compersion & limerence

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Leah Schnelbach</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/">https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817444">https://reactormag.com/?p=817444</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/movies-tv/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Movies &amp; TV 0"> Movies &amp; TV </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/jurassic-world-rebirth/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Jurassic World Rebirth 1"> Jurassic World Rebirth </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><em>Jurassic World Rebirth</em> Is More of a Retread</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">We&#8217;ve had seven movies and still I must ask: WHEN WILL IT BE ANKYLOSAURUS&#8217; TIME TO SHINE??</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/leah-schnelbach/" title="Posts by Leah Schnelbach" class="author url fn" rel="author">Leah Schnelbach</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 3, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div 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9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="329" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-740x329.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="The T-Rex would also like some attention in Jurassic World Rebirth." srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-740x329.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-1100x489.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-768x341.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6-1536x683.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-6.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p><em>Jurassic World Rebirth</em> is a standalone sequel to 2022’s <em>Jurassic World Dominion</em>—a film I did not see. This iterations was directed by Gareth Edwards, and written by screenwriter David Koepp, who co-wrote the original <em>Jurassic Park</em>, and its sequel <em>The Lost World,</em>  also wrote two of my favorite films of the year so far, <em>Prescence</em> and <em>Black Bag</em>, both with director Steven Soderberg.</p> <p>Scarlett Johansson plays Zora Bennett, the guide protecting the mission paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis, and the slutty little glasses he bears on his adorable face. Dr. Loomis is played by Jonathan Bailey, the glasses are played by an excellent pair of glasses. Mahershala Ali, who will always be Blade in my mind even if he never gets to play him onscreen, is Duncan Kincaid, Zora&#8217;s right hand person, and Ed Skrein, Philippine Velge, and Bechir Sylvain round out the team as Bobby, Nina, and Leclerc.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="568" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-1100x568.jpg" alt="Dr. Henry Loomis in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817569" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-1100x568.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-740x382.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-768x397.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4-1536x793.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-4.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(The syringe? Big. The glasses? Captivating.) Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>The mission is set in motion by ParkerGenix wonk Martin Krebs, who is played by Rupert Friend, thus providing a physical manifestation of the question “If not friend why Friend-shaped?” (For a friendlier Friend, allow me to direct you to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn59j75Q1Mc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this recent Wes Anderson fountain pen ad</a>, of which he is the star.) </p> <p>Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is Reuben Delgado (more on him in a minute), whose family is rescued by Duncan after a totally avoidable shipwreck that is entirely Mr. Delgado&#8217;s fault. Mr. Delgado is joined by his two daughters, teenage Teresa (Luna Blaise), and very small Isabella (Audrina Miranda). Teresa’s boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono) is along for the shipwrecking as well, for no reason I can understand, and soon became my second favorite character in the film. </p> <p>I often really love it when a movie is multiple movies in one. I like big swings. I like dissonant tones and jangling character work and mood shifts and weird subplots and tonal cul de sacs.</p> <p>&#8230;when they work.</p> <p>Parts of <em>Jurassic World Rebirth </em>work quite well. Jonathan Bailey’s Dr. Henry Loomis is now my second favorite character in the entire franchise, after Dr. Ian Malcolm, and he and Scarlett Johansson develop decent chemistry over the course of the film. The adventure aspects, when all the characters have to troop through the jungle while all manner of dinos surround them, are fun. And best of all, there are a few moments that reach for the transcendent joy of Drs. Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler first staring awestruck at a herd of dinosaurs all the way back in <em>Jurassic Park</em>.</p> <p>Also, and this might be the bit I appreciated the most, almost everyone in the film is on the same page that the dinosaurs are living, feeling creatures, who deserve to be left alone to live their lives. No one’s here to hunt. There was an almost elegiac undertone here, a feeling that these people, decades after Isla Nublar, know that we shouldn’t have dragged the dinosaurs into our time, and know that the environment is too important for human tampering. This is underscored by the idea, repeated a few times, that most people simply don’t care about the dinosaurs anymore. Bringing them back led to about a decade of excited theme park visits, but now everyone’s Over It.</p> <p>Which is interesting as a springboard for worldbuilding, but I’m forced to ask question: Have any of the writers met a four-year-old, ever? As long as humanity keeps producing four-year-olds, I can think of a way these kooky parks might just stay in business.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="565" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-1100x565.jpg" alt="Rupert Friend in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817566" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-1100x565.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-740x380.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-768x395.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1-1536x790.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-1.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">He&#8217;s great here, but you have to see him in <em>The Phoenecian Scheme</em>. Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>BUT. For the purposes of the film, interest has waned. This is about to leave Dr. Henry Loomis out of a dino job. But the untrustworthy Mr. Krebs has a project: the scientists at his company have discovered that they can synthesize a miraculous heart treatment from the blood of dinosaurs. For some reason that is not adequately explained, they need to get samples from a Land Dino, a Water Dino, and an Air Dino. (I&#8217;m assuming this is story takes place before the Fire Dino attacks.) He collects a team to travel to the Caribbean to retrieve blood samples, with Loomis acting as dinosaur expert, Zora Bennett acting as security, and Zora’s ragtag team of misfits and mercs getting them in and out of a region that is <em>technically</em> legally off-limits to any human, of any nation, for any reason.</p> <p>Obviously nothing’s gonna go wrong.</p> <p>After way too much exposition, and a scene of trauma-info-expo-dump that Johansson and Ali somehow made almost palatable, they’re all underway, and for a little while the film just about works.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the Delgado family are sailing through this off-limits area for reasons that defy reason, and they are on a collision course <s>with wackiness </s>CERTAIN BLOODY DINOSAUR-BASED DEATH.</p> <p>I’m going to do my best not to spoil the film, as I’ve said, but I do have to talk about one thing, &nbsp;and that one thing is that this family, who end up crossing paths with our expedition and becoming co-leads, <em>are being led by the worst cinematic dad I have ever seen</em>. Not the actor! Manuel Garcia-Rulfo does a fine job with the role. But this Dad needs to seriously rethink his Dadding.</p> <p>He’s worse than Sarik. Worse than the dad from <em>East of Eden</em>. Worse than Darth Vader.</p> <p>You have to work your way down the list to King Triton and <em>Leland Palmer </em>to out-do this Dad.</p> <p>The <em>only</em> way his decisions make sense is if he’s actively trying to lose his kids in an “accident” for insurance purposes. &nbsp;</p> <p>This man decides that in order to celebrate the last summer before his teenage daughter goes off to NYU, he needs to sail across the Caribbean with her <em>very</em> small younger sister, and, INEXPLICABLY, her boyfriend, whose only character trait for the first 1/3 of the film is “this boy is so lazy and sleepy all the time it’s <em>incomprehensible </em>that he got off the couch to join them on this trip.” (As I said, he gets better, provides some of the best laughs in the film, and became my Second Favorite Character by the end.) The introduction of the family is mostly just Mr. Delgado being angry at Xavier for not helping out on the boat, but I missed a lot of the nuance because my entire brain was screaming “Why is he on this family trip? Why have you brought your tiny daughter who doesn’t even know how to tie knots yet?? Why are <em>any</em> of you on this trip through the forbidden dinosaur ocean???”</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="458" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-1100x458.jpg" alt="A Mosasaurus does her best impression of an anti-yacht Orca in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817572" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-1100x458.