Borderlands: The Fallen

Borderlands

by John Shirley

WHAT KIND OF MAN MAKES A LIVING IN HELL?

His name’s Roland. Soldier class, a former mercenary, he’s on a full-time mission to scrape a living out of the most dangerous planet in the galaxy.

Is he qualified? He’s well armed, he’s ruthless, and he’s tougher than skag hide. And, oh yeah—he’s strapped with some of the most exotic weaponry this side of the Vault, not to mention possessing fists like chunks of steel.

Zac Finn and his wife and young son had better get on the right side of Roland, because a stopover in orbit has turned into a nightmarish fall to the unforgiving landscape of the Borderlands. Zac hopes to find a strange new alien treasure in the Borderlands to turn his down-spiraling life around. But his wife, Marla, and his son, Cal, just want to survive, and reunite, because catastrophe has left them separated by hundreds of klicks. Their chances aren’t good . . . and Roland is all that stands between them and the planet’s kill-crazed Psychos and murderous bandits—not to mention the grotesque primals, giant wyrm squids, insane tunnel rats, voracious skags, brutal bruisers, and ruthless mercs. . . .

An original novel set in the universe of the Rated M for Mature video game created by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games.

Genres: Science Fiction, Video Games, Fiction, Gaming, Fantasy

352 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2011

About the author

John Shirley won the Bram Stoker Award for his story collection Black Butterflies, and is the author of numerous novels, including the best-seller DEMONS, the cyberpunk classics CITY COME A-WALKIN', ECLIPSE, and BLACK GLASS, and his newest novels STORMLAND and A SORCERER OF ATLANTIS.

He is also a screenwriter, having written for television and movies; he was co-screenwriter of THE CROW. He has been several Year's Best anthologies including Prime Books' THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR anthology, and his nwest story collection is IN EXTREMIS: THE MOST EXTREME SHORT STORIES OF JOHN SHIRLEY. His novel BIOSHOCK: RAPTURE telling the story of the creation and undoing of Rapture, from the hit videogame BIOSHOCK is out from TOR books; his Halo novel, HALO: BROKEN CIRCLE is coming out from Pocket Books.

His most recent novels are STORMLAND and (forthcoming) AXLE BUST CREEK. His new story collection is THE FEVERISH STARS. STORMLAND and other John Shirley novels are available as audiobooks.

He is also a lyricist, having written lyrics for 18 songs recorded by the Blue Oyster Cult (especially on their albums Heaven Forbidden and Curse of the Hidden Mirror), and his own recordings.

John Shirley has written only one nonfiction book, GURDJIEFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND IDEAS, published by Penguin/Jeremy Tarcher.

John Shirley story collections include BLACK BUTTERFLIES, IN EXTREMIS, REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY WEIRD STORIES, and LIVING SHADOWS.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Mess with the bull, you get the horns."
I'm really not certain what the relevance with this line is but it is repeated at least a dozen times by Roland.
This novel was supposed to be an original set in the universe of Borderlands the video game, though the time-frame is ambiguous enough to leave you wondering when it was supposed to happen. Is it a prequel or a sequel? There isn't much original here. The author plugged the game's content so much that it immediately felt like a video game more than a novel. Nearly every enemy from the game is dropped in and interpreted in ways that only make sense in a game. This gives the book a non-cohesive feel that prevents full immersion. Constantly reminded that the setting is a game prevents a reader from really getting into it and enjoying the gritty feel that goes along with Borderlands.
Except there isn't much of that here to begin with. Shirley may have felt uncomfortable with the blatant use of gratuitous language and sexual references that go along with the setting, or he may have just done a poor job of slapping it in this sticky note filled mosaic of Borderlandy goodies. Either way the result was a tentative approach to sex and language that gradually built as the book progressed but ultimately never came close to feeling truly in the setting.

Unimaginative at best, the beginning of the book sets up three identical scenes in which bad guy A is directed into fighting Bad guy B rather than chasing good guy C further. The plugging/name dropping of enemy types and characters from the game make the book difficult to stick with even in the best moments. Could the author not understand that Badass is an adjective and not a specific species indicator? Possible, yet, the level of plugging goes to lengths that insist the author must have at least played the game some or seen it played. Readers will suffer through the awkward way in which Shirley actively keeps you from getting into his work.

Most of the scenes are pretty cookie cutter, some obviously templated from other works. There is a scene straight from the movie Tremors, which may give anyone who has seen that movie a moment of head shaking wonder at the exact parallels that occur.

In the end, the book has some moments that can become slightly immersive and make you forget how bad the book has been. Tragically these parts are all centered around the segments of the book which were not plucked straight from the game and made up by the author for his own purposes. If only he had done the same for the remainder of the book I suspect it would have been worthy of the time spent reading it.

