Hell on Mars doesn't put its best foot forward. Much of the writing is amateurish; the characters are cliched and flit back and forth between being inHell on Mars doesn't put its best foot forward. Much of the writing is amateurish; the characters are cliched and flit back and forth between being incompetent civvies and hardened (yet still incompetent) soldiers; technical aspects and writing (such as descriptions of mechanical systems, scientific concepts, or anatomical features and procedures) are utterly glossed over; and the world building is mostly contained in the sparse and bizarrely under-baked details of its alt-history (an attempt with a bonus story at the end of the book serving as an explainer of the world of Reality Bleed only raised more questions than answers for myself). This makes the first 1/3rd of the book something of a slog.
However, Hell on Mars excels at being gross and horrifying in its action, and the descriptions of the monsters are evocative in their twisted, alien nature. Skulls are popped, bones are snapped, and blood is spilled copiously, even if most of the folks being slaughtered are not worth caring about in the first place. Once the hallways of Felicity Station begin filling with gnashing teeth, writhing tentacles, and the meat of the slaughter it does become pretty damn fun. Even with its faults I find it to be a much better novelizations of the Doom games than even the official novelizations. It has an angsty, take no prisoners approach to its sci-fi horror ultraviolence that, while juvenile and crass, is appealing to at least some part of my lizard brain in the same way the Doom games are.
While I don't know if the gleeful and macabre action can sustain the series across the span of its 9-10 books I am looking forward to seeing the authors at least try. Although, well-built characters and sharper writing would go a long way toward making this series into something really special....more
The author, Doug Cantrell, made us buy this book new for his History of Kentucky class and it can't be resold afterward leaving me out $200. Good bookThe author, Doug Cantrell, made us buy this book new for his History of Kentucky class and it can't be resold afterward leaving me out $200. Good book, but screw that guy....more
Ubernoodle
>
Books:
Read
(205)
Loading...
