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BEFORE THE MANSION.BEFORE THE DISASTER.

EVIL IS BORN.

Sent to investigate a series of grisly murders in Raccoon City, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team scrambles into action. On the way to the scene, Bravo's helicopter crashes. Although everyone survives, what they discover next is gruesome: an overturned military transport truck riddled with corpses -- and that's only the beginning of their nightmare. Bravo Team is about to discover the evil that is growing all around them, and rookie member Rebecca Chambers is beginning to wonder what she's gotten herself into.

273 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2004

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About the author

S.D. Perry

97 books804 followers
SD Perry (Stephani Danelle, by the way, though she prefers SD or Danelle) has been writing novelizations and tie-ins for most of her adult life. Best known for her work in the shared multiverses of Resident Evil, Star Trek, and Aliens, SD is a horror nerd and an introvert. Her father is acclaimed science fiction author Steve Perry. SD lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 286 reviews
Profile Image for Peter Topside.
Author 6 books1,426 followers
September 15, 2021
I read this entire series a few years ago. I am a huge fan of the games and the books are more or less just written adaptations of each video game. The writing is good, but for those not familiar with the video games, these may or may not peak your interest.
Profile Image for Misty Marie Harms.
559 reviews714 followers
December 9, 2021
Our heroes, S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team, find themselves plunged into a nightmare after a helicopter crash to investigate a series of murders in our beloved Raccoon City. Rebecca Chambers, the newest member of the team, finds herself in a situation she has never dealt with. Told through the eyes of Rebecca and Billy we watch the horror unfold. Highly recommend these books!

🐱🐱🐱🐱
Profile Image for Gianfranco Mancini.
2,327 reviews1,061 followers
June 16, 2021


"Che diavolo...?", cominciò col dire Nyberg, e ancora più acqua batté contro il vetro. Ma quella non era acqua, perché l'acqua non rimaneva incollata formando grosse masse oscure, perché l'acqua non sbavava né si apriva per mostrare dozzine di brillanti denti affilati come aghi. Nyberg sbatté le palpebre senza capire minimamente cosa fosse quello che stava vedendo.



Avevo letto i primi sei volumi del Resident Evil di S. D. Perry, autrice americana specializzata in novelizations di vari franchises basati su popolari serie televisive, cinematografiche e videoludiche, quando vennero pubblicati nelle edicole italiane con cadenza bimestrale dalla Mondatori, come costola di Urania.

Molto presto, Wesker si sarebbe incaricato di organizzare un'escursione di entrambe le squadre alla "deserta" tenuta Spencer. Allora avrebbe cancellato tutte le prove, pronto a iniziare la sua nuova, ricca, vita, mandando all'inferno l’Ufficio Bianco e la sua vita di doppio agente, smettendo di giocare con le esistenze di poveri uomini e donne di cui non gli importava affatto.



Potevo farne tranquillamente a meno vista la qualità dei racconti, a mio parere oscillante tra la mediocrità e la sufficienza, ma i primi due Resident Evil occupano a pari merito il primo posto sul podio dei miei videogiochi preferiti di sempre, un gradino sopra i vari Baldur’s Gate e Dawn of War, avendovi dedicato ore ed ore di gioco fino a poter terminare quasi tranquillamente il secondo titolo dell’infinita saga survival horror della Capcom senza neanche effettuare un salvataggio, e quelle copertine erano, diciamolo pure, semplicemente fantastiche.

Rebecca si rese conto che era stato contagiato dalla stessa epidemia che aveva infettato i passeggeri del treno. Non aveva solo l'aspetto di un cane morto, ma sembrava distrutto, con una patina rosso sangue sugli occhi e il corpo simile a un folle mosaico di pezzi di pelle bagnata e tessuti sanguinolenti.



Quando ho trovato qualche mese fa a metà prezzo in una libreria dell’usato questo Resident Evil: Zero Hour, trasposizione letteraria di Resident Evil Zero prequel della serie videoludica di Resident Evil nonché settimo e conclusivo capitolo della serie di romanzi ad essa ispirati, tradotto e pubblicato da Multiplayer Edizioni nel 2011, e di cui ignoravo l’esistenza, non mi è parso vero poter completare una collezione di libri iniziata venti anni fa e di cui mi ero ormai completamente dimenticato.

