Gears of War: The Slab is the fifth and, for now, final novel in the Gears of War franchise. It's penned by veteran Gears of War author Karen Traviss--she penned the last Gears of War novels, a few of the graphic novels and the 3rd game. This novel serves as the official prequel to the game series. Sure, Aspho Fields did most of that, but The Slab takes place four years before the first game. It delves into how Marcus Fenix ended up there and what happened to his father, Adam, when Prescott kidnapped him.
The novel starts out with a first person account of a prisoner known as Millton Reeve, a man serving 12 consecutive life sentences for murder and takes place after the Battle of Ephyra. He reflects that even killers have standards and rules they follow. But maybe that's just him. It then goes to the preparations for the upcoming Battle of Ephyra. The Locust Horde have breached the perimeter and Victor Hoffman and Marcus, with Anya and a couple of others, try and hold them off. Anya receives a call from Adam and tell Hoffman and Marcus that he says goodbye. Marcus wants to get him and Hoffman tells Marcus that Adam's "'not worth the life of one honest fighting Gear. He's certainly not worth yours.'" Marcus punches Hoffman and disables the Hammer of Dawn targeting laser and boards a Raven. That's when the abduction happens. The Locust are busy fighting Marcus, Dominic Santiago, Jace Stratton and Tai Kaliso when the house is leveled, Adam is presumed dead. It turns out Prescott took Adam to Azura, a secret Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) facility hidden in a maelstrom. The COG lose the battle.
Adam awakens on Azura where Prescott tells him Marcus is standing trial for desertion and dereliction of duty. Prescott wants to know how long the Lambancy is mutating and Adam says he doesn't know. Marcus has plead guilty and is sentenced to life in The Slab, Jacinto's maximum security prison where most inmates live for two years before they die, despite Dom and Anya's pleas to get him a reduced sentence. At the Slab, the people who run find out that Marcus isn't to be exposed to unnecessary risk or privation in a letter from Chairman Richard Prescott. One of the wardens, Nikolai Jarvi, asks Millton to keep an eye on Marcus so that no harm comes to him. At Azura, Adam finds that General Bardry Salaman is still alive, despite reports that list him as having committed suicide. While Adam's busy performing tests on the imulsion; over the next four years, Marcus survives a few stints in prison, with Niko keeping an eye on him.
The novel takes an interesting turn when it delves into the ending. Hoffman's ordered that the high-risk prisoners of The Slab be released and that Marcus needs to be left behind. Hoffman's still sore about the incident four years ago (the Battle of Chancery Bridge) and won't pull him out. Dom goes rogue and breaks Marcus out. Right there, the novel recaps the opening to Gears of War with Dom breaking Marcus out of prison. Dom and Marcus fight their way out and rendezvous with Mihn Young Kim and Anthony Carmine as they flee the prison. They land near Hoffman's position and Marcus is greeted with hostility. Hoffman tells Kim that he's got good news and Marcus catches a glimpse of Anya Stroud, and Dom hopes that they'll get their act together and move their relationship forward. The novel ends with a first-person epilogue written as a report from Adam as he receives the news that Marcus is alive, out of the Slab, and fighting again. Adam hopes he'll see Marcus again.
The novel deftly covers everything that's been hinted at in the games, graphic novels, and novels surrounding the mysteries of what happened to Marcus in The Slab. All in all, a very well crafted novel and certainly the best of Karen's story-telling. A great read and highly recommended for fans of the entire series.
