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Gears of War #4
Coalition's End
Understand what a world had to do to survive.
When the Locust Horde burst from the ground fifteen years ago to slaughter the human population of Sera, mankind began a desperate war against extinction. Now after a decade and a half of bloody fighting, and with billions dead, the survivors—the Gears of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, along with a small band of civilians—have been forced to destroy their own cities and sacrifice their entire civilization to halt the Locust advance.
The last-ditch measures have succeeded, but at an enormous cost: the survivors have been reduced to a handful of refugees.
Escaping to a haven on the remote island of Vectes, they begin the heartbreaking task of rebuilding their devastated world. For a while, there’s hope . . . making peace with old enemies, and once again planning for the future.
But the short respite is shattered when Vectes comes under siege from an even deadlier force than the Locust—the Lambent, a hideous and constantly mutating life-form that destroys everything in its path. As the Lambent’s relentless assault spreads from the mainland to the island, the refugees finally understand what drove the Locust from their underground warrens and sparked the global war.
While Marcus Fenix and the Gears struggle to hold back the invasion, the Coalition faces a stark choice—fight this new enemy to the last human, or flee to the wastelands to take their chances and live like the human pariahs known as the Stranded . . . even as Coalition chairman Richard Prescott still guards one last, terrible secret about the Locust, the Lambent, and the future of mankind. . . .
443 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2011
67 people are currently reading
1819 people want to read
About the author
Karen Traviss
129 books1,513 followers#1 New York Times best-selling novelist, scriptwriter and comics author Karen Traviss has received critical acclaim for her award-nominated Wess'har series, and her work on Halo, Gears of War, Batman, G.I. Joe, and other major franchises has earned her a broad range of fans. She's best known for military science fiction, but GOING GREY and BLACK RUN, the first books in her new techno-thriller series RINGER, are set in the real world of today. A former defence correspondent and TV and newspaper journalist, she lives in Wiltshire, England. She's currently working on SACRIFICIAL RED, the third book in the Ringer series, and HERE WE STAND, book three in the NOMAD series.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 74 reviews
August 24, 2011
Gears of War: Coalition's End is technically the 4th book in a series that Karen Traviss has penned for the video game franchise. It is also touted as a bridge novel for the Gears of War trilogy and the Gears of War 3 video game coming out in September this year.
It's been a long time since I've played Gears of War.
I've never read Karen Traviss, but have heard good things.
It was time to remedy this situation at least partly by giving Gears of War: Coalition's End a go... and now I might just have to buy myself an XBOX 360 so I can be ready for Gears of War 3.
To catch myself up in the story, I found some good stuff on Youtube that explains the first two video games for Gears of War and for Gears of War 2. These are highly recommended if you haven't played either game in a while and this next blurb is pretty spoilerific if you don't already know the story so far.
New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss is the eagerly anticipated bridge novel for the Gears of War trilogy - continuing the harrowing story of Delta Squad and their struggle to save the remnants of humanity in a world overrun by a brutal enemy, the Locust Horde.
When the Locust Horde burst from the ground fifteen years ago to slaughter the human population of Sera, mankind began a desperate war against extinction. Now after a decade and a half of bloody fighting, and with billions dead, the survivors - the Gears of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, along with a band of civilians - have been forced to destroy their own cities and sacrifice their entire civilization to half the Locust advance.
The last-ditch measures have succeeded, but at an enormous cost: the survivors have been reduced to a handful of refugees.
Escaping to a haven on the remote island of Vectes, they begin the heartbreaking task of rebuilding their devastated world. For a while, there's hope... making peace with old enemies, and once again planning for the future.
But the short respite is shattered when Vectes comes under siege from an even deadlier force than the Locust - the Lambent, a hideous and constantly mutating life-form that destroys everything in its path. As the Lambent's relentless assault spreads from the mainland to the island, the refugees finally understand what drove the Locust from their underground warrens and sparked the global war.
While Marcus Fenix and the Gears struggle to hold back the invasion, the Coalition faces a stark choice - fight this new enemy to the last human, or flee to the wastelands to take their chances and live like the human pariahs known as the Stranded... even as Coalition chairman Richard Prescott still guards one last, terrible secret about the Locust, the Lambent, and the future of mankind....
I had some expectations going into my reading of Coalition's End. The main thing I expected would that it would be non-stop action - a ridiculous roller-coaster ride that goes from one inexplicable reason to have to shoot stuff to another. That's what video games do right?
Obviously, I was way off, not only in my assumptions for the book, but in my assumption for the video game. I said it's been a while, give me a break.
Gears of War has a great storyline that seems so simple, but it's something I've never personally encountered before. Instead of some alien force coming to earth to destroy the human race, these aliens were already here, just deep down in the earth. This brings up big issues such as who really belongs here. Then again, it's hard to feel sorry for a race that shoots first and asks questions later.
Coalition's End deals with the aftermath of the Locust Horde. The last survivors of the human race are essentially at the end of the road. The COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) has already run away as far as it can and not only have to deal with relationships between former enemies (the Gorasnians, who they fought in the Pendulum Wars before the Locust Horde emerged), but now there's a new threat - the Lambent.
Instead of finding excuses for action, Coalition's End takes more of a Speaker for the Dead type route where there's an alien mystery that the leading members of the COG just cannot explain, and with limited resources, don't really have the scientific knowledge anymore to research. There's still some good action, don't get me wrong. Along with this, Chairman Prescott (the guy who made the decision to use the Hammer of Dawn against his own people, decimating billions) is still playing his games, even at the end of the road.
At the same time Traviss explores the COG's fight against the Lambent and the senior leaders' issues with Chairman Prescott, the novel explores the backstory of some of the main characters on or around E-day (the day the Locust Horde emerged - 15 years earlier). These were some of my favorite parts, detailing how the relationship between Cole Train and Baird began, how Bernie was able to survive on her own, and how Dizzy comes to the COG. While Marcus Fenix does show up, there's no part that really focuses on him as far as flashbacks go.
The only real disappointment I had was that some of the main plot points remain unresolved by the end that I'm sure the upcoming Gears of War 3 video game will take care of.
Why Read Gears of War: Coalition's End?
If you're dying to get your hands on Gears of War 3, Coalition's End is a perfect lead-in to the game. They nailed it in their marketing promo. It's also a great way to get to know the characters that much better and should flow very well into the game since Karen Traviss also happens to be the head writer for Gears of War 3. Highly recommended for fans of the franchise and non-fans alike.
4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it)
It's been a long time since I've played Gears of War.
I've never read Karen Traviss, but have heard good things.