Wesker si strinse nelle spalle. Era una mutazione, doveva esserlo.
Inusuale, ma non impossibile.
"Ne dubito. Non preoccuparti, William. Nessuno sa niente del tuo prezioso G-Virus". Non era proprio vero, ma Wesker non era dell'umore giusto per consolarlo. "In quanto al treno... chissà, forse il T-Virus si sta adattando molto meglio di quanto pensassimo".




Non certo in cima alla lista dei miei libri da leggere, visti i pochi e non eccelsi ricordi relativi agli altri capitoli della serie letti ormai una ventina di anni fa, ma mancando ormai pochi giorni all’uscita su Netflix della serie animata in CGI Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, che attendo con curiosità più che trepidazione visti alcuni orrendi adattamenti precedenti da parte della piattaforma di intrattenimento streaming video, mi sono detto: “Va bene, leggiamolo. Farà da antipasto.”

Il metallo si lacerava e le scintille brillavano come se fossero fuochi d'artificio infernali. La parete divenne il pavimento, e Rebecca ci sbatté addosso mentre la pesante motrice si schiantava contro qualcosa di ancora più duro e tutte le luci si spensero.




Diciamo subito che pregi e difetti sono gli stessi dei libri precedenti: non aspettatevi un capolavoro ma semplicemente una piacevole lettura di qualche ora caratterizzata da quell’iconica mistura a base di morti viventi, cospirazioni diaboliche, frammenti di diari rivelatori, serie interminabili di porte dietro le quali si celano orrori indicibili, implacabili ed abominevoli Armi Bio Organiche, e malcapitate coppie di eroi che hanno fatto la fortuna della saga videoludica e di quella, decisamente meno riuscita, cinematografica.

La cosa aveva l'apertura alare di un condor, come minimo. All’ultimo istante l'essere fermò la sua discesa, rialzandosi in volo come impazzito e dirigendosi verso l'oscurità nella parte alta del tetto; si era avvicinato quanto bastava perché un'ondata di respiro putrido li raggiungesse, come se fosse fatto di carne marcia.



Non avendo mai giocato a Resident Evil Zero, è stata poi una piacevole sorpresa per me ritrovare fra queste pagine l’inedito duo di antagonisti Albert Wesker e William Birkin in uno dei migliori super villain team-up di tutti i tempi, essendo i due personaggi da sempre due dei miei preferiti: di Birkin e figlia possiedo anche una splendida action figure, trovata per caso ed acquistata ad una fiera del fumetto tenutasi a Roma una vita fa.

I suoi pensieri si rincorsero per indicare ai superstiti di unirsi al secondo falso uomo mentre l'Eliminator si lanciava contro Billy, cercando di colpirlo con i grossi artigli.
Il primate lottò contro l'assassino, e ambedue caddero al di là della ringhiera, sparendo nelle fogne con un grande spruzzo.




Decisamente migliore rispetto ai libri precedenti, al punto che alla fine volevo quasi dargli tre stelle e mezzo di voto, quattro sarebbero state decisamente troppe.

La creatura che sorse dalle macerie non somigliava a niente che Rebecca avesse mai visto prima. Si mise in piedi sopra la pila di detriti e alzò le braccia come se stesse facendo dello stretching,
il che le permise di contemplarlo per intero. Rebecca aveva la bocca completamente asciutta e le mani ricoperte di sudore.
Aveva una voglia disperata di andare in bagno.




Purtroppo un elevato e fastidiosissimo numero di refusi presenti nell’edizione italiana del racconto, lo hanno relegato alla fine, insieme al resto dei libri componenti la saga letteraria, nel limbo delle letture senza infamia e senza lode.

Gli artigli le passarono talmente vicino da permetterle quasi di captarvi il suo riflesso mentre saltava di lato per schivarli. Si lanciò al suolo e roteò sulla spalla, col fucile stretto contro il petto, ed era già in piedi quando la creatura terminò il suo strano movimento.



Come collezionista e completazionista ossessivo compulsivo quale sono, posso comunque ritenermi più che soddisfatto.

Ricordava il dolore di quando era caduto in ginocchio, stringendosi i fori nel petto e nel ventre, ma ricordava soprattutto di aver visto due volti
familiari, quelli degli uomini che entrarono nella stanza, i suoi brillanti discepoli, i suoi migliori allievi, che lo fissavano mentre esalava il suo ultimo respiro.




