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StarCraft #2
Сянката на Ксел'Нага
Габриел Места е псевдоним на съпрузите Кевин Андерсън и Ребека Места. Съвместно те са написали над двайсет книги, а всеки от тях има зад гърба си и десетки самостоятелни заглавия. Работили са в много фантастични вселени, включително „Междузвездни войни“, „Досиетата X“, „Стар Трек“, „Дюн“ и други.
Повече информация за създателите на тази книга можете да намерите на техните интернет страници www.wordfire.com и www.dunenovels.com.
В далечното бъдеще, на 60000 светлинни години от Земята, нестабилната Конфедерация на хората е въвлечена в битка срещу загадъчните Протоси и безмилостния рояк на Зергите. Всеки от видовете се бори, за да осигури собственото си оцеляване сред звездите в една война, която ще отвори нова велика глава в историята на човечеството… или ще предвещае неговия насилствен и кървав край.
Бекар Ро е суров и затънтен свят в периферията на Земния Доминион, където шепата колонисти води ежедневна борба за оцеляване. Планетата е същинска пустош — една от многото прашинки сред огромната мрачна шир на космоса. Но след като една стихийна буря изравя неразгадаем чуждоземен артефакт, Бекар Ро се превръща в най-ценния трофей в звездния сектор — точка, където се сблъскват интересите на Зергите, Протосите и Хората. Могъщи сили се съсредоточават, готови да предявят своите претенции към изгубените тайни на най-великата раса, съществувала някога във Вселената…
Сянката на Ксел’Нага — книга втора от епичната поредица за космически битки развиваща се във вселената на една от най-популярните компютърни игри за всички времена.
Повече информация за създателите на тази книга можете да намерите на техните интернет страници www.wordfire.com и www.dunenovels.com.
В далечното бъдеще, на 60000 светлинни години от Земята, нестабилната Конфедерация на хората е въвлечена в битка срещу загадъчните Протоси и безмилостния рояк на Зергите. Всеки от видовете се бори, за да осигури собственото си оцеляване сред звездите в една война, която ще отвори нова велика глава в историята на човечеството… или ще предвещае неговия насилствен и кървав край.
Бекар Ро е суров и затънтен свят в периферията на Земния Доминион, където шепата колонисти води ежедневна борба за оцеляване. Планетата е същинска пустош — една от многото прашинки сред огромната мрачна шир на космоса. Но след като една стихийна буря изравя неразгадаем чуждоземен артефакт, Бекар Ро се превръща в най-ценния трофей в звездния сектор — точка, където се сблъскват интересите на Зергите, Протосите и Хората. Могъщи сили се съсредоточават, готови да предявят своите претенции към изгубените тайни на най-великата раса, съществувала някога във Вселената…
Сянката на Ксел’Нага — книга втора от епичната поредица за космически битки развиваща се във вселената на една от най-популярните компютърни игри за всички времена.
297 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
11 people are currently reading
648 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
March 13, 2013
This may be the worst book I have ever read. First of all, much of the writing is very cliche and boring. This might have been someone's middle school homework assignment. Without giving any of the plot away, I will say that about every other chapter I had to take a break to facepalm. Every chapter seems to be like it could be the first one of the book, such that the author likes to tell you things you already know. For example, I was probably given a (maybe brief) description of the Khala about 15 times. The authors also didn't do a good job incorporating the lore into the novel. It seemed like they opened up the game of Starcraft one time, hovered over some of the icons to see what the technologies were called, built some buildings, and decided to write a book about it. Readers will take note of the author focusing on one unit, such as the "hover bike", and pointing out the one thing special about it: it can lay spider mines. This wouldn't have been so bad if it contributed to the story, but not only did they get the description wrong of the unit in question, but it made no consequence to anyone. As far as contributing to Starcraft lore, this book doesn't do much. Will the "phoenix" ever appear in the Starcraft again? For this books sake, hopefully. Should this book have been written? Definitely not.
May 28, 2014
1.) Install starcraft & brood war
2.) Play a free-for-all with Terran against a Protoss and Zerg
3.) Get a notepad and start scribbling, what happened in the game
4.) ???
5.) Profit!
Usually I thrust very few 1* reviews. Mostly they are a form of ventillations of the cognitive dissonance and regret felt over the buying of a disliked product.
However, this deserves every single one.
For a non-starcraft fan: please, do yourself a favour and spend your bucks elsewhere. It's a hollow, dumb, boring piece, with uninspiring storyline, and characters. 'Nuff said.
For a starcraft fan: you might think that with the powerful characters and the catching background of SC this book can't be that bad. Well, yes, it can. If you had the luck never to meet with this one, don't let the temptation take over you, and leave it on the shelf.
2.) Play a free-for-all with Terran against a Protoss and Zerg
3.) Get a notepad and start scribbling, what happened in the game
4.) ???
5.) Profit!
Usually I thrust very few 1* reviews. Mostly they are a form of ventillations of the cognitive dissonance and regret felt over the buying of a disliked product.
However, this deserves every single one.
For a non-starcraft fan: please, do yourself a favour and spend your bucks elsewhere. It's a hollow, dumb, boring piece, with uninspiring storyline, and characters. 'Nuff said.