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-740x308.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-768x320.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11-1536x640.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-11.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mosasaurus has long been known as the Orca of the ancient world. Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>And like, <em>what are the sleeping arrangements on this small boat</em>????? On this trip that consists of Dad, Teenage Daughter, Tiny Innocent Daughter, and Teenage Daughter’s Teenage Boyfriend!!!!! This is not a yacht, this is a mid-size sailboat, and <em>there is no privacy</em>.</p> <p>I just&#8230;I can’t think about this anymore, let me get back to Dad’s incompetence.</p> <p>Naturally things go sideways, (“things” = their tiny, tiny boat, and, eventually, Dad’s leg) which means they have to join up with Zora, Dr. Loomis, and their whole crew. But at one point all the people have to split up and trek across Ile Saint-Hubert, where the poor little girl is terrorized into a night catatonic state. And here’s where the dad’s other fuckup lies: he keeps telling them all “It’ll be OK”, “You’re OK”, “The [place I’ve never been to] is only a mile away”—stuff like that. And maybe this is simply my abrupt and unexpected passion for <em>The Pitt </em>speaking, but DON’T MAKE PROMISES YOU CANNOT KEEP. <em>Especially</em> not to terrified children. If you’re in a life-threatening situation, you don’t tell the kids “You’re ok” when they’re obviously NOT, and you don’t tell them places are a specific distance when you have no clue how much they’ll have to walk. Of course you need hope in a situation like that (ummm a situation where you’re on the run from dinosaurs who have been brought back to life WHY WERE YOU SAILING THROUGH THESE WATERS THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER DINO-FREE WATERS) but false hope is just going to be demoralizing in the long run.</p> <p>OK.</p> <p>Thank you for letting me get that out of my system.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="543" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-1100x543.jpg" alt="Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817570" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-1100x543.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-740x366.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-768x379.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5-1536x759.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-5.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Just imagine how cool this character would look in a black leather duster, wielding a sword, killing vampires. Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>As I said, once everyone’s on Ile Saint-Hubert, and they’re evading being a dino charcuterie board, this film can be a fun watch. But even here it’s so tonally jarring that I was pushed out at times. One second we’re fully invested in Dr. Henry Loomis’ awestruck wonder at seeing live dinosaurs in their natural habitat, the next we’re watching little Isabella get menaced by a T-Rex in a scene that verges on trauma porn, and finally tips into emotional manipulation, and I say this as someone who can&#8217;t keep the grin off my face every time I see the “Tim and Lexi are trapped in the car by the T-Rex” scene in the original. But then they have to climb down to a <em>Quetzalcoatlus</em>’s nest, or a Raptor Pack makes an appearance, and all is forgiven again.</p> <p>My biggest issue with the film, other than the inclusion of the Delgado contingent, is that the writing is too expository and repetitive—if it turned out that this was two separate drafts, outlining two separate directions for the franchise, that were then mashed together into one script not unlike an ungainly mutated dinosaur, it would not surprise me. I ended up feeling like we were told almost everything at least twice, but in slightly different way. The same dinosaur is described as being the size of a school bus <em>and</em> the size of an F-16—just pick one! And only tell us once! This is a movie, we want to be surprised when we see it! People repeat their traumas multiple times while different slowed-down variants of John Williams’ classic theme plays—we get that they’re traumatized! Let us stay in the moment! Reuben Delgado tries to act vaguely Father Figure-ish to Xavier multiple times, which like, no! He can do better! Let Dr. Loomis parent him! The film is also at least a half an hour longer than it needs to be. I kept imagining a stronger version, that was simply about a scientific expedition to the island with way less tragic backstory and way more dinosaurs. </p> <p>One thing that works really well, and maybe brings this closer to being a horror film, is that multiple times the audience realizes that there’s a dinosaur lurking near a human long before the human realizes it. This creates an effective sense of dread and menace—there are a few actual jump scares, but a lot of these scenes are just hammering home the idea that <em>the humans do not belong there</em>. They are in someone else’s home, and they need to be polite and get out as fast as possible.