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Gears novel discussion(spoilers)


collin232
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I wanted to make a thread where we can talk about the events of the books between gears 2 and 3 without being bothered with hiding anything. So there will be spoilers.

 

I'm almost done with Coalition's End, just as Prescott decides to leave on his top secret mission. I think it's got something to do with the lambents origins and the experiments they were conducting on Vectes.

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Majorly looking forward to playing the game and finding out what that is all about. I love the books, but I hate how they resolve NOTHING.

 

I refuse to read reviews (because of spoilers), but I really hope Gears 3 answers all questions.

 

Apparently it ties most of the loose ends up from what I've read.

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I've never read any of the books. There's four now, right? Are they any good? I can prabably check 'em out from my local library, if I get lucky.

 

Karen Traviss is an excellent writer and yes her Gears books are great.

 

Coalition's End sets up the game's beginning and resolves issues that occured in the previous books. My only complaint is that C.E. is only available in hardback. They simply did that to get more money out of those who wanted to read it before the game's release.

 

I understand many won't read it, so I'll give you some vital/semi-vital info to set up the game if you wish to read the highlights:

 

Spoilers * Spoilers * Spoilers * Spoilers * Spoilers * Spoilers

 

As stated in the O.P. Prescott has left the C.O.G. (after resigning as chairman) on a mission he was unwilling to divulge info on. His 2 personal protectors (Gears) refered to as Onyx guard went with him. It was assumed that a data transmission that was occurring over the course of several weeks had something to with it along with a data-encrypted disc that Hoffman had stolen from him. After leaving Jacinto (end of gears 2) all remnants moved a couple of times before Prescott divulged info on a secret base (Pelruan) on a secret island (Vectes) to which they ultimately located to(for those who haven't read the previous book). During this time on the island, they NEVER encountered any grubs. The original issue was dealing with stranded pirate gangs (again previous book) until Lambent (Leviathons, Stalks, Polyps, oh my) became the issue that ultimately led to the demise of the island. Despite the people from the island, Jacinto's remnant, and the remaining people of Gorasnaya coming together under the C.O.G. flag, they realized their only hope for survival was to become Stranded. After the official end of the Coalition, they broke apart to inhabit 10 separate cities of the mainland. Sovereign, the flagship for the navy (AKA- Raven's Nest), now houses Delta as a rapid response team to answer any calls for help. It's run by Michaelson. Hoffman has left Delta (along with Bernie "Boomer-Lady" Mataki and Dizzy) to return to Anvegad (Anvil Gate). The final page is a report that Sovereign has lost radio contact with them, so expect that to be the opening of the game. Questions, comments, concerns?!? :)

Edited by Grifter Reborn
*facepalm* Wrote Hoffman instead of Prescott...doh!
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I have read the first three books and did not even realize that the 4th was out! Thanks for that info, just ordered it.

 

I definitely enjoyed the books as they did give some insight into the characters backgrounds that you don't get from the games, but I do have to agree with most people in that they don't really tie things up they way I was hoping. Too many questions unanswered... but that may be because I just don't have the 4th book or haven't played GOW3 yet :-)

 

The first book does go into depth about what happened to Dom's brother (and Marcus' best friend), Carlos. What happened was kind of lame though and the description of Marcus' actions immediately after what befalls Carlos I found to be completely inadequate! Basically that he goes off on a mad killing spree in the middle of the battle and that is it... could have gone into much deeper detail in my opinion. I would have loved to know more about what was going on in Marcus' head during that whole episode, but then again I guess that is part of the whole "strong and silent" type allure of Marcus.

 

So far I have been left with too many unanswered questions about Marcus' father Adam Fenix; where is he, how did he end up on video in the locust stronghold, why did the queen reference him during the confrontation with our four champions at Nexus, on and on. I was hoping the books would help with that and they didn't. Also more detail on what happened to Adam's wife (Marcus' mother Elaine) would have been nice. Again though, it might be too early for me to say these things since I still need to play GOW3 and read Coalition's End :-)

 

Two characters who I definitely came to love all the more because of the books were; Baird (you know from the games) and Bernie (Bernadette) Mataki (who I believe you will meet in GOW3 if you didn't read the books).

 

From the games, you just get the impression that Damon Baird is only good for fixing stuff and as comic relief. But the books allow you to understand more of where he is coming from and more about his true dedication to his "brothers in arms", the COG.

 

Bernie Mataki is one tough lady... kind of reminded me of my grandmother, except my grandmother had no idea how to handle a Lancer or how to put on armor :-). Bernie is someone that you can't help but come to love... even Cole Train ended up with a big soft spot in his heart for her. Her dedication to the COG made her spend 17 years traveling across Sera to get back to her "brothers". That is dedication.

 

Another part of the books I liked was getting more detail about the South Islanders and their warrior mentality (Tai Kaliso was one). "Tai's as tough as a Brumak, though, so if anyone could make it, it'd be him." - Marcus Fenix after leaving Tai to fight Skorge. The only problem then became that it made it EXTREMELY hard to choke down the fact that Tai commits suicide in the second game. There is NO WAY that a South Islander would ever do that and especially not Tai, no matter what they did to him. Redemption would have been his answer, not suicide. (Baring that, I still liked that plot twist in the game since I played the game before reading the books... and seeing someone like Tai succumb to the Locust torture the way he did really showed you how bad those Grubs could be!)

 

All and all I am glad I read the books, but I did find them slow at points and I definitely left the second book feeling extremely let down... probably because like the "Two Towers" in Tolkien's trilogy, it is the setup for what is to come and so of course you are left wanting more.

