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Resident Evil #4
Underworld
Umbrella has begun to lose control of its hidden research facilities. Three labs have already been destroyed. But beneath the deserts of the American Southwest, one of the company's most elaborate facilities is about to go online.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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2797 people want to read
About the author
S.D. Perry
97 books813 followersSD Perry (Stephani Danelle, by the way, though she prefers SD or Danelle) has been writing novelizations and tie-ins for most of her adult life. Best known for her work in the shared multiverses of Resident Evil, Star Trek, and Aliens, SD is a horror nerd and an introvert. Her father is acclaimed science fiction author Steve Perry. SD lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
September 15, 2021
I read this entire series a few years ago. I am a huge fan of the games and the books are more or less just written adaptations of each video game. The writing is good, but for those not familiar with the video games, these may or may not peak your interest.
October 10, 2020
Quienes me conocéis mínimamente sabéis que soy una fan absoluta de los videojuegos de Resident Evil, por lo que en los últimos años, poco a poco, he ido leyendo los libros de la saga que S.D. Perry fue sacando hace ya años.
Si bien no los he leído seguidos, si guardo gratos recuerdos de los libros, e incluso el que no es canon (La Ensenada Calibán) porque, aunque sé que su calidad no es de lo mejor que me he topado suelo opinar más de lo que me ha hecho sentir que en lo objetivo se refiere (aunque por supuesto intento no dejo totalmente la objetividad de lado, y si alguna vez animé a alguien a leer estos libros fue a gente fan de los videojuegos, de no ser así me abstenía).
Pero es que Inframundo es jodidamente aburrido.
Vale, sí, este libro NO es canon pero aún así no aporta ningún tipo de riqueza. A pesar de que reúne a tres personajes que considero de mis favoritos (Leon, Claire y Rebecca) no hay ninguna escena memorable entre ellos (y eso que, en cuanto a mi gusto personal se refiere, intenta emparejar a una pareja que me encanta, aunque todos sabemos que menos canon imposible), los enemigos que aparecen aquí me han parecido patéticos y, lo más mortal de todo: ABSOLUTAMENTE TODO ES PREDECIBLE.
No, no estoy exagerando. Una vez baja el grupo del avión iba adivinando como avanzaba la trama hasta el mismísimo final. Iba leyendo el libro y no paraba de pensar: no lo voy a volver a leer en mi vida. Si un libro te hace pensar así mal vamos. Y ojo, todos los anteriores no eran de diez pero mantenían bastante bien el tipo y algunas situaciones eran disfrutables (hablando siempre como fan, recuerdo).
Ah, y la situación que crea los propios protagonistas en el final del libro es de todo menos lógico por cierto. No puedo especificar más por tema spoilers pero va en contra de su propio código.
En fin, resumiendo: ha resultado ser una decepción de novela como fan de la saga que soy. Enemigos que, quizá menos uno, son de todo menos interesantes, mortalmente aburrido y predecible a más no poder. No aprovecha en absoluto la autora que puede hacer historias más allá de los videojuegos y ha perdido una oportunidad de oro con los personajes que reúne aquí.
Estaba dudando entre ponerle una estrella o dos. Creo que al final una porque de verdad, lo único bueno que saco es que me gusta los personajes que ha reunido y un ligero fanservice que me agrada en lo personal. Y ya.
Cada cual es libre de darle una oportunidad si lo desea, no quiero cerrar las puertas a nadie. Pero por mi parte, no lo recomiendo.
Si bien no los he leído seguidos, si guardo gratos recuerdos de los libros, e incluso el que no es canon (La Ensenada Calibán) porque, aunque sé que su calidad no es de lo mejor que me he topado suelo opinar más de lo que me ha hecho sentir que en lo objetivo se refiere (aunque por supuesto intento no dejo totalmente la objetividad de lado, y si alguna vez animé a alguien a leer estos libros fue a gente fan de los videojuegos, de no ser así me abstenía).
Pero es que Inframundo es jodidamente aburrido.
Vale, sí, este libro NO es canon pero aún así no aporta ningún tipo de riqueza. A pesar de que reúne a tres personajes que considero de mis favoritos (Leon, Claire y Rebecca) no hay ninguna escena memorable entre ellos (y eso que, en cuanto a mi gusto personal se refiere, intenta emparejar a una pareja que me encanta, aunque todos sabemos que menos canon imposible), los enemigos que aparecen aquí me han parecido patéticos y, lo más mortal de todo: ABSOLUTAMENTE TODO ES PREDECIBLE.
No, no estoy exagerando. Una vez baja el grupo del avión iba adivinando como avanzaba la trama hasta el mismísimo final. Iba leyendo el libro y no paraba de pensar: no lo voy a volver a leer en mi vida. Si un libro te hace pensar así mal vamos. Y ojo, todos los anteriores no eran de diez pero mantenían bastante bien el tipo y algunas situaciones eran disfrutables (hablando siempre como fan, recuerdo).
Ah, y la situación que crea los propios protagonistas en el final del libro es de todo menos lógico por cierto. No puedo especificar más por tema spoilers pero va en contra de su propio código.
En fin, resumiendo: ha resultado ser una decepción de novela como fan de la saga que soy. Enemigos que, quizá menos uno, son de todo menos interesantes, mortalmente aburrido y predecible a más no poder. No aprovecha en absoluto la autora que puede hacer historias más allá de los videojuegos y ha perdido una oportunidad de oro con los personajes que reúne aquí.
Estaba dudando entre ponerle una estrella o dos. Creo que al final una porque de verdad, lo único bueno que saco es que me gusta los personajes que ha reunido y un ligero fanservice que me agrada en lo personal. Y ya.
Cada cual es libre de darle una oportunidad si lo desea, no quiero cerrar las puertas a nadie. Pero por mi parte, no lo recomiendo.
July 23, 2015
The fourth book in the Resident Evil series, this will make the second book to take place during no game in the series. The first book being Caliban Cove. This book takes place a little after the events of City of the Dead. Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy team up with Rebecca Chambers, David Trapp, and John Andrews. All of which were former S.T.A.R.S. members. It is revealed that Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield's brother, and some others went to Europe to uncover the evil the Umbrella Corporation. While all of them are in route to Europe, their plane's destination is redirected by the mysterious Trent who has played a role in most of the book series thus far.
He tells them of an Umbrella facility in Utah, called the Planet, which hasn't as of yet been activated. Trent tells them that Jay Reston, the manager of that facility, holds a very special book that can unlock several of Umbrella's dirty little secrets. This mission will put their teamwork to the test, as some of them will have to hide from enemy, while some will be running for their lives through four large environments full of B.O.W.'s.
This book does a great job of showing how all the characters can work together. If you have read Caliban Cove, and City of the Dead, you will get a good idea of their character development. While they are accepting that Umbrella is corrupt, they are also dealing with the fact that monsters are real. The cool thing is that there isn't a large shock value here. In the first three books, each character is operating under the assumption that the world is normal. Then they encounter all manner of strange creatures and dark secrets. At this point, all the main characters are familiar with the idea of things not being normal. They all learn to expect the unexpected, which could in fact include blood thirst creatures trying to kill them.
A nice twist to the video game series is the origins of Trent. It is revealed that he works for Umbrella, only so that he may start a fire from within and watch it all burn to the ground. Unlike James Marcus being the creator of the T-Virus, as seen within the RE video game series, Trent's family created it. Neither Trent, nor any of his family are included in the video games. He, and his family, are book characters only. The writing style was smooth, but there was a lot of jumping around with slow points. Most of the action takes place during Leon and John's travels through the four environments, stages, within the facility. Clair, David, and Rebecca spend the majority of time trying to evade capture. There is a good amount of story with Jay Reston. Most of it involved him either getting reports about intruders inside the environments, or the intruders that were trying to evade detection outside the facility. They did a great job of blending in the characters, when they all met up again.
He tells them of an Umbrella facility in Utah, called the Planet, which hasn't as of yet been activated. Trent tells them that Jay Reston, the manager of that facility, holds a very special book that can unlock several of Umbrella's dirty little secrets. This mission will put their teamwork to the test, as some of them will have to hide from enemy, while some will be running for their lives through four large environments full of B.O.W.'s.
This book does a great job of showing how all the characters can work together. If you have read Caliban Cove, and City of the Dead, you will get a good idea of their character development. While they are accepting that Umbrella is corrupt, they are also dealing with the fact that monsters are real. The cool thing is that there isn't a large shock value here. In the first three books, each character is operating under the assumption that the world is normal. Then they encounter all manner of strange creatures and dark secrets. At this point, all the main characters are familiar with the idea of things not being normal. They all learn to expect the unexpected, which could in fact include blood thirst creatures trying to kill them.
