart. But their creator won’t let them go without a fight.
