Karen Traviss
Series: Gears of War #1
ISBN-13: 978-0-3454-9943-1
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Release Date: October 28 2008
Genre/s: Science Fiction
Format: Paperback; 385 pages
Source: Borrowed
My Rating: 4/5
As kids, the three of them were inseparable; as soldiers, they were torn apart. Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago fought alongside Dom's elder brother Carlos, at Aspho Fields in the epic battle that changed the course of the Pendulum Wars. There's a new war to fight now, a war for mankind's very survival. But while the last human stronghold on Sera braces itself for another onslaught from the Locust Horde, ghosts come back to haunt Marcus and Dom, as the return of an old comrade threatens to dredge up an agonizing secret Marcus has sworn to keep.
As the beleaguered Gears of the Coalition of Ordered Governments takes a last stand to save mankind from extinction, the harrowing decisions made at Aspho Fields have to be relived and made again. Marcus and Dom can take anything the Locust Horde throws at them - but will their friendship survive the truth about Carlos Santiago?
As the beleaguered Gears of the Coalition of Ordered Governments takes a last stand to save mankind from extinction, the harrowing decisions made at Aspho Fields have to be relived and made again. Marcus and Dom can take anything the Locust Horde throws at them - but will their friendship survive the truth about Carlos Santiago?
Review
The novel told us a tale of friendship between two men who were brothers in all but blood. The novel went back in time to a moment that changed the characters lives forever. Marcus Fenix had promised to protect Dom Santiago and to do he hid the full truth, all the details pertaining to Dom's older brother Carlos that would hurt and mar the younger brother's vision of his hero and idol older brother. Now nearly twenty years later Dom wants to know, want to know what really happened at Aspho Fields. Marcus just doesn't know if their friendship can handle the hard truth he tried to conseal and protect the man he sees as his brother.
Marcus Fenix; the man with the tough exterior, but untrusting eyes. A man with regrets and many secrets but has the ability to forgive. I feel he could be dark and brooding when he wants to be like a thundercloud. A lot of his past is revealed, details that help create who he is. It's a lot of detail, but it's important and Marcus plays a more important role than he thinks.
Dom Santiago; a man who was forced to grow up too soon to an impending fatherhood. Marcus and Dom's older brother Carlos were his idols. He looked up to them. He is now a man haunted by the past. His motivation to get up in the morning is fueled by hope that his wife is still out there alive somewhere. His story and all that he's been through is really sad.
Anya Stroud; I don't exactly know what her role will be in the future novels, or really what importance she is. She followed in her mother's footsteps. Aspho Fields bound her, Marcus and Dom together when they leaned on each other after losing their loved ones. This created a strong bond that's visible in present day. In the end chapters when its back in the past, Dom had hinted at a possible romantic plot between Anya and Marcus however in present day in the novel it isn't there.
The novel is set in the post apocalyptic off world setting on the planet of Sera. Sera was once war torn against their own factions but now their facing much bigger issues. Their fighting against another species that has put man kind on the brink of extinction. There are quite a lot of similarities between Sera and Earth. Actually most of the time I was thinking they were on earth.
I really liked the back story of the characters. How they all met, and connected, the relationships they formed with one another. The back and forth between the past and the present helped a lot, but at times I'd loose track of where I was, because it was jumping back and forth too fast. The novel dragged just a little bit in the middle, a filler chapter or two about Major Hoffman which was needed for character development, so I really didn't mind that much. Other than that I really enjoyed this novel and I will definitely probably read the rest of the series.
I recommend this book to anyone who is a fanatic of the video games, and to anyone who enjoys off plant post apocalyptic settings.
Marcus Fenix; the man with the tough exterior, but untrusting eyes. A man with regrets and many secrets but has the ability to forgive. I feel he could be dark and brooding when he wants to be like a thundercloud. A lot of his past is revealed, details that help create who he is. It's a lot of detail, but it's important and Marcus plays a more important role than he thinks.
Dom Santiago; a man who was forced to grow up too soon to an impending fatherhood. Marcus and Dom's older brother Carlos were his idols. He looked up to them. He is now a man haunted by the past. His motivation to get up in the morning is fueled by hope that his wife is still out there alive somewhere. His story and all that he's been through is really sad.
Anya Stroud; I don't exactly know what her role will be in the future novels, or really what importance she is. She followed in her mother's footsteps. Aspho Fields bound her, Marcus and Dom together when they leaned on each other after losing their loved ones. This created a strong bond that's visible in present day. In the end chapters when its back in the past, Dom had hinted at a possible romantic plot between Anya and Marcus however in present day in the novel it isn't there.
The novel is set in the post apocalyptic off world setting on the planet of Sera. Sera was once war torn against their own factions but now their facing much bigger issues. Their fighting against another species that has put man kind on the brink of extinction. There are quite a lot of similarities between Sera and Earth. Actually most of the time I was thinking they were on earth.
I really liked the back story of the characters. How they all met, and connected, the relationships they formed with one another. The back and forth between the past and the present helped a lot, but at times I'd loose track of where I was, because it was jumping back and forth too fast. The novel dragged just a little bit in the middle, a filler chapter or two about Major Hoffman which was needed for character development, so I really didn't mind that much. Other than that I really enjoyed this novel and I will definitely probably read the rest of the series.
I recommend this book to anyone who is a fanatic of the video games, and to anyone who enjoys off plant post apocalyptic settings.
#1 New York Times best-selling novelist, scriptwriter and comic 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, the first of her new techno-thriller series, is set in the real world of today. A former defense correspondent and TV and newspaper journalist, she lives in Wiltshire, England. She's currently working on BLACK RUN, the sequel to GOING GREY.
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