A nice twist to the video game series is the origins of Trent. It is revealed that he works for Umbrella, only so that he may start a fire from within and watch it all burn to the ground. Unlike James Marcus being the creator of the T-Virus, as seen within the RE video game series, Trent's family created it. Neither Trent, nor any of his family are included in the video games. He, and his family, are book characters only. The writing style was smooth, but there was a lot of jumping around with slow points. Most of the action takes place during Leon and John's travels through the four environments, stages, within the facility. Clair, David, and Rebecca spend the majority of time trying to evade capture. There is a good amount of story with Jay Reston. Most of it involved him either getting reports about intruders inside the environments, or the intruders that were trying to evade detection outside the facility. They did a great job of blending in the characters, when they all met up again.
May 28, 2021
Resident Evil: Under World by S.D. Perry is a video game tie-in novel based on Capcom’s Resident Evil Video Game franchise. Unlike the other RE novels UnderWorld tells a Original Story set in the RE Game universe. Being the fourth book by Perry, Underworld was released in 1999 and featured, either in story or through mention, nearly all of the main characters in the game series at that time. In this book, Leon Kennedy, Rebecca Chambers, and Claire Redfield, along with David and John from Caliban Cove, are en route to Europe where they plan on aiding Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, and Barry Burton in their fight against the Umbrella Corporation. However, they are diverted to Utah where they infiltrate a secret Umbrella lair run by Jay Reston, who happens to have in his possession one of three code books that gives access to the companies most valuable and secret documents.
This lair is, just like the Hive, primarily based underground. Within its walls, it holds a four-room testing area that is nicknamed “The Planet”. Each room is of massive size and holds a different kind of artificial environment, such as a desert, a forest, or a city. Each room also holds a new type of B.O.W. that Umbrella is testing. In the forest, there are the “Dacs”, giant winged creatures. The desert has “Scorps”, which are extremely large scorpions, a lá Clash of the Titans. Next up are the “Spitters”, a cross between goats and reptiles that are able to spit venomous fluids, who live in a mountainous environment. Lastly, there are the “Hunters”, which are nearly identical to the creatures from the first Resident Evil title only these have the ability to camouflage into their surroundings, which in this case is several blocks of a faux city. Lastly, there is a Tyrant-esque hybrid of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a human that has only one thing on its mind: eating.
As with The other RE Books, Perry crafts new and interesting threads into the Resident Evil universe. Her mysterious puppet master Trent, who is not part of Capcom’s Resident Evil canon, is finally given the backstory that readers were seeking. And while there are some inconsistencies in terms of the timing of this story versus the following book Resident Evil: Nemesis, which is an adaptation of Resident Evil 3, its still an entertaining ride that is surprisingly emotional at times. While we already hated Umbrella by this point in the story, our loathing only increases thanks to the people and events that take place in this book. Overall, while not the best of the RE book series. I would definitely recommend RE: Under World to any Fan of the RE games or horror genre.
This lair is, just like the Hive, primarily based underground. Within its walls, it holds a four-room testing area that is nicknamed “The Planet”. Each room is of massive size and holds a different kind of artificial environment, such as a desert, a forest, or a city. Each room also holds a new type of B.O.W. that Umbrella is testing. In the forest, there are the “Dacs”, giant winged creatures. The desert has “Scorps”, which are extremely large scorpions, a lá Clash of the Titans. Next up are the “Spitters”, a cross between goats and reptiles that are able to spit venomous fluids, who live in a mountainous environment. Lastly, there are the “Hunters”, which are nearly identical to the creatures from the first Resident Evil title only these have the ability to camouflage into their surroundings, which in this case is several blocks of a faux city. Lastly, there is a Tyrant-esque hybrid of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a human that has only one thing on its mind: eating.
As with The other RE Books, Perry crafts new and interesting threads into the Resident Evil universe. Her mysterious puppet master Trent, who is not part of Capcom’s Resident Evil canon, is finally given the backstory that readers were seeking. And while there are some inconsistencies in terms of the timing of this story versus the following book Resident Evil: Nemesis, which is an adaptation of Resident Evil 3, its still an entertaining ride that is surprisingly emotional at times. While we already hated Umbrella by this point in the story, our loathing only increases thanks to the people and events that take place in this book. Overall, while not the best of the RE book series. I would definitely recommend RE: Under World to any Fan of the RE games or horror genre.
February 7, 2019
2 stelle e mezza
Quarto capitolo tratto dalla saga di videogames più conosciuta sugli zombie.
