The Sword and Laser discussion
What Else Are You Reading?
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Any fans of tie-in fiction?
I was a big Dragonlance book fan when I was younger. Some of them still actually hold up, too, just depends on the author. Many of the Star Wars/Star Trek books are really good too.I also dip into video game book territory. The Halo, Starcraft and Mass Effect books are all excellent, easily holding their own against the standards of the genre. The Resident Evil series... well, they're mostly too tied to the game play of the actual games of the series, but I have to admit they're kind of a guilty pleasure.
I've really enjoyed the tie-in books and now the comic for the Dragon Age series. So...much...backplot. :D I love back story, the more the better. I think the novels have really enriched my gaming, too.
There are books based on video game worlds, too, that count, like the Mass Effect books and the Halo books. I haven't read any of them, but I like to think of them as gateway books (like gateway drugs). I've seen where people who don't typically read or don't typically read sci fi and/or fantasy get into the genres because of reading those types of books, genre books set in the world they already know (and in theory love).
The Dragon Age book by David Gaider aren't half bad but these are merely supplementary material to the game. You can't put overly epic stuff that can get in the way of players' choices in the main storyline. And that sucks (for me). I read the first two Mass Effect books by Drew K. but I heard the latest book by Nylund (Deception) was horrible and contained many inaccuracies. Books based on Blizzard games are quite good too but they tend towards younger audiences I feel.
It makes sense that Drew Karpyshyn's books would be more accurate; he was the lead writer on the Mass Effect games, so he's most familiar with all the lore. He also has access to all their collected lore material.I haven't tried any of the Dragon Age ones. They're awesome games, as good as Mass Effect in their way, but playing Mass Effect first spoiled me; I can't get past the fact that Dragon Age isn't fully voice-acted. Silly, I know, but there you go.
I'm a huge Star Trek fan, so that's my go-to tie-in fiction. I've also read a lot of the Star Wars books and a few Forgotten Realms ones. I'd like to read some Wrhammer but frankly it intimidates me a bit.Also, not five minutes ago my friend made a Goodreads account and was wondering how the hell he was gonna list all the tie-in fiction he's read.
I have never bothered with tie-ins, but a month ago I gave a try to BioShock: Rapture because it was written by one of my favorite old cyberpunk authors, John Shirley. It was absolutely fantastic, I thought. A vast amount of the implied philosophy. history, and character development only hinted at in the games is expanded in the book, which basically becomes sort of the flip side of Atlas Shrugged. It didn't sell me on trying more tie-ins for things I like, but I admit that my prejudice was proven to be somewhat misplaced.
I LOVED the dragon age books by David Gaider they added so much more to the whole world and back story of certain characters and events. Im looking to read the Mass effect books next, not sure what else classes as tie-in
I have read quite a few of the AD&D Forgotten Realms books and the main ones of the Dragonlance series. Like Gord, I read the Resident Evil series as a sort of guilty pleasure. Those were hard to find, so tracking them down was an interesting exercise in itself.
Agatha wrote: "I'm a huge Star Trek fan, so that's my go-to tie-in fiction. I've also read a lot of the Star Wars books and a few Forgotten Realms ones. I'd like to read some Wrhammer but frankly it intimidates m..."What do you find intimidating about Warhammer? The sheer amount of lore you have to acquaint yourself with? The Gotrek and Felix series by William King are rather newbie friendly and there are wiki's out there for readers to familiarise themselves with the universe.
I think people are tired of too much tie ins is the reason so many of D&D novels, not only Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance, been the biggest, even after they get reprinted goes out of print. Also there are too many to keep track.
I love tie in stuff. My biggest collection is Star Wars. But my best friend got me into Dragon age, which led me to Mass effect. I have read all the DA books and loved em, next I am going to get into the Mass Effect ones. Wonder if they will do anything on Skyrim.
What do you find intimidating about Warhammer? The sheer amount of lore you have to acquaint yourself with? The Gotrek and Felix series by William King...Yeah, I think that's it. There just seems to be so much of it. But I'll definitely check out the series you recommended.
My main tie-in love is Star Wars. I've almost read them all and though there are some bad ones there are quite a lot of good ones.One of the worst tie-in books I've read was a Doctor Who one - Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles. An absolute piece of crap.
