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Book Review: Diablo III: Heroes Rise, Darkness Falls

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Heroes Rise Darkness Falls reviewI am not sure how I missed the word on a couple of Diablo III e-books, but I did and I rectified the matter before I went on vacation. They were both super, super short, and I managed to read them on the plane rides to and from Colorado. Diablo III: Heroes Rise, Darkness Falls is a collection of short stories that takes place right before the star falls in the opening of Diablo III. The stories are as sweet as they are short, and they truly focus on the psychological horror that the game attempted to emulate, and yet did not because it’s too darn easy to skip through all the dialogue.

Many of the short stories are about the six classes available in the game, and how they became involved in the upcoming events for Diablo III. Several of them ended with the falling star and the main character heading off to New Tristram to check it out.

While those were fun to read, especially considering the genders the writers chose for each class, it was the last two stories that were the best out of the bunch. The last two take place in the world of Sanctuary right before the star fell, but they have nothing to do with the classes or even the main characters of Diablo III. These are two extremely twisted tales from this world that show how horrific Sanctuary truly is with the demons and angels constantly battling over it.

“Theatre Macabre: The Dark Exile” really explores the psychological horrors of Sanctuary, and taps into the king of all psychological horror–Edgar Allen Poe. I personally compare this story to “Telltale Heart”, but it’s definitely not a copy of Poe’s famous short story. Definite inspiration from Poe and his tale, but there’s more than enough Diablo to make it unique, and almost more terrifying.

“The Hunger” is not psychologically horrifying, but it’s more of the gory horror Diablo III presents at every turn. Remember those barrels of heads in the Mad King’s castle? The undead minions that could still crawl toward you even with their bottom halves missing, entrails dangling and all? “The Hunger” is the most visceral of all of the short stories, and probably should be avoided if you have a queasy stomach. There’s no way I could have read this one while pregnant, when I couldn’t handle gory violence in the slightest without getting sick.

While Heroes Rise, Darkness Falls is not required reading for the Diablo III game, it’s a nifty little insight into the world of Sanctuary that can be read at any point. No other books are necessary before delving into this short collection. That said, I cannot recommend this e-book enough for those who enjoy the Diablo-verse, or who enjoy psychological horrors, period.

Metro 2033 Book Review

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Metro 2033 bookI never played the video game Metro 2033 or even Metro: Last Light. They’re both horror games, so my natural reaction was to avoid them like the plague. However, when I heard that these games were based on a book, I was instantly intrigued about the book. I knew very little about the video games, other than they took place in a post-apocalyptic world where the inhabitants fled to the underground subway systems to escape nuclear fallout. And as video games do, there are monsters in the metro that need killing or something, and if they see you, they’ll kill you on sight. The games always reviewed okay, but they never really offered anything new. Yet, I still wanted to check out the book. I started the Metro 2033 book several times and then put it down, because Russian literature is the driest form of literature on the planet. This time I forced myself to forge ahead. I was going to finish it or rage quit it for good.

While I did finish the book, it’s incredibly difficult for me to recommend. On the one hand, the philosophy behind life in the metro is profoundly deep and can apply to everyone and everything. On the other hand, so much was not explained that I can’t let go. On top of that, Russian literature is extremely dry.

We don’t know exactly how long it’s been since the bombs fell in Russia, but there are enough elderly residents who remember the days on the surface to suggest it’s only been about 20 years. The protagonist, Artyom, does not remember life on the surface, although he most likely was there as an infant. He’s living as comfortably as possible at the VDNKh metro station, doing what he and the others can to survive day to day. As we can’t have an interesting story with Artyom hanging out in his comfort zone, he is tasked on a secret mission to travel several stations away and warn Polis of the impending problem with the “dark ones” around VDNKh. Throughout this insane journey, Artyom comes across all types of people, all types of governments, and several supernatural encounters that are never explained.

For instance, early on in Artyom’s quest, he travels with a young man who asked him to find out what happened to a few of his friends as they traveled to a neighboring station. Along the way, this companion suddenly starts to mutter nonsense and swivels his head around to Artyom so sharply, he breaks his neck. No one ever explains this incident. It’s never once investigated. No one has a reason for what happened or why it happened.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only time something weird happens in the metro tunnels that is never once explained. The author may not have explained any of it because there is no explanation for the weirdness that would inevitably happen after a nuclear war. However, in a post-apocalyptic novel with a realistic setting, I really craved such logical explanations.

That aside, as I said earlier, the philosophy underlying the entire book was as fabulous as it was dark. The sad state of array across the metro stations, from the paranoid citizens to the fascists to the communist revolutionaries to the stations run by gangs to the stations trying to live in peace, is an incredible presentation of our own lives and nations above the metro. I could easily see how the politics of the metro reflect our own political situations, which is downright scary indeed.