Questo libro ha il pregio di avere una scrittura molto scorrevole, solo che pare di leggere la sceneggiatura di un film, c'è poca caratterizzazione dei personaggi, si legge poco di ciò che sta dietro a tutto, la storia del virus, la Umbrella sono descritti in modo molto approssimativo. Il libro è solo azione, che giustamente rende poco sotto forma di libro. I videogames e poi i film hanno una resa migliore, secondo me...
Quarto capitolo tratto dalla saga di videogames più conosciuta sugli zombie.
Questo libro ha il pregio di avere una scrittura molto scorrevole, solo che pare di leggere la sceneggiatura di un film, c'è poca caratterizzazione dei personaggi, si legge poco di ciò che sta dietro a tutto, la storia del virus, la Umbrella sono descritti in modo molto approssimativo. Il libro è solo azione, che giustamente rende poco sotto forma di libro. I videogames e poi i film hanno una resa migliore, secondo me...
January 11, 2022
This was a fun inclusion into the Resident evil mythos. Perry is very talented at tell a exciting streamlined story. Although just like I have said in the past about the other resident evil books is that if you have not played the games you probably won’t enjoy this .
May 26, 2025
fun, fast-paced, engaging
although each book is unique in their own way in terms of characters and monsters, they are getting a little predictable. ex-s.t.a.r.s on a mission, Trent gives cryptic advice, they're locked in somewhere, they have to get through a series of rooms and/or solve puzzles, there's an evil bad guy who's insane in his own unique way, bad guy dies as a result of his own hubris, at least one character on the good side dies, they manage to escape just in the nick of time. I also understand that they are supposed to be written this way; that they're just supposed to be fun quick reads so I don't hold this against them.
I did think that John was gonna be the one to get killed off because he was the only non-white character remaining so I'm glad that he made it out alive.
although each book is unique in their own way in terms of characters and monsters, they are getting a little predictable. ex-s.t.a.r.s on a mission, Trent gives cryptic advice, they're locked in somewhere, they have to get through a series of rooms and/or solve puzzles, there's an evil bad guy who's insane in his own unique way, bad guy dies as a result of his own hubris, at least one character on the good side dies, they manage to escape just in the nick of time. I also understand that they are supposed to be written this way; that they're just supposed to be fun quick reads so I don't hold this against them.
I did think that John was gonna be the one to get killed off because he was the only non-white character remaining so I'm glad that he made it out alive.
December 6, 2019
Better than the first two RE books, not as good as the last one.
March 5, 2021
این کتاب کاملا برخلاف انتظار خیلی خوب ظاهر شد؛ در ادامه داستان قبلی خودش با یه شروع خوب و هیجان انگیز و ادامه جذاب که حضور شخصیت های مهم مجموعه هم توش خیلی تاثیر داشت و یک پایان خوب با یک افشاگری زیبا. فکر کنم تا اینجا بهترین داستان مجموعه اویل بوده.
شروع داستان که درست در ادامه کتاب قبل و واقعا لذت بردم(نمیخوام اسپویل کنم ولی خیلی جذاب بود) اصلا شروع و پایان خوب سنت این مجموعه شده. تو این داستان ما داستان بازمانده هایی رو داریم که تقریبا شخصیت های مهم داستان های قبل رو کنار هم قرار میده و یه تیم آپ جذاب داریم (ماجرا وقتی جذاب تر میشه که بدونیم این کتاب یه داستان ناگفته ست چون نه از روش فیلم و انیمیشن ساخته شده و نه بازی و برای خودم هم خیلی تازه بود) بازمانده هایی که بین نیروهای دولتی و مامورین آمبرلا گیرافتادند و در عین حال میخوان به دشمن ضربه هم بزنن ولی فشار حملات بهشون اجازه نمیده تا وقتی حامی مرموزشون، ترنت جلو میاد...
همکاری و تعامل شخصیت های قبلی در کنار هم ترکیب جذابی هست و ما دوباره یه تمِ عملیاتی که در گذرگاه کالیبان داشتیم رو تجربه میکنیم البته بعضی قسمت ها پلات آرمور وجود داشت ولی خیلی اذیت نمیکرد... شاید یکی از عوامل جذابیت ماجرا سمج بودن ویلن داستان و کشاکش و تغییر وضعیت برای شخصیت های اصلی بود موقعیتی که نبایست خطرناک می بود شدیدا خطرناک میشد و حس تعلیق بالا بود...