For a starcraft fan: you might think that with the powerful characters and the catching background of SC this book can't be that bad. Well, yes, it can. If you had the luck never to meet with this one, don't let the temptation take over you, and leave it on the shelf.
February 8, 2020
This is the second book in the StarCraft series. These books are written by various authors. This one is by Gabriel Mesta. Gabriel Mesta is a pseudonym for the husband-and-wife writing team of Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. I was disappointed in the first book in this series and I am disappointed in this one also. I have never played the StarCraft computer game on which these books are based. I might have enjoyed them better if I had. I don't plan to read anymore of this series. If you are a fan of the game you might want to try these books. Otherwise I would give them a pass.
July 30, 2017
I didn't find the book as unreadable as some other reviewers stated. I enjoyed it somewhat, in a low brow, campy sort of way. I did find my mind wandering quite frequently, or simply falling asleep at times mostly due to the slow pace and how overall uninteresting the story was.
The constant unit name dropping seemed obviously and artificially injected into the story to give some sort of credence that the author did some homework before writing about a game they likely didn't play at all, or not very much. Unfortunately, it was distracting in the way that it was done, almost as a list, rather than utilizing units to flesh out the story and make it feel like a rich universe.
The biggest problem with the book (and why it was overall so boring) was the author's approach to storytelling; they delayed what little was interesting, constantly jumping around in different POVs, seemingly as a habit of page filling, rather than really embracing their story and giving us something to bite into. Characters really felt like caricatures rather than thinking entities, almost all of whom were simply interested in mindlessly butting heads.
There is a story, but the book was only concerned about visually immersing the reader in a Star Craft game, and what that would be like, rather than moving the story forward. Only after the majority of the book is over, does a paragon character pop out of nowhere just to tell us what it's all about, rather than the author actually show us anything concerning the actual story.
In the end, the story just felt like an excuse to walk around a battlefield where all 3 races were fighting, and when it came down to resolving the story, it felt like a shrug from the authors, as a paragon pops up to summarize the events, rather than discovering the events for yourself.
The constant unit name dropping seemed obviously and artificially injected into the story to give some sort of credence that the author did some homework before writing about a game they likely didn't play at all, or not very much. Unfortunately, it was distracting in the way that it was done, almost as a list, rather than utilizing units to flesh out the story and make it feel like a rich universe.
The biggest problem with the book (and why it was overall so boring) was the author's approach to storytelling; they delayed what little was interesting, constantly jumping around in different POVs, seemingly as a habit of page filling, rather than really embracing their story and giving us something to bite into. Characters really felt like caricatures rather than thinking entities, almost all of whom were simply interested in mindlessly butting heads.
There is a story, but the book was only concerned about visually immersing the reader in a Star Craft game, and what that would be like, rather than moving the story forward. Only after the majority of the book is over, does a paragon character pop out of nowhere just to tell us what it's all about, rather than the author actually show us anything concerning the actual story.
In the end, the story just felt like an excuse to walk around a battlefield where all 3 races were fighting, and when it came down to resolving the story, it felt like a shrug from the authors, as a paragon pops up to summarize the events, rather than discovering the events for yourself.
July 29, 2021
its a 3 star book, but I had a lot of fun reading it.
hehehe you can see this books is full of 1 and 2 stars, and some reasons I agree, but others are just so weird, like one review calls the main character a farm girl who suddenly became a militar leader and combat veteran, and.... that never happens? and its not just that she is not even *only* a farm girl, since everyone in the colony is a farmer lmao, she is first of all a really brilliant mechanic, then others reviews says oh her brother died and everyone forgets about it, and Im like... her brother died, we get to know how she feels and why the town reacts the way it does and like 2 days later there is a full blown alien invasion, what? you want her to start crying for her brother in the middle of it?
And dont get me wrong this book was so repetitive and full of useless info and name dropping and shit, like, its not really good? but the main character is amaziiiiiiiiiiiiing and proactive... and a woman, you know, and this books do the horrible oh terrible thing of having TWO women as main characters (and two male mcs too so...)
Also it has differents povs, and for some reason the others reviews are like IT CHANGES POVS SO MANY TIMES, like ok so? lmao idk Im mad
Plot: 4*
Characters: 5*
Writting : 2*
Plot development: 3*
Fun I had: lotsssssss
so 3.8 stars idk
hehehe you can see this books is full of 1 and 2 stars, and some reasons I agree, but others are just so weird, like one review calls the main character a farm girl who suddenly became a militar leader and combat veteran, and.... that never happens? and its not just that she is not even *only* a farm girl, since everyone in the colony is a farmer lmao, she is first of all a really brilliant mechanic, then others reviews says oh her brother died and everyone forgets about it, and Im like... her brother died, we get to know how she feels and why the town reacts the way it does and like 2 days later there is a full blown alien invasion, what? you want her to start crying for her brother in the middle of it?
And dont get me wrong this book was so repetitive and full of useless info and name dropping and shit, like, its not really good? but the main character is amaziiiiiiiiiiiiing and proactive... and a woman, you know, and this books do the horrible oh terrible thing of having TWO women as main characters (and two male mcs too so...)