In addition, the completely unexpected reveal at the end, literally at the very end, gobsmacks the reader in the face about the true nature of humanity. Humankind has been forced to run into the ground due to war and violence, and what does every station have in common? How does each and every metro citizen cope with a problem? It’s unfortunately the same reason why they live in the metro to begin with. It was only these last two pages of the novel that turned me away from disliking the book entirely.

I don’t regret my time with the Metro 2033 book, but I can’t recommend it either without a whole lot of caveats. Be prepared for it to start super slow. Be prepared for a boring writing style. Be prepared to have very few things explained. And be prepared for a dark, yet realistic look at mankind.

Book Review: Halo: Hunters in the Dark

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Halo: Hunters in the DarkAs we approach the release of Halo 5: Guardians, the extended universe is also approaching the story-line of the game. The odd thing about Hunters in the Dark, is if you asked me when I finished reading the book what I thought the book was about, I would have given you a different answer than I will now. Since I’ve kept myself secluded from spoilers regarding the story of the next Halo game, I had no idea that one of the characters is a main character in the game. So I suppose that Hunters in the Dark has two underlying main plots, and after you see that, it’s hard to see much else in the book. One of the main flaws of the book is that it felt like two different stories were written and are wrestling one another for the spotlight. Apparently, that’s exactly the case.

The main, over-arching plot summoned Spartan-IVs and Sangheili to work together to stop a countdown that will fire all of the Halos and wipe out life across the galaxy. You know, that thing that Master Chief John-117 has been trying to stop since the very first Halo game. Since all of the rings are counting down, they assume the signal is coming from the Ark, that other thing Master Chief destroyed. He likes destroying Forerunner things. ONI agrees to team up with a group of the Arbiter’s trusted people and send a few Spartan-IVs, a few marines, a couple of scientists, and an ONI researcher who specializes in Sangheili relations. This specialist is Olympia Vale.

I’ll let that sink in for those who haven’t been avoiding Halo 5 spoilers.

Not much of this team seems like it would work together, and the writer seems to have known this, as he injured the commanding officer immediately, sent Vale away, and then split up the Spartan/Sangheili/scientist partymembers. As they each work out who set the countdown in the Ark and why, it’s hard to not get the sense that the writer split everyone up to either pad the story. If not for padding reasons, then it’s because the writer wasn’t sure how to make sense of everything he needed to get out there.

Vale’s character was especially awkward and stuck out the most amongst all of the other characters, and it’s not only because she was summoned away from the thick of the action to have a little chat with the other inhabitant on the Ark. She’s described as someone who had to survive on her own as a child and learn to speak Sangheili out of necessity, but then she’s described as a suit for ONI, someone who isn’t that badass after all. When the team is attacked upon landing, she is knocked out quickly and then summoned. Then at the end, she becomes that badass fighter out of nowhere and is encouraged to become a Spartan. (Yes, I know, you can shut up now.) It’s very disjointed, to say the least.

The overall story is entertaining and does a fantastic job of showing really how much the Librarian is not the wonderful Forerunner she appears to be, not to mention how awful the Forerunners were. (If you don’t believe me about the Forerunners, go read the Forerunner Trilogy and see for yourself.) I did enjoy the book, but the forced meshing of the plot and characters left the entire experience rather discombobulated. It’s not one of the best Halo novels, that is for sure.

It’s a good thing that Hunters in the Dark is a good book and not a terrible chore, as this is the only way a Halo fan will learn how one Spartan on Locke’s team became a Spartan. I also hope that these Sangheili return in Halo 5. I enjoyed learning more about them than any of the Spartans.

Book Review: Halo: Saint’s Testimony

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Halo: Saint's TestimonyI’m on a quest to complete all of the Halo books before Halo 5: Guardians releases in October. I finished three older books while on my vacation last week, allowing me to finally get back on track with the latest releases. Next up is a short story, Halo: Saint’s Testimony by Frank O’Connor, the series director. He’s the one who is essentially in charge of all of the Halo lore and making sure it flows between games and makes sense overall. I’m guessing he tapped out for Halo: Reach, but that’s a whole different diatribe. Point is, this is the first time he’s actually written a piece of Halo extended lore himself. Saint’s Testimony took awhile to warm up, but the climax gave me absolute chills, something that hasn’t happened with a book in a long, long time.

