Since reading Aspho Fields
Ive had the opportunity to chat to an adult player of the Gears of War
game. He told me that the one thing he didnt like about video game spin-off books
was when all they did was to repeat the story of the game. Assuming hes not the only
one, then thats another thing that Traviss has got right with the Gears
of War books. Aspho Fields dealt mainly with
events prior to the setting of the game interspersed with events occurring between the
game and its sequel. Jacintos Remnant is mainly set after
the conclusion of Gears of War 2, dealing with events after the
flooding of Jacinto, following the survivors attempts to build themselves a new
home, while fending off the last of the Locust. This is interspersed with the story of how
the Hammer of Dawn was used to destroy most of the Locust infesting Sera
and a lot
of the people too. This novel seems somehow more relaxed than Aspho Fields,
with Traviss having a lot more freedom as she leaves the storyline of the game behind her,
and starts to explore what happens next. The whole issues of how the Stranded came to be,
and what is to be done about them, now the Locust are gone, are the focus here. And it
makes an interesting and exciting war story, even for those of us who havent played
the game.
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