It was time to remedy this situation at least partly by giving Gears of War: Coalition's End a go... and now I might just have to buy myself an XBOX 360 so I can be ready for Gears of War 3.
To catch myself up in the story, I found some good stuff on Youtube that explains the first two video games for Gears of War and for Gears of War 2. These are highly recommended if you haven't played either game in a while and this next blurb is pretty spoilerific if you don't already know the story so far.
New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss is the eagerly anticipated bridge novel for the Gears of War trilogy - continuing the harrowing story of Delta Squad and their struggle to save the remnants of humanity in a world overrun by a brutal enemy, the Locust Horde.
When the Locust Horde burst from the ground fifteen years ago to slaughter the human population of Sera, mankind began a desperate war against extinction. Now after a decade and a half of bloody fighting, and with billions dead, the survivors - the Gears of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, along with a band of civilians - have been forced to destroy their own cities and sacrifice their entire civilization to half the Locust advance.
The last-ditch measures have succeeded, but at an enormous cost: the survivors have been reduced to a handful of refugees.
Escaping to a haven on the remote island of Vectes, they begin the heartbreaking task of rebuilding their devastated world. For a while, there's hope... making peace with old enemies, and once again planning for the future.
But the short respite is shattered when Vectes comes under siege from an even deadlier force than the Locust - the Lambent, a hideous and constantly mutating life-form that destroys everything in its path. As the Lambent's relentless assault spreads from the mainland to the island, the refugees finally understand what drove the Locust from their underground warrens and sparked the global war.
While Marcus Fenix and the Gears struggle to hold back the invasion, the Coalition faces a stark choice - fight this new enemy to the last human, or flee to the wastelands to take their chances and live like the human pariahs known as the Stranded... even as Coalition chairman Richard Prescott still guards one last, terrible secret about the Locust, the Lambent, and the future of mankind....
I had some expectations going into my reading of Coalition's End. The main thing I expected would that it would be non-stop action - a ridiculous roller-coaster ride that goes from one inexplicable reason to have to shoot stuff to another. That's what video games do right?
Obviously, I was way off, not only in my assumptions for the book, but in my assumption for the video game. I said it's been a while, give me a break.
Gears of War has a great storyline that seems so simple, but it's something I've never personally encountered before. Instead of some alien force coming to earth to destroy the human race, these aliens were already here, just deep down in the earth. This brings up big issues such as who really belongs here. Then again, it's hard to feel sorry for a race that shoots first and asks questions later.
Coalition's End deals with the aftermath of the Locust Horde. The last survivors of the human race are essentially at the end of the road. The COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) has already run away as far as it can and not only have to deal with relationships between former enemies (the Gorasnians, who they fought in the Pendulum Wars before the Locust Horde emerged), but now there's a new threat - the Lambent.
Instead of finding excuses for action, Coalition's End takes more of a Speaker for the Dead type route where there's an alien mystery that the leading members of the COG just cannot explain, and with limited resources, don't really have the scientific knowledge anymore to research. There's still some good action, don't get me wrong. Along with this, Chairman Prescott (the guy who made the decision to use the Hammer of Dawn against his own people, decimating billions) is still playing his games, even at the end of the road.
At the same time Traviss explores the COG's fight against the Lambent and the senior leaders' issues with Chairman Prescott, the novel explores the backstory of some of the main characters on or around E-day (the day the Locust Horde emerged - 15 years earlier). These were some of my favorite parts, detailing how the relationship between Cole Train and Baird began, how Bernie was able to survive on her own, and how Dizzy comes to the COG. While Marcus Fenix does show up, there's no part that really focuses on him as far as flashbacks go.
The only real disappointment I had was that some of the main plot points remain unresolved by the end that I'm sure the upcoming Gears of War 3 video game will take care of.
Why Read Gears of War: Coalition's End?
If you're dying to get your hands on Gears of War 3, Coalition's End is a perfect lead-in to the game. They nailed it in their marketing promo. It's also a great way to get to know the characters that much better and should flow very well into the game since Karen Traviss also happens to be the head writer for Gears of War 3. Highly recommended for fans of the franchise and non-fans alike.
4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it)
January 15, 2016
"It’s all getting a little bat-shit crazy out here. Well use a cloth, that’s what it’s for you idiot"
I almost wrote this review with the ending at the beginning – nothing wrong with that really. Just think of watching Star Wars in reverse;
Star Wars synopsis
Maniacal-bad-guy-killer-who-turns-into-a-blue-milk-drinking-whiny-teenager.
The new film would have
Moody-emo-listened-to-too-much-MarylinManson-wanna-hurt-the-world-so-you-can-share-in-my-non-existent-angst. (From the bad-guys perspective).
Anyway, enough of that. Coalition’s End is the conclusive end to the Delta Squad story line that runs parallel with the video games. Marcus Fenix and his gang are stilled holed up on the island of Vectes where they have plenty of problems running over from the previous book Anvil Gate. Colonel Hoffman and Chairman Prescott’s tug-of-war over who has the stronger personality is an ever present. The present story focuses upon that and Delta squads rush to save the populace from extinction. Along with a new type of enemy, the Lambent (essentially they turn into explosive creatures – it doesn't help as they can evolve and jump between species – what a bastard!) it has a nice mixture going on.
Like previous Karen Traviss’ novels there is a story that delves down into memory lane for some of the COG members; Bernie gets to tell her story from the beginning of Emergency Day (when the Locusts first attacked Sera) and just how she got to Jacinto and the COG. It’s interesting, to a point. The big dilemma here is that the tale has been told before in Anvil Gate so I felt like I was re-reading content that’s already been presented to the reader.
Another background story spotlights Cole-Train’s struggle with losing his family after E-Day and then looks at how he met Baird and they became buddies. That little story helps to converge on present day. I mean how the hell does Cole put up with Baird’s constant whining and bitching. He owes him you see – their friendship never is really touched on before so I found this to fill in some holes. Back story is important, especially when (in the video games) characters struggle to really develop – more so in big AAA titles as the story (at times) can be hamstrung by the constraints of what the game actually lets them do (as story-tellers). Not so on paper. There’s none of that, Marcus hand in earpiece saying “Owwwww SHIT” constantly – I mean he does say it, but there are only so many different ways you can bloody-well use shit as a valid word for, well, anything else, EVER. (138 single occasions in Gears of War apparently!).