Saint’s Testimony features a smart AI, like Cortana or Roland, who is at the end of her seven-year set life cycle. As Cortana discussed throughout Halo 4, and what several AIs have mentioned numerous times throughout the books, a smart AI starts breaking down into rampancy at around 7 years. To prevent the AI from losing any pertinent data or literally going insane and destroying data, the UNSC has a policy in place to essentially kill the AI on its 7th birthday. Iona is now 7, and while she should have the plug pulled on her, she filed a claim with the UNSC court that she shouldn’t be terminated. Even crazier, she’s appealing to the idea that she is alive and has a right to live.

Unlike Cortana, she has no signs of rampancy, and therefore, why shouldn’t she continue to live and fulfill her duty?

It’s an interesting premise and one that really delves into the morals of the lives of AI, but not much about Iona’s testimony in the court of law grabbed my attention. She made her appeals to show how she is like a living and breathing entity (emphasis on “like”), and even goes as far as to show everyone in attendance her dreams. Yes, I admit I thought of Space Odyssey: 2010 and HAL-9000 asking if he would dream. And then I snickered, which completely killed any mood O’Connor was setting for Iona’s testimony.

What snapped me back in was everything that happened after the court hearing concluded. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I won’t say anything else about the plot. Those events, however, gave me chills. I know I said, “Oh my God!” out loud at least three times in reading the final pages. I can’t get out of my head what was revealed in those last pages. It will haunt my thoughts for years to come, and I already know I’m going to have to read this short story at least one more time to garner everything I can from it.

I am dying to know how this will impact future Halo games or future Halo extended lore. O’Connor has opened a completely new sub-plot that Cortana was only knocking on in Halo 4, as well as Karen Traviss in her Kilo Five trilogy. I have a feeling that Halo is going to go down a far darker path than Bungie originally intended, but considering where the series started, I think this is a glorious thing to happen to the series.

Despite how amazing I think this short story is, I cannot recommend it for everyone for one reason and one alone: if you have not read Traviss’ Kilo Five trilogy, the big revelation will mean absolutely nothing to you. For everyone who has read the Kilo Five trilogy and played through Halo 4, Saint’s Testimony is required reading.

Don’t gripe too much; it’s only 30 pages and only costs $.99. That’s a small price to pay for something that will most likely blow your mind.

Book Review: Halo: New Blood

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Halo: New Blood REviewAs Halo 5: Guardians looms closer, I realize I have plenty of Halo books to catch up on, and I don’t mean just older books, of which I have three. Two Kindle books have released as well as one other “proper” print book since Halo: Broken Circle. The first e-book, Halo: New Blood by Matt Forbeck, was probably one of the fastest reads I’ve had in a long time. However, simply because it was a fast read does not mean that it was badly written or had a bad story. In fact, fans of a certain ODST named Buck will greatly enjoy New Blood.

Since Buck will also star in Halo 5: Guardians, I wouldn’t be surprised if New Blood is “required” reading for the game. The story is told by Buck, from his first-person perspective, and it opens up a lot of perspective upon his role in Halo 3: ODST as well as his relationships with that team. Several questions were answered that I personally had, and for all those who want to know about the others from the team, such as the Rookie, Dutch, and Romeo, and what they have done since that game, all of that is detailed as well.

Buck tells his tale in a bit of a pulp fiction format, in that he starts off explaining why a certain mission went awry, but then he breaks off on tangents to delve even more into the backstory. The flow of it is handled flawlessly, and it comes across brilliantly as someone who is telling a rather long story. When was the last time you told a long story without breaking off into tangents to further explain something? If you’re able to do so, you deserve a cookie. I, for one, am not.

The book is rather short, but that’s not entirely what makes it a fast read. Buck’s tale is bloody fascinating. Like most stories orally told, his is nonstop action with very little exposition and downtime. I only stopped reading because my eyelids grew heavy at night when the clock reached midnight. Because the story was such a page turner (or screen swiper, as it was in this case), it only took me about two days to get through. No part of Buck’s tale could be described as boring, unless you’re a stoneheart who doesn’t enjoy tinges of romance. These don’t happen very often in the Halo-verse, and I am rather pleased that Forbeck elaborated upon Buck and Dare’s relationship that was only hinted upon in Halo 3: ODST.

I do have to add, even though you’ve probably already gathered this much, that no one should read this without playing Halo 3: ODST (or the wiki, you dirty, lazy cheater) beforehand. None of the characters are “introduced;” it is quite assumed that the reader is very familiar with all of the characters within.

If it wasn’t an e-book, I’d say it’s a great beach read, but it’s hard to justify taking a Kindle or iPad or Surface to the beach where it could get ruined. It’s a great vacation book; how is that? Oh, and yes, Halo: New Blood is a must-read for everyone who has played Halo 3: ODST, regardless if it truly becomes required reading for Halo 5: Guardians.

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