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Quantum Break: Zero State

Cam Rogers

3.63 · Rating details · 152 ratings · 23 reviews

Jack Joyce spent six years trying to escape—escape his life, escape time, escape the madness of his brother, Will. But when he finally returns home, it turns out his brother isn’t quite so mad. Will has created a time machine, one with the potential to save humanity. War? Preventable. Natural disasters? Stoppable.

Except for one tiny problem… his machine will also cause the ...more

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Paperback, 448 pages

Published April 5th 2016 by Tor Books

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Mar 11, 2016 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it really liked it

Shelves: review-copy, science-fiction, thriller-suspense, time-travel, media-tie-in, gaming

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/05/02/...

Quantum Break: Zero State is the tie-in novel to the action video game developed by Remedy Entertainment, the same folks who also brought us cinematic masterpieces such as Max Payne and Alan Wake. While it’s clearly marketed to fans of the game—and yes, I too did my stint in Quantum Break and consider myself one—I urge you not to write off this book just because you haven’t played it, or because you don’t think a “video ga 4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/05/02/...

Quantum Break: Zero State is the tie-in novel to the action video game developed by Remedy Entertainment, the same folks who also brought us cinematic masterpieces such as Max Payne and Alan Wake. While it’s clearly marketed to fans of the game—and yes, I too did my stint in Quantum Break and consider myself one—I urge you not to write off this book just because you haven’t played it, or because you don’t think a “video game book” would be for you. Often these kinds of books get a bad rap (and goodness knows they deserve it sometimes) but I promise you this one is different.

From the very first page, I was floored by the stellar quality of this novel. I don’t want to sound like a book snob, especially since I consider myself a diehard tie-in junkie, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact this is a book based on a video game. I mean, it’s almost too good to be one? Needless to say, Quantum Break: Zero State surprised the hell out of me. Tie-in novel or not, it can easily stand on its own against any of the more mainstream or popular sci-fi thrillers out there.

The story stars Jack Joyce, a maverick who follows where his feet take him—as long as it’s away from his hometown of Riverport, Massachusetts where six years ago he cut ties with his older brother, the brilliant scientist William Joyce. Will is a genius, but his mind is also very disturbed. Growing up with him as a legal guardian was difficult, after their parents died in an accident when Jack was just a child. Will was withdrawn and consumed by his research, so his younger brother actually ended up being the one to support them both. It got even worse once Jack discovered that Will had secretly taken all the money their parents left them to use on his work after his own funding and research grants ran out, not to mention the massive debts with the local gangs and loan sharks. After years of cleaning up his brother’s messes, Jack finally said enough is enough. He packed up and left Riverport, washing his hands clean of Will and his crazy theories and problems.

But now, an email from Jack’s childhood friend Paul Serene has brought him back. As it turns out, Will’s theories weren’t so crazy after all. As a pioneer and top scientist in the field of chronon technology, Will has been consulting on a top secret project spearheaded by mega-corporation Monarch Solutions at Riverport University. Paul is one of the research leads on the project, and for some reason he wants Jack to come meet him at the Physics building so he can show him something that will change the face of the planet. Curiosity piqued, Jack agrees to go see his friend and thoroughly gets his mind blown when he realizes what is in the lab where Paul brings him. It appears that with Will’s help, Monarch had created a time machine…

You can definitely read this without knowing a single thing about the game, but some background information will probably give more context. In Quantum Break you play Jack, who gains time manipulation powers and uses them to fight the diabolical authorities behind Monarch. The flow of time breaks down and all hell breaks loose, creating all kinds of insane effects with the environment, including time stutters, time stops, time slowing down or speeding up, etc. As well, one of the game’s “hooks” include a live-action component. After each act in the game, an episode of a TV show will play out onscreen letting you see how your gameplay decisions have affected events and other characters in the story. As noted in the book’s foreword, there really is no “canon” version of Quantum Break, since you are going to be making a lot of in-game choices and in doing so create your own version of events. The game is about time travel and branching timelines, so your own playthrough will likely be completely different from another player’s.

This is why the idea behind this book is so brilliant. When I first read its description, I was initially worried that it would be a straight-up novelization—and who would want that, when you have the choice to actually immerse yourself in the cinematic experience that is the game itself? But here’s the cool part: Quantum Break: Zero State isn’t a true novelization because it is actually a combination of what’s in the game along with a lot more stuff that never made it in—think early story concepts, discarded ideas, or other elements that either weren’t used or abandoned because the developers couldn’t make them work for what they had in mind for the final product. It’s like an alternate timeline novel. As a result, you can read this book on its own without having even heard of Quantum Break! And if you have played it, you can also read this without feeling like it’s just a rehash of everything you did in game.

Like I said, the writing is superb and Cam Rogers’ prose is smart, punchy, and electrifying. As Remedy’s game writer and narrative designer, Rogers knows exactly how to capture the suspenseful atmosphere of Quantum Break, following through on the promise of action and thrilling fight scenes. The big theme here is also the time traveling aspect of course, and it is extremely cool, as are the powers that Jack possesses in game which are outstandingly described and utilized here in text. The story was indeed very different from my gameplay experience, but I found the version in this novel to be no less intense and exciting. I even liked that it gave me the chance to know some of the other characters better, most notably Beth Wilder.

Just for a second, forget that this book is based on a game, even if you are a fan of Quantum Break. If you enjoy sci-fi thrillers in general, and the idea of time traveling and superpowers sounds like a good time to you, then you must pick up this book. And if you happened to enjoy the video game too, then that goes double. This was all kinds of awesome, easily one of the best game tie-ins I’ve ever read, and heck, just a great time travel thriller all-around. ...more

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Jan 17, 2019 Rissa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Quantum Break
I liked the idea of bringing a video game to life but I wasnt a fan of the writing style. The characters were stiff and I didnt really know any of them. We were given information about the characters but not alot and not clear.
I always thought that video game Commercials looked like they would be great movies or books but this was not.

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Apr 10, 2016 Kevin Powe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Cam Rogers has an a beautifully deft handle on language, and uses short, brutally economic phrases to convey so richly a confusing, broken world from the perspective of Jack Joyce. Because of the negative connotation it typically carries, it feels like selling Zero State short to call it a video game tie-in, but the author's keen understanding of both mediums allows the novel to convey information that is central to worldbuilding & lore that are fundamentally video game concepts, without feeling ...more

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Sep 17, 2018 Michael rated it liked it

Quantum Break: Zero State is naturally in the same universe as the popular (well, not that popular I guess, I don't think it even sold a million copies) Xbox One video game. The game is unfortunately still in my backlog (sealed copy and all) but when I saw this book at a reasonable price I decided to go ahead and give it a read. If it spoiled something along the way, well then so be it.

Zero State has main character Jack Joyce trying to save the world from the end of time, caused unwittingly by Quantum Break: Zero State is naturally in the same universe as the popular (well, not that popular I guess, I don't think it even sold a million copies) Xbox One video game. The game is unfortunately still in my backlog (sealed copy and all) but when I saw this book at a reasonable price I decided to go ahead and give it a read. If it spoiled something along the way, well then so be it.

Zero State has main character Jack Joyce trying to save the world from the end of time, caused unwittingly by his brother Will's time machine. Jack, due to his interaction with the time machine has gained all sorts of powers which will help him to combat the forces of Monarch and other time warriors who seek to thwart his ways.

After reading this nearly 450 page book, I can say that I made it out a bit confused. I usually avoid time traveling shows and books as I usually like stories that are rooted in one specific time. Mostly, because to truly appreciate the story (and I'm certain that is the case here), one has to have the intelligence of a rocket scientist, or re-read at least 1-2 times to get the flow and bits that make everything come together.

Either that, or this book contains missing nuggets of information, presumably from the video game context that would make this a lot understandable. Cam Rogers does do an excellent job of writing the book, carefully detailing the universe and the story using multiple timelines well to achieve his intended purpose. I'm surprised he hasn't written any other novels to this point cause there are many elements here that do not indicate some rookie writer.

Despite my 3-star rating, I do recommend the experience to those with time-traveling reading knowledge as they perhaps would be able to better see the correlations between timelines and thus enjoy this book. I will try to move the actual game closer to the top of my backlog before I would think about reading this book again. Maybe then I would be able to enjoy the nuisances and details that this narrative so proudly displays.

...more

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Mar 26, 2016 Will M. marked it as to-read

Shelves: books-i-own, sci-fi

It says the release date is April 5th but I just bought this novel a few hours ago at my local bookstore. What's up with that? ...more

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Mar 22, 2017 Ben Fosbender rated it it was amazing

With the complexity and length of the game, this novel version of the Quantum Break universe was a great read with the story broken down further yet brought back to not over complicate. A few reviews had me worried, but I feel everyone expected it to be word for word as the game, but what would of been the point. I loved it, as much as I loved the game.

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Oct 31, 2020 Chris The Lizard from Planet X rated it really liked it

Quantum Break: Zero State is the tie-in novelization based on the sci-fi action video game developed by Remedy Entertainment, the same folks who also brought us cinematic masterpieces such as Max Payne and Alan Wake. While it’s clearly marketed to fans of the game—and yes, I too did my stint in Quantum Break and consider myself one—I urge you not to write off this book just because you haven’t played it, or because you don’t think a “video game book” would be for you. Often these kinds of books Quantum Break: Zero State is the tie-in novelization based on the sci-fi action video game developed by Remedy Entertainment, the same folks who also brought us cinematic masterpieces such as Max Payne and Alan Wake. While it’s clearly marketed to fans of the game—and yes, I too did my stint in Quantum Break and consider myself one—I urge you not to write off this book just because you haven’t played it, or because you don’t think a “video game book” would be for you. Often these kinds of books get a bad rap (and goodness knows they deserve it sometimes) but I promise you this one is different.

From the very first page, I was floored by the stellar quality of this novel. I don’t want to sound like a book snob, especially since I consider myself a diehard tie-in junkie, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact this is a book based on a video game. I mean, it’s almost too good to be one? Needless to say, Quantum Break: Zero State surprised the heck out of me. Tie-in novel or not, it can easily stand on its own against any of the more mainstream or popular sci-fi thrillers out there.

The plot focuses on Jack Joyce, a maverick who follows where his feet take him—as long as it’s away from his hometown of Riverport, Massachusetts where six years ago he cut ties with his older brother, the brilliant scientist William Joyce. Will is a genius, but his mind is also very disturbed. Growing up with him as a legal guardian was difficult, after their parents died in an accident when Jack was just a child. Will was withdrawn and consumed by his research, so his younger brother actually ended up being the one to support them both. It got even worse once Jack discovered that Will had secretly taken all the money their parents left them to use on his work after his own funding and research grants ran out, not to mention the massive debts with the local gangs and loan sharks. After years of cleaning up his brother’s messes, Jack finally said enough is enough. He packed up and left Riverport, washing his hands clean of Will and his crazy theories and problems.

But now, an email from Jack’s childhood friend Paul Serene has brought him back. As it turns out, Will’s theories weren’t so crazy after all. As a pioneer and top scientist in the field of chronon technology, Will has been consulting on a top secret project spearheaded by mega-corporation Monarch Solutions at Riverport University. Paul is one of the research leads on the project, and for some reason he wants Jack to come meet him at the Physics building so he can show him something that will change the face of the planet. Curiosity piqued, Jack agrees to go see his friend and thoroughly gets his mind blown when he realizes what is in the lab where Paul brings him. It appears that with Will’s help, Monarch had created a time machine…

A stutter in time…saves you from a hail of bullets
You can definitely read this without knowing a single thing about the game, but some background information will probably give more context. In Quantum Break you play Jack, who gains time manipulation powers and uses them to fight the diabolical authorities behind Monarch. The flow of time breaks down and all hell breaks loose, creating all kinds of insane effects with the environment, including time stutters, time stops, time slowing down or speeding up, etc. As well, one of the game’s “hooks” include a live-action component. After each act in the game, an episode of a TV show will play out onscreen letting you see how your gameplay decisions have affected events and other characters in the story. As noted in the book’s foreword, there really is no “canon” version of Quantum Break, since you are going to be making a lot of in-game choices and in doing so create your own version of events. The game is about time travel and branching timelines, so your own playthrough will likely be completely different from another player’s.

Time is power
This is why the idea behind this book is so brilliant. When I first read its description, I was initially worried that it would be a straight-up novelization—and who would want that, when you have the choice to actually immerse yourself in the cinematic experience that is the game itself? But here’s the cool part: Quantum Break: Zero State isn’t a true novelization because it is actually a combination of what’s in the game along with a lot more stuff that never made it in—think early story concepts, discarded ideas, or other elements that either weren’t used or abandoned because the developers couldn’t make them work for what they had in mind for the final product. It’s like an alternate timeline novel. As a result, you can read this book on its own without having to play Quantum Break! And if you have played it, you can also read this without feeling like it’s just a rehash of everything you did in game.

Like I said, the writing is superb and Cam Rogers’ prose is smart, punchy, and electrifying. As Remedy’s game writer and narrative designer, Rogers knows exactly how to capture the suspenseful atmosphere of Quantum Break, following through on the promise of action and thrilling fight scenes. The big theme here is also the time traveling aspect of course, and it is extremely cool, as are the powers that Jack possesses in game which are outstandingly described and utilized here in text. The story was indeed very different from my gameplay experience, but I found the version in this novel to be no less intense and exciting. I even liked that it gave me the chance to know some of the other characters better, most notably Beth Wilder.

Just for a second, forget that this book is based on a game, even if you are a fan of Quantum Break. If you enjoy sci-fi thrillers in general, and the idea of time traveling and superpowers sounds like a good time to you, then you must pick up this book. And if you happened to enjoy the video game too, then that goes double. This was all kinds of awesome, easily one of the best game tie-ins I’ve ever read, and heck, just a great time travel thriller all-around. ...more

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Apr 29, 2016 David Miles rated it it was ok

Shelves: abandoned

Tried to get into the story. Made it to Chapter 5 before pulling pin.

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Sep 21, 2019 JJ rated it liked it

Quantum Break: Zero State is a good-but-not-great tie-in to the videogame of the same name. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to any but the most die-hard fans of the game (if there are any), but it was far from the worst media tie-in out there.

I enjoyed that the novel embraces the difficulty of adapting an action-packed videogame for the printed page. A foreward by Sam Lake (creative director at Remedy, who developed the game) alerts the reader that it will contain material left on the cutting Quantum Break: Zero State is a good-but-not-great tie-in to the videogame of the same name. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to any but the most die-hard fans of the game (if there are any), but it was far from the worst media tie-in out there.

I enjoyed that the novel embraces the difficulty of adapting an action-packed videogame for the printed page. A foreward by Sam Lake (creative director at Remedy, who developed the game) alerts the reader that it will contain material left on the cutting room floor during development, alternate plot points and set pieces, and whatever else the author (Cam Rogers, who co-wrote the game's story) decided to include.

I read through the novel and played through the game at the same time, and there are some MAJOR differences in the narrative -- mostly in Zero State's favor. We get expanded background on characters other than the game's protagonist, which end up being the best parts of the novel. And there are times when a scene plays out differently or takes place at another location that makes it have more meaning. But the sometimes-blunt, sometimes-overly-flowery language fails to convey the impressive time manipulation effects seen in the game. And when Rogers gets bogged down in explaining all the scientific mumbo-jumbo, it's all too easy to tune out.

One final difference is that the game also includes 20-minute "TV show" episodes in between its acts. They aren't particularly good, but their inclusion at least makes the game notable even years down the line, while they're conspicuously absent from the novel. As fun as it was to read all the changes, I think it would have elevated my enjoyment of Zero State significantly if there were notes on why changes like these were made as an inside look the differences between writing a story for a game and for a novel.

Overall, Quantum Break: Zero State is an intriguing way to tell the story of a videogame. But while it's a better story than you would get from playing the game, it's never quite good enough to stand on its own. ...more

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Jun 01, 2017 Brenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: comic-con-2016

This was kind of a throwaway book for me. It's a hefty book and it was taking up space on my bookshelf and I didn't have any ARCs that were coming out right away, so I figured it was a good time to knock this one out.

Turns out it's actually a pretty great book! It presented its theory of time travel in a way that was easy to understand, and provided some really awesome action. I was definitely one of those people that thought the quality of the writing would be negligible at best because it was ...more

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Oct 12, 2018 Isaac rated it it was amazing

the book is really good because it’s about a video game and it is really interesting because the main character (jack)has a hard life and his brother Will has a hard life as well. Then one day jack left his brother and jack began a new life without any trouble. Years past and jack found his brother, Will made a time machine that could make people travel form past to future and all that got backfired. The machine exploded in a test and everything got destroyed. Except for Jack, Jack had time free ...more

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Sep 24, 2020 Matt Christian rated it it was ok · review of another edition

An Alternate Timeline

Really liked that the book wasn’t just a rehash of the game and thought it had a lot of interesting details the game failed to explain (about some characters and time travel situations). The book switches some of the bigger action scenes out for a more personal focus on Jack and especially Beth. However, I found some of the writing hard to follow and some detail a little hard to imagine without more added to it. Worth a read for some cool time travel stuff if you liked the g ...more

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Sep 24, 2020 Aether Ghoul rated it liked it

Shelves: alright

This was okay. As a disclaimer, I'm a big fan of the game, and I quite enjoyed the Alan Wake novelization, so it's not the fact this is a VG novelization that has me 'meh.' Some minor spoilers below, read review at your discretion.

I don't really like this version of Beth, or her connection to Jack. Paul did not read like Paul to me, making me realize how much of that performance was all Aiden Gillen being the shining star he is.

Didn't hate it, didn't love it. Overall, meh, but it was nice to rev ...more

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Jul 10, 2020 Laura P. rated it liked it

I kinda appreciated the book trying to tell a slightly different tale but sadly it failed to captivate me. The game's story is way better. The characters here are stiff, unyielding and leagues away from giving me an inch of the feelings I've got from the game's which can count on the amazing actors performances and voice-over. If you can, get an Xbox and play the game...Skip the book. ...more

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Jun 19, 2020 Jenny rated it liked it

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Apr 22, 2016 Tsun Kid Wong rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Quantum Break by Cam Rogers is a story happening the same universe as the popular game from Microsoft (a.k.a Quantum Break!). The reason I bought this book is not because is came out as a game, is because I read the descriptions, and the structure of the story attracted me to buy this book.

Was I disappointed? Yes, and no (but mainly no). I feel there’s a pretty common problem with game novels is that, the words the book use, and the sentence structures is not as great as other authors who mainly ...more

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Apr 23, 2016 Ross Orlando rated it liked it

As a fan of the game, I was curious to see what the book would offer. It turns out that it is a great Beth story but not the best book overall.

In the game, the main focus of Monarch outside of Paul and Hatch was Liam Burke; a conflicted guy who worked for Monarch. He was multidimensional and interesting. The change in the book to Gibson felt like a waste of time. He was so plainly a bad guy with no depth that I rolled my eyes any time he was brought up.

Maybe Remedy told the author that he coul ...more

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Aug 17, 2018 Manly rated it did not like it

Shelves: not-for-me, reviews

I picked this up because the cover made me think it would be fun. I see from the cover it is based on a "blockbuster" videogame. I have never heard of the game.

This is my live review while I read. Probably gonna be lots of spoilers involved.

Chapter 1
Two men stand on an overlook above the river, while a murderer and his henchmen are behind them. The men's lives hang on the results of the a pretty girl sweet talking in the murderer's ear.

The girl is an extreme risk taker, and one of the men does ...more

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Jun 13, 2016 Jonathan H. rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi, fiction

Quantum Break is a video game released this past April that involves manipulating time: a time-machine experiment gives Jack Joyce the power to slow down time (thus moving very quickly, from the perspective of his enemies) and create “stutter shields” in which time freezes. Meanwhile, time itself is breaking down—sometimes time will stop altogether, or even rewind and replay in short segments, forcing Jack to work his way through explosions and a fractured world with unpredictable pacing. It loo ...more

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Apr 16, 2016 Keith rated it really liked it

The Quantum Break videogame impressed me with the quality of its storytelling, so I was right up for some more from the same universe. That said I wasn't sure what to expect - I've read and enjoyed a few videogame spin-off novels, but this is the first novelisation of a videogame I've read since Gordon Rennie's Dredd vs Death tie-in many moons ago. As it happens, it's not the straight novelisation that it might at first appear, nor is it the spin-off expanded universe-style novel that I maybe ex ...more

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Jul 14, 2016 Abir rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: people who've played Quantum Break

I'd actually give this a 3.5 or 3.8. I don't typically read video game accompaniment novels but I was wooed by the premise that this one's story would be an alternate take on the game's storyline. In the end that was 70% true. I really appreciated having more of beth's backstory, and the way it was tied into jack and paul's past. Beth was a really strong, developed character and just as much of a hero as Jack--something that was downplayed for most of the game. I was disappointed that we didn't ...more

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Jun 02, 2016 travis williams rated it really liked it · review of another edition

a break in time

I gave quantum break zero state a novel four stars because first off if you haven't played the game stop reading my review and go play it right now I love the quantum break video game it was breathtaking beautiful the cross between live action cut scenes and the storyline alone was well done in my opinion but sadly my only fault with it is the whole time line of events just seemed awfully hard to follow I just found myself lost at key points in the novel it was like once I underst ...more

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Jul 10, 2016 Sean P. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Fun read and good expansion on the game story

If you enjoyed the game story or like science and time travel you should find this a light but fun and enjoyable read.

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