Profile Image for César Bustíos.
319 reviews112 followers
December 28, 2020
Tal vez algunos recuerden, de alguna u otra forma, la historia de Umbrella Corporation, aquella gigante farmaceútica que intentaba crear armas biológicas mediante la ingeniería genética. Claro, hasta que todo se fue al traste y se salió de control. ¿Ocurrió de manera espontánea o intencionada? Pues bien, eso es de lo que trata este libro, la historia de lo que ocurrió antes de la mansión Spencer y el equipo Alfa de los S.T.A.R.S. de Raccoon City, es decir, los eventos anteriores al plot del primer juego de la franquicia con Chris Redfield y Jill Valentine: "Resident Evil" (1996). ¡Aquí nadie está hablando de las películas!⠀

En esta novelización de "Resident Evil Zero" (2002) viajamos junto a Rebecca Chambers y Billy Coen hasta el Centro de Formación de Umbrella para descubrir el oscuro pasado de la compañia y la historia de James Marcus, el creador del T-virus. Todo siempre con su imprescindible dosis de acertijos característica del juego, sus espeluznantes encuentros y sus asquerosas criaturas.⠀

El desarrollo es entretenido de principio a fin, gran trabajo de Perry para mantener enganchado. Otra novelización que vale la pena el esfuerzo.

Profile Image for Paola C.
538 reviews58 followers
October 25, 2017
He revivido el videojuego pero sin tener que sufrir por quedarme sin munición antes de terminar con esas criaturas (....puaaajjj!!). La verdad es que no me esperaba que se pareciera tanto así que ha estado bien y es una buena forma de saber la historia detrás de los videojuegos para las personas que no somos tan aficionadas a jugar a este tipo de juegos.
Profile Image for hotsake (André Troesch).
1,461 reviews16 followers
December 1, 2021
This is a fun and exciting book and series. Much better than any of the movies and a fair chunk of the games.
Profile Image for Daniel M Caballero.
24 reviews15 followers
February 10, 2019
El libro se vuelve ameno si eres fan de la saga o si disfrutaste de Resident Evil anteriormente, de no ser así y si tampoco cuentas con el factor nostalgia, no es nada del otro mundo.
Profile Image for Terry Mcginnis.
393 reviews3 followers
May 20, 2018
Make no mistake, I am biased with this series. S.D. Perry brought one of my favorite video game franchises of all time to the paperback format, with adaptations of all games from Resident Evil 1 to Resident Evil 0. The only downside to finishing this book was that it was Perry's final.

Zero Hour recounts the events of Resident Evil 0, following Rebecca and Billy through the terrors of Umbrella, leading up to the events of the Spencer Estate. One of my favorite things about author S.D. Perry is her ability to make the illogical, logical. She has a knack for detail, for bringing the reader into the world, and for respecting the Resident Evil franchise. This final book in her series is no different, and when you think about, is a fitting end as it comes full circle to link right up to part 1.

Zero Hour comes with my highest recommendation, as does the entire series. Fans of Resident Evil will find much to love, especially if this series is new to you.
Profile Image for Charlene (Char)🍁☕️📚.
490 reviews23 followers
July 30, 2020
Zombie prequel

I had this book for years and this was my first time reading it. Although I think this book shod be first. This book flows Rebecca Chambers and her intro to the evils of the umbrella corporation.
Profile Image for Robert.
49 reviews8 followers
June 10, 2012
I never did play Resident Evil Zero; although I did own a Gamecube for a short time. The game cube was annoying to me; the stupid design of gamepad and the swapping of the little discs--I didn't keep the Gamecube long enough to own/play Resident Evil Zero.
I am a fan nonetheless of Resident Evil games. I was pleasantly surprised to hear of the existence of these novelizations of the games.

I had hoped for audio-book versions; but they don't seem to exist. So I bought book 0 and book 1 and decided to give them a go.

Zero is the last book in the series by S.D. Perry. It is a prequel so-- I decided to read it first. I have read reviews stating that continuity errors or rife between zero and book 1 because of the order that the author wrote them. One would hope that this isn't a common theme-- I intend to read them all.