Also it has differents povs, and for some reason the others reviews are like IT CHANGES POVS SO MANY TIMES, like ok so? lmao idk Im mad
Plot: 4*
Characters: 5*
Writting : 2*
Plot development: 3*
Fun I had: lotsssssss
so 3.8 stars idk
September 2, 2010
As someone who likes Starcraft and Starcraft lore I thought the book was fun to read. It doesn't really have any bearing on the overall Starcraft plot but there are still lots of references.
I don't know if Octavia ever comes up again - if she doesn't, it seems awfully weird to me that the book spends so much time showing the reader that she has these undeveloped powers but then aside from a few things it doesn't amount to much in the book. Toward the end I thought it might become an issue of strife for Octavia but... it never really seems to ^^;
The ending was also a little weird. The buildup to it was fine but then one particular part of the ending (which anyone who has read it will probably know what I am talking about) just seemed a little misplaced. A bit too "and then they all lived happily ever after" for a Starcraft novel I thought :P
Overall though, it's Starcraft and it is Starcraft-y enough for me to have enjoyed it, and other people who enjoy Starcraft related things will probably find something to enjoy in the book.
I don't know if Octavia ever comes up again - if she doesn't, it seems awfully weird to me that the book spends so much time showing the reader that she has these undeveloped powers but then aside from a few things it doesn't amount to much in the book. Toward the end I thought it might become an issue of strife for Octavia but... it never really seems to ^^;
The ending was also a little weird. The buildup to it was fine but then one particular part of the ending (which anyone who has read it will probably know what I am talking about) just seemed a little misplaced. A bit too "and then they all lived happily ever after" for a Starcraft novel I thought :P
Overall though, it's Starcraft and it is Starcraft-y enough for me to have enjoyed it, and other people who enjoy Starcraft related things will probably find something to enjoy in the book.
September 9, 2023
Right off the bat I have to say that if you have any interest in reading this book it’s because you’re a StarCraft fan in some capacity. This is a book you would have no reason to read otherwise so bear that in mind for this review. This is the 2nd book in the original trilogy of StarCraft books. I was sort of weary of this one because a lot of the online reviews I read were giving 1 to 2 stars, so naturally my expectations were not high. But, being an avid fan of the StarCraft franchise, I felt compelled to give it a read.
This was by no means the best StarCraft book I’ve read but it was entertaining all the same. I don’t think I’ll be reading it again though. It introduces a unique story in the StarCraft universe sometime between the events of the original game and the Brood War expansion. So far so good. The problem with this book is that it tries to do too much. That is to say I feel as though I read what felt like could have been a separate series worth of plot crammed into one book.
The action is epic in scale - it’s all out war between the 3 races, planetside and in space. But, as previously stated, it gets condensed and because of this, it often reads like a play by play from an online match of the game - meaning the imagery can be lacking. Other times its great though, like when describing Zerg infested people and creatures. My main gripe though is how flat the characters fall. Like we’re talking very 1-dimensional for some of these characters and others just feel downright pointless. At least a dozen characters are named, a couple being some big names like Kerrigan and General Duke, but only maybe 3 or 4 of them have any sort of development. The Protoss characters in particular feel really uninspired.
The overarching plot ends up being ludicrously epic in scale, too big to fit in one book let alone one that is under 400 pages. This is where the book ultimately suffers. So many things that could have been explored and could have been developed just drop off anticlimactically including the ending.
What this book reminds me of are those big budget movie adaptations full of nods to the source material but lack anything deeper than a surface level understanding of that material.
Despite these drawbacks, it didn’t feel like a chore reading this book. Once things get going, it was easy to just keep the pages turning to see what was going to happen next. I will say the authors (they’re a husband/wife team using a pseudonym) certainly had an admirable level of ambition in the story they wanted to tell and I think it could have been truly awesome if they stretched it out over 2-3 books. I give it a 3 out of 5 just because it was a fun read at the end of the day but it is by no means the best StarCraft book one could read and it doesn’t add anything new or interesting to the franchise.
This was by no means the best StarCraft book I’ve read but it was entertaining all the same. I don’t think I’ll be reading it again though. It introduces a unique story in the StarCraft universe sometime between the events of the original game and the Brood War expansion. So far so good. The problem with this book is that it tries to do too much. That is to say I feel as though I read what felt like could have been a separate series worth of plot crammed into one book.
The action is epic in scale - it’s all out war between the 3 races, planetside and in space. But, as previously stated, it gets condensed and because of this, it often reads like a play by play from an online match of the game - meaning the imagery can be lacking. Other times its great though, like when describing Zerg infested people and creatures. My main gripe though is how flat the characters fall. Like we’re talking very 1-dimensional for some of these characters and others just feel downright pointless. At least a dozen characters are named, a couple being some big names like Kerrigan and General Duke, but only maybe 3 or 4 of them have any sort of development. The Protoss characters in particular feel really uninspired.
The overarching plot ends up being ludicrously epic in scale, too big to fit in one book let alone one that is under 400 pages. This is where the book ultimately suffers. So many things that could have been explored and could have been developed just drop off anticlimactically including the ending.
What this book reminds me of are those big budget movie adaptations full of nods to the source material but lack anything deeper than a surface level understanding of that material.