Always been a fan of the Star Wars and Trek fiction, even though the Star Wars novels are mostly "meh" right now. I was a fan of Dragonlance early on.
I've enjoyed the first two novels setting up the Guild Wars 2 story (with a third due out later this year).
I've read some other tie-in stuff here and there; but those are the main properties I enjoy.
Kim wrote: "My main tie-in love is Star Wars. I've almost read them all and though there are some bad ones there are quite a lot of good ones.One of the worst tie-in books I've read was a Doctor Who one - Do..."
I thought that the worst for me was "The Crystal Star" and Splinter of the minds eye" The best or at least some were up there with them were the X-Wing series, and the Republic/Imperial Commando series. Its just ashame wat Lucas did to Karen Traviss.
I used to not bother after reading some pretty bad tie-ins a long time ago but I'm prepping to run the Dragon Age tabletop rpg and have decided to read the tie-in fiction... so far I'm loving it! Only halfway through the first one but will definitely be ordering the others. It's got me thinking about going into some other universes that I love but as has been said - I feel like jumping into tie-ins is like jumping in above the Marianas Trench. I love D&D and Trek but the sheer volume of content and sifting out the good from the bad is a bit daunting.
Jill wrote: "I used to not bother after reading some pretty bad tie-ins a long time ago but I'm prepping to run the Dragon Age tabletop rpg and have decided to read the tie-in fiction... so far I'm loving it! O..."Some tie-ins are just recipes for disasters. Fortunately, Dragon Age novels are safe in the hands of David Gaider, a very competent writer.
I totally understand your apprehension. It's been years since I started reading Forgotten Realms but I still have to visit lore wiki's extensively from time to time. I only do so for curiosity though. Books from R.A. Salvatore and Paul S. Kemp basically walks you through the lore. I can't say the same for most Warhammer Fantasy and 40000 books, though. But if you ever have the time, I can promise that the rich universe will entertain you to no end.
Charles wrote: "I'm personally enjoying the Pathfinder line of novels. It's D&D with a mission statement."I've just did a cursory check on Pathfinder and the races are astonishingly identical with Forgotten Realms. Any personal recommendations? I'm leaning towards the Dave Gross books, which sound like a pseudo Holmes story.
Jill wrote: "I used to not bother after reading some pretty bad tie-ins a long time ago but I'm prepping to run the Dragon Age tabletop rpg and have decided to read the tie-in fiction... so far I'm loving it! O..."Aaah, I'd love to know how that goes (sorry for the slight derail - it is a spin-off of sorts, though!). We're playtesting 13th Age at the moment alongside our regular 3.5D&D, but my GM is defintely open to running Dragon Age at some point. Most of us have played the video game but I think I'm the only completely addicted fangirl; the RPG is the only thing I've not seen or read so far.
Matthew wrote: I've just did a cursory check on Pathfinder and the races are astonishingly identical wit..."As a backgrounder, when Wizards of the Coast moved to 4.0 of D&D, Paizo (publisher of Pathfinder) modified the existing 3.5 rules, so the races are the same as those you'd find on the 3rd Edition Player's Handbook (close but not quite identical to what you'd find in Forgotten Realms).
I liked Death's Heretic by James L. Sutter and the soon-to-be-released Song of the Serpent by Hugh Matthews.
They also have web fiction (free!) at http://paizo.com/pathfinder/tales/serial
Try Krunzle the Quick as it features the same character in Song of the Serpent...
When the tie-in fiction is done well, I love it. II mean, for example, I love the Drizzt series from RA Salvatore. I also like a lot of the Warhammer 40,000 stories out there. I mean, sure, there's a lot that's bad. But there's also quite a bit of good in it.
I am generally not a big fan of tie in stuff but some of the Warhammer 40k books that I picked up from the library were actually pretty good - a great example being Horus Rising - the Horus Heresy series seems pretty good overall
Yeah. Horus Heresy is generally really good. Just be forewarned. After the third book of the series, the storytelling goes wildly non-linear. It's partially because the first three books pretty much cover the heresy from the perspective of just Horus's legion.
Horus Heresy is the beast. Non-linearity is an issue to some, I suppose but there're 18 legions bro, and I rather Black Library do it right and cover all the perspectives (though I might have to wait YEARS before the Siege of Terra happens).
