[Book] Gears of War: Aspho Fields

I'm not too much of a book reader, though I can proudly say I have the complete Calvin and Hobbes treasury. In any case, I happened to see this in the book store over Christmas and decided to buy. Now, keep in mind I haven't actually played the game or its sequel (the camera angle was a little too awkward for me), but I can't help it I gotta rave about this book.

You really don't have to be a fan of the game to enjoy this book. The story takes place between the 1st and 2nd games and right after the events of the 1st. I know enough about the game to know this, but you can have zero knowledge of anything in the Gears universe and you probably won't feel lost.

The thing I love about this book is that you would think it would read like fan fiction, but it doesn't in the least. It's a deep, character driven story centering around the last remnants of humanity's fight for survival against an unrelenting foe. The story jumps back and forth from present day (in the Gears universe) to 16 years prior, and covers some of the childhood of the main characters (Marcus, Dom, Carlos) and their first few years as Gears. I haven't read through it completely yet - I'm a little over halfway - but it seems like the events both in the present and the past are converging together to form two parallel climactic battle sequences. The characters are written so well, that you really start to connect with them, to feel their pain and their happiness, to understand their motivations and the reasons they do the things they do. The story is told from a couple a different points of view...Dom, Carlos and Hoffman mainly. And even though Marcus is the main character of Gears of War, you never see the world through his eyes; you get to understand what makes him tick through the eyes of others.

In any case, whether you're a big fan of Gears of War and love a little backstory and filler to the universe, of you just love to read and like a good drama/war/action/science fiction/love/relationship story then I suggest you pick it up...it won't disappoint.

In fact, I think I may just pick up the game and give it another go.