Despite these drawbacks, it didn’t feel like a chore reading this book. Once things get going, it was easy to just keep the pages turning to see what was going to happen next. I will say the authors (they’re a husband/wife team using a pseudonym) certainly had an admirable level of ambition in the story they wanted to tell and I think it could have been truly awesome if they stretched it out over 2-3 books. I give it a 3 out of 5 just because it was a fun read at the end of the day but it is by no means the best StarCraft book one could read and it doesn’t add anything new or interesting to the franchise.
August 20, 2022
After feeling totally disappointed and deceived by the last StarCraft book I read (don't remember its name but it was "number 3" in this "series"), I wanted to try another one, hoping that at least one published StarCraft book out there would actually contain StarCraft content.
This one does contain StarCraft content; it's totally brimming with it, actually, almost to a fault: there are moments when they rely too much on weedy details from the game. As a longtime fan, I love hearing about which units can detect cloaked units in prose fiction, or about the StimPak boosts that the Terran marines can use, but they don't explain this well for non-players, and I can imagine it comes off as very scattered and deus-ex-machina-esque.
What this book does not have is the things that make fiction good: realistic characters, difficult decisions, dramatic staging, and immersive, psychedelic description. I never felt like I was in this book, I only felt like I was holding paper.
This is evidenced in a quality that I hadn't considered much before, one which I have had to tackle in my own writing, and one which in particular George R R Martin does well: portraying action in prose. It isn't enough to say "the Battlecruiser fired missiles at the Zerg, blowing them up". That feels like I'm watching a video game. You have to put me into the fray--how big is the ship? Where are they? What did the missiles do when they hit? ~What did they hit? Who made the call? Etc.
This one does contain StarCraft content; it's totally brimming with it, actually, almost to a fault: there are moments when they rely too much on weedy details from the game. As a longtime fan, I love hearing about which units can detect cloaked units in prose fiction, or about the StimPak boosts that the Terran marines can use, but they don't explain this well for non-players, and I can imagine it comes off as very scattered and deus-ex-machina-esque.
What this book does not have is the things that make fiction good: realistic characters, difficult decisions, dramatic staging, and immersive, psychedelic description. I never felt like I was in this book, I only felt like I was holding paper.
This is evidenced in a quality that I hadn't considered much before, one which I have had to tackle in my own writing, and one which in particular George R R Martin does well: portraying action in prose. It isn't enough to say "the Battlecruiser fired missiles at the Zerg, blowing them up". That feels like I'm watching a video game. You have to put me into the fray--how big is the ship? Where are they? What did the missiles do when they hit? ~What did they hit? Who made the call? Etc.
May 13, 2023
After reading the first book, Liberty's Crusade, I was incredibly excited to move on to this one, as I wanted to interact with the protoss face to face. And the first third of this book mostly did that, although the writing style was just a tad basic. However this book becomes briefer and briefer, until it's chapters don't even pick up two pocketbook pagesvea h. It has 45 chapters in a book that is 258 pages long, so the pace and perspective switching are frantic to say the least. What bothered me most about this book, however, is that the authors (there are two) seemingly chose to write most of the battle scenes as if it were the game itself. They appeared to have a mission to list every single starcraft unit and make it use its signature ability, which felt absurd. Worse, they didn't translate them to real world versions. There is actually a point where a couple hydralisks blow up a battle cruiser flying above them. If you don't know, a battle cruiser in real life would be a colossal ship filled with thousands of troops, but apparently a few bony nails, fired up into the sky, blew it up, and then there's no mention of it crashing down amongst the troops on the ground. it felt like the authors almost got bored of the book after the first third, and so did i. I wanted to defend this book. I wanted it to be excellent, and the story idea actually isn't bad. Unfortunately it was given to people who didn't comprehend how to use it appropriately. I would not recommend this book, which is a shame.
December 22, 2025
I made it through. My fifth in the series and least favorite. The prose feels middle grade reader to me and I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters. I thought Liberty’s Crusade was great and really enjoyed the Rosemary Dahl’s series. But unlike those, I didn’t find a character to cheer for in this book. Loads of rehash chapter starts. I think you could read the last 6ish chapters and know how the story went fine. 3 stars for not having anything offensive and an interesting final couple of chapters.
August 2, 2021
not as bad as some reviews indicated - when I read some of the reviews, I thought that this might be even worse than some of Stephen King's stuff (i.e. The Dark Tower from part four onwards). but it wasn't.
a typical videogame tie-in - a light summer read.
a typical videogame tie-in - a light summer read.