That was actually in one of the initial audiobooks where Rogal Dorn was planning for the possibilities of what could happen depending on how the heretics attacked.
I really liked the D&D novel Knight of the Black Rose.A simple premise, Lord Soth from Dragonlance and Count Strahn Von Zarovich from Ravenloft beating the crap out of each other.
I started early -- I have the original red/blue/green cover Dragonlance books. These days I keep sampling them because they're exactly the sort of thing I'd love to read if they were done well. Unfortunately, that's not always the case . . .Some of the Eberron books were pretty good, though, especially those by Keith Baker. I've also enjoyed William King's Gotrek and Felix books. And the Pathfinder books do look worth checking out.
Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms were the series that cemented my love for fantasy, and though I don't read tie-in fantasy any more, I still get misty and nostalgic when I see my old paperbacks on the shelf.
I read a lot of Dragonlance as a kid but I found that once I got past the Weis / Hickman penned stuff it wasn't nearly as good. I also read a lot of Forgotten Realms stuff which was of widely varying quality. Lastly I read Gary Gygax Gord the Rogue books. It was after he left TOR or whatever company was in charge of D&D but it still felt like a D&D novel.
Rik: Gygax left TSR.But some of the Gord novels (and one previously unpublished if I'm not mistaken) were reprinted by Paizo.
Actually, Paizo reprinted some of Gygax's other fantasy novels. When he left TSR, he founded New Infinities, and they published all of the non-TSR Gord books. (My favorite was probably Sea of Death -- I think there was some serious Mary Sue going on by the end of the series.)
The only other tie-in fiction I've been reading lately is not sci-fi or fantasy but rather the Castle books based on the TV show. Pretty good idea for them and they are actually well written. Apart from the graphic novel I read...
Jebus, I didn't realise that I got mentioned in the podcast. Looking at my situation now, I have to agree with Tom.I did mention this above, but after I started reading tie-in, the relationship between me and Black Library have become a sort of dangerous, soul-sucking marriage. I've become very content with whatever Black Library churns out until I'm less willing to go out and experience new universes. I make it a point to explore once in a while (Read Dead Harvest and The Forever War lately and I really liked them), taking a couple of mistresses, but sometimes I tend to rush through these books, start getting guilty and eventually return to Black Library to beg for forgiveness and then bargain my soul away again.
I'm happy with my reading life now but that's probably because I'm not a very adventurous reader.
When I was young, I really enjoyed the Dragonlance stuff.As an adult, the only tie-in books that kind of hooked me were the "Splinter Cell" stories. Yeah I know, I know. What can I say; it's a guilty pleasure.
Casey wrote: "When I was young, I really enjoyed the Dragonlance stuff.As an adult, the only tie-in books that kind of hooked me were the "Splinter Cell" stories. Yeah I know, I know. What can I say; it's a g..."
I once considered reading Splinter Cell books, but I was warned away by a friend because the books weren't written by Tom Clancy himself and he wasn't really happy with that.
Matthew wrote: "I once considered reading Splinter Cell books, but I was warned away by a friend because the books weren't written by Tom Clancy himself and he wasn't really happy with that."It's a fair point. But I really really liked the games, so I didn't care. I admit it, the books aren't the greatest but they extend the story of the game and that's what I was jonesing for. I can't help but think that if Tom Clancy had decided to write the books himself, it would have benefitted his career more than the books he actually wrote instead.
Casey wrote: "Matthew wrote: "I once considered reading Splinter Cell books, but I was warned away by a friend because the books weren't written by Tom Clancy himself and he wasn't really happy with that."It'..."
I think the dude has always intended it to be a video game story and probably thought that paper was not a suitable medium for this story.
Stephen wrote: "Just started reading Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy [terrible name] I have also read the first HALO book "The Fall of Reach" which was OK. Have always been quite sceptical when it comes to tie-in bo..."The guys above are fans of Mass Effect books, but I'm not really fond of them. Don't let me stop you though, I just don't really get the lore in general. I think the Dragon Age books from David Gaider are awesome though. Halo books were the love of my life in my teenage years but fans weren't happy with the 2nd book by Eric Nylund because it's just a novelisation of the first game and does nothing to expand the universe.