یک عامل دیگه واقعا زیبایی کار جدا شدن داستان از اون حس بازگویی گیم و حس و حال گیم بود، یعنی اون فضایی که انگار داریم کارکتر رو که در حال دویدن و امتیاز گرفتن و پاورآپ هست رو دنبال میکنیم گه تو کتاب اول خیلی زیاد بود و در کتاب های بعدی کمتر شد و در این قسمت کاملا دیگه محو شاد �� میتونم الان به این قسمت به دید یک داستان و یک کتاب مستقل نگاه کنم که چندان وامدار بازی نیست ومتن و توصیفات و روایت و دیالوگ ها و مونولوگ ها هم به یک کتاب نزدیک تر و بهتر شدن...
یه چیز آزار دهنده این بود که ترنت و لیان یه مکالمه راجب ایدا داشتن ولی جز این اطلاعات دیگه ای رد وبدل نشد و این پر رمز و راز ترین شخصیت مجموعه رو همچنان کشف نشده باقی گذاشت. (حیف☹)
و در پایان داستان هم ما یه افشاگری زیبا داشتیم که جواب های زیادی به ما داد. برخلاف قسمت های قبل که شروع و پایان خوب و بدنه داستان ضعیف تر بود این قسمت همه بخش ها خوب بودن و راضی بودم. یک داستان استاندارد و خوب ولی نه عالی و فوق العاده.
شروع داستان که درست در ادامه کتاب قبل و واقعا لذت بردم(نمیخوام اسپویل کنم ولی خیلی جذاب بود) اصلا شروع و پایان خوب سنت این مجموعه شده. تو این داستان ما داستان بازمانده هایی رو داریم که تقریبا شخصیت های مهم داستان های قبل رو کنار هم قرار میده و یه تیم آپ جذاب داریم (ماجرا وقتی جذاب تر میشه که بدونیم این کتاب یه داستان ناگفته ست چون نه از روش فیلم و انیمیشن ساخته شده و نه بازی و برای خودم هم خیلی تازه بود) بازمانده هایی که بین نیروهای دولتی و مامورین آمبرلا گیرافتادند و در عین حال میخوان به دشمن ضربه هم بزنن ولی فشار حملات بهشون اجازه نمیده تا وقتی حامی مرموزشون، ترنت جلو میاد...
همکاری و تعامل شخصیت های قبلی در کنار هم ترکیب جذابی هست و ما دوباره یه تمِ عملیاتی که در گذرگاه کالیبان داشتیم رو تجربه میکنیم البته بعضی قسمت ها پلات آرمور وجود داشت ولی خیلی اذیت نمیکرد... شاید یکی از عوامل جذابیت ماجرا سمج بودن ویلن داستان و کشاکش و تغییر وضعیت برای شخصیت های اصلی بود موقعیتی که نبایست خطرناک می بود شدیدا خطرناک میشد و حس تعلیق بالا بود...
یک عامل دیگه واقعا زیبایی کار جدا شدن داستان از اون حس بازگویی گیم و حس و حال گیم بود، یعنی اون فضایی که انگار داریم کارکتر رو که در حال دویدن و امتیاز گرفتن و پاورآپ هست رو دنبال میکنیم گه تو کتاب اول خیلی زیاد بود و در کتاب های بعدی کمتر شد و در این قسمت کاملا دیگه محو شاد �� میتونم الان به این قسمت به دید یک داستان و یک کتاب مستقل نگاه کنم که چندان وامدار بازی نیست ومتن و توصیفات و روایت و دیالوگ ها و مونولوگ ها هم به یک کتاب نزدیک تر و بهتر شدن...
یه چیز آزار دهنده این بود که ترنت و لیان یه مکالمه راجب ایدا داشتن ولی جز این اطلاعات دیگه ای رد وبدل نشد و این پر رمز و راز ترین شخصیت مجموعه رو همچنان کشف نشده باقی گذاشت. (حیف☹)
و در پایان داستان هم ما یه افشاگری زیبا داشتیم که جواب های زیادی به ما داد. برخلاف قسمت های قبل که شروع و پایان خوب و بدنه داستان ضعیف تر بود این قسمت همه بخش ها خوب بودن و راضی بودم. یک داستان استاندارد و خوب ولی نه عالی و فوق العاده.
March 30, 2015
A massive fan of the video games, I was ecstatic to find that someone had serialised them in novel form. This is S.D Perry’s fourth novel set in the Resident Evil universe and the second that does not follow one of the video games plotlines.
Like Perry’s first original story, Caliban Cove, this one feels convincing as a piece of Resident Evil fiction. I believe one of the terrible live-action movies even stole some of the plotline! However, at times the book feels more like a piece of fanfiction than anything else – especially with all the game’s protagonists coming together/ crossing over to fight Umbrella.