January 22, 2025
First book was better climax was kinda bad. Still a interesting read
December 7, 2013
When I bought this book I was really excitied: I am pretty fan of SC series, so i thought: damn, this looks good, I need to read this! But in about middle of book I realized what a crap is that, and literally forced myself to read to the end. Why? This the worst book I have ever read: plot is as deep as camel's spit at the desert. Characters are doing so unrealistic decisions without any, really any sense, their emotions are just pathetic: "what does this buttom do? oh no, it killed my brother, i have to warn everyone" and she forgot about him in few pages, just as others do. Story? What story? There is not such thing between covers. Every, EVERY event is explained in Mr. Bean's way; "Why? Magic." In that case, magic is Xel Naga (nigga?) psi powers, but this is like the same. Example: main character's brother dies - magic. Prostss fleet is informed about that from another part of galaxy - magic (Im deadly serious right now). Zerg are lured as well - magic. Protoss, zerg and even terran are annihilated inside Xel Naga's temple - magic. Gigantic moth (!) is created from bodies of zergs and protoss - magic. All terrans are ressurected and dead planet becomes jungle - magic. Sounds like fun? Not for me. Accually, its all the plot. Thats it, all story. Not much more is happening, just nothing important. Theres no more threads other than "imperial terrans are douchebags" and "protoss society is divided on classes, and thats bad". Important note: is this book interesting for fans? Answer is: no, not at all. Im the great fan of SC by myself as I mentioned: I have really much stuff from in-game community, as well as played both SC1(+brood war) and SC2. But still I dont see one good reaseon to buy this peace of junk. I would rather eat my own tongue while dancing with Justin Bieber at One Direction's concert than read this again. From other hand, there is one reason: you will know HOW NOT TO WRITE BOOKS. Rating 1/5 is far too high. Lucky it was on discount in library, around 5 PLN (about a little more than 1 euro). Orginally it was at price of 24 PLN i believe. Thats all. One final note why sense abandoned this book. Zergs are deadly machines spreading death and destruction among all life. Even Aiur - homeworld of protoss - was devastated by them, not mentioning hundreds of terrans worlds. Think about it: zerg>protoss (mostly, look Aiur). Protoss = most powerful civilization in galaxy. Right? Right. But in one scene little farm village is under sige by zerg swarm. Few dozens colonist were armored only with farming tools, like knives, scytes, about two machines and two rockets coming from old missle launcher. And yet they slained few thousands(!) of zergs, succefully defending their homes against two waves of enemies. Bunch of villagers without any training, skill or weaponry vs swarm of most deadly creatures known to universe: 1:0. It was so pathetic, so unskilled, stupid and senseless story that my ears are hurting untill now.
February 15, 2014
Far in the future, 60,000 light-years from Earth, a loose confederacy of Terran exiles are locked in battle with the enigmatic Protoss and the ruthless Zerg Swarm. Each species struggles to ensure its own survival among the stars in a war that will herald the beginning of mankind's greatest chapter -- or foretell its violent, bloody end.
Bhekar Ro: a bleak, backwater world on the fringe of the Terran Dominion, where every day is a struggle to survive for its handful of human colonists. It is a veritable wasteland -- one speck of dust among many in the vast, dark sea of space. But when the most violent storm in recent memory unearths an unfathomable alien artifact, Bhekar Ro becomes the greatest prize in the Terran Sector -- the Holy Grail of the Zerg, the Protoss, and Humanity alike -- as forces from the three great powers converge to claim the lost secrets of the most powerful species the universe has ever known.
shadow of the xel'naga
An original tale of space warfare novels set in the world of the bestselling computer game!
Bhekar Ro: a bleak, backwater world on the fringe of the Terran Dominion, where every day is a struggle to survive for its handful of human colonists. It is a veritable wasteland -- one speck of dust among many in the vast, dark sea of space. But when the most violent storm in recent memory unearths an unfathomable alien artifact, Bhekar Ro becomes the greatest prize in the Terran Sector -- the Holy Grail of the Zerg, the Protoss, and Humanity alike -- as forces from the three great powers converge to claim the lost secrets of the most powerful species the universe has ever known.
shadow of the xel'naga
An original tale of space warfare novels set in the world of the bestselling computer game!
June 19, 2016
This book is awful. It's been a long time since I attempted to read it, but the most glaring thing I can remember is the author makes no attempt to build the world around the characters. Instead, they just name drop from the Starcraft video game. After the pleasant surprise of how good Liberty's Crusade was, this book shocked me back into the reality of what "From the hit video game" usually means.
I don't understand how it averages over three stars. It most certainly doesn't fit into the "ok" category to me.
I don't understand how it averages over three stars. It most certainly doesn't fit into the "ok" category to me.
June 19, 2016
Доста скучна книга, дори и за заклети фенове на Старкрафт.
December 21, 2021
În timp ce o pătură sufocantă de ȋntuneric se lăsa peste oraşul Fre’e Haven, coloniştii aspri se grăbeau să evite furtuna. Noaptea se lăsa repede pe planeta colonie Bhekar Ro, cu mult vânt, dar fără stele.
Nori negri ca smoala se învârtejeau la orizont, prinşi pe creasta muntoasă abruptă care înconjura valea în care se afla inima coloniei agricole chinuite. Deja, tunete bubuitoare pârâiau peste creastă ca nişte focuri de artilerie prost ţintite. Fiecare explozie era destul de puternică pentru a fi detectată de cele câteva seismografe care încă funcţionau şi erau plantate în jurul zonelor de exploatare.
Condiţiile atmosferice creau lovituri de tunet cu intensitatea unui boom sonic. Uneori, zgomotul în sine era de ajuns pentru a face distrugeri. Şi ce rămânea neatins de tunetul sonic era făcut bucăţi de fulgerele de laser.
Cu patruzeci de ani mai devreme, când primii colonişti fugiseră de guvernarea opresivă a Confederaţiei Terrane, fuseseră făcuţi să creadă că acest loc ar fi putut fi transformat într-un nou Eden. După trei generaţii, coloniştii încăpăţânaţi refuzau să se dea bătuţi.
