Review: Gears of War: The Slab SPOILERS!

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.

Review: Gears of War: Coalition's End

Gears of War: Coalition's End, the fourth novel in the Gears of War series, is written by Karen Traviss. Okay, so this is a book that came out a couple of years ago, and I just finished it. Needless to say, I found it very helpful and informative as to the actions that lead up to the opening of Gears of War 3. The major storyline, meaning the one that's set in the present, has the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) remnant teamed up with the remnants of the Union of Independent Republics (UIR) on the island of Vectes in the southern hemisphere of Sera, which the COG had moved to in Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant (also written by Karen Traviss and taking place immediately after the events of Gears of War 2).

The book opens with Dizzy Wallin, one of the major characters in the series, fixing his beloved rig Betty, while Colonel Victor Hoffman tells Sam(antha) Byrne how her father died during the Pendulum Wars. It then cuts to different points of view from Hoffman, Dom Santiago, Damon Baird, Bernie Mataki, and UIR Commander Miran Trescu while they deal with the threat of the Lambent.Hoffman by this time is fed up with Prescott keeping secrets from him. Baird is trying to hack into a disk that Hoffman "acquired" from Prescott. Trescu holds a tight hold on his people as they all try and get along on Vectes. During a partol, Marcus discovers that Vectes, apart from sitting on top of lava veins, rests atop a natural imulsion source. The Gorasni quickly refine it and, with Hoffman's okay, keep ten percent for themselves.

In the past, Cole, Bernie, and Dizzy relive their moments leading up to and after Emergence Day and the Hammer of Dawn strike. For Cole, it's about the need to defend people from the Locust Horde after his parents die. For Bernie, it's the need to rejoin with her COG buddies and find out what's happening. For Dizzy, it's the need to survive. Cole enlists and takes the fight to the grubs while Bernie leaves her safe home and journey's back to Ephyra where the COG is located. Dizzy, meanwhile, gets together with a Stranded woman and has two girls. His partner dies and one daughter gets sick. This forces Dizzy to sign up with the COG under the Operation Lifeboat propaganda that Prescott started. The COG save his daughter while he ferries Gears around on his grindlift rig, Betty.

In the present, Prescott attempts to sneak away in the middle of the night but is caught by Delta Squad and Hoffman. Hoffman calls Prescott a coward but Prescott tries to lure Hoffman onto his side by asking him to trust. Hoffman lets them leave after alerting Michaelson. Michaelson trails them but to no avail. Prescott's vanished off the boat he stole and Hoffman, Michaelson, and Trescu are left running the COG. After a devastating Lambent attack, the three decide it's time to end the COG. Hoffman takes all of the civilians with him to Anvil Gate, as he can better defend them there. Michaelson takes the Gears and navy while Trescu takes his people and go their separate ways. At Anvil Gate, Hoffman and Bernie come across the remnant of the Pesang people and Padrick Salton, but most importantly, Bai tak's family who insist, since Hoffman looked out for them after Bai Tak's death, that they will help him defend Anvil Gate and look after him.

Meanwhile, Marcus and Anya are sharing a room while Dom and Sam share a room, since the two of them are close. Baird and Cole also share a room. Michaelson comes across Lyle Ollivar who welcomes them to the Stranded life. The novel ends with a final transmission from Anvil Gate, implying that the connection was lost.

All in all, a well crafted novel that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. Karen Traviss finished the remnants of any of her loose ends in Gears of War 3 which she wrote. It stands alone and yet makes its way as part of a bigger series than just itself. It connects to all the comics, novels, and games and ends with an ominous hint that leads into Gears of War 3.

Review: Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant SPOILERS!

The novel Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant is written by Karen Traviss as she continues to add more depth to the GOW cast. The book starts off with a letter from Colonel Victor Hoffman, asking future generations of humanity to forgive the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) for destroying Jacinto in Gears of War 2 as it was the only way to defeat the Locust Horde.

This part is mirrored with the chapters that take place in the past, as Prescott and Hoffman order the destruction of Sera via Professor Adam Fenix's Hammer of Dawn satellites. Citizens are moved in, but once the explosion goes off, those humans left outside Jacinto become the Stranded (those bums in all three games). These scenes run throughout the novel alongside the fight to save humanity after the evacuation of Jacinto as seen in Gears of War 2.