Unfortunately this book will fall into my 1 star category because I cannot say it was ok. The bad editing job and Shirley's liberal use of the English language are detrimental to a person's literate status and may leave you scratching your head. There are words that don't exist and words that are used in ways not seen in any dictionary or thesaurus. A reader wouldn't seek this out if they didn't actively like borderlands. The work was done so poorly anyone reading it would have been better served simply playing more Borderlands, at least there you can grab some immersion and enjoyment. That is a statement worthy of eyebrow raising.

[Michael Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borderlands is a fantastic game. It's funny, addictive, has a unique graphical style and tons of loot to find. The one thing you don't really think of when it comes to Borderlands is its story. Sure, it's there and it's coherent, there are quite a few memorable characters and laugh out loud moments, but it's largely throwaway.
That being said, I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this book. The fact that it's written by John Shirley gave me some hope, he wrote the Bioshock novel that I quite enjoyed. All I was expecting out of this book was some mindless enjoyment, and it totally delivered. Just like the game, the plot is pretty thin. There's a crashed alien ship, and a bunch of people are trying to find it so they can loot it. What it does have are some fun characters, cool guns, and exciting action. There are also a lot of nods to the game that will make players happy. Worth a read if you love Borderlands or are just looking for a fun, quick book.

[Paul Laters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a fan of all the borderlands games I decided the time had come to read this book.
I had already read the bioshock book by the same author so I had a idea what to expect.

If you are a fan of the game and you know about Pandora and its vices you will understand more about the book than if you have never played the game.
Overall the story follows the adventures of a family that has become split up and deposited on Pandora. The story is intertwined with familiar characters from the game and continues with the games humour in places. As with borderlands there are lots of skags, rakks and psychos or all types. Add to that the guns, loot & battles it feels exactly right for a story set on Pandora.

The book has a good few twists and turns that kept me interested to the end with a ending that I wont say too much about as I don't want to spoil it for anyone. But I will say its worth reading to the end for sure.

[rhsudwn_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sure those who want to read this book are thinking about it for one thing, and one thing only: action-packed, hit-and-run survival. The book does a terrific job with pulling us into the world of Borderlands and forces us to know exactly what it is like to live with numerous and very dangerous enemies - and to be captured by them. Between dodging skags and bandits and shooting down every kind of psycho in sight, the reader is able to form memorable friendships with all four characters (not to mention Bloodwing!) in an all-for-one and one-for-all team effort to stay alive.

[Wigglygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have played Borderlands, or Borderlands 2 - I think you'll enjoy this. The writing is action focused, so if you have the picture of Pandora in your head already, this book will come to life.
Like the games, this book is not for kids.

[Aaron Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, the action was intense and never seemed to stop. I am also an avid fan of the borderlands games so seeing the game come to life felt good. I would definitively recommend this for anyone who like borderlands, action or comedy.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book managed to exceed my expectations. Of course, they were incredibly low, so that's not much of an achievement, but it's still notable.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Do not care much for the original characters.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great game, mediocre book.

[Hali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't have a quote to start this review with because the writing was pretty subpar and nothing particularly caught my attention. I suppose I could say "Mess with the bull you get the horns!" because Roland repeats it like four times, but it was good zero times. I'll just get into it. I like this book, overall. It's far from a masterpiece, and the plot isn't all that mysterious or intricate. But I knew these things going in. Video game companion novels are typically like this.

I enjoy the different perspectives, the new characters, and of course, Roland. The book has a good feel for the dangers of Pandora and for what it might be like to suddenly find yourself stranded there as a normal person instead of a mercenary, or a Vault Hunter.

I like Marla's ingenuity. She proves to be so smart and resourceful, making the most of the terrible situations she is dragged into. Cal is a good kid. He's brave and I really enjoy his interactions with Roland. Zac is probably my least favorite character, but I still like his chapters. He is not particularly interesting to me, but the events happening to and around him are. Roland is good and dependable and pretty badass, so besides all the "bull and horn" comments, I don't really have any complaints about him.

I do, however, have complaints about the following: 1. The prologue can't decide if it's present tense or not, which is extremely distracting. Example,

"It was all Roland's fault. Roland knows that McNee likes him."

Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but I found it difficult to read the prologue because of sentences like that one. Pick a tense. Please.

And 2. There is a lot of telling instead of showing, or showing and then also telling. To the point of utter redundancy sometimes. Example,

"Its tail lashed out angrily...and spikes flew from it, to clatter off the stone wall over Vance's head. It could whip spikes out of its tail, throw them arrowlike at its target."

Yes. I know it can throw spikes from its tail at a target. Want to know how I know that? YOU SHOWED ME AND THEN IMMEDIATELY ALSO TOLD ME. Do not do this thing.