Stând pe locul trăgătorului lângă fratele ei Lars, Octavia Bren se uita prin parbrizul murdar al robo-secerătoarei, în timp ce se rostogoleau grăbiţi spre oraş. Uruitul şenilelor mecanice şi bubuitul motorului aproape acopereau tunetele sonice. Aproape.
Explozii de fulgere de laser ţâşneau arzătoare din nori ca suliţe luminoase, lănci drepte de descărcări statice care lăsau adâncituri sticloase pe pământ. Fulgerele-laser îi aminteau Octaviei de imaginile pe care le văzuse la bibliotecă înfăţişând un tun Yamato mare trăgând dintr-un crucişător de pe orbită.
― De ce, din toată galaxia, bunicii noştri au ales să se mute aici? întrebă ea retoric.
Mai multe trăsnete de laser arseră cratere în peisajul de ţară.
― Pentru decor, fireşte, glumi Lars.
Deşi bombardamentul de grindină avea să cureţe aerul de praful şi ţărâna care erau tot timpul prezente, de asemenea avea să strice culturile de grâu-triticale şi de salată-muşchi care abia dacă se puteau ţine în solul stâncos. Coloniştii din Free Haven aveau puţine provizii de urgenţă pentru a-i ajuta să facă faţă unei recolte slabe şi trecuse mult timp de când ceruseră ajutor din exterior.
Nori negri ca smoala se învârtejeau la orizont, prinşi pe creasta muntoasă abruptă care înconjura valea în care se afla inima coloniei agricole chinuite. Deja, tunete bubuitoare pârâiau peste creastă ca nişte focuri de artilerie prost ţintite. Fiecare explozie era destul de puternică pentru a fi detectată de cele câteva seismografe care încă funcţionau şi erau plantate în jurul zonelor de exploatare.
Condiţiile atmosferice creau lovituri de tunet cu intensitatea unui boom sonic. Uneori, zgomotul în sine era de ajuns pentru a face distrugeri. Şi ce rămânea neatins de tunetul sonic era făcut bucăţi de fulgerele de laser.
Cu patruzeci de ani mai devreme, când primii colonişti fugiseră de guvernarea opresivă a Confederaţiei Terrane, fuseseră făcuţi să creadă că acest loc ar fi putut fi transformat într-un nou Eden. După trei generaţii, coloniştii încăpăţânaţi refuzau să se dea bătuţi.
Stând pe locul trăgătorului lângă fratele ei Lars, Octavia Bren se uita prin parbrizul murdar al robo-secerătoarei, în timp ce se rostogoleau grăbiţi spre oraş. Uruitul şenilelor mecanice şi bubuitul motorului aproape acopereau tunetele sonice. Aproape.
Explozii de fulgere de laser ţâşneau arzătoare din nori ca suliţe luminoase, lănci drepte de descărcări statice care lăsau adâncituri sticloase pe pământ. Fulgerele-laser îi aminteau Octaviei de imaginile pe care le văzuse la bibliotecă înfăţişând un tun Yamato mare trăgând dintr-un crucişător de pe orbită.
― De ce, din toată galaxia, bunicii noştri au ales să se mute aici? întrebă ea retoric.
Mai multe trăsnete de laser arseră cratere în peisajul de ţară.
― Pentru decor, fireşte, glumi Lars.
Deşi bombardamentul de grindină avea să cureţe aerul de praful şi ţărâna care erau tot timpul prezente, de asemenea avea să strice culturile de grâu-triticale şi de salată-muşchi care abia dacă se puteau ţine în solul stâncos. Coloniştii din Free Haven aveau puţine provizii de urgenţă pentru a-i ajuta să facă faţă unei recolte slabe şi trecuse mult timp de când ceruseră ajutor din exterior.
October 8, 2024
Exista lumea lui Lovecraft si apoi exista lumea din Starcraft! Pe amandoua vi le recomand cu caldura!
Cartea de fata este un fel de "fan-fiction" bazat pe celebrul si mult iubitul joc pe calculator "Starcraft". La baza acestuia sta o poveste SF situata in viitor unde 3 rase: Protoss, Zerg si Terran poarta un razboi pentru a putea supravietui printre stele. Cuvintele sunt extrem de sarace pentru a vorbi despre maretia jocului, insa trebuie sa marturisesc ca Terranii (oamenii) sunt cam "cheesy" si preferatii mei sunt Zergii. Nu mi-ar placea nicidecum ca si in viitor sa fiu tot om ci mai degraba extraterestru vorace. "For the swarm!"
Exemplarul meu are pe coperta o frumoasa ilustratie cu celebrii asasini templieri intunecati ai Protossilor, mereu invizibili si foarte eficienti. Va vine sa credeti sau nu, dar a costat doar 2 lei si este nou. O comoara, asadar.
