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: Doctor Who: Touched by an Angel SPOILERS!

Doctor Who: Touched by an Angel by British author Jonathan Morris, is about a man who is sent back in time to try and save the one he loves but runs afoul of the Doctor, his companions Amy and Rory Pond, and a race of deadly assassins known as the Weeping Angels. In 2003, Rebecca Witaker died in a road accident. her husband Mark is still grieving. He receives a battered envelope, posted eight years ago, containing a set of instructions with a simple message: "You can save her." As Mark is given the chance to save Rebecca, it's up to the Doctor, Amy and Rory to save the whole world. Because this time the Weeping Angels are using history itself as a weapon. It's a thrilling, all-new adventure featuring the [Eleventh] Doctor, Amy and Rory, as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television.

The novel does exactly what its synopsis says. But in the course of the novel, the Weeping Angels are using the technique that was seen in the Series 5 episode The Time of Angels: five Weeping Angels are trapped in a surveillance system and are stalking Mark on TVs. The Doctor, Amy and Rory warn him not to move or blink but Mark doesn't listen and tries to make a run for his house. A sixth Weeping Angel wastes the last of its life to send Mark to the past with a letter of instructions for him to do. As it happens, the letter is [supposedly] written by Mark's future self. The Doctor and his companions intercept him and, through the years, keep an eye on Mark as he relives the years leading up to 2011. They prevent him from interfering with the past except at key moments in his life that his future self said needed to be completed. He watches his younger self marry Rebecca, a young woman whom he was fond of and so was she. They never followed on this feelings until they broke up with their ex's and went for it (not quite how it happened, but I am summarizing).

After years of following the rules and bending a few, with the consternation of the Doctor, Mark comes face to face with himself. Specifically, his younger self seeks him out and demands answers. This causes time to burp and the Doctor, Amy and Rory appear, as well as an older version of Rory, try to contain things. Mark becomes distraught because he needs to save Rebecca from her death. The Doctor tells him no, but Mark tries. The Angels attack and send the younger Rory into the past. Now all caught up, Mark drives a truck over a spot in the field where the zapped-back-in-time-Rory had placed a button to activate lights and a camera and TV set. Five of the Weeping Angels are caught on tape and become trapped in a quantum lock because they are all looking at each other and, since they're stone, they'll never blink. The Doctor takes Mark back in time once and has him talk to a young college freshman named Rebecca who tells him that he should let go and move on, cause if it was her he was mopping over, she'd want him to live his life. The Doctor drops Mark off home, as Rebecca (in the past) meets a nerdy freshman called Mark and they bond in friendship.

All in all, a very well told story set in the amazing universe of Doctor Who. I could visualize the actors as well as the main characters and see the story unfold. Jonathan Morris has captured the feel of the DW universe and he's nailed it.

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.