Just finished reading this novel and I must admit it was very entertaining. I was skeptical while reading it at first, not because it was a novel based from a video game since I'm a big video game fan myself and I know how much plot-lines can be in some of them. But I never knew much of the Gears franchise, but that was because I never played the games before. After this I can safely say that my opinion has changed and I am now an official Gears of War fan.
The plot revolves around several characters namely Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago and Carlos Santiago (the latter of which was killed fourteen years prior). Other characters of worth are Victor Hoffman- the company sergeant, and Bernie Mataki- a retired sniper who happened to be found again during a mission early in the novel. The world they live in is post-apocalyptic; after an event known as Emergence Day (E-Day for short) alien entities known as Locusts surfaced from underground to declare war on mankind. With the human race on the brink of extinction man's last line of defence rests on the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) forces and their front line soldiers known as Gears. The characters listed above are Gears and the book highlights how each of them are dealing with the war and how their life was uprooted after E-Day.
Now the biggest draw of this book is the style. For one it takes place in differeny time periods beginning after E-Day well into the Locust War and then going back to fourteen years before E Day when the Santiagos and Fenix were kids and ended up joining the COG Army. It is a very high tension atmosphere when going back and forth between conflicts and scenarios until both reach that final climax. And to add some garnish there is a quote from one character at the beginning of each chapter to give it some extra personality, heck even the Locust Queen herself was quoted.
Also this book does feel like a war novel, it captures realistic themes like the stress on resources and on society itself. And the seperation between civilian life and Gear Life even going so far as creating a sense of animosity between the two. The battles are pretty intense too, was recommended this novel because of the detailed fights and I'll have to agree the mayhem and gore from the game is indeed right here and described with the frantic flair one would expect in war.
All in all I enjoyed the novel, and I am looking foward to reading the sequel some time in the future. four and a half out of five stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment