In The Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth

by Nastasha Romanenko

The book attempted to expose the details of Solid Snake's mission to Shadow Moses Island, which had previously been concealed from the public. It revealed the existence of a new nuclear weapon at a secret U.S. facility, and the Government's attempts to eliminate terrorists that had taken it over, via a bio-engineered assassination virus. It also detailed the background of REX's development, the bribing of DARPA Chief Donald Anderson, the suspicious arrest and death of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Houseman, and the involvement of a shadowy organization known as the Patriots, along with Richard Ames.

93 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Nastasha was born and raised in Prypiat, Ukraine, and was 10 years old when she and her family were exposed to radiation due to the Chernobyl nuclear accident, on April 26, 1986. In 1990, Nastasha's parents were killed when they were exposed to lethal amounts of radiation while helping in the clean-up. This made her become very strongly opposed to nuclear weapons and nuclear power, claiming that nuclear bombing represents "an invisible war that transcends borders and generations." She later moved to the United States when her parents died, still plagued by the effects of residual radiation poisoning and the gauntlet of procedures it entails. However, because she had never been diagnosed with cancer, the help she had been able to receive was limited.
Nastasha joined the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) in 1992, then at the NSA (National Security Agency), regularly dealing with top-secret information. While in the DIA, she met and later married Richard Ames, but the marriage didn't last long and they quickly divorced. In her own words they "spent much of [their] brief marriage in disagreement over virtually every issue," remaining single from then on. The end of the Cold War saw her join the ranks of displaced military analysts. She then wrote freelance military criticism for a variety of military intelligence journals including the U.S. Naval Journal.
In 1996, Nastasha attended the Canberra Commission, the world's first nationally hosted nuclear weapon abolition proposal committee. She participated in the Commission as an advisor. Afterwards, she joined NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team) as a military and nuclear analyst. During this time, she went to live in Los Angeles.
Nastasha had a friend who became affected by PTSD, due to the trauma of having to fight against his fellow citizens in Chechnya, and committed suicide six months after his return.

In early 2005, Ames made contact with Nastasha and forced her to help with an anti-terrorist operation, being conducted by Solid Snake on Shadow Moses Island. Her LA home was converted into a makeshift command center for DOD personnel, with Nastasha providing radio support to Snake as he infiltrated a nuclear weapons disposal facility. Since Snake was an amateur when it came to nukes, Nastasha kept him informed of the latest news on nuclear weapons development and military affairs.
Ames kept many secrets from Nastasha during the operation, though she came to learn of various classified government projects and conspiracies, including the Patriots' existence. Some of the information she uncovered was so top secret that she began to wonder if she would even be allowed to live once Snake's mission had been accomplished.
After the terrorists were thwarted by Snake, Ames handed Nastasha a disc containing data on the Pentagon's FOXDIE virus, hoping that she could use it as leverage to keep herself safe. Ames disappeared from her life shortly thereafter.

Afterwards, Nastasha fled from her home in California and went into hiding. She felt incredibly affected by what she had heard during her time helping Snake. After failing to contact Ames through the DIA, Nastasha was convinced that buying her safety and freedom had been a costly act for him. Having grown tired of being an objective bystander, she decided to go public with what she knew and attempt to expose the conspiracy behind the incident. Putting herself in renewed danger, she wrote a book entitled "In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth".
After overcoming many obstructions, Nastasha was ultimately successful in publishing her book. She donated the royalties to help fund Snake and Otacon's anti-Metal Gear organization Philanthropy. Afterwards, she disappeared from the public eye once more, with even Snake being unaware of her location by the time of the Big Shell Incident in 2009, though he assumed she was still a heavy smoker.

Reviews

[Colonel A.I. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't give a damn what that piece of trash said.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed skimming it!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as extra content included to go with Metal Gear Solid 2, I'd say this is surprisingly solid. Primarily for the fans who also enjoy the more dense political side of things, the story told here also lays out a lot of the small details that are may be harder to parse during gameplay. It was decently written and I appreciated having certain things further cleared, however this is for fans of Metal Gear specifically.

[Adam Cassar · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who enjoys the Metal Gear Solid games, this was an excellent complement to bridge the gap between the first and second game.

This book does technically feature in the extra section on MGS2 but I appreciate that someone went to the effort to actually turn it into a physical copy.

[AL · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact this was written just to add detail to the MGS series is quite impressive. It also serves as a way to catch on the events of MGS1

[Dalton Fisk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining. Helps fill in the background info on what really happened on Shadow Moses!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what it is, this is a pretty damn solid work of fiction. Even departed from the game, it’s a completely solid work of writing on its own.

[Dallas Bechard · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Darkness of Shadow Moses is a strange case for a book. While most books that involve themes like the ones in this usually have the main character as the one who is fighting the terrorists, this book focuses on one of their radio support team members. The book is about how the narrator gets dragged into a top secret mission to prevent a terrorist organization from launching a nuclear warhead. As the book goes on the mission becomes more and more hectic as people who were supposed to be saved die mysteriously, unknown factors start to come in, and government meddling starts to cause tension between the operative and his commanding officer. By the end of the book the operative disables the warhead and escapes.

[Nick H · Rating 3 out of 5]

[second reading] [11/17/21 - 11/19/21]

[⭐️⭐️⭐️__ __ ] [07/28/20 - 07/31/20]
Essentially a novelization of the first Metal Gear Solid game, but it’s an interesting way to present the story. Precious few insights about the game itself that you couldn’t have learned by playing, but it’s mostly interesting to learn more about Nastasha, as well as the process Snake’s handlers go through when communicating with him. I appreciate that this content was included in the actual game of MGS2, as most games aren’t comfortable including a full-sized novel. The other story, “The Shocking Conspiracy Behind Shadow Moses” was extremely entertaining.