I've briefly mentioned that the present day story taking place between the back-story is churning along. Delta faces a new[er] threat. Having faced the Lambent before and blown Jacinto (the former COG capital) to kingdom-come they now discover them on Vectes in full force. Leviathans throwing off explosive massive crabs called polyps. Massive rock-type stalks borrowing through the bedrock to the surface punch through and expel more polyps – things are going to hell for the COG and they must reach a decision – will they stay or will they go! Go where though? Good question. The story helps to inject a feeling of – this is it; extinction is coming – for the reader. There on a knife-edge and now the decision comes down to two people; Hoffman and Prescott. Hoffman HATES Prescott’s guts and I'm sure the feelings mutual. Someone’s got to buckle, which one? Who knows! Tune in next week folks!
I should mention something about the prose as I know there are some lovers of grammatical lapses out there – none to mention here really. The characterisation is spot on, I mentioned in depth in review just how well Karen Traviss can take one dimensional persona's and turn them into really engaging multi-layered personalities. That’s a skill, something rare I’d hazard to argue. Well, I wouldn't argue it, I'm saying it is. With many stories when there are several intertwining tales occurring in prose it can become to entangled – the authors penwomanship ability allows for the stories to mingle together but not become confused as to slow down the main story. Blimey that was a sentence.
Coalition’s End really is an apt name for this novel. It’s the end of something and beginning of something new – what that is the reader only gets glimpses at. With the forthcoming Gears 4 game we’re going to most likely find out what that is – but for the moment we’re just have to guess. The ending is sentimental, it’s meant to be. For a story that is about a squad of rooting-tooting-meatheads, it was a surprise to be sure.
I almost wrote this review with the ending at the beginning – nothing wrong with that really. Just think of watching Star Wars in reverse;
Star Wars synopsis
Maniacal-bad-guy-killer-who-turns-into-a-blue-milk-drinking-whiny-teenager.
The new film would have
Moody-emo-listened-to-too-much-MarylinManson-wanna-hurt-the-world-so-you-can-share-in-my-non-existent-angst. (From the bad-guys perspective).
Anyway, enough of that. Coalition’s End is the conclusive end to the Delta Squad story line that runs parallel with the video games. Marcus Fenix and his gang are stilled holed up on the island of Vectes where they have plenty of problems running over from the previous book Anvil Gate. Colonel Hoffman and Chairman Prescott’s tug-of-war over who has the stronger personality is an ever present. The present story focuses upon that and Delta squads rush to save the populace from extinction. Along with a new type of enemy, the Lambent (essentially they turn into explosive creatures – it doesn't help as they can evolve and jump between species – what a bastard!) it has a nice mixture going on.
Like previous Karen Traviss’ novels there is a story that delves down into memory lane for some of the COG members; Bernie gets to tell her story from the beginning of Emergency Day (when the Locusts first attacked Sera) and just how she got to Jacinto and the COG. It’s interesting, to a point. The big dilemma here is that the tale has been told before in Anvil Gate so I felt like I was re-reading content that’s already been presented to the reader.
Another background story spotlights Cole-Train’s struggle with losing his family after E-Day and then looks at how he met Baird and they became buddies. That little story helps to converge on present day. I mean how the hell does Cole put up with Baird’s constant whining and bitching. He owes him you see – their friendship never is really touched on before so I found this to fill in some holes. Back story is important, especially when (in the video games) characters struggle to really develop – more so in big AAA titles as the story (at times) can be hamstrung by the constraints of what the game actually lets them do (as story-tellers). Not so on paper. There’s none of that, Marcus hand in earpiece saying “Owwwww SHIT” constantly – I mean he does say it, but there are only so many different ways you can bloody-well use shit as a valid word for, well, anything else, EVER. (138 single occasions in Gears of War apparently!).
I've briefly mentioned that the present day story taking place between the back-story is churning along. Delta faces a new[er] threat. Having faced the Lambent before and blown Jacinto (the former COG capital) to kingdom-come they now discover them on Vectes in full force. Leviathans throwing off explosive massive crabs called polyps. Massive rock-type stalks borrowing through the bedrock to the surface punch through and expel more polyps – things are going to hell for the COG and they must reach a decision – will they stay or will they go! Go where though? Good question. The story helps to inject a feeling of – this is it; extinction is coming – for the reader. There on a knife-edge and now the decision comes down to two people; Hoffman and Prescott. Hoffman HATES Prescott’s guts and I'm sure the feelings mutual. Someone’s got to buckle, which one? Who knows! Tune in next week folks!
I should mention something about the prose as I know there are some lovers of grammatical lapses out there – none to mention here really. The characterisation is spot on, I mentioned in depth in review just how well Karen Traviss can take one dimensional persona's and turn them into really engaging multi-layered personalities. That’s a skill, something rare I’d hazard to argue. Well, I wouldn't argue it, I'm saying it is. With many stories when there are several intertwining tales occurring in prose it can become to entangled – the authors penwomanship ability allows for the stories to mingle together but not become confused as to slow down the main story. Blimey that was a sentence.
Coalition’s End really is an apt name for this novel. It’s the end of something and beginning of something new – what that is the reader only gets glimpses at. With the forthcoming Gears 4 game we’re going to most likely find out what that is – but for the moment we’re just have to guess. The ending is sentimental, it’s meant to be. For a story that is about a squad of rooting-tooting-meatheads, it was a surprise to be sure.
June 19, 2014
I thought this one outstayed it's welcome. With so little left remaining to be said about our merry bunch of Gears doing their survival routine I found it hard to reengage with characters. Characterisation is fine as always but there is very little plot left to reveal. Baird's damn data disc will wait for Game 3 as will all the Prescott stuff. Some of the Emergence Day stories are interesting but again mainly superfluous. It doesn't help that Gears are stuck with battling Stalks and Polyps which often reads more like a gardening handbook than a military thriller.
September 19, 2025
Out of the “trilogy” of books that run in the period between GOW 2 and 3, Coalition’s End was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t remember much of it from my first read except that it was more filler than anything but in the end I found myself really enjoying it!
I do think Traviss does a great job of taking cartoonish-like characters from the games and adding so much depth to them. Dizzy’s chapters really fleshed out who he is and what drives him to keep going. The chapter with him and Rosalyn dodging the Hammer attacks? Chills! I think the message about the Stranded and messiness of the COG also hit harder here than in Jacinto’s Remnant. You can really get a sense of how betrayed the Stranded were through Dizzy’s chapters, something that was missing in JR. Outside of Dizzy, Traviss adds layers to all the characters in the series, especially Baird. We are treated with the moment Baird and Cole meet, and what glues them together despite their polar opposite personalities. I complained about Baird last book, but his chapters were so much more tolerable this time around.
Outside of the flashbacks, Dom’s chapters are the standouts for me. They are real gut punches. You know he’s been suffering since Jacinto’s Remnant, and it isn’t any better. Where he was more shocked and numb in the last two books, Dom is now at the point where he’s not sure if he deserves to be happy or if it matters if he lives or dies. He struggles with wanting to feel comfort with Sam but Maria is always there. It’s heart breaking. If you’ve played the third game, I think this book really sets up his final scenes and makes them all the more tragic.
While I loved much of this book, I still think there were some POVs that could have been dropped and others prioritized. I really wish Anya had come back! And maybe even a bit more between her and Marcus… I will happily read about Bernie and Hoffman any day but I felt like Anya and Marcus deserved a little more fleshing out considering they do eventually get married and have the main character of GOW 4… but alas, I was still happy with what I got.
I’m pretty excited to read The Slab next! I remember loving it, especially Reeve’s POV, another vital character to Marcus’s story and survival. After that though - I’m still on the fence about reading the non-Traviss books… we’ll have to see.
I do think Traviss does a great job of taking cartoonish-like characters from the games and adding so much depth to them. Dizzy’s chapters really fleshed out who he is and what drives him to keep going. The chapter with him and Rosalyn dodging the Hammer attacks? Chills! I think the message about the Stranded and messiness of the COG also hit harder here than in Jacinto’s Remnant. You can really get a sense of how betrayed the Stranded were through Dizzy’s chapters, something that was missing in JR. Outside of Dizzy, Traviss adds layers to all the characters in the series, especially Baird. We are treated with the moment Baird and Cole meet, and what glues them together despite their polar opposite personalities. I complained about Baird last book, but his chapters were so much more tolerable this time around.
Outside of the flashbacks, Dom’s chapters are the standouts for me. They are real gut punches. You know he’s been suffering since Jacinto’s Remnant, and it isn’t any better. Where he was more shocked and numb in the last two books, Dom is now at the point where he’s not sure if he deserves to be happy or if it matters if he lives or dies. He struggles with wanting to feel comfort with Sam but Maria is always there. It’s heart breaking. If you’ve played the third game, I think this book really sets up his final scenes and makes them all the more tragic.
While I loved much of this book, I still think there were some POVs that could have been dropped and others prioritized. I really wish Anya had come back! And maybe even a bit more between her and Marcus… I will happily read about Bernie and Hoffman any day but I felt like Anya and Marcus deserved a little more fleshing out considering they do eventually get married and have the main character of GOW 4… but alas, I was still happy with what I got.
I’m pretty excited to read The Slab next! I remember loving it, especially Reeve’s POV, another vital character to Marcus’s story and survival. After that though - I’m still on the fence about reading the non-Traviss books… we’ll have to see.
November 11, 2024
What im growing to love about these books is I played the games and I absolutely loved them, gears 3 completely destroyed me in that one scene 😢 if you know, you know! All that without reading the books. But now im going through these novels i have so many answers to questions of what happened between the end of gears 2 & 3, I understand the charecters more and there feelings leading into the end of the trilogy. I feel that playing gears 3 now would just floor me and put me out of action for a good while! Theres only one book left "The slab" finally diving into the biggest secret that Marcus won't talk about, what happened while he was in "The Slab" oh im so excited!
January 2, 2022
Another pretty good story by Karen Traviss, love her works!
July 23, 2016
Like The Slab this fills in a chunk of time hinted at in the games, but not really explored and once again we get 3 dimensional characters in an interesting backdrop. The remnants of the COG are now holed up on a tiny farming island know as Vectes, they are desperate and a new threat other than Locusts are making things even more desperate. Like The Slab interestingly game hero Marcus Fenix is a background character with Dom, Hoffman, Bernie, Baird, Dizzy and Cole aka The Cole Train filling in as the main characters for this story. I cannot stress enough how fully realized the characters feel in these books, in the game they were all 2 dimensional, but here they are actually people with fears and hopes and mostly sad backstories.
Can you read these books with no knowledge of the games? Probably. but I wouldn't recommend it because the games and at least the 2 books I have read tie in together nicely. The games give you the action and the books give you the characters and crucial story points merely mentioned in game.
Can you read these books with no knowledge of the games? Probably. but I wouldn't recommend it because the games and at least the 2 books I have read tie in together nicely. The games give you the action and the books give you the characters and crucial story points merely mentioned in game.
October 31, 2020
Gears of War: Coalition’s End is the conclusive end to the Delta Squad story line that runs parallel with the video games. Marcus Fenix and his gang are stilled holed up on the island of Vectes where they have plenty of problems running over from the previous book Anvil Gate. Colonel Hoffman and Chairman Prescott’s tug-of-war over who has the stronger personality is an ever present. The present story focuses upon that and Delta squads rush to save the populace from extinction. Along with a new type of enemy, the Lambent (essentially they turn into explosive creatures – it doesn't help as they can evolve and jump between species – what a bastard!) it has a nice mixture going on.
Like previous Karen Traviss’ novels there is a story that delves down into memory lane for some of the COG members; Bernie gets to tell her story from the beginning of Emergency Day (when the Locusts first attacked Sera) and just how she got to Jacinto and the COG. It’s interesting, to a point. The big dilemma here is that the tale has been told before in Anvil Gate so I felt like I was re-reading content that’s already been presented to the reader.
Another background story spotlights Cole-Train’s struggle with losing his family after E-Day and then looks at how he met Baird and they became buddies. That little story helps to converge on present day. I mean how the hell does Cole put up with Baird’s constant whining and bitching. He owes him you see – their friendship never is really touched on before so I found this to fill in some holes. Back story is important, especially when (in the video games) characters struggle to really develop – more so in big AAA titles as the story (at times) can be hamstrung by the constraints of what the game actually lets them do (as story-tellers). Not so on paper. There’s none of that, Marcus hand in earpiece saying “Owwwww SHIT” constantly – I mean he does say it, but there are only so many different ways you can bloody-well use shit as a valid word for, well, anything else, EVER. (138 single occasions in Gears of War apparently!).
I've briefly mentioned that the present day story taking place between the back-story is churning along. Delta faces a new[er] threat. Having faced the Lambent before and blown Jacinto (the former COG capital) to kingdom-come they now discover them on Vectes in full force. Leviathans throwing off explosive massive crabs called polyps. Massive rock-type stalks borrowing through the bedrock to the surface punch through and expel more polyps – things are going to hell for the COG and they must reach a decision – will they stay or will they go! Go where though? Good question. The story helps to inject a feeling of – this is it; extinction is coming – for the reader. There on a knife-edge and now the decision comes down to two people; Hoffman and Prescott. Hoffman HATES Prescott’s guts and I'm sure the feelings mutual. Someone’s got to buckle, which one? Who knows! Tune in next week folks!
I should mention something about the prose as I know there are some lovers of grammatical lapses out there – none to mention here really. The characterisation is spot on, I mentioned in depth in review just how well Karen Traviss can take one dimensional persona's and turn them into really engaging multi-layered personalities. That’s a skill, something rare I’d hazard to argue. Well, I wouldn't argue it, I'm saying it is. With many stories when there are several intertwining tales occurring in prose it can become to entangled – the authors penwomanship ability allows for the stories to mingle together but not become confused as to slow down the main story. Blimey that was a sentence.
Coalition’s End really is an apt name for this novel. It’s the end of something and beginning of something new – what that is the reader only gets glimpses at. With the forthcoming Gears 4 game we’re going to most likely find out what that is – but for the moment we’re just have to guess. The ending is sentimental, it’s meant to be. For a story that is about a squad of rooting-tooting-meatheads, it was a surprise to be sure.
Like previous Karen Traviss’ novels there is a story that delves down into memory lane for some of the COG members; Bernie gets to tell her story from the beginning of Emergency Day (when the Locusts first attacked Sera) and just how she got to Jacinto and the COG. It’s interesting, to a point. The big dilemma here is that the tale has been told before in Anvil Gate so I felt like I was re-reading content that’s already been presented to the reader.
Another background story spotlights Cole-Train’s struggle with losing his family after E-Day and then looks at how he met Baird and they became buddies. That little story helps to converge on present day. I mean how the hell does Cole put up with Baird’s constant whining and bitching. He owes him you see – their friendship never is really touched on before so I found this to fill in some holes. Back story is important, especially when (in the video games) characters struggle to really develop – more so in big AAA titles as the story (at times) can be hamstrung by the constraints of what the game actually lets them do (as story-tellers). Not so on paper. There’s none of that, Marcus hand in earpiece saying “Owwwww SHIT” constantly – I mean he does say it, but there are only so many different ways you can bloody-well use shit as a valid word for, well, anything else, EVER. (138 single occasions in Gears of War apparently!).
I've briefly mentioned that the present day story taking place between the back-story is churning along. Delta faces a new[er] threat. Having faced the Lambent before and blown Jacinto (the former COG capital) to kingdom-come they now discover them on Vectes in full force. Leviathans throwing off explosive massive crabs called polyps. Massive rock-type stalks borrowing through the bedrock to the surface punch through and expel more polyps – things are going to hell for the COG and they must reach a decision – will they stay or will they go! Go where though? Good question. The story helps to inject a feeling of – this is it; extinction is coming – for the reader. There on a knife-edge and now the decision comes down to two people; Hoffman and Prescott. Hoffman HATES Prescott’s guts and I'm sure the feelings mutual. Someone’s got to buckle, which one? Who knows! Tune in next week folks!
I should mention something about the prose as I know there are some lovers of grammatical lapses out there – none to mention here really. The characterisation is spot on, I mentioned in depth in review just how well Karen Traviss can take one dimensional persona's and turn them into really engaging multi-layered personalities. That’s a skill, something rare I’d hazard to argue. Well, I wouldn't argue it, I'm saying it is. With many stories when there are several intertwining tales occurring in prose it can become to entangled – the authors penwomanship ability allows for the stories to mingle together but not become confused as to slow down the main story. Blimey that was a sentence.
Coalition’s End really is an apt name for this novel. It’s the end of something and beginning of something new – what that is the reader only gets glimpses at. With the forthcoming Gears 4 game we’re going to most likely find out what that is – but for the moment we’re just have to guess. The ending is sentimental, it’s meant to be. For a story that is about a squad of rooting-tooting-meatheads, it was a surprise to be sure.
October 17, 2019
The Gears of War game series didn't do a great job with its storytelling, so I was intrigued if the books do a good job fleshing out the world and plot. The book has a plot timeline to give you a rundown of the story so far which was very helpful. This particular book is set just before Gears of War 3 and includes many of the characters from the games.
Shortly after a civil war, the Locust horde bursts through the ground in what is known as Emergence Day, and almost eradicate the human race. After using the Hammer of Dawn weapon against their own city Jacinto, the humans take much collateral damage but succeed in winning the war against the Locust. However a new threat emerges; the mutant Lambent. Many organisms can become Lambent which explode on contact.
Plant-like “Stalks” emerge from the ground, alongside “polyps” which are crab-like creatures. As the Stalks spread closer to civilization, the Gears investigate and consider the possibility of migrating to safer areas (if they even exist).
I thought the book got off to a good start because it does well in recreating the macho banter between the soldiers. However, the plot is slow-paced and threadbare, and the pacing takes further hits when it is constantly interrupted by arbitrary flashbacks.
The flashbacks can be quite interesting though as you discover the motivations for a few of the characters to enlist and become a Gear. However, it never ties into the main plot. The book is unnecessary long and then has all this extra padding, which meant I progressively lost enthusiasm to continue reading. I did push through to the end though, but it was a slog.
There's a serious lack of action, so it's just long and boring; often just people walking and talking. Far too much moping about, and not enough plot development.
Shortly after a civil war, the Locust horde bursts through the ground in what is known as Emergence Day, and almost eradicate the human race. After using the Hammer of Dawn weapon against their own city Jacinto, the humans take much collateral damage but succeed in winning the war against the Locust. However a new threat emerges; the mutant Lambent. Many organisms can become Lambent which explode on contact.
Plant-like “Stalks” emerge from the ground, alongside “polyps” which are crab-like creatures. As the Stalks spread closer to civilization, the Gears investigate and consider the possibility of migrating to safer areas (if they even exist).
I thought the book got off to a good start because it does well in recreating the macho banter between the soldiers. However, the plot is slow-paced and threadbare, and the pacing takes further hits when it is constantly interrupted by arbitrary flashbacks.
The flashbacks can be quite interesting though as you discover the motivations for a few of the characters to enlist and become a Gear. However, it never ties into the main plot. The book is unnecessary long and then has all this extra padding, which meant I progressively lost enthusiasm to continue reading. I did push through to the end though, but it was a slog.
There's a serious lack of action, so it's just long and boring; often just people walking and talking. Far too much moping about, and not enough plot development.