Shadow of Xel`Naga a aparut in 2001 sub egida Blizzard Entertainment. Actiunea este situata pe planeta colonie Bhekar Ro din Dominionul Terran. Acesta este un loc vitreg, cu furtuni violente, fulgere laser, tunete sonice si o guvernare agresiva. Eroii nostri Octavia si fratele ei Lars se chinuie sa supravietuiasca ocupandu-se cu agricultura. Curand insa un cutremur intens va dezgropa o relicva extraterestra ce ii va atrage in zona pe nemilosii Protoss si Zerg. Insa razboiul va fi in 3 caci si Terranii se vor alatura. Si e un "hell of a war", va garantez.
Daca va intrebati ce este cu titlul, ei bine, Xel`Naga sunt creatorii celor 2 rase extraterestre, "Primii Nascuti" - Protosii si Zergii, cei care i-au distrus.
Cartea infatiseaza o poveste inventata de cei doi autori insa pastreaza in mare parte personajele si detaliile cu care ne-am obisnuit in joc. Acesta este un mare plus. Asadar ii regasim in poveste pe arogantul imparat al Terranilor, Arcturus Mengsk si pe antipaticul general Edmund Duke iar zergii o au pe regina lor Sarah Kerrigan, fosta terrana tradata si lasata in urma ca sa fie infectata de ei.
In ceea ce priveste notarea operei de fata (destul de mica, majoritatea cititorilor acordand cate 1-2 stele) trebuie sa admit ca una este cartea si una este jocul. Romanul are limitele sale, cuprinde o poveste scrisa si este nevoie de imaginatia si fantezia cititorului pentru a o completa. Jocul este superior din toate punctele de vedere.
Este nevoie de mult timp investit, dedicare si pasiune pentru a cuprinde intreaga experienta Starcraft. Se gasesc multe jocuri comune, usoare, cu care sa te distrezi cateva ore, insa Starcraft nu este asa. Fiind complex, interesant, competitv si adictiv, trebuie savurat pe indelete, nivel cu nivel.
In concluzie cititi cartea, jucati jocul, merita!
Cartea de fata este un fel de "fan-fiction" bazat pe celebrul si mult iubitul joc pe calculator "Starcraft". La baza acestuia sta o poveste SF situata in viitor unde 3 rase: Protoss, Zerg si Terran poarta un razboi pentru a putea supravietui printre stele. Cuvintele sunt extrem de sarace pentru a vorbi despre maretia jocului, insa trebuie sa marturisesc ca Terranii (oamenii) sunt cam "cheesy" si preferatii mei sunt Zergii. Nu mi-ar placea nicidecum ca si in viitor sa fiu tot om ci mai degraba extraterestru vorace. "For the swarm!"
Exemplarul meu are pe coperta o frumoasa ilustratie cu celebrii asasini templieri intunecati ai Protossilor, mereu invizibili si foarte eficienti. Va vine sa credeti sau nu, dar a costat doar 2 lei si este nou. O comoara, asadar.
Shadow of Xel`Naga a aparut in 2001 sub egida Blizzard Entertainment. Actiunea este situata pe planeta colonie Bhekar Ro din Dominionul Terran. Acesta este un loc vitreg, cu furtuni violente, fulgere laser, tunete sonice si o guvernare agresiva. Eroii nostri Octavia si fratele ei Lars se chinuie sa supravietuiasca ocupandu-se cu agricultura. Curand insa un cutremur intens va dezgropa o relicva extraterestra ce ii va atrage in zona pe nemilosii Protoss si Zerg. Insa razboiul va fi in 3 caci si Terranii se vor alatura. Si e un "hell of a war", va garantez.
Daca va intrebati ce este cu titlul, ei bine, Xel`Naga sunt creatorii celor 2 rase extraterestre, "Primii Nascuti" - Protosii si Zergii, cei care i-au distrus.
Cartea infatiseaza o poveste inventata de cei doi autori insa pastreaza in mare parte personajele si detaliile cu care ne-am obisnuit in joc. Acesta este un mare plus. Asadar ii regasim in poveste pe arogantul imparat al Terranilor, Arcturus Mengsk si pe antipaticul general Edmund Duke iar zergii o au pe regina lor Sarah Kerrigan, fosta terrana tradata si lasata in urma ca sa fie infectata de ei.
In ceea ce priveste notarea operei de fata (destul de mica, majoritatea cititorilor acordand cate 1-2 stele) trebuie sa admit ca una este cartea si una este jocul. Romanul are limitele sale, cuprinde o poveste scrisa si este nevoie de imaginatia si fantezia cititorului pentru a o completa. Jocul este superior din toate punctele de vedere.
Este nevoie de mult timp investit, dedicare si pasiune pentru a cuprinde intreaga experienta Starcraft. Se gasesc multe jocuri comune, usoare, cu care sa te distrezi cateva ore, insa Starcraft nu este asa. Fiind complex, interesant, competitv si adictiv, trebuie savurat pe indelete, nivel cu nivel.
In concluzie cititi cartea, jucati jocul, merita!
February 8, 2021
This was entertaining at parts but mostly uninspired. I get the sense it was rushed. The chapters are extremely short, almost outlines. The main character, Octavia, is two-dimensional. The villains are uninteresting in their absolute egotism and selfishness. The plot is not very interesting: colonists find an alien artifact and three powerful factions come to fight over it. The opportunity to really explore and develop the factions, their specific cultures, their unique attitudes. was there, but it was missed: Terrans, Zerg, Protoss, all comport themselves in the same way, as massive powers unconcerned with the innocent colonials caught in the middle of cruel military struggles. This plot might have been more interesting if the colonials were rendered in a more sympathetic light. They were hastily and sketchily rendered, barely characters, so the injustice of their abuse didn't feel very dramatic. All these criticisms aside, I'm still glad to have read this. The Starcraft world is fun and it was great to visualize this universe for the duration of a novel.