I did enjoy this book and finished it quite fast(for me) though it isn't that long. It helped that I already have an interest in the Resident Evil games and the story told in the games. From a non gamer point of view-- I would think they would find the puzzles the characters have to face would be a bit odd; but the author does a good job of explaining why the puzzles are there, eluding to the paranoia and/or sanity of the scientists. It tells the story of Rebecca Chambers and interestingly, a bit of back story; Wesker and Birkin, and hints at Wesker taking S.T.A.R.S members Jill, Barry and Chris into the mansion(the first game)

The book is fast paced and full with stuff you would expect from Resident Evil; if you was playing the game. Zombies, Zombie dogs and other monstrous zombified animals/bio-weaps. Rebecca also faces the Tyrant. The bio-weap that scared the crap out of me when I used to play the Claire character on Resident Evil 2. It always managed to appear suddenly crashing through walls or whatever; making me jump out my skin. So its appearance in the books was pleasant.

Overall. If you are a fan of the games, and you disliked the films due to the lack of comparison to the story in the games; you will like this novelization I am sure. Non gamer; it may not be your scene. But then again....
Profile Image for Sergio Rodríguez.
Author 2 books5 followers
September 28, 2024
Tenía curiosidad por conocer que tan bien adaptarían a novela un videojuego, en este caso el Resident Evil Zero “origen de todo el brote vírico”. Lo cual estuvo a buen nivel de entretención, agregándose poco contenido extra, diese más autenticidad a la novelización,
Me pareció, lo más a destacar, la dinámica entre los dos personajes protagonistas de como iban entendiéndose para afrontar su supervivencia, aun de que, a momentos no parecía transmitirse de forma satisfactoria la tensión, ellos experimentaban al toparse con seres hostiles buscaban devorarles. 3.50 ⭐
Profile Image for Sileny.
134 reviews9 followers
August 12, 2012
Si sabes el ruido que hacen las teclas de una máquina de escribir mientras tienes la adrenalina por las nubes, si sabes como chirría una puerta al cerrarse detrás de ti, si buscas plantas para combinar y hacer medicinas más potentes, si cada vez que encuentras una caja con cartuchos para la escopeta sonríes feliz....Te gustará :P
Profile Image for Dide.
1,489 reviews53 followers
November 26, 2023
Other than some timeline unclear in comparison to events in the first book, this is another great entertaining read.
We have here a prequel and an answer to who started the madness.
Action packed all through!
2 reviews
October 1, 2009
This book is perfect for those who are familiar to the Resident evil series. The only reason I choose this book is that it is based off a horror video game, Resident evil. The main characters of this story are, Rebecca chambers a rookie medic of S.T.A.R.S, which her team was send to investigate the murders reported in Raccoon forest. The other main character is Billy a prisoner caught in the middle of this incident. The bravo team contained Edward, Sully, Enrico, Kevin, and Rebecca. The antagonist of this story isn’t just one person but many, the infected, there body’s contain the deadly T-virus which is able to infect people to create mindless zombies.
The main conflict is man vs. supernatural, the zombies they are like a obstacle for the main characters throughout the story. The main theme of the story is unity, the main characters over come any situation because they are working together. In the story the main characters find to rings that when put together in a lock allow access to the next area, this shows unity and teamwork are necessary to succeeded a objective which the author probably wanted to show in this story.
The book may take a good amount of time to finish but it is worth it. The story is great I enjoy the fact the author puts detail into the story to help the reader understand the events that are happening. I recommend that people who enjoy horror, and mystery, or love the resident evil series to read this book.
Profile Image for Iris.
109 reviews
January 27, 2021
Mi primer lectura del año!!! Y este año, parece ser el año de Resident Evil, así que... nada mal para iniciar el trauma. Pues me faltaban los primeros 2 libros por leer, llevo el cero y pues me encanta cómo está adaptado, la señora tiene mis respetos porque incluye siempre los trucos de los juegos, quizá si las películas hubieran sido basadas en estos libros, pues quizá tendrían más seguidores por parte de los que somos fans de la franquicia (aunque las películas a mí si me gustan, al menos las primeras 3 o 4. En fin, espero que ya al haber leído el libro no me cueste ya tanto trabajo el pasar el juego. No sé si lo deje en cinco estrellas o en 4, pero creo que esta saga va en específico para los que gustamos de los videojuegos.
Profile Image for Erik Castillo.
18 reviews2 followers
March 11, 2018
Excelente complemento de los videojuegos. Esta muy bien escrito y no se limita a narrar lo que uno ve en el videojuego, sino que hace muy buena descripción de los elementos que los rodean, los pensamientos de cada personaje y sus motivaciones, en verdad te hace adentrarte mas y si se siente el terror de una manera mas personal. Sencillo de leer pero bien escrito.
Profile Image for Luis Natividad G.
148 reviews7 followers
January 3, 2021
Interesante trama, para los fanáticos al juego es una historia fiel al juego.. Pareciera que he estado jugando cuando lo leí.. Me. Imaginaba los diálogos y todo... Siempre he dicho que la saga de resident evil tiene una buena trama... Y que bueno que en este libro se vea.. Me agrado bastante.
Profile Image for ♤Nora.
505 reviews29 followers
October 7, 2015
Sin palabras, necesitó todos los videojuegos hahaha
Profile Image for Chris The Lizard from Planet X.
451 reviews10 followers
May 23, 2021
Resident Evil: Zero Hour by S.D. Perry is a video game Novelization Based off Capcom’s video game Resident Evil: Zero. Being an adaptation of Resident Evil Zero, which tells about the fate of STARS Bravo Team, the STARS unit that went in to investigate the mysterious cannibal attacks around the Spencer Mansion just a few hours before Alpha team followed. This is one of the Resident Evil games I didn't play all the way through, so reading it was a chance to fill in some of the gaps in my RE lore.