January 12, 2020
I went into reading the GoW books with an outlook of games being the main thing, and the books just a supplementary fill to tie the different parts. But man, was I wrong. After finishing Coalition's End, and of course, also the previous 3 books, I can say that I am astounded to the depth and immersion that they brought. Going forward, I can't help but have a reversed outlook of books being the meat and bone of the GoW universe and the games being the additional material. Karen brought me so much closer to the characters, to the intricate, fragile atmosphere of Sera and people's harsh lives on it. All the tragedy, unpredictable circumstances, and such raw human reactions and emotions to them have got to be an immense reason to pick up this book even if you have no idea what GoW is. I've rarely read books where I really have a feeling like I intimately know the people in it like if they were real persons and am afraid of their fate. Truly I am so pleasantly surprised that this is not just another dull, good grunts killing the bad guys book. It is on the surface, but once you dive deeper, there's a whole world beneath. Characters feel alive, they evolve, die, feel and are generally in tune with their environment. The world feels real, lived in and almost like it's from a real-life novel retelling of something that really happened. All in all, just brilliant. I could go on about every detail for hours, but suffice to say that the book fucking rocks and if you consider yourself a GoW fan, this is something you cannot pass by.
July 17, 2018
This was a great book. The first chapters of Gears of War 3 (and really, the whole game) make a lot more sense after reading Anvil Gate and Coalition’s End, and even more including the bits about Prof. Fenix’s work on the Lambent, covered in The Slab.
I just wish the games would have included greater reference’s to the events in the novels, although I’m aware of the fact that games need to keep some level of independence in order to reach a greater audience. In this sense, Karen Traviss did an awesome job with all five Gears novels, and beautifully extended the Gears of War universe beyond the original trilogy. I also loved the fact that Epic Games trusted her as the lead writer for Gears 3.
Ir there will be more novels extending the new Gears trilogy, I really hope Karen Traviss will be envolved with them.
I just wish the games would have included greater reference’s to the events in the novels, although I’m aware of the fact that games need to keep some level of independence in order to reach a greater audience. In this sense, Karen Traviss did an awesome job with all five Gears novels, and beautifully extended the Gears of War universe beyond the original trilogy. I also loved the fact that Epic Games trusted her as the lead writer for Gears 3.
Ir there will be more novels extending the new Gears trilogy, I really hope Karen Traviss will be envolved with them.
February 27, 2023
After the third book, (which felt like a lore dump, rather than a full-on story in the Gears timeline), Coalition's End really comes out swinging.
Look, I know this take is way out of date, but Karen Travis just gets this franchise. No reason she was drafted in the write the third game.
Coalition's End ties up so many threads that a key to the franchise, with a lot of them solely exciting in the books. Karen has taken characters like, Hoffman, Dizzy and of course, Bernie. All three of these mostly stick to the background in the games, but in this book especially, they shine among the ash. To be truly honest, I feel like I know all of Delta Squad so much more now, Cole and Baird especially.
Unlike the previous book, I feel this one really takes advantage of the flashbacks. It helps to know how the world fell before you reach the end of it. There is some stuff here that really deserves to be on a screen of some sort, whether it be via a game or live-action.
It's supplemental material like this that really makes franchises special. I only have one last Travis book left, but I'll hold out hope that maybe one day, she'll return.
Look, I know this take is way out of date, but Karen Travis just gets this franchise. No reason she was drafted in the write the third game.
Coalition's End ties up so many threads that a key to the franchise, with a lot of them solely exciting in the books. Karen has taken characters like, Hoffman, Dizzy and of course, Bernie. All three of these mostly stick to the background in the games, but in this book especially, they shine among the ash. To be truly honest, I feel like I know all of Delta Squad so much more now, Cole and Baird especially.
Unlike the previous book, I feel this one really takes advantage of the flashbacks. It helps to know how the world fell before you reach the end of it. There is some stuff here that really deserves to be on a screen of some sort, whether it be via a game or live-action.
It's supplemental material like this that really makes franchises special. I only have one last Travis book left, but I'll hold out hope that maybe one day, she'll return.
November 8, 2019
I generally enjoy the Gears novels, but found this one a bit of a slog. I like Travis' writing so the problem could be the time period she's having to cover, it's like there's a struggle to find a particularly worthwhile story to lead into the Gears 3 game. It's also pretty long for what it is so can feel pretty padded.
It's also surprisingly light on action so the bulk of the book is dour reflections on what's been lost to the war and flashbacks to things like Emergence Day, all of which is fine but a few books in and as the cast grows that structure can feel a bit repetitive.
I've enjoyed the others and will definitely read more of them, but this one just didn't really do it for me.
It's also surprisingly light on action so the bulk of the book is dour reflections on what's been lost to the war and flashbacks to things like Emergence Day, all of which is fine but a few books in and as the cast grows that structure can feel a bit repetitive.
I've enjoyed the others and will definitely read more of them, but this one just didn't really do it for me.
December 5, 2022
I give this book 4.5/5 stars, not quite enough to round up tho. I thought this book was written the best out of the 4 I have read so far. Very interesting things take place here and I loved the discussion of how do you start civilization over again.
SPOILERS HERE:
I'm really interested to see how things move forward in the series now that the COG is disbanded and EVERYONE is a stranded. And how they will get on being split up. I'm sure this isn't the last that we we see of these characters but will we get books with just certain characters in it or will they still be spread throughout? And what happened to Prescott???? Where is he????
SPOILERS HERE:
I'm really interested to see how things move forward in the series now that the COG is disbanded and EVERYONE is a stranded. And how they will get on being split up. I'm sure this isn't the last that we we see of these characters but will we get books with just certain characters in it or will they still be spread throughout? And what happened to Prescott???? Where is he????
February 19, 2019
Clearly I must be missing something? The characters are all cookie cutter. For war game genre the lack of action is appalling. The motives of the aliens are totally inexplicable (as maybe they should be). There is just far too much standing around and talking about the same things over and over and over again. On any other scale I would rate this a negative 8 (-8).
January 29, 2020
Great follow-up for the series. Nothing much new to say, just that Traviss explores the same elements that in previous books, but with some new characters. The fight for the power over COG is the most interesting, because it is bloodless and the leaders are revealed to not know what they are doing.
November 17, 2024
Not as strong as the Slab, but it does end the Vectes stuff in a satisfying way. Its just a little annoying knowing that so much of the stuff here gets trampled over or dismissed in gears 3. Though I do absolutely love the ending, really makes me respect Hoffman as a character even more then I already did.
January 23, 2018
Bought this one on sale. Did not expect much.
Had read the other series of books that also based on Games.
But this one is actually good. Has more interesting characters.
Never played the game myself, so had some trouble following the story lines and terms.
Had read the other series of books that also based on Games.
But this one is actually good. Has more interesting characters.