 

Looking forward to getting Coalition's End next week and then once I am done reading it I will edit this post to fix all my wrong impressions... :-)

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, did not know this either, so glad I stumbled on this thread today:

From Wikipedia, so take it for what it is worth...

"Gears of War: The Slab" is the fifth and final book in the series, and is scheduled for a May 8, 2012 release. The novel will focus on Marcus Fenix's time in Jacinto Maximum Security Prison prior to Gears of War, and reveal more backstory on him, Victor Hoffman, and Adam Fenix.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

EDIT: Ok I have now finished the 4th book and the third game, which completes (mostly) the whole story for me. I definitely enjoyed the WHOLE ride! Every game and every book... it was so worth it.

Edited by BrinkX
Finished book and Gears of War 3
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Karen Traviss is an excellent writer and yes her Gears books are great.

 

Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I was just told the other night that the boys at Epic had Karen Traviss write the story for the GOW3 game itself, along with the novels (it does not show her as the writer on the first two games... at least on Wikipedia, so take with a grain of salt). So the story in the third game should be fantastic!

 

Sooooo looking forward to Tuesday!

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Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I was just told the other night that the boys at Epic had Karen Traviss write the story for the GOW3 game itself, along with the novels (it does not show her as the writer on the first two games... at least on Wikipedia, so take with a grain of salt). So the story in the third game should be fantastic!

 

Sooooo looking forward to Tuesday!

 

You're correct. She didn't write the first two games, but was approached about expanding the universe in novel form. After being successful, they approached her about more novels and collaborating on the 3rd game. I just hope she returns to Star Wars soon to finish her stories over there! Also, if you haven't seen the trailer yet, it sums up the books pretty well. "We're all stranded now."

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QPd-B3rkfY&feature=youtube_gdata_player]Gears of War 3 - We're all stranded now - YouTube[/ame]

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I have now finished the 4th book and the 3rd game. Loved it!

 

I definitely still have some questions and I am pretty sure that is what the 5th book is for, answering much of what transpired between Hoffman and Marcus on that fateful day in Ephyra and what caused Hoffman to throw Marcus in the brink (where we find him at the start of the first game). Plus I hope it is going to give some more background into what happened to Adam Fenix.

 

But anyway, the 4th book filled in what I was missing before starting the 3rd game and the 3rd game obviously brings it all to a conclusion. I am definitely in love with this franchise and the books went a long way in broadening the scope of the characters in the series (and believe me if you just play the games you are missing out on a ton of wonderful storyline and character realizations)... and there really are a ton of wonderful characters outside of the few you meet in the games! Plus now I know why Anya cut her hair :-) darn Lambent.

 

I really feel like Epic did a fantastic job fleshing out the whole Seran universe! I was on the verge of getting choked up more than once for sure. Unimaginable circumstances these people have endured. Didn't expect a happy ending (and it wasn't entirely), but was still very pleased with the story's conclusion.

 

If you like the Gears campaigns and you enjoy reading... definitely check out the books! (Just don't stop at number two or you will be disappointed... read them all to get the full picture). Karen did a fantastic job.

Edited by BrinkX
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I have now finished the 4th book and the 3rd game. Loved it!

 

I definitely still have some questions and I am pretty sure that is what the 5th book is for, answering much of what transpired between Hoffman and Marcus on that fateful day in Ephyra and what caused Hoffman to throw Marcus in the brink (where we find him at the start of the first game). Plus I hope it is going to give some more background into what happened to Adam Fenix.

 

But anyway, the 4th book filled in what I was missing before starting the 3rd game and the 3rd game obviously brings it all to a conclusion. I am definitely in love with this franchise and the books went a long way in broadening the scope of the characters in the series (and believe me if you just play the games you are missing out on a ton of wonderful storyline and character realizations)... and there really are a ton of wonderful characters outside of the few you meet in the games! Plus now I know why Anya cut her hair :-) darn Lambent.

 

I really feel like Epic did a fantastic job fleshing out the whole Seran universe! I was on the verge of getting choked up more than once for sure. Unimaginable circumstances these people have endured. Didn't expect a happy ending (and it wasn't entirely), but was still very pleased with the story's conclusion.

 

If you like the Gears campaigns and you enjoy reading... definitely check out the books! (Just don't stop at number two or you will be disappointed... read them all to get the full picture). Karen did a fantastic job.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the "whole" experience! I did too, only had one tiny complaint, and that's Dom's last words. I don't mind that his final thoughts were of her (a lot felt they should have been on Marcus) but the actual choice of words. Not a 100% why, just didn't sit well with me. Minor complaint that doesn't take away from the experience as a whole. The knife was an all time great finish though. Loved that moment!

Edited by Grifter Reborn
Noticed a typo...
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  • 2 weeks later...

So here's the deal. I never read any of the Gears of War comics, but I did read all 4 books and finish all 3 games. 1st- Alex Brand. She was written into Coalition's End but does not have any appearance or mention in Gears 3. Anyone know or can guess why? 2nd- Michael Barrick. He's apparently the star of the new DLC coming in November, yet according to the wiki...

 

*Spoiler Alert*

 

He died sacrificing himself for Delta. So, does this mean that the story takes place before the end of Gears? If so, where do you think it will fit in the timeline or do we have to wait for the DLC to find out?

 

Update: The campaign is not part of the November DLC, but my questions still apply...

Edited by Grifter Reborn
Update
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