</p> <p>We get some greatest hits: <em>Dilophosaurus</em> (The One that Ate Newman) <em>Compsognathus</em> (The Vicious Little Suckers from the opening of <em>The Lost World</em>), <em>T-Rex </em>of course, some <em>Velociraptors</em>, and one way-too-brief appearance by the Objectively Best Dino: <em>Ankylosaur</em>. (Don’t worry, she doesn’t get hurt.) We’re treated to star turns from four newer ones: <em>Aquilops</em>, <em>Mosasaurus</em> (who made such an, um, impression in <em>Jurassic World</em>), a <em>Titanosaurus</em>, and a <em>Quetzalcoatlus</em>.</p> <p>There’s one more dinosaur who gets a big role, but to discuss her <strong>I’ll need to get a little more spoilery, so please skip down a paragraph if you want to go in cold</strong>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="532" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-1100x532.jpg" alt="Things are not going well at the lab in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817568" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-1100x532.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-740x358.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-768x372.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3-1536x743.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-3.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Arrival sequel takes a dark turn. Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>This movie’s big reveal is a mutated creature called a D-Rex, and my question here is a simple one: WHY. WHY WOULD SOMEONE CREATE THIS. WHO SIGNED OFF ON IT. WHY DID NO ONE EVER SAY NO. It’s literally a supersized T-Rex, <em>except with a fucking Xenomorph head</em>. I’m not kidding. I often mention in my review of horror movies that nothing scares me, but, well, we might have found the thing.</p> <p><strong>Spoilers are now extinct! It’s safe to rejoin the review!</strong></p> <p>But by far the best aspect of the film, as I said, is just how much it’s #TeamDino. At one point a merc shows off the neurotoxin darts he’s brought along for protection, and when Dr. Loomis is horrified at them, the merc says “Is this the part where you tell me it’s a crime to kill a dinosaur?” and he snaps back with “No, it’s a <em>sin</em> to kill a dinosaur.” The other mercs smile at that, but it quickly becomes clear that they agree with him more than Mr. Neurotoxin. Dr. Loomis is a proud, enthusiastic nerd, and no one ever barks at him to “Speak ENGLISH!” or rushes him along when he finally comes face-to-face with creatures he’s only seen in books.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="516" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-1100x516.jpg" alt="Dr. Henry Loomis is awestruck while Zora Barrett is pretty nervous in Jurassic World Rebirth." class="wp-image-817567" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-1100x516.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-740x347.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-768x360.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2-1536x720.jpg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jurassic-World-Rebirth-2.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Look how happy he is! Why can&#8217;t the whole movie be this? Credit: Universal Pictures</figcaption></figure> <p>At one point he tells the others, “I want to die in a shallow pool and be covered by silt,” one of the grizzled jacks-of-all-trades sincerely replies with “That’s beautiful, man,” only for Loomis to follow up with “that’s the best chance of fossilization.” Which is a really funny bit, but he means it, and no one makes fun of him for it. Later, when he explains that humans probably won’t last as long as dinosaurs did, and that “Earth will shake us off like a summer cold” everyone just listens to him and accepts it. His nerdery is appreciated and respected, and he and Zora develop a really nice bond over the course of the film that I suppose could become romantic if they make more of these, but as it stands they become two coworkers who like each other as people, and have each others’ backs. Of course, Zora&#8217;s own personality and motivation is all over the map, but at least she&#8217;s a bad ass without being a bully for no reason. (There’s also no weird subplot implying that any of the women in the movie need to get cracking on the childbearing—a plus after <em>Jurassic World</em>!) &nbsp;</p> <p>Does the film stick the landing? Parts of it. The action all culminates in a series of pretty intense, <em>Alien</em>-ish chase scenes, with characters either acting in their own or each others’ interests in ways that make emotional sense, even if they do become a bit ham-fisted. And don’t worry, just as in all <em>Jurassic</em> films, a couple people make truly idiotic decisions that might lead to sequels. </p> <p>But at the same time , does the film really need to exist? Not really. It&#8217;s much, much better than <em>Jurassic World</em>, but that&#8217;s not much of a bar to clear. I just hope that, if filmmakers are going to keep bringing these poor creatures back from extinction, they&#8217;ll come up with more interesting stuff for them to do.