Borderlands: Unconquered

Borderlands

by John Shirley

An original novel set in the universe of the award-winning video game!

Everyone already knows that. But the General of an army of Psycho Soldiers takes on this planetary hell headfirst, planning to enslave all of the Borderlands. And that General . . . is a Goddess. The General Goddess, Gynella, is a cunning maniac who uses the dark science of the vile Dr. Vialle to control a growing army of bandits and malcontents. Only four people stand in Gynella’s way.

Roland. Mordecai. Brick. And . . . Daphne.

Daphne?! Better known as Kuller the Killer, she was once the galaxy’s most effective assassin for organized crime—until her forced retirement on this abandoned wasteland of a world. Roland is one of the toughest fighters in the Borderlands, and Mordecai is the best shot in four solar systems—all the two really want is to get to the Crystalisks, harvest some Eridium, get rich, and leave the planet for the nearest intergalactic party. But there are nightmarish creatures to deal Varkids and Skags and Threshers. Worse, Gynella is still in their way. Brick—a pile of walking muscle who lives to smash his enemies, could be their ally or their enemy . . . but you’d definitely rather have him on your side. As for Daphne Kuller? Don't make her mad. Just . . . don’t.

If you want to hear about the whole thing, take a ride on the bus to Fyrestone with Marcus. Because Marcus has a tale to tell you . . . an untold story of the Borderlands.

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

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 25, 2012

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

[Hali · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did it.

So many times I wanted to throw this book down and drop kick it into the sun.
I don't think I've ever had such an intense desire to stop reading a book before.
I slowly but surely persevered because I do not ever want to DNF a book if I can help it. I know that's ambitious thinking, and perhaps one day I will not have the patience, but I managed it today, and I managed it with this heap of bland, mischaracterized, overall unimpressive butchering of one of my favorite video game worlds.

I had foolishly been excited to read this book because Mordecai and Brick were also in it, as the first book's main cast were created for that book, aside from Roland. I thought more familiar faces would expand and improve upon the merely tolerable content of the first book. I thought wrong. Brick, Mordecai, and Roland are intolerably out of character. From the poorly executed attempts to incorporate dialogue lines from the games into their otherwise unrecognizable vocabulary, to the gross misunderstanding of what they would or wouldn't do or say, these characters are mishandled in an aggressively ignorant manner.
A character made for this book, Daphne, is written extremely one dimensional and predictable, because this author has apparently never interacted with a human woman before in his life.

Bloodwing is constantly referred to as "it", even by Mordecai, Brick says the words, "hot to trot for punch time", the medicine is referred to simply as "Dr. Zed" the entire time, when that's the name of the doctor who sells it, and not the actual medicine. The word "crotch" is repeated an absurd amount of times, to the point where I was constantly noticing it and becoming distracted by how stupid it sounded in most of the sentences it was used in. Mordecai and Daphne instantly like each other for no real reason, and Daphne is often talked about as though she's some scary expert assassin type, but as she's written poorly, you mostly just have to take everyone's word for it, because you see very little competence from her throughout the book. It feels like the author knew very little about the games and those characters, and somehow even less about how to handle a character he created.

Gynella, the villain, is bland and forgettable, and she is yet another character we're told is strong and competent, while really only being shown information to the contrary. She controls her armies of Psychos with a drug that makes them horny for her, more or less, and she has the ones who overstep her boundaries or fail in their duties, brutally murdered. ("Mean and sexy", wow, another realistic, layered female character. Give it up, guys, for this author who definitely knows how to write convincing women.) But she never really shows any particular skill, or personally takes care of anything. Until the end when Daphne kicks her ass with literally no trouble at all and sustaining no injuries after telling Brick and Mordecai she wasn't coming with them to save Roland from Gynella because it was a suicide mission. Yep...
Oh, and while I'm spoiler ranting, Gynella drugs and rapes Roland, as he did not want to be with her until the horny drug forced him to want her, and then the author gives Roland mixed feelings about the situation as he watches her die. After she drugged and raped him. Dare I say, it's worded as though he has mixed feels BECAUSE she drugged and raped him.

I know not to expect too much from a video game novel, so this was not a case of expectation creating an unrealistically high pedestal to fall from. Unconquered simply fell so far from the source material, and waved at the idea of at least being entertaining as it shot past it, that I have to say it's the worst video game novel I've ever read to date.

Blandly written, boring plot, one dimensional, poorly realized characters, new and old.
A complete bastardization of the crazy, wonderful, funny, colorful world and characters of the Borderlands.
I regret reading this book, even if I'm proud of myself for managing to finish it.

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was what you would expect a novel in the Borderlands universe to be. Nothing crazy good, nothing crazy bad. No real character development and a somewhat shallow plot, but it has explosions, gore, crass humor, and of course psychos.

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

Borderlands: The Unconquered by John Shirley is a prequel video game tie-in to 2K games RPG Shooter Borderlands. All in all, a Fun read. If Im right, I think this takes place after Borderlands 1 and before 2. This book gives a great feeling of just how visceral the Planet Pandora is. From ripping out hearts to drowning an enemy in a puddle of waste- this book definitely tells a different story of the world than the toned down version the games had. The new main characters- Daphne and Gynella are more than worthy of the universe. If you thought Jack was a cruel guy, Gynella is right there with him, maybe even colder. As for Daphne, I personally wish she got more focus time. Her backstory is so rich she deserves her own book, but they tell deep background on both and do a good job of explaining why they each came to Pandora. The prologue and epilogue are a bit cheesy but they were done purely as fan service, other than that the book is perfect. Even if you havent read The Fallen, this book is a standalone title- you wont miss out on anything but a few (2-3) vague references; It also works well as an intro to the Universe, even if you havent played the games.

[Michael Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

The release of Borderlands 2 brings with it the release of the second Borderlands novel by John Shirley. This second one is a bit like the first in the fact that it's some fairly mindless fun. This second novel brings in more of the cast from the first game, including both Mordecai and Brick. I liked the format of the book, in that the story is actually being told by Marcus, whom we know from the game is quite a storyteller.
I think the story fits in very well with game universe. In fact I could see this story being used as a plot for an expansion pack or some such. It has to do with the General Goddess and her army of mind controlled Psychos who are attempting to conquer all of Pandora. Like I said, it's fun.

[Evelyn Hail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book of the trilogy is better than the first one, that’s for sure. I am not certain whether I had that feeling because the character that is being mentioned is precisely Mordecai, or Mord, as I like to call him, with his faithful pet Bloodwing; he is, after all, my favourite protagonist of the videogames. The read was much more enjoyable, probably due to the fact the writer included loads of gory details, over the top violence and non-stop action. Dialogues were mostly fun and silly; and numerous plot twists were incorporated into the novel’s tissue. It fits better within the game universe than book one, but it is still an ok read, nothing more, and nothing less.

[Samuel Thurston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, goofy, Borderlands themed adventure. Very gorey and sexually explicit, as expected, and super action packed and movie like. Sometimes Brick and Roland felt a little out-of-character, many of the other characters were simple and forgettable, but I expected as much from a quick one-off. Sadly not as funny as I would have hoped, but still an alright read for a fan of the franchise looking for more content.

[James Ronholm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suspect that if you have played Borderlands, and especially if you really enjoyed playing Borderlands, you will like this book more than I did. It felt pretty formulaic and like what I imagine the game to be like. Lots of shooting and killing, explosions and named weapons that a gamer might recognize.

[Dylan Heaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole series has been a blast to read so far. John Shirley did a great job with the characters and their attributes and personalities. A fun read through and through!

[Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love borderlands but it was just boring tbh

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash. Has nothing to do with Borderlands. A vehicle for the author's sexual fetishes. Awful at writing female characters and Borderlands in general.

[Alberto Grandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tralasciando la pessima traduzione e i vari errori di battitura, questo secondo romanzo ambientato nell’universo di Borderlands è nettamente migliore rispetto al precedente! Finalmente entrano in campo tutti i protagonisti del videogames, creando un’azione unica, degna di questa saga. Antagonista molto interessante e altrettanto interessante è vedere le similitudini con il terzo gioco della serie, uscito circa sette anni dopo questo romanzo! Comunque, nonostante gli avvenimenti siano successivi rispetto al primo libro, è possibile goderselo appieno anche senza aver letto il precedente. Veramente consigliato, in particolare modo agli appassionati di Borderlands

[David Agranoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Shirley is the author of masterpieces in both Science fiction (City Come a Walkin) and (Wetbones) and horror. In the last couple years he has taken a stab at several more well known movie and comic franchises in tie-in novels. I am a huge fan of his original novels so I have read most of his tie-in novels which have included excellent novels in the Predator universe (Forever Midnight) and Hellblazer(War lord) to name a few.

Last year Shirley had big success with a popular prequel to the video game Bioshock so we shouldn't be surprised that gearbox came to the original cyberpunk legend to expand their Borderlands universe. With a second Borderlands video game coming soon it seemed a good time to go into the origins of two of the games more important characters Mordecai and Brick.