RE: Zero Hour, Focuses on Rebecca Chambers a child genius, who graduated from college by age 17 and was hired on to the STARS( basically a special police Unit) as a chemical specialist due to her incredible credentials. Presumably she had interesting aspirations for a teenage girl, or maybe the STARS just pay really well...either way, she is the focus of the tale, along with the wanted Military criminal and accused murderer Billy Coen, recently escaped from a military police transfer thanks to the freakish luck of passing through the remote mountains right when some serious zombie smack-down starts off.

Zero Hour is focused on explaining a few lingering plot threads from the original tale, namely what happened in the first place to cause the outbreak of the T-Virus. If you thought this was fairly evident (if not exactly spelled out) from the first game, then you would be right: until Zero Hour the general assumption was somehow, perhaps due to industrial sabotage or sheer ineptitude the virus was released, causing a lock-down at the Spencer Estate and, as it turns out, a previously unseen Umbrella retreat and research compound.

After Bravo team crashes (no helicopter can survive a Resident Evil tale), they spread out to look for evidence as they wait for a rescue from Alpha team. While Rebecca finds evidence of a private transport train to the compound (coming from Raccoon City, presumably) that's been massacred by something spreading the T-Virus, Billy Coen runs into her and they settle into an uneasy truce to survive against the mysterious horrors that are crawling all over the place. As the two explore the train they find evidence of mutated leeches that seem to cooperate like a hive mind, connected somehow to a mysterious stranger. When the train starts up they find themselves deposited at the Umbrella Retreat and Compound, driven to escape the maddening complex by an unseen foe who is bent on helping and hindering them.

Zero Hour is the seventh book S.D. Perry wrote and it is actually very solid, a better read. Despite being subject to the pacing and approach of the game's story line. The net result is a more coherent read, and a chance to see what Rebecca was up to prior to her arriving at the Spencer Mansion and running into Chris Redfield. It also helps to set her up for further adventures in the next novels.
Profile Image for Nelson Almeida.
Author 7 books43 followers
January 8, 2022
Uff, que manera de iniciar mi año lector con esta joyita. Resident Evil es una saga de videojuegos que por años ha sido de mis favoritos, y tener la oportunidad de leer esta novela, la cual se basa en Resident Evil Zero, donde todo el declive de Umbrella da inicio, de verdad que fue un agasajo y un golpe a mi nostalgia, en especial cuando la autora nos obsequia esos guiños del videojuego, como lo son las armas de fuego, la mención de Jill Valentine o los acertijos que deben resolver los protagonistas para salir con vida de aquel siniestro lugar.

El juego en el que se basa esta adaptación no lo jugué, pero sí que me vi los gameplay, y debo decir que la trama se apega de una manera fiel a la original, al igual que las descripciones de los ambientes, sus personajes y, en especial, a las armas bio-orgánicas. Rebecca, a pesar de ser una novata, demuestra fortaleza y habilidad en las horripilantes situaciones a las que se ve sometida, su crecimiento es increíble y de verdad que le tomé mucho cariño a su personaje. Definitivamente pienso seguir leyendo estos libros y así conocer un poco más a Umbrella, sus secretos y el enorme reportorio de virus que tiene a su disposición.
Profile Image for Paula .
295 reviews34 followers
Want to read
December 17, 2014
Recién me entero que hay libros de este juego. Me acuerdo que cuando tenía 10 años o por ahí, intente jugarlo porque mi hermano se lo había comprado, pero cuando apareció el zombie que tenia una motosierra me asuste y me puse a LLORAR (bueno era chica) y desde ese intento fallido solo me divertía viendo a mi hermano jugándolo.
Ahora ya más grande me encantan las historias de terror sangrientas y de hecho The Walking Dead es de mis series favoritas así que tengo que leerlo.
Profile Image for Karl.
111 reviews
May 12, 2019
Oh boy, it's rare that I get to review an unabashedly bad book. It's not really its fault, I know, but that doesn't change the fact that it's bad. Like, really bad.