[end-mark]</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <p>Note: Comments will be closed through the weekend, and will re-open on Monday, July 7th.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/">&lt;em&gt;Jurassic World Rebirth&lt;/em&gt; Is More of a Retread</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/">https://reactormag.com/movie-review-jurassic-world-rebirth-is-more-of-a-retread/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817444">https://reactormag.com/?p=817444</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Stefan Raets</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-birth-of-a-dynasty-by-chinaza-bado/">https://reactormag.com/excerpts-birth-of-a-dynasty-by-chinaza-bado/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817238">https://reactormag.com/?p=817238</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-vertical"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/fictions/excerpts/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Excerpts 0"> Excerpts </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/epic-fantasy/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Epic Fantasy 1"> Epic Fantasy </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Read an Excerpt From <i>Birth of a Dynasty</i> by Chinaza Bado</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">We shall not forgive. We shall not forget. We will have our vengeance.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/chinaza-bado/" title="Posts by Chinaza Bado" class="author url fn" rel="author">Chinaza Bado</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 2, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-birth-of-a-dynasty-by-chinaza-bado/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" 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items-center hover:text-red" href="https://reactormag.com/feed/" target="_blank" title="RSS Feed"> <svg class="w-[17px] h-[17px]" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="rss feed" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_1051_121783)"> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 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7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="407" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty-header-740x407.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Cover of Birth of a Dynasty by Chinaza Bado." srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty-header-740x407.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty-header-1100x605.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty-header-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty-header.png 1400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>We&#8217;re thrilled to share an excerpt from <em><strong>Birth of a Dynasty</strong></em> by Chinaza Bado, the start of a thrilling epic fantasy trilogy centered around three families’ fight for power in Ahkebulin, a land where magic is feared, giants are real, and prophecy holds sway. <em>Birth of a Dynasty</em> published with from Harper Voyager on July 29^th.</p> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>After witnessing the massacre of everyone he’s ever known and loved, M’Kuru Mukundi, the sole surviving member of the High Noble House Mukundi of Madada, vows revenge. M’kuru flees to a small village where he hides under the guise of farm boy Khalil Rausi… unaware that the real Khalil’s father is the bloodthirsty General of Zenzele army, and under the direction of the King’s scheming son, Prince Effiom, was responsible for the murder of M’kuru’s people. When an imposter claiming to be M’kuru shows up in the village, the real M’kuru—now Khalil—must bide his time amongst his enemies, pretending to be everything that he hates in order to get vengeance.<br><br>In another part of the country where giants roam free, young Zikora Nnamani, the only daughter of Lord Nnamani, knows nothing of political intrigue—she wants little more than to be a fierce Seh Llinga warrior. But a well-known prophecy places too much potential power on her small shoulders, and—as far as Prince Effiom and the King know—she is the only living threat to their dynasty ruling forever. However, when a messenger arrives to “invite” Zikora to stay at the palace, her family is not in a position to refuse. Before she is taken away, she begins The Rite of Blessing, a magical inheritance that she will need to learn how to use, but that may also bring the world one step closer to the completion of the prophecy that Prince Effiom so fears.<br><br>Between scheming ladies at court, backstabbing princes on the prowl, and paranoid kings, M’kuru and Zikora must do what they can, no matter how terrible, to save their people and claim vengeance for their families. But they are just two young people against an entire kingdom—and a prophecy destined to thwart their dreams—and the last thing they can do is trust anyone… even each other.