The prose is short and snappy; you can read through it very quickly. However, complaints I’ve had with the other books still apply here. Perry feels the need to dictate the character’s thoughts endlessly and some of the characters (Leon in particular) seem to act a little out of character at times.
It’s a good, quick read overall - much better than those God awful live-action movies.
Like Perry’s first original story, Caliban Cove, this one feels convincing as a piece of Resident Evil fiction. I believe one of the terrible live-action movies even stole some of the plotline! However, at times the book feels more like a piece of fanfiction than anything else – especially with all the game’s protagonists coming together/ crossing over to fight Umbrella.
The prose is short and snappy; you can read through it very quickly. However, complaints I’ve had with the other books still apply here. Perry feels the need to dictate the character’s thoughts endlessly and some of the characters (Leon in particular) seem to act a little out of character at times.
It’s a good, quick read overall - much better than those God awful live-action movies.
November 8, 2012
Resident Evil without zombies. You have got to be kidding me! Seriously, pterodactyls, scorpions, chameleons and some lame T-rex called Fossil? WTH! I am utterly disappointed!
The only thing that makes sense with this book is at least you got to know Trent's real story at the end. Other than that, it's just plain boring.
The only thing that makes sense with this book is at least you got to know Trent's real story at the end. Other than that, it's just plain boring.
August 21, 2024
i think these stories translate better as games than books
like the games are “oh my god there’s this giant mutated monster, i need to use all of my pistol ammo AND a rifle AND a rocket launcher AND some kind of quick time event, and i only just win”
and then these books (through no fault of the author) are essentially “there was a monster and then i shot it in the face and then it died”
still very enjoyable but i think the stakes are higher in the games
like the games are “oh my god there’s this giant mutated monster, i need to use all of my pistol ammo AND a rifle AND a rocket launcher AND some kind of quick time event, and i only just win”
and then these books (through no fault of the author) are essentially “there was a monster and then i shot it in the face and then it died”
still very enjoyable but i think the stakes are higher in the games
October 27, 2024
hell yeah resident evil! fans of the games will enjoy. s.d. perry captures the campiness well. fun little pocket book that plays out like a heist story but with spooky zombie dinosaurs. Ok! this is the fourth book in the series and the first one I’ve read so im unsure how the series stands on its own, though I do think that this is definitely made for folks who are familiar with the world and leon kennedy’s himbo - ness . Otherwise it’s like a 3. So, 3.5?
October 24, 2018
Pure brain candy but I adore the unabashed campy thrill of it all.
May 9, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - it looks like this story was the inspiration for the movie Resident Evil: Retribution (2012).
August 9, 2024
Es entretenida pero le faltó mucho del sabor de sus antecesoras, veamos cómo será Némesis...
September 12, 2024
I really enjoyed this one! I like how the characters from previous books (Rebecca, David, John) are with Leon and Claire now, and the twist of trent at the end, I KNEW he was a sorta bad guy! I knew it! Onto the next one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
November 17, 2024this feels like when you’re reading a fanfic and the author has a bunch of OCs you didn’t know about, and soon it just turns into a story about the OCs
May 12, 2017
+BORING!!!!! (-_-)
Give me back my CARLOS AND JILL!!!!! :)
Give me back my CARLOS AND JILL!!!!! :)
August 3, 2024
Not as good as the game novelizations, but they'd be hard to beat anyway.
February 11, 2021
As the fourth volume in Stephanie Perry's Resident Evil Universe, Perry brings together an adventure that is not worth remembering. It should have died along with the citizens of Raccoon City.
After finishing this book and reflecting on my thoughts, I am hard-pressed to say anything positive about this Resident Evil adaptation. This book is marred with a poorly designed plot with even the worst plot holes. Characters seem to lack intelligence and common sense as well, and a narrative yarn that borders on boredom.
Story:
The story takes place one month after Leon and Claire escaped the horrors of Raccoon City. They are now teaming up with the remaining STARS Exeter Squad (David and John) and fan-favorite, Rebecca Chambers. The team heads to Europe to aid fellow STARS members Barry, Chris, and Jill in stopping Umbrella. Their plans are quickly interrupted by the mysterious Trent (a created character by Perry). He informs them of another secret facility in Utah that houses a 'black book' that holds all of Umbrella's secret. From there, it is a lackluster adventure as our heroes go up against monstrous horrors and lab manager Reston.
While the plot is not wholly original, its execution is severely flawed by the numerous plotholes in this book and the Deus ex Machina's