So let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first: Resident Evil games are not well written. One might even say they're quite poorly written. Resident Evil's relationship with narrative is complicated, distant and at times non-existant. The games are designed around setpieces and then the narrative is slotted in where they could. And the games certainly weren't written with sequels, or prequels for that matter, in mind. So it's a patch work over-arching narrative with instances of narratives put together as best can be.
And, of course, there's nothing wrong with that. Ultimately, a game has to be a game and that's what Resident Evil aims to be. Very few people play the series for the story and mostly to get a bit scared. In theory, a book series, then, would be the perfect opportunity to actually fix a lot of the problems since the actual game aspects of the game aren't there to present an issue. No need to hunt for oddly shaped keys or running back and forth searching every nook and cranny for whatever you missed the first time around.

I say in theory because that's obviously not what happened here. Perhaps I picked the wrong book to start with, despite it being the chronologically first. Based on, probably, the least game of the original five (tied with Code: Veronica), the book is about as engaging as the game itself. The story is just blatantly dull, full of cliches revisited and paper thin characters. That might work in a game where gameplay will always be king, but when you write a book, those things become an issue.
My bias here is pretty clear, that much I can admit. I never cared for the character of Rebecca Chambers and... well, neither did the games. She's in the first game as a supporting character, this one as a main character and then one of the animated movies. This in a franchise that cannot stomach the idea of ever putting a character to rest. She's hopelessly without any sort of real character beyond "Plucky young girl out to prove herself" and never seems to grow out of that either. And then there's Billy who's... honestly, I finished this book a day ago and any sense of his character is already disappearing. He was a soldier and constantly struggled with his heroic nature in the face of things which is not very inspiring to read about. He was sentenced (wrongly, of course) to death for a war crime and... that's about it. I think Billy was short for another name, probably William, but I couldn't tell you for sure. He doesn't appear in any other games or even in connected media. Imagine that.

I just keep imagining how much more awesome the story would be if he was actually guilty but they still had to work together to get through it. That's interesting drama.

From what I can remember from reading this book, it plays out pretty much exactly the same way as the game does. It starts on the train (the only interesting part of the game) then moves into another mansion (a dull repeat of the first game) then downhill (literally) from there. The geography or timescale is never very well established in the book and when you thought loads of time was passing, none really was and then there are strange, sudden leaps of time where you didn't expect it. The whole story takes place over the course of a single night (I think) but when exactly certain things happen in the night is hard to tell. At one point the book establishes that the whole place is going to be destroyed in exactly one hour and then it feels like the two main characters wander about for several more hours.
And because the author chose to skip over a lot of really boring walking, I got the feeling like they were walking miles upon miles. Even the trainride is extremely indeterminate, taking up a pretty hefty part of the book while in reality only taking, at most, an hour.
This stems from the fact that the author didn't trim the story enough. And with that, we run into the issues with adaptations in the first place, especially of games; do you keep the gameplay parts of the game or do you condense the story to fit snugly in a book? And to make the book actually nice to read, do you change things to make better use of the medium?

Well... obviously, yes. I know this point will be contentious but, honestly, there's little you can do to change my mind on this.

When the book actually went out of its way to describe some of the fetch quest puzzles from the game, I audibly groaned. What's even worse? The book includes really unneccessary puzzles but streamlined to such a degree they serve no actual purpose except for a dumb cameo. It even goes out of its way to address this by the villain being in a hurry and so he just hurries things along a bit by leading the characters by the hand.
The book does this with the boss fights from the game as well. At times they're built up as this big, scary thing but most of them are instantly resolved. Not to spoil but two of the four boss fights depicted (not counting the final boss) are just kind of skipped entirely. They're mentioned, the characters get really scared and... run away? And it works? The bosses served no actual purpose other than hurry the characters along a little bit. And I mean a LITTLE bit.