The novel starts where Gears of War 2 left off, with Cole Train, Anya, and the others in flight away from the watery grave that is Jacinto. Cole notices the tension rising between Hoffman and Chairman Richard Prescott over the Sires (a part of GOW2) and how late he was declassified and demands to be told everything. Prescott, for the rest of the novel, continues to hold everything, echoing his death in GOW3 where he reveals his final secret.

The COG are evacuated to Port Farrall in the middle of winter and people die as the COG struggles to stave off the remnants of the Locust who keep attacking. Hoffman, after a talk with COG Navy leader Quentin Michaelson, orders Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad to checkout Vectes naval base int he southern hemisphere of Sera for relocation. Upon arrival, they find that there are people living there who've been there since the Pendulum Wars.

The COG move in and end up facing a group of Stranded pirates, one of whom raped Bernadette "Bernie" Mataki. They hand them over to the Stranded leader who is blown apart by the remnant of the old Union of Independent Republic (UIR) members, the Republic of Gorasnaya and their leader Miran Trescu. The Gorasni want a treaty with the COG and it's made official.

Throughout the novel, we periodically meet up with Dom Santiago, still trying to get over from having to kill his wife Maria. I should mention that in GOW2, he finds her as an empty shell, withered and decaying. He doesn't know what to do and Marcus tells him "It's okay." Dom tearfully kills Maria to spare her the pain; he'd been searching for her for the last ten years and has now lost every member of his family except for his honorary brother, Marcus Fenix, the main hero of the series.

Everyone's giving Dom enough space to cope, but aren't sure how to help him along. This is a very powerful character driven story arc that Karen gave Dom and it was only natural because of how soon this book takes place after the second game and is a theme that is brought up again, loosely in Gears of War: Anvil Gate, Gears of War: Coalition's End and Gears of War 3, all of which (including the game) are written by Karen Traviss.

It's a very powerful addition to the series and comes with enough quips about the comic series that Joshua Ortega and later Karen Traviss wrote for the franchise.

Review: Gears of War: Aspho Fields. SPOILERS!

Gears of War: Aspho Fields, written by acclaimed author Karen Traviss, tackles the events of Aspho Fields during the Pendulum Wars and the events after the first Gears of War. Sure, this was written years ago, but it's still a fun read. Traviss starts out with a battle, like all good sci-fi novels do. The Locust Horde is still reeling from the attack by the Lightmass bomb (the ending to Gears of War). Delta Squad, particularly Sgt Marcus Fenix and Pvt Dom Santiago, along with Pvt Augustus "Cole Train" Cole and Corporal Damon Baird fight a wave of grubs when one of them is taken out by a sniper shot. They track the shot down to a mall and find former COG soldier Bernadette "Bernie" Mataki. They radio in for evac and head back to base, Dom asking her about the Battle of Aspho Fields.

The storyline then shifts to Carlos Santiago, Dom's older brother, in school, defending the new rich kid Marcus Fenix, son of Professor Adam Fenix. The scene shifts through time and shows Marcus growing up with the Santiago family. Dom and Carlos note how tightly Marcus keeps his emotions in check when he's told that his mother went missing exploring the underground caverns.

In the present, Colonel Victor Hoffman prepares to move one food supply base away from the Locust Horde's war path. This part of the plot is fairly simple and is short enough to get the gist that the COG is once more on the brink of being overrun by the grubs. The COG manages to reallocate the personnel and deliver them behind COG lines. Through the scenes, Hoffman refuses to apologize for leaving Marcus to die in Jacinto's prison known as The Slab during the events of Gears of War. Hoffman and Marcus eventually set aside old grudges and get over their angst.

Back in the past, the United Independent Republics (UIR) are building a major satellite network that will obliterate the COG from space. Hoffman leads the campaign with commandos, particularly Dom Santiago, while the rest of the soldiers, including Mataki, Marcus, and Carlos, stage a distraction to lure the UIR away from the base. It works. Hoffman and Dom retrieve the satellite data while several COG men and women die in the diversion. Carlos is wounded and sacrifices himself to save Marcus, an act that disturbs him to the end of Gears of War 3. Dom, after being told his wife's given birth to his second child, is ecstatic but sad that his brother was killed. Marcus and Mataki vow to never tell Dom what really happened.

In the present, Mataki tells him, coming clean a couple of decades late. Marcus says he wanted to spare him the grief, and now, what with Dom's kids dead and his wife Maria missing, Marcus didn't see a point in opening old wounds. The book closes with the threat that the COG is about to take the fight to the Locust.

All in all, a very well crafted novel that held suspense and keeps you wanting more. For those who've played the games, this novel is worth it and adds depth to the characters.