Never played the game myself, so had some trouble following the story lines and terms.
April 25, 2018
Very good installment in the GOW series. Suspenseful and somber, especially at the end.
April 22, 2022
Great addition to the franchise and definitely worth the read if you love Gears. It is a game to book adaptation, so keep that in mind as you're reading it.
February 15, 2023
One of my favorites of the series so far. Ties up some loose ends and gives information you felt like you needed previously.
July 26, 2023
Last of the Gears of War novels I read way back when. I remember enjoying it even if I don't remember too many specifics beyond it setting up Gears of War 3.
August 25, 2023
A bit slow, but sets the third game up very well
September 23, 2024
This is another great book in this series.
December 29, 2024
Solid book. Probably won’t blow your mind if you don’t have an existing interest in the series though.
October 10, 2025
So many unanswered and not even thought of questions answered with this one
July 31, 2022
Dopo essere sopravvissuti ad un attacco sulla costa da parte dei Lambent, i Gears guidati dalla Squadra Delta devono affrontare la stessa minaccia sulla terraferma e compiere una scelta difficile tra il rimanere su Vectes come COG o vivere separati come gli Arenati.
Durante il Giorno dell'Emersione tre personaggi affrontano la nuova minaccia e cercano di sopravvivere alle conseguenze del Colpo del Martello: il cecchino Bernadette Mataki, il soldato semplice Augustos Cole e l'Arenato Dizzie Wallin.
Due vie nel presente
Nelle ultime pagine di Anvil Gate abbiamo visto come i Lambent sono in grado di raggiungere la terraferma con i tronchi, spuntando dalle faglie nel sottosuolo e attratti dall'Imulsion (secondo le teorie di Baird).
I Gears a questo punto sono ad un bivio: scegliere se abbandonare l'isola appena conquistata per cercare fortuna sulla terraferma ma diventando arenati, oppure giocarsi il tutto e per tutto affrontando i Lambent sempre più numerosi e rimanendo uniti come COG.
In tutto questo c'è la figura del Presidente Prescott che sembra nascondere qualcosa a Hoffman (come il disco rubato) e ordina di raccogliere campioni di Lambent per analizzarli, cosa alquanto strana per un politico.
Un altro bivio lo troviamo nella figura di Dominic, che per la prima volta dalla morte di Maria ha la possibilità di iniziare una nuova relazione con Sam Byrne, ma questa scelta potrebbe non sembrare così scontata.
Due vie nel passato
Molti anni prima, esattamente nel Giorno dell'Emersione, tre personaggi si ritrovano ad operare delle scelte che finiranno per trasformarli e renderli le persone che abbiamo imparato a conoscere nelle pagine appena lette.
Augustus Cole si ritrova da star del trashball ad arruolarsi nel corpo dei Gear per una buona causa e finirà per conoscere Damon Baird, formando con lui la coppia "comica" di questa saga; le scelte fatte da Cole sono rischiose, ma la guerra e la distruzione operate dalle Locuste lo spingono a mettersi in gioco per una nuova sfida.
Bernadette Mataki torna nella sua isola dopo il congedo forzato, ritrovando un marito fedifrago e una monotonia che non le appartiene; l'attacco delle Locuste la spinge a rimettersi in gioco ed infine ad intraprendere un viaggio rischioso per ritrovare la sua famiglia: I Gears.
Dizzy Wallin passa da un semplice operatore alcolizzato su un mercantile ad Arenato con due figlie da mantenere; l'odio nei confronti del governo per le scelte operate e la morte del primo figlio è legittimo, ma a volte per salvare chi ami devi allearti con coloro che combattono per sopravvivere, proprio come te.
In conclusione
Fine della Coalizione chiude il cerchio sul periodo di intermezzo tra Gears 2 e 3, aggiungendo dettagli importanti che spiegano molto degli avvenimenti dell'ultimo gioco; la narrazione è serrata e divisa tra gli scontri con i Lambent e i dissapori tra le sfere del governo.
La parte ambientata nel passato permette di chiudere il cerchio su alcuni personaggi (Bernie) e di aggiungere dettagli sui protagonisti del gioco (Cole e Baird); ottima la parte su Dizzy, il personaggio più misterioso del capitolo precedente e uno dei miei preferiti nel gioco.
Durante il Giorno dell'Emersione tre personaggi affrontano la nuova minaccia e cercano di sopravvivere alle conseguenze del Colpo del Martello: il cecchino Bernadette Mataki, il soldato semplice Augustos Cole e l'Arenato Dizzie Wallin.
Due vie nel presente
Nelle ultime pagine di Anvil Gate abbiamo visto come i Lambent sono in grado di raggiungere la terraferma con i tronchi, spuntando dalle faglie nel sottosuolo e attratti dall'Imulsion (secondo le teorie di Baird).
I Gears a questo punto sono ad un bivio: scegliere se abbandonare l'isola appena conquistata per cercare fortuna sulla terraferma ma diventando arenati, oppure giocarsi il tutto e per tutto affrontando i Lambent sempre più numerosi e rimanendo uniti come COG.
In tutto questo c'è la figura del Presidente Prescott che sembra nascondere qualcosa a Hoffman (come il disco rubato) e ordina di raccogliere campioni di Lambent per analizzarli, cosa alquanto strana per un politico.
Un altro bivio lo troviamo nella figura di Dominic, che per la prima volta dalla morte di Maria ha la possibilità di iniziare una nuova relazione con Sam Byrne, ma questa scelta potrebbe non sembrare così scontata.
Due vie nel passato
Molti anni prima, esattamente nel Giorno dell'Emersione, tre personaggi si ritrovano ad operare delle scelte che finiranno per trasformarli e renderli le persone che abbiamo imparato a conoscere nelle pagine appena lette.
Augustus Cole si ritrova da star del trashball ad arruolarsi nel corpo dei Gear per una buona causa e finirà per conoscere Damon Baird, formando con lui la coppia "comica" di questa saga; le scelte fatte da Cole sono rischiose, ma la guerra e la distruzione operate dalle Locuste lo spingono a mettersi in gioco per una nuova sfida.
Bernadette Mataki torna nella sua isola dopo il congedo forzato, ritrovando un marito fedifrago e una monotonia che non le appartiene; l'attacco delle Locuste la spinge a rimettersi in gioco ed infine ad intraprendere un viaggio rischioso per ritrovare la sua famiglia: I Gears.
Dizzy Wallin passa da un semplice operatore alcolizzato su un mercantile ad Arenato con due figlie da mantenere; l'odio nei confronti del governo per le scelte operate e la morte del primo figlio è legittimo, ma a volte per salvare chi ami devi allearti con coloro che combattono per sopravvivere, proprio come te.
