Doom 3: Maelstrom

Doom Series

by Matthew Costello

In the year 2145...after disobeying a direct order, former special ops Marine Lieutenant John Kane found himself stripped of his rank and reassigned to the "U.S. Space Marines" -- the private army of the Union Aerospace Corporation. Now little more than a glorified security guard, Kane reluctantly accepts his fate on Mars City, the environmental community/lab center on the legendary red planet.

But Kane could never have imagined the unspeakable horrors that awaited him there -- nightmarish aberrations of nature and unholy unions of flesh and machine awakened by unsuspecting researchers attempting to divulge the arcane secrets of this planet's extraordinary past. As the terrifying violence grows, Kane and a ragtag band of survivors must call on all of their skills if they can ever hope to make it out of Mars City alive -- even as those at the highest echelons of power continue their own covert and deadly machinations in a relentless bid to seize the ultimate source of power....

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction, Video Games

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2009

Reviews

[Koen Crolla · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing in this one is even worse than in the first one, and much of that is because there's a lot more violent action, which Costello can't write. I don't know if it's because he's aware of this that he introduces a bunch of side-plots that mostly have more dialogue instead, but he can't really write that either. These extra plot lines weren't in the game, and the additional characters they bring on actually often turn the story into something else entirely—more X-COM than Doom, and not in a good way.
The woman character falls in love with the nameful protagonist for no clear reason, and the kid character similarly continues to exist, and more of the Doom 3 monsters show up and are mostly called what they're called in the game (though Costello doesn't seem to realise trites are named after the real-world jumping spiders and not the adjective).

In between all the noise the broad strokes of the game's story are followed and some of its more prominent set-pieces are retained at least impressionistically; e.g. Jack Campbell shows up with his BFG and it subsequently ends up in the hands of Sabaoth—who, like the vagary and the Cyberdemon (I don't think the Guardian of Hell makes an appearance, though I may just have mistaken its description for something else), is not actually named and is considerably weaker than he was in the game (or the Soul Cube is considerably more powerful; it certainly holds more charges)—but there's much less surrounding exposition. Betruger takes a much less active role than he did in the game—it's not clear he's even aware John Kane exists at any point—but that storyline, at least, comes to more or less the same conclusion as the game did. The added stuff mostly doesn't come to any sort of conclusion.

Doom 3 wasn't a good game but it really didn't deserve this.

[Михаил · Rating 3 out of 5]

Вторая книга более насыщенная, но в то же время более размытая, так как автор пытается создать пару новых линий и завершить все старые. Получается более-менее хорошо, игравшие в оригинал знают все наперед. Есть интересные диалоги, но в целом это все тот же сюжет DOOM 3, приправленный дополнительными описаниями и разговорами, которых так не хватает оригинальной игре.

[Hannibal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great connector to book 1. I hate that a third book wasn’t written, there certainly could have been because there’s plenty to work with. But overall I thought the book was excellent, very on point with the game, and intense. Nothing cheesy either!

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the 2nd half of a Doom 3 book trilogy the 1st of which is Doom 3:Worlds on Fire. The author Matthew Costello actually wrote the scripts for Doom 3 game. I think this shows in a good way as the portrait of the environment and the descriptions of the monsters. There's a sense of fear in the characters which helps draw readers in. They act as people would rather than fearless automatons that some authors portray their heroes as.

Just as the previous book, the storyline is well done, and thankfully with a couple of minor errors than the hordes of them that plagued the 1st book. Most of the events happen on Mars, though we do come back to the POV characters on Earth. The book starts off with characters in an underwater lab on Earth which can feel slightly confusing if you've started just after the 2nd book. The ending concludes with the ending of Doom 3 the game. There is a slight thread left with the research done by the underwater team but whether it was just to show the lengths the UAC will go to or as a possible vehicle for a 3rd book in the future I couldn't say.

Overall, this is an enjoyable book that I'd recommend, especially so if you like the DOOM franchise. If you can get past the mistakes in the 1st book and are looking for something to read in this genre then go for it.

[Derrick McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. Look at that cover. The words inside aren't the worst either.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed both books... Just don't understand why the author didn't finish the story...needs a book 3

[Alpharius · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the 2nd half of a duo, the 1st of which is Doom 3:Worlds on Fire. The author Matthew J. Costello actually wrote the scripts for Doom 3 and Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. I think this shows in a good way as the portrait of the environment and the descriptions of the monsters. There's a sense of fear in the characters which helps draw readers in. They act as people would rather than fearless automatons that some authors portray their heroes as.

Just as the previous book, the storyline is well done, and thankfully with a couple of minor errors than the hordes of them that plagued the 1st book. Most of the events happen on Mars, though we do come back to the POV characters on Earth. The book starts off with characters in an underwater lab on Earth which can feel slightly confusing if you've started just after the 2nd book. The ending concludes with the ending of Doom 3 the game. There is a slight thread left with the research done by the underwater team but whether it was just to show the lengths the UAC will go to or as a possible vehicle for a 3rd book in the future I couldn't say.

Overall this is an enjoyable book that I'd recommend, especially so if you like the franchise. If you can get past the mistakes in the 1st book and are looking for something to read in this genre then go for it.

[Georgi Pachov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really really good book. I enjoyed it immensely. People not knowing how the the 'Doom' story goes will love it. This is the second book of the mini-series, but you should jump to it directly and skip the first. Dynamic, unpredictable, brutal at times and a story looked at from all angles. Soldier's view, general's view, main antagonist's view, you have it all.

***spoiler ahead!***
An absolute masterstroke is the revelation of the thought processes of the man in charge of all - Ian Kelliher. Calculating and measuring risks, struggling and balancing between the fear of jeopardizing the work of his father's life and fear of allowing things to go out of control. I enjoyed this character a lot.

[Ole Andreas Haug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relatively Good

A few typos here & there, but it was easy & fun to read. There's a side story that seems at first to help build detail into the story, but then ends as useless filler. I mean, if there was a third book, then maybe it could continue there, but this book came out 6 years ago.

[Keira F. Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh... was an entertaining enough read for my morning/evening train commute. But thats about it. Uncompelling characters, a neat setting, and predictable, if sometimes impressively gross, monsters and violence.

[Henry Eggleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maelstrom

The second in this series carries on immediately from the end of book one. It is an exciting novel that switches between several characters as it ratchets up the tension before the final climax.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous

This 2nd half novel based on the game was tremendous. He only short coming is how fast it wrapped up. This could have been spread into two novels with added details.

[Steven Jaeger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book two in a never-to-be-finished trilogy. I loved the book. I was quite upset to learn that the conclusion would never come to fruition.