The question I asked myself a lot while reading this was... "What's the point of this?" And that is not a good question to keep asking yourself when the book never gives an answer.

But perhaps what really sinks this book is that the author just didn't write a very good book. The dialog was terrible but that can at least be sort of excused by being inspired by the game where it was even worse. But the inner monolog of the characters is entirely new and that's awful too. I cannot tell you how tired I got of Billy questioning his heroic and "good" nature (you're a trained killer sent on black ops, maybe dial it back a bit with that shit) or how obnoxious Rebecca got with her "take me seriously, dammit"-pouting. Not only does it not jive with her later appearances, which is less the author's fault and more the game series' fault, but she does nothing to earn any sort of growth. Her mood and abilities flip flop like crazy and she only seems capable when the author decides Billy has had too much time to shine.

And boy does Billy shine a lot. If the book was trying to build up Rebecca as some sort of fierce warrior, it spectacularly failed at that because without Billy, Rebecca wouldn't have stood a chance. And as for Billy, considering his awesome nature as a god damned black ops soldier, probably would've made it out way better without Rebecca dragging him into danger all the time.

Neither is it a very atmospheric book. It seems to rely entirely on you having played the game, the descriptions are extremely spartan and very little time is given to actually make anything threatening. Zombies are essentially reduced to a joke here, which is perhaps fitting, but none of the other monsters have any sort of regularity or presence to them to make up for the lack of zombie threat. Most monsters are given brief cameos because they're famous from the games, a singular Hunter makes a "blink and you'll miss it"-appearance towards the end of the book and there was no reason for it (other than it happens in the game, I think). It did have a perfectly good threat in the mimics or false men but despite being built up by the book, they only show up two or three times and are dispatched with little fanfare and relative ease.
There's very little payoff for anything in the book. It seems almost cobbled together from bits and pieces without knowing how they fit together. In one "boss fight", the text makes bloody well sure you know the boss' weakspot and then the book just... ignores it. Skips it entirely and dismisses the boss another way. Then what was the point of that?

There's that question again. "What was the point of that?" I rarely take my media very seriously, I'm in it to be entertained and I'll work hard to ignore things so I can be entertained, dammit. But this is possibly one of the first times that despite my best effort, I couldn't help but to make mental notes while reading it so I could tear it apart sufficiently in a review. I even noted down specific page numbers so I could go back and reread so I could get good and angry again.

This is a bad book. It's just flawed in every conceivable way I can think of. I was quite excited to get into these books, read alternate takes on the events of the first five games and see a different side of things. I thought it obvious that when you adapt something from a game to a book, you have to cut certain parts out. I expected the boss fights to be pulse pounding, nail gripping affairs, not glorified cameos. I expected the plot to be sped along and skip all the room searching and walking back and forth, not puzzles that serve no purpose except to lengthen gameplay, I mean, add to the page numbering. I expected to be given new insights into the heroes and villains, be presented with new, exciting lore and not just agonizing memories of playing a game I never liked.

Instead it's just like the game: bland and poorly written with crap characters but without any of the horror or the gameplay.

If you want a faithful recreation of the game... just play the game. Give this book a hard miss. Maybe like me, the author didn't care much for this game and so couldn't bring their A-game. But from the reviews I've read about the other books, I don't hold much hope.
Profile Image for Amy.
796 reviews
January 30, 2024
●Zero Hour by S.D. Perry●

This book in the Resident Evil series is a prequel to Umbrella Conspiracy, and follows one of my favourite RE characters Rebecca along with a survivor named Billy. I didn't know much about the story in this one since I haven't played the older games aside from RE1, but I found it enjoyable nonetheless.

Rebecca, my girl, is a lean mean intelligent machine. Whilst she may be inexperienced and new to the S.T.A.R.S team, she can still hold her own and uses her brains to figure things out. Billy was an interesting character too, whilst I don't know anything about him, I did like him and loved his interactions with Rebecca.

The story flowed well and had a really fast pacing. Like I've mentioned, I haven't played the game so I couldn't really visualise the places or monsters that well due to the lackluster deceptions and my knowledge, so I'd definitely say you have to know the games in order to fully enjoy the books. I loved the hints at what's to come and learning the reasoning behind the array of puzzles you'll find in the RE universe. The story was pretty simple, and kind of predictable, but it's still a fun read.

The ending wraps up as well as it can considering it's a prequel, and knowing already what comes next makes it even more bittersweet.

