Epic Games is doing a new Gears of War novel, set to continue the story where Gears 2 left off.
Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant is written by New York Times bestselling author Laren Traviss, and is set to be released alongside the new DLC on July 28.
The story goes, according to the blurb: "After a brutal fifteen-year war for survival, the Coalition of Ordered Governments is forced to destroy Jacinto - mankind's last city - in a final bid to stop the Locust Horde.
"As the survivors flee, they're caught between the last of the Locust, bent on vengeance, and a primitive struggle to stay alive in an icy wilderness. It's up to Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, and their fellow Gears to fight to get Jacinto's refugees to a safe haven.
"But what they find is a new world; lawless, treacherous, with an all too familiar enemy - humans, as desperate and dangerous as any Locust grub."
Traviss also penned the last Gears novel Aspho Fields, which bridge the gap between Gear 1 and the sequel. By the sound of it, this one could be bridging the gap between Gears 2 and the inevitable third entry.
"Karen Traviss has outdone herself once again," said Epic producer, Rod Fergusson of the book. "Jacinto's Remnant not only answers the question of what happens after the events of Gears 2, it also provides greater insight into the Gears of War universe and a deeper understanding of its characters.
"We hope players of the games and discerning readers alike will enjoy this ongoing tale of humanity's fight for survival."
I read a couple of the Halo books, and while it was great to get side-stories, the story of Reach and read the full story of what happened on Halo, the writing was terrible. The authors just seemed to continually feel like they need to justify their position in the Halo lore by describing every number of bullets shot and from what gun...describing the HUD etc. etc. etc. It got very tedious and dull. The inter-character relationships weren't written very well either.
I picked up "Aspho Fields"...and as sexist as it probably was of me, I wasn't over-excited at the prospect of a Gears prequel being written by a woman. How wrong I was. It was a very well-written book that looked at the strong bond between the Gears and especially Dom, Carlos and Marcus.
It also manages to be a prequel and sequel to GoW in the same book too - a great lead-up to GoW2 introducing characters like Tai and Prescott.
Got this one on pre-order. I'm sure it'll be just as good.
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