October 20, 2025
Sooo, an ancient artifact left behind by the precursor race is being fought over by the scrappy humans, technologically advanced aliens AND hive mine aliens? All we need here is the super soldier with his trusty AI sidekick!
Anyway, if I could give this an extra half star just for the masterclass in pacing this story achieves once everyone converges on the planet I would but I would quickly take it away with that underwhelming attempt at some Lovecraftian space entity at the end. Lots to enjoy here if you are looking for cool sequences of seeing Starcraft factions duke it out against each other in the written format.
I can't say much for the main character. She's just a POV for the colonist side of things.
Anyway, if I could give this an extra half star just for the masterclass in pacing this story achieves once everyone converges on the planet I would but I would quickly take it away with that underwhelming attempt at some Lovecraftian space entity at the end. Lots to enjoy here if you are looking for cool sequences of seeing Starcraft factions duke it out against each other in the written format.
I can't say much for the main character. She's just a POV for the colonist side of things.
October 6, 2021
I really enjoyed this. It was fast paced and exciting. I like you got to see through all the view points, Protoss, Zerg, and the Terrains. It give a lot more background on each group, their pasts, connections, and goals.
Plus it fills you in on the Xel'Naga,. The first book through Mike view doesn't truly know where these aliens came from, and through the book the make couple different possibilities before establishing that Protoss and Zerg are connected. So this book flat out tells you how, clearing any confusion you might have. And it makes it clear that Terrains are not part of that connection, even though we are evolving to have abilities.
Plus it fills you in on the Xel'Naga,. The first book through Mike view doesn't truly know where these aliens came from, and through the book the make couple different possibilities before establishing that Protoss and Zerg are connected. So this book flat out tells you how, clearing any confusion you might have. And it makes it clear that Terrains are not part of that connection, even though we are evolving to have abilities.
February 27, 2024
Don't expect any actual sci-fi or even a reasonable plot, unfortunately the writing quality is somewhere on the level of the StarCraft campaign. The only potentially redeeming quality to this book that I found is nostalgic value. There are plenty of references to SC universe, characters and plot points. The second part of the book is basically one big 1v1v1 battle with too many unit name drops, oftentimes feeling like someone was trying to creatively describe one of my ladder matches (especially the poor decision making).
Reading this book goes well with replaying one of the classic SC campaigns for maximum nostalgic value, given that the book is set between the events of SC and BW.
Reading this book goes well with replaying one of the classic SC campaigns for maximum nostalgic value, given that the book is set between the events of SC and BW.
June 3, 2017
Interesante libro, si bien comienza algo lento mejora bastante con el pasar de las paginas. Lo mejor es como desarrolla a cada una de las razas que ya conocemos, me gusto mucho como trato a cierto general ex confederado, presentando los intereses y motivos que las llevan a Rhekar Ro. Para los fans Starcraft no da grandes pistas o revelaciones de la gran trama entre zerg, protoss y terrans pero entretiene un montón.
January 28, 2019
Surprisingly pleasant to read, very different than the previous one as it omits the description of some of the Terran missions in favor of a cohesive and interesting story, which ties-in to the lore of StarCraft. The only thing I did not like is how Edmund Duke is portrayed, basically too much of an idiot jarhead general. Recommended for StarCraft fans, but it is also good enough to be read by those not familiar with the epic video game series
July 21, 2020
Constant perspective jumps. I have a feeling that the book doesn't exactly follow the storyline, but I might be mistaken - it has been a while since I played Starcraft I. The writing looks too polished for the genre, too "arabesque" in my opinion like, some sentenced I needed to re-read to understand them. Short chapters might be a plus but I don't the constant jumping from perspective to perspective.
September 6, 2022
Interesting little story inside the StarCraft universe playing between the first terran and zerg campaign of StarCraft I. The story is kinda closed in it self, most characters are new and of no relevance for the overarching StarCraft plot.
If you are interested in a niche little story inside the StarCraft universe, this is a book for you.
If you only want the lore from the games in book form, this is not a book for you.
If you are interested in a niche little story inside the StarCraft universe, this is a book for you.
If you only want the lore from the games in book form, this is not a book for you.
April 4, 2023
Gyerekként nem vett rá a lélek, hogy a kötelezőket olvassam, szóval adta magát, hogy helyette az egyik kedvenc játékom univerzumában készült könyvet lapozgassak inkább. Kezdő olvasóként is egész hamar átrágtam magam a könyvön, de dögunalmas volt. Sajnos nem az a fajta unalmas, amit idősebb fejjel már átértékel az ember, hanem az a nagyon pocsék dögunalmas.
July 19, 2025
A lot better than the first book. This author actually writes a story expanding on the lore and characters instead of self inserting themselves. Overall a decent read. Probably only worth it if you want more StarCraft lore.
September 9, 2018
Great novel depiction of Starcraft combat between the three races.
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