</p></blockquote></figure> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <div style="height:20px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p>“Who are you?” his mother asked with a wide smile. There was no fear or tears, just joy, something he could not understand, not with the sounds of screams from their maids and servants outside, not with the roars of the soldiers as they struck them down. There was so much blood that it produced a stench in the air that made him sick. How could anyone still keep a smile on their face? And yet, his mother, Lady Mukundi, found a way.</p> <p>“Who are you?” she asked again, but he could not answer. Instead, he flinched as he heard another shriek for help outside the door.</p> <p>“I am Neema Mukundi of Madada, the one born in prosperity,” his elder sister, who looked like their mother, spoke instead. Everyone said they looked almost identical, with the same round face and birthmark under their right eye. And although their mother was slightly shorter, and her hair held wisps of gray, her skin had not a single wrinkle.</p> <p>His mother’s dark eyes shifted to him, and she squeezed his shoulders once again before repeating her question softly. “Who are <em>you</em>?”</p> <p>“I am M’kuru Mukundi of Madada, the one who climbs over fear and death,” he answered softly, his voice barely above a whisper. Despite the meaning of his name, all he felt was fear, and all he sensed was death.</p> <p>“So, you <em>can </em>talk softly.” His mother giggled, pinching his ear gently as she always did when he was in trouble or would not listen or when he went around their home yelling. From the day his cries were first heard throughout Madada to this very moment, M’kuru had never once whispered.</p> <p>“Are you afraid, M’kuru? Is that why your voice has become so? I cannot have that. Tell me again. Who are you? Say it with all the air in your chest.”</p> <p>He stood straighter, held his head high, and spoke louder this time. “I am M’kuru Mukundi of Madada, the one who climbs over fear and death.”</p> <p>“Yes. Exactly.” His mother nodded proudly and shook him vigorously. “You are Neema and M’kuru Mukundi, high nobles of Madada, the daughter and son of M’Deba and Esha. You are fierce, steadfast, strong, and born with the wisdom of ages. That is who you are. That is who you will always be. They can never take that from you because it is in your blood!”</p> <p>She squeezed his shoulders tighter than ever, and M’kuru lifted his much smaller hand to hold on to her wrist, squeezing it in return.</p> <p>“My lady!”</p> <p>Four maids rushed in. On their uniform was their family emblem, the Liabrein—the now-forgotten bigger and stronger sister of the lion—with long, curved, saber-shaped canine teeth that protruded from its mouth even when closed. But on their emblem, the Liabrein’s mouth was wide open and its head turned upward. So ferocious—and yet it couldn’t seem to protect them now. The maids slammed the doors closed behind them as they gripped their blood-covered swords. Lady Mukundi did not answer them, never looking away from her son and daughter, not even as the two maids began to pour oil onto the ground and the walls.</p> <section class="wp-block-shop-the-book shop-the-book"> <h2 class="shop-the-book-headline">Buy the Book</h2> <div class="shop-the-book-content"> <figure class="shop-the-book-image-desktop image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="Birth of a Dynasty" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <div class="flex items-center"> <figure class="shop-the-book-image-mobile image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="Birth of a Dynasty" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <h3 class="shop-the-book-title text-h3">Birth of a Dynasty</h3> <p class="shop-the-book-author">Chinaza Bado</p> </div> </div> <button type="button" class="inline-block px-8 py-4 text-center btn tablet:py-3 text-h6 bg-red text-white shop-the-book-button" id="buy_book" data-trigger="modal" data-target="#modal-1751641155" aria-open="false" aria-label="Buy Book"> <span class="inline-flex items-center button-label btn-label"> Buy Book </span> </button> </div> </div> <div id="modal-1751641155" class="shop-the-book-modal"> <div class="shop-the-book-modal-inner"> <button class="js-modal-close absolute top-5 right-5 z-10" type="button" aria-label="close modal"> <svg class="w-[19px] h-[19px]" width="18" height="19" viewbox="0 0 18 19" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="close" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M1 17L17 1" stroke="black" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M1 17L17 1" stroke="black" stroke-opacity="0.2" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M17 17.0809L1 1.08093" stroke="black" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> <path d="M17 17.0809L1 1.08093" stroke="black" stroke-opacity="0.2" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" /> </svg> </button> <div class="shop-the-book-modal-content"> <figure class="shop-the-book-modal-image-desktop image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="Birth of a Dynasty" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <div class="flex items-center"> <figure class="shop-the-book-modal-image-mobile image-cover"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="450" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Birth-of-a-Dynasty.