Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand

Jacintos Remnant Gears Of War:
Jacinto's Remnant
by Karen Traviss
Orbit

Supplied for review by Hachette New Zealand

Reviewed By: Jacqui Smith

Since reading Aspho Fields I’ve had the opportunity to chat to an adult player of the Gears of War game. He told me that the one thing he didn’t like about video game spin-off books was when all they did was to repeat the story of the game. Assuming he’s not the only one, then that’s 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. Jacinto’s 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 haven’t played the game.

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