I thought the Star Wars books from the Clone Wars era were mostly pretty good although I got tired of having to include Obi-Wan and Anakin in every single significant event of a galaxy-spanning war.I also liked the Dragon Age books although I think the third one in particular, while very well-written, won't mean as much if you haven't played the games.
Joseph wrote: "I thought the Star Wars books from the Clone Wars era were mostly pretty good although I got tired of having to include Obi-Wan and Anakin in every single significant event of a galaxy-spanning war..."Yeah, it takes place post-Dragon Age 2. Once again, Bioware books are merely supplementary. People who don't bother playing the games will not enjoy the books as well. The third books also plays a dangerous game with the canon. I've only tasted a few chapters but there are characters making an appearance here who you could CHOOSE to have killed off in the first game. Players who take the evil options may not be happy with this interpretation of the canon.
Alice wrote: "I'm reading the dark elf trilogy at the moment, and liking it very much. But otherwise, I don't have much experience in the category."The Dark Elf trilogy totally changed my life as a teenager. It's the first time I've delved into fantasy.
Stephen wrote: "Matthew wrote: "Stephen wrote: "Just started reading Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy [terrible name] I have also read the first HALO book "The Fall of Reach" which was OK. Have always been quite scep..."Tom and Veronica misunderstood me in the podcast when they mentioned that I wasn't interested in film or tv tie-in. What I meant was, I do NOT approve of simply novelising a story in a paper medium. If it simply narrates events we already know and doesn't expand on the universe, it's really a waste of time. This is what murdered the novelisation of Assassin's Creed.
There's a shelf in Kinokuniya, Malaysia labeled "Tie-In" which I always ignore because they're more often than not just books that copies the plot of a recent popular film. Books make great films sometimes but never the other way round, unfortunately.
Stephen wrote: "Alice wrote: "I'm reading the dark elf trilogy at the moment, and liking it very much. But otherwise, I don't have much experience in the category."Sorry for my ignorance but what's "Dark Elf" is..."
Nope. It's one of R.A. Salvatore's earliest books for D&D Forgotten Realms.
I can't say I've read a ton of novels like this, but I've read a good portion of the World of Warcraft novels and the first Dragon Age novel. Both of which are universes I was introduced to prior to reading them.One of my favorite aspects of fiction in general is world-building, so I love being able to read more about the characters and the histories of these universes that I'm already familiar with. On that hand, I really enjoy tie-in fiction.
On the other hand, I find that the quality of tie-in fiction never stands up to other novels in the genre. Out of the books I've read, I can't think of one that I would recommend to someone who hadn't already been introduced to the world. Some of the WoW books have taken me a while to get into because the writing is so poor I can't focus on the story.
Matthew wrote: "What I meant was, I do NOT approve of simply novelising a story in a paper medium. If it simply narrates events we already know and doesn't expand on the universe, it's really a waste of time."
I totally agree with this. Arthas: Rise of the Lich King for instance, was pretty much a play by play of the events of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. I kept expecting there to be something significant added or explained and there never was. Granted many people who play WoW probably never played Warcraft and weren't familiar with the story, but for those who did... it was a pretty lame read.
My favorite ones are from the Warhammer40k universe and Gears of War.Karen Traviss does an excellent job with the Gears of War series and you really feel a connection to the games, getting to know more about the characters. Gives them an excellent background and improves the gaming experience and appreciation for the storyline. The first one is Aspho Fields
From WH40K, you can't really go wrong with anything from Dan Abnett but one of my favorites is Imperial Guard Omnibus: Volume 1 - great compilation of stories about the Imperial Guard.
André
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
BioShock: Rapture (other topics)Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles (other topics)
Horus Rising (other topics)
Knight of the Black Rose (other topics)
Sea of Death (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
John Shirley (other topics)Keith Baker (other topics)
William King (other topics)
Gary Gygax (other topics)
R.A. Salvatore (other topics)
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My favourite thus far, are those of Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K (for my sci-fi and fantasy fix respectively). I love pre-4th edition Forgotten Realms but it's kind of hard to get into now with all the lore changes and gratuitous deaths (and I believe R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series, while great, has gone on too long for the author's own comfort).
You won't see plenty of what I read on my Goodreads, cause frankly, when you marry into tie-in fiction, you're going to be reading A LOT. I can't be bothered to rate and review every single book I read any more.
So tell me guys. What shared universe fiction do you guys love and recommend?