An honorable mention to the list is the fact that the author seems to be trying to make a statement about Cal playing too many video games in the very beginning, with him constantly on a VR headset, which makes no sense to me in a book that is based on a video game. This is not the place for commentary on "those darn kids, always on those darn vidya games."

To sum it up, I do actually like this book well enough. It's all right. The writing and story are simple, and sometimes a little frustrating, but it kept me engaged. I wouldn't recommend this to someone who hasn't played Borderlands, (again, fairly standard for video game companion novels) but to someone who has, I say it's worth a read.

[Evelyn Hail · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book wasn’t that badly written per se, but seeing how I had previously played the videogame as a huge fan of the franchise, the protagonists’ appearance, their gear, the plot, the setting, the location and the monsters that kept popping up behind the rocks of a planet Pandora had in abundance were quite familiar to me. My love for the world of Borderlands was precisely what made me pick this book up; but it doesn’t really do justice to this vast universe from a literary point of view. It doesn’t linger on Roland’s story, even though he is one of the four main protagonists of the video game; there is a family instead, who are in a big trouble five minutes after having landed on a planet. Their personal story is forced upon us, without really telling when in Borderlands universe it is occurring; at the same time, it is too reminiscent of some sort of fan-fiction piece of art, and a bit trashy and corny at that.

[Nine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was weird. There was a lot of fan service, but there wasn't much substance to this book. Sometimes novelizations of video games can provide really interesting lore or accentuate the story you experience in the game. This book wasn't like that. It made certain to mention characters and enemies, but the story was completely unimportant.

I was also really annoyed at the treatment of the only female character in the book. I can almost deal with the fact that all of the men on this lawless, chaotic, backwater planet might want to treat her like a piece of meat. That much isn't difficult to believe, I suppose, but I was consistently and repeatedly irritated with her behavior throughout the book. I couldn't stand her as a character, and I was annoyed with the author for portraying her like that when there wasn't even a respectable female character to offset her.

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Borderlands: The Fallen" is about a young man who travels to Pandora with his parents to look for a brighter future in their career. He must overcome hardships and intense trials to survive in this harsh planet.

In this book, you will follow Cal, Marla, and Zac Finn through each of their journeys to unite as a family once again. Roland is a soldier on the planet who helps them against the crazy bandits, psychos, and wildlife.

Anyone familiar of the video game, will easily find interest in this book. Even if you are a fan of adventure and treasure hunting, will also become a fan of this franchise. I liked this book because it has treasure hunting, great humor, and a huge amount of adventure. Four out of Five.

[Freezard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first Borderlands game and decided to check out the first novel about the game. The story doesn't have anything to do with the story in the game, but it's still set in the same world and contains the same creatures and places. Basically it's about Roland and his journey for treasures and a family that crash landed on Pandora and separated, so the book often swaps around each point of view. Roland is a really cool guy just as you imagined him being in the game, unfortunately the family members aren't quite as interesting. It's a nice little original story but don't expect too much out of it.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the opening chapters, The Fallen tries a little too hard to assert itself as a part of the Borderlands universe, throwing in way too many cosmetic references in rapid succession that come across as name-dropping more than context-establishing.

However, once it gets over doing so and begins to tell its own story set within that world, things get quite interesting. The story tends towards the darker elements of the source material and seems to actively avoid the series' trademark humour.

It's a fair bet that if you enjoyed the world of Pandora, particularly as it was presented in the first game, you'll enjoy exploring more of it in this way.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took off to a really slow start, but it did finally pick up about a third of the way through. Two problems I had with the book. One: there was only one brief appearance by a Claptrap. Two: there was a very bad typo about three-quartersthrough. Specifically, the wrong character name was attributed to an action. That really took me out of the book as I re-read that whole section several times.

So... If you're a fan of "Borderlands", I'd say "stick with it", and I'd give it four stars. If you're a sci-fi reader, I'd give it 3.5 stars. Everybody else... Three stars.

[Tabitha "Meatboy" Bathory · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was actually pretty good. I mean, it wasn't with out its faults. I found myself rewriting some parts and slightly switching around words at times but over all I really enjoyed cruising through Pandora. I did really feel like I was there and John Shirley did a fairly good job of getting across the different characters personalities and speech patterns. Also, I was [SPOILERS] glad he took the dramatically tragic route and killed off Vance and Zac. To be honest, as well, I kinda wish the sex scene was a little more detailed but I guess kids are reading these books, eh?

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun Read

A good read for someone who likes the borderlands game series and is hungry for some more story in the borderlands universe. Already have the next book and wanting to read the whole series. Always takes me into an almost mesmerized state, forgetting that I'm actually just sitting here reading a story, which is the best way you can have it.

