I enjoyed the film tie-in "Avengers: Infinity War: The Heroes' Journey" so much that I immediately ordered this. Unfortunately, this was nowhere near as entertaining. The story envisions a meeting between The Collector and his "brother," The Grandmaster. After the power stone explodes in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, The Collector's museum is devastated and he himself is ruined. While he is visiting a low-level pawn broker, he encounters his brother, who is similarly humbled after the events of Thor Ragnarok. They decide to embark on a mini-adventure to obtain an Infinity Stone that is supposedly on Knowhere.

The problem for me was a combination of too much knowledge about these characters from the comics versus how they are characterized in the films. Both are significantly powered down compared to the source material; which is fine for films where they are just minor supporting characters. Their eccentricities make them memorable and fun - for a short period. However, when you make them into the main protagonists, it kinda falls apart. Readers are expected to believe that a being who was prepared to give 4 BILLION units to Gamora for an infinity stone is now penniless and without the powerful influence he once wielded. And the plot is really just a series of loosely connected scenes: the visit a bar, they visit a pawn shop, etc. It was often silly rather than engaging. The ending tried to set up a sequel, but I'm not sure where it can go considering what happened in the Infinity War film. I will read the next book, just out of curiosity, but this one just didn't work for me. A younger audience (which I admit is the intended audience) would probably be less critical. ( )