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full" alt="Birth of a Dynasty" /> </figure> <div class="grow shrink basis-0"> <h3 class="shop-the-book-modal-title">Birth of a Dynasty</h3> <p class="shop-the-book-modal-author">Chinaza Bado</p> </div> </div> <p class="shop-the-book-modal-label">Buy this book from:</p> <ul class="not-prose ebook-links ebook-links-shortcode"><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0DL9FRF9Z?tag=tordotcomgeneral-20" data-book-title="Birth of a Dynasty" data-book-store="Amazon"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Amazon</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/7992675/type/dlg/sid/tordotcomgeneral/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/9780063397606" data-book-title="Birth of a Dynasty" data-book-store="Barnes and Noble"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Barnes and Noble</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9780063397613" data-book-title="Birth of a Dynasty" data-book-store="iBooks"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">iBooks</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780063397606" data-book-title="Birth of a Dynasty" data-book-store="IndieBound"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">IndieBound</span></a></li><li><a class="btn" target="_blank" href="https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=9780063397606" data-book-title="Birth of a Dynasty" data-book-store="Target"><span class="inline-flex items-center button-label text-h6 text-white font-aktiv">Target</span></a></li></ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <p>“Break it down!” a voice outside the doors hollered as the other two maids stood before them, lifting their swords.</p> <p>Only then did Lady Mukundi let go of her son, but M’kuru grabbed her hand again.</p> <p>“Come with us, Mother.”</p> <p>“A lady stays with her lord to the very end,” she said, and drew her hand back. She rushed to the end table, tossed it aside, and lifted the floorboards to show them the way down the stairs. “Go, and do not stop for anyone!” she hollered at them.</p> <p>Without a second thought, Neema grabbed her brother’s hand, took the sword entrusted to her by her father, and ran down the stairs.</p> <p>“Mother!” M’kuru yelled back as he was dragged into the darkness. Lady Mukundi’s smile as she watched them go never fell or wavered, and the light from her room was the only thing M’kuru could see as it began to go up in flames of red and orange, the heat from the fire so hot he could feel it on his face.</p> <p><em>Goodbye </em>was the last thing she mouthed to him before the hidden door shut.</p> <p>They ran, hand in hand, in the darkness, and soon that darkness felt like hell even though there was no fire in the passage, because the walls themselves warmed, growing hotter and hotter the farther they went.</p> <p>“We are almost there, Six!” Neema called out to him.</p> <p>She called him Six for the same reason she called her other brothers One, Three, Four, and Five—to tease them, knowing they hated it, and because as the only daughter of the Mukundi family, their baba would allow her to get away with it.</p> <p>He didn’t complain now, glad she was there with him. So focused were both of them on running, and because it was dark—and everything else that lived in darkness sensed the danger and the heat—she did not notice the snake also trying to make its escape until it was too late, and it bit her.</p> <p>“Ugh!”</p> <p>“Neema?” M’kuru called out when she let go of his hand and fell to her knees. “Neema, are you okay?”</p> <p>She unsheathed the sword, stabbing it into the head of the snake. He was unsure how she could see clearly, even in the dark, but Neema always had the best vision of them all.</p> <p>“I’m fine. We need to keep going,” she lied. She didn’t feel fine at all, but nothing could make her feel fine, not in this oven masquerading as a tunnel, so she dragged the sword along the ground with one hand, hoping to scare anything else away, and led her brother with the other.</p> <p>“Don’t worry, M’kuru. We are going to make it out of here. We’ll go south to Winneba. You’ve always wanted to go to Winneba to see the giants, right? Just don’t be scared when we meet them. Apparently, they are a very sensitive people, which makes sense, for their hearts are three times as big. The stories of them eating children aren’t true. They aren’t scary. The giants don’t even eat meat. They are vegetarians.”</p> <p>“How do you know?” M’kuru asked. “You’ve never been to Winneba either.”