4/5 🌟
Profile Image for Jessica.
380 reviews59 followers
November 10, 2018
Tras haberme pasado el videojuego este pasado verano, decidí ponerme con su novela (obviamente no quería leerme primero esta para que me estropease el juego). Y, bueno, que puedo decir. Hablando del videojuego nuevamente para mí no es el mejor o de los mejores de la saga (aunque sí disfrutable, ojo) y, tal como intuía, el libro tampoco se trata de los mejores que he leido de la serie Resident Evil.

¿Motivo? Si bien es una precuela aceptable de la primera entrega, no tiene una historia o momentos demasiado memorables por lo que, obviamente, el libro no puede ofrecer de donde no puede sacar. Aunque a su favor puedo mencionar que tiene buenos protagonistas, y ojalá vuelvan a tener un papel destacado en los videojuegos, ya que por suerte podemos ver a Rebecca de protagonista nuevamente en La Ensenada Calibán (aunque desgraciadamente no es una historia oficial).

En resumidas cuentas, esta novela en concreto de la saga Resident Evil solo puedo recomendarla para los fans de la serie, ya que si alguien ajeno a ella quiere introducirse en esta o en el género en sí, hay mejores opciones.
87 reviews2 followers
September 8, 2022
This was my first time reading this book even though I have read the rest of the series (you know RE Chronology and all). Does it fit perfectly with the rest? Not at all. Does S.D.Perry do her damndest to do the best job possible with Capcom changing the story out from under her like 6 books in? Absolutely. The story retains the same tone and style that I loved about the others in the series which helped me enjoy the Resident Evil story years ago when I was far too afraid to play the games (Who am I kidding, they still scare me)
Overall this book contradicts any other book in the series featuring Rebecca Chambers as well as the first few chapters of Book No.1, that aside I still recommend the entire series.
Profile Image for Carlos.
67 reviews26 followers
July 7, 2018
Comenzamos con la primera novela de la saga de Resident Evil.

Sin duda, la primera reflexión que se puede sacar es que este libro es solo apto para los fans de la saga. Empezar a conocerla con las novelas es una mala opción. La acción a veces es extremadamente lineal intentando imitar la ambientación de los videojuegos y las descripciones y diálogos son pobres.

Sin embargo, su rápida lectura y la ambientación en sí misma es atrayente y adictiva, así que es una buena novela para echar unas horas imbuido en una pesadilla de terror y sangre.

¡Esperemos que la cosa mejore con los siguientes!
Profile Image for Alexander.
32 reviews6 followers
January 15, 2017
Residen Evil 0

Conociendo que se trata de la adaptación del juego del mismo nombre, lo jugué hace tiempo y realmente la pase muy bien en aquel entonces, me he decidido a leerlo simplemente porque quería expandirme mas en el universo de RE y mis deseos se cumplieron el libro es muy entretenido y fácil de leer prácticamente lo leí en dos días, un libro de terror mmm no tanto, ciencia ficción y suspenso si, para ser la adaptación es muy fiel, los capítulos son cortos y no hay historia de relleno va directo a la historia, la relación entre ambos protagonistas resulta realista pero si hubiese preferido que un par de capítulos se profundice la relación Billy y Rebecca ya que los diálogos entre los personajes en parte se volvieron escasos pero es un capricho mio nada mas, ya que del modo que esta narrada funciona a la perfección, por otro lado en cuanto a la parte negativa puedo señalar que falto mas acción con algunos "monstruos" que se encontraron en el transcurro de la historia, esto asumo que al estar basada en el videojuegos no se puede expandir mucho estos encuentros y el final fue algo corto y rápido pero bueno me entretuvo todo el tiempo que estuvo en mis manos, no tengo mas que decir espero leer las otras adaptaciones, me ha gustado bastante, si lo leen y les gusta este tipo de género la pasaran igual de bien que yo, no es necesario conocer previamente la historia de RE para empezar a leer, y bueno entre este y RE1 el orden de lectura puede ser cualquiera ya que este libro y el juego se lanzaron después de la primera adaptación pero recomiendo leer este primero *-*

3,5/5


Profile Image for Anabella (anabellasbooks).
Author 2 books180 followers
June 19, 2017
Me tuvo en vilo hasta que lo terminé y no tenía idea de que no tiene nada que ver con las películas, a menos de que se trate de otra saga relacionada o algo así. Pero al menos aquí está toda la explicación del virus y me gustó
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