[Charles Quintanilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoying it so far. I am about 70 pages in and the story of the three family members stranded on the planet is keeping me reading! =] Loved the game, which was my reason to read the book, and I am not disappointed. Has creatures from both Borderlands 1 & 2 so far. Cant wait for the second book!

[Daniela Barisone · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://scrittevolmente.com/2012/06/05...

[Spartan Ooqt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good filler between Borderlands 1 and 2 games. Has little baring on the story in 2 though. Over all a good read!

[Martin Gehling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice Sci-fi book based on the video game. Pretty entertaining read.

[Shawn Kass · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoyed the games, then this is a good book. It's not really well written and doesn't at any point force you to be an active reader, but it is fun escapism for fans of the video games.

[Brian Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was more about the planet Pandora than the Borderlands characters we all know (Roland is involved).. not a bad story.. not great.. a decent read if you need a Borderlands fix..

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borderlands: The Fallen by John Shirley is Video Game tie-in novel based on 2K Games popular RPG Shooter games Borderlands. Borderlands is a fantastic game. It’s funny, addictive, has a unique graphical style and tons of loot to find. The one thing you don’t really think of when it comes to Borderlands is it’s story. I don’t mean to be disparaging at all, it’s not that the story is bad, it just isn’t ver deep. It’s coherent, there are many memorable, and truly funny characters. On top of that it’s filled with laugh out loud moments. When it comes to plot though, it’s pretty thin and largely throwaway. Find the vault, collect loot.


That being said, I wasn’t expecting a lot out of this book. The fact that it’s written by John Shirley gave me some hope, he’s the author of Bioshock: Rapture, the prequel novel that I quite enjoyed. All I was expecting out of this book was some mindless enjoyment, and it totally delivered. Just like the games, the plot is pretty thin.

There’s a crashed alien ship, and a bunch of people are trying to find it so they can loot it. Of course in the Borderlands fashion, many people are willing to kill without remorse to obtain this alien treasure, and much fighting and killing ensue. The book does have some fun characters, cool guns, and exciting action. Roland, the Commando from the first game is here, and he plays a fairly major part. There are also a lot of nods to the game that will make players happy. Things like the psychos screaming their memorable lines while in a fight. Overall, I doubt it will blow anyone away, but it’s worth a read if you love Borderlands or are just looking for a fun, quick sci-fi book.

[Elise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why John, why? I've read John Shirley before and liked his book on Bioshock but this was awful. He does do a great job describing the many creatures that inhabit Pandora but that is the only nice thing I can say about this book. The story follows 3 main characters; Zac, his wife Marla, and their son Cal. Each have a separate experience while on Pandora but basically everything is out to kill and eat them. Except Marla who also has to contend with every person she meet also wanting to rape her.

Borderlands the game has some really strong female characters but the only female in this book would not make the cut to be in a Borderlands game. Having played several Borderlands game I thought I knew what I was getting into but the Marla story line was just too much for me. I also was not a fan of any of the main characters. Roland, from the game, is the beginning of the story and on the cover but is a subordinate character which is kind of misleading. I was disappointed to the point that I am not looking forward to continue the series but that is just my opinion.

[Spratto · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a solid original storyline set in the Borderlands universe. It introduces a quite a lot of new characters (and sometimes mentions a few of the characters from the game, but doesn't really depend on them except Roland). However, i cringed a few times when author decided to put some of the phrases that sound in the game as a literal line from some of the characters. In my opinion, this story shouldn't just blindly copy the game's content, but unfortunately it does and does it in a bad way. I felt that John Shirley just wanted to cram a lot of the names and enemies from the game in here, which felt kinda awkward at times. Otherwise it's not a bad story set in the decorations of planet Pandora, which shows it as a much darker place than it was in the game.

[Michael Shields · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece, but this still came up short. There’s something about using sexual assault against female characters as a means of punishment that just feels gross and lazy, and this author uses it about as often as quotation marks. Almost every male character that came in contact with Marla had either tried to rape her, plan on raping her, or threatened to rape her in order to get her to comply. It was so overused that it got to the point of when Marla runs into a new male character late in the story, I thought “I bet he tries to rape her.” Guess what? He tried. It’s a sign of a serious lack of creativity when the only thing you can think of that’ll be scary for a female protagonist is to have her face down a potential rapist.

[Dylan Heaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was between a 4 and 5 star review of this book. The borderlands video game series is my all time favorite and I was ecstatic to see there was a book series. The book was fantastic and the character development was great. The only thing that knocked it down to a 4 star rating was I felt the ending was sort of rushed and tied up in a hurry! Would definitely read again though.

[John Mc Graw Jr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story took forever to get going and was hastily ended. I really expected the book to be like his Bioshock book and lay a foundation for the game. Instead I got a disappointed story about a character from the game that had nothing really to do with the game. Very disappointing.