</p> <p>“I have a friend there. He’ll help us,” she replied, stopping to take a breath and wipe the sweat from her brow, muttering what her baba taught her, “Run north till you smell the fresh water, then push the lever in the walls.”</p> <p>She could smell the water, so she began to feel against the wall until she hit the lever. It burned, the fire enough to make even this metal hot, but she didn’t hesitate, and the ceiling above them cracked open.</p> <p>“Yes!” she cried, happy at the sight of the moonlight streaming in. Hinging her sword, she reached up and pushed as hard as she could, the earth slipping away. She pulled herself out, then turned back and pulled M’kuru out.</p> <p>When they both stood on the grass mound of the Bamboo Forest, overlooking their family home in the distance, they just watched as the fire raged through the house, glowing in the night and eating everything it touched. The crackling was so loud and the heat so harsh, even from where they stood on the hilltop it caused the birds to fly away. The smoke was so black it began to blanket the full moon. But to them, the fire was merciful in comparison to the soldiers, who had dragged anyone within their house out, one by one, and set them on their knees before slitting their throats.</p> <p>“We have to go. We have to go now, Six.” Pulling his arm, Neema tried to turn with him and escape into the forest.</p> <p>“<em>Zenzele!</em>”</p> <p>They both froze when they heard this roar, the hair on their hands rising as their hearts dropped to an even deeper pit in their stomachs.</p> <p>“Baba…” Neema whispered as they both turned back.</p> <p>They couldn’t speak or look away. They just stared at him, their baba, as half his body was engulfed in flames, with arrows in his arms and legs and a deep cut that sliced through his clothes into his chest. The sight of him, still gripping his swords and cutting people down, caused the other soldiers to back up, terrified of him.</p> <p>“<em>Zenzele!</em>” he roared again, with a strength that shook the heavens. Any soldier who dared to step forward was sent straight to hell as his blade cut them down one by one.</p> <p>“<em>Zenzele!</em>”</p> <p>Even when they managed to stab him, he did not fall. He merely removed their swords from his body and fought on. In his mind, M’kuru could not put that man and the man he’d watched only that morning, who spilled his wine over his hands and handed his mother a flower, together with the man at this moment, who no longer looked to be human.</p> <p>“Come!” he yelled to the soldiers. When he stepped forward, the soldiers stumbled back in fear… all but one.</p> <p>The man across from him sat on a large black horse, dressed in scaled red armor accented with silver spikes, one on each arm, one on each shoulder, and two upon his helmet. Upon his chest plate was the symbol of a sun with a spear in the center, and in his hands that very same spear with a crescent blade. The soldiers around him were dressed similarly—without silver but with the same red armor to tell everyone they were part of the Red Sun.</p> <p>M’kuru thought that man in the red and silver armor had to be the Zenzele their baba was calling out to. However, the man moved to the right, showing another man on a horse of white dressed in silver-and-gold armor, and instead of spikes on his shoulders, it was wings.</p> <p>“You.” Lord Mukundi laughed at seeing him. “Tell your father, Prince Effiom—for I swear by my blood that spills upon the earth and the ancestors who watch over us all—your lineage shall weep in agony. You will run to the ends of the earth in fear, and we will find you still. You will cry out for mercy and be given none! The heavens will not forgive, and Madada will not forget! The Mukundi <em>will </em>have its vengeance! This is our oath to you!”</p> <p>Prince Effiom merely waved his gloved hand, and the soldier with the armor of red and silver kicked into his horse, charging forward.</p> <p>“Let’s go, Six.” Neema tried to pull her brother away, but he could not and did not want to look away. He watched as their baba’s head was cut from his body with a single swing of the man’s sword. As Lord Mukundi’s body stood for a moment, part of M’kuru still expected him to fight and not surrender, even headless. But there was a limit to even his baba, and M’kuru watched as his baba fell to the ground alongside his brothers.</p> <p><em>We shall not forgive.</em></p> <p><em>We shall not forget.</em></p> <p><em>We will have our vengeance.</em></p> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p class="has-sm-font-size">From <em>Birth of a Dynasty</em> by Chinaza Bado, published by Harper Voyager. Copyright © 2025 by Chinaza Bado. Reprinted courtesy of HarperCollinsPublishers.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-birth-of-a-dynasty-by-chinaza-bado/">Read an Excerpt From &lt;i&gt;Birth of a Dynasty&lt;/i&gt; by Chinaza Bado</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-birth-of-a-dynasty-by-chinaza-bado/">https://reactormag.com/excerpts-birth-of-a-dynasty-by-chinaza-bado/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817238">https://reactormag.com/?p=817238</a></p>