This is a science fiction adventure novel that I believe sets up the events of the video game on a planet called Pandora. I have to admit that a lot of this novel went over my head as I have not played the game, nor did I realize when I picked this novel that it was a second in a series. The action is well done and the characters are rich. It is not over written and nothing is excessively violent. It is a well written tie-in to a popular video franchise and should be on the shelf in the Y-A section of libraries.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borderlands' was a popular videogame that was created by Gearbox Software in 2010. It was an immediate hit, especially with multiplayer aficionados. While the literary adaptation by John Shirley does capture the morbid qualities of the game, which are the very essence of the franchise, it does overlook the varied fantastical settings of Gearbox's breakthrough videogame, focusing on repetitive siege set pieces instead.

What really sets Shirley's adaptation apart is the way the story is presented to us in its narratorial form. Without spoiling too much of the story, the story is narrated by Marcus, the bus driver/ ammunitions dealer. Since Marcus as a narrator is unreliable at best, as his mysterious surviving passenger suggests, Shirley makes an interesting parallelism to the inherent narratorial unreliability and the arbitrariness of plot devices in these sort of videogames. For example, Marcus says that one of his branded fire grenades was used in a climactic point in his story, which the stranger dismisses as "product placement". The player experiences the same stumbling block while playing since every playthrough is obviously unique.

Shirley's 'Unconquered' is a good effort, one which reflects he author's engagement with the source material.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published at Walker of Worlds.

Borderlands: Unconquered by John Shirley takes the main characters from the immensely popular Borderlands video game and brings their exploits to the page. Looking mainly at Roland and Mordecai, Unconquered throws everything into the mix that you'd expect after playing the source material. Guns, violence, guns, psychotic enemies, guns, loot, and guns. Oh, and did I mention guns?

Lets be honest, the only reason to read Borderlands: Unconquered is if you're a fan of the game, otherwise there is little here that you'd care for. Unconquered reads as a side mission from the game with perhaps a little less of the dark humour I expected. The characters are fine, the plot okay, and the resolution not entirely unexpected. It's enjoyable, but this one won't win any awards, nor bring new fans to the franchise. What it does, it does well, though it's strictly for those familiar with Borderlands.

[Freezard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's similar to the first novel, except they brought back all of the familiar main characters from the first game instead of just Roland. Actually only three of them are featured in the main story that is told from the perspective of Marcus - a new female character called Daphne is in place of Lilith. She has a lot of personality though and I also liked the cruel antagonist. For some reason the four main characters are not entirely friends with each other, so they will usually split up in pairs. Since there actually is no interaction between the characters in the game I suppose that could be true though, it just stroke me as a bit odd. Either way, I found the story more interesting than the first novel thanks to the more familiar faces, although it is by no means anything super exciting.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable little book, very much like the game series it's based on. Over the top violence with no real redeeming qualities, silly humor, and fairly shallow characters that you'll come to like just by virtue of the fact that they at least have relative depth. This is a popcorn book, and it works well as that. Just don't expect more out of it. And it is nice to have continuing adventures of the characters from the first game, and there are a few ties into the second game, even if it isn't a bridge novel. Fun, silly, forgettable.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most video game adaptations (but not all: John Shirley also wrote the fantastic Bioshock novel), Unconquered just isn't that great. I love Borderlands, but that love is pretty much all that kept me reading. The story is serviceable: mercenary and treasuring hunting Roland teams up with fellow Vault Hunter Mordecai to find some valuable Macguffin. They get caught up in an attempt by the "Goddess General" to take over Pandora. That's pretty much it. The execution is dry: if Shirley had created the world, I expect it would have been a lot more fun.

[Paul Laters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third John Shirley book I have read recently and it follows on in some ways from the other borderlands book.
It is set in Pandora the same as the game and other book with a new story with its own twists and turns.
I enjoyed the book and had to read it to the end to see the outcome of all the sub plots and twists.

[Scott Kinkade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad story if you're a fan of the Borderlands videogames (which I am). It stays faithful to the, ahem, mature spirit of the games (in fact, it's filled with even more intense violence and language). The author has a weird (IMO) habit of writing "dived" instead of "dove," but maybe it's just me. I like Borderlands: Unconquered.

[132allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what i have read this is a great book. Don't be worried about reading the first book they have no connection. But you should play borderlands 1 because then you know the characters more and your closer to them. I recommend this book to young adults who have played the game.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a better novel than the first one. It's not "great" science fiction, but certainly an enjoyable read and fans of the Borderlands games will get a lot out of it.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun tie-in to the video game, with some hilariously gory descriptions. I doubt it will be much interest of you haven't played the game, but it's a treat if you have.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the first one. More fun, more character, more action.

[Ivanhoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Just another normal day in pandora" D:

[James Witherspoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, fun, ejoyable. Loved the games and loved this novel. For fans of anyone who enjoy the games.