In conclusione
Fine della Coalizione chiude il cerchio sul periodo di intermezzo tra Gears 2 e 3, aggiungendo dettagli importanti che spiegano molto degli avvenimenti dell'ultimo gioco; la narrazione è serrata e divisa tra gli scontri con i Lambent e i dissapori tra le sfere del governo.
La parte ambientata nel passato permette di chiudere il cerchio su alcuni personaggi (Bernie) e di aggiungere dettagli sui protagonisti del gioco (Cole e Baird); ottima la parte su Dizzy, il personaggio più misterioso del capitolo precedente e uno dei miei preferiti nel gioco.
August 20, 2013
For those of you who may not know, Gears of War is an insanely popular series of video games. The first game sold five million copies, and the second sold about four million. Author Karen Traviss saw a trailer for the game and was inspired to write a book about it, which she did in 2008. She followed up that book with two more in 2009 and 2010, and then was signed on by Epic Games to write the third game, which was released in September of 2011. This fourth novel,
Coalition’s End
, was written to bridge the gap in the storyline between book three and game three. Traviss originally gained the public eye after writing several books based on the Star Wars universe, and has also written several books based on the Halo series of video games.
Having said all that, I admit that I had never heard of Karen Traviss before Coalition’s End caught my eye in Brilliance Audio’s catalog. I haven’t played any of the video games, nor have I read any of the previous books, but this just sounded too good to pass up on. I don’t typically jump into the middle of a series like this because I always feel like I’m missing something. That was true of Coalition’s End to a certain extent, but I got enough of the story to enjoy it. Traviss actually wrote quite a bit of background info into this story for latecomers like me to catch up on.
I enjoyed Coalition’s End quite a bit. Traviss develops her characters well, and throws in plenty of action and tension to move the story along. Actually, the thought that kept occurring to me as I read this was that Traviss doesn’t write like a girl at all; none of that touchy-feely stuff. This is a fascinating world with an interesting history and interesting characters.
Gears of War: Coalition’s End was also my first experience with David Colacci. Colacci has been narrating for 15 years and has recorded more than 60 audiobooks, in addition to being a director and actor in regional theatre. I thought David did a good job with Coalition’s End , but I won’t add him to my list of favorites just yet. Colacci’s wife, Susan Ericksen, is also a narrator of audiobooks.
Steven Brandt @ Audiobook-Heaven
Having said all that, I admit that I had never heard of Karen Traviss before Coalition’s End caught my eye in Brilliance Audio’s catalog. I haven’t played any of the video games, nor have I read any of the previous books, but this just sounded too good to pass up on. I don’t typically jump into the middle of a series like this because I always feel like I’m missing something. That was true of Coalition’s End to a certain extent, but I got enough of the story to enjoy it. Traviss actually wrote quite a bit of background info into this story for latecomers like me to catch up on.
I enjoyed Coalition’s End quite a bit. Traviss develops her characters well, and throws in plenty of action and tension to move the story along. Actually, the thought that kept occurring to me as I read this was that Traviss doesn’t write like a girl at all; none of that touchy-feely stuff. This is a fascinating world with an interesting history and interesting characters.
Gears of War: Coalition’s End was also my first experience with David Colacci. Colacci has been narrating for 15 years and has recorded more than 60 audiobooks, in addition to being a director and actor in regional theatre. I thought David did a good job with Coalition’s End , but I won’t add him to my list of favorites just yet. Colacci’s wife, Susan Ericksen, is also a narrator of audiobooks.
Steven Brandt @ Audiobook-Heaven
January 9, 2014
To be fair to this book and its author, I must point a few things. First of all, I have only played the Gears of War video games a few times. I found that I was terrible at the original and had no desire to play any others until my friend and I tag teamed one of them a bit. With that, I am definitely lacking much of the details offered in the games that might have aided me in understanding this book's universe more. I also have not read any of the previous novels in this series.
Beyond that, I was able to pick up not too far into the book and get a decent understanding of the situation. Nice job by the author on that.
The story takes place on an island that is one of the last refuges on a planet devastated by wars and invasions by underground creatures. The refuge does not last as the creatures begin to show up there in heavy frequency.
This book kind of rollercoastered for me. It started slow and then caught my fancy. Then, it would slow back down and pick back up. I would get through 70 pags in one sitting and then struggle to get through the next 10. I supposed this is what caused this to be such a long-term read for me.
I was confused by some of the characters in the book. Some went by 3 names and I had to keep stopping to realize which character was being discussed. I also found that details on numerous characters would have helped a great deal. It was nice to catch some backgrounds, but I was left wondering who some of the people were all the way through. Even in the last few pages, a couple players were mentioned and I realized the reader knew nothing of these folks.
Perhaps this is one of those books that expects previous books to have been consumed and did not feel that giving details of past stories was necessary. That generally annoys me. I read a lot. Even if I read the previous book or books in a series, I might need some refreshing. I have a better memory than a lot of people I know.
I did feel the action parts were well done. The background areas given did fill in a ton of gaps for me as well. The universe is pretty cool as well. It is unfortunate that I apparently will need to play the third game in order to get the end of this story. Meh. I'll add it to my to do list.
Beyond that, I was able to pick up not too far into the book and get a decent understanding of the situation. Nice job by the author on that.
The story takes place on an island that is one of the last refuges on a planet devastated by wars and invasions by underground creatures. The refuge does not last as the creatures begin to show up there in heavy frequency.
This book kind of rollercoastered for me. It started slow and then caught my fancy. Then, it would slow back down and pick back up. I would get through 70 pags in one sitting and then struggle to get through the next 10. I supposed this is what caused this to be such a long-term read for me.
I was confused by some of the characters in the book. Some went by 3 names and I had to keep stopping to realize which character was being discussed. I also found that details on numerous characters would have helped a great deal. It was nice to catch some backgrounds, but I was left wondering who some of the people were all the way through. Even in the last few pages, a couple players were mentioned and I realized the reader knew nothing of these folks.
Perhaps this is one of those books that expects previous books to have been consumed and did not feel that giving details of past stories was necessary. That generally annoys me. I read a lot. Even if I read the previous book or books in a series, I might need some refreshing. I have a better memory than a lot of people I know.
I did feel the action parts were well done. The background areas given did fill in a ton of gaps for me as well. The universe is pretty cool as well. It is unfortunate that I apparently will need to play the third game in order to get the end of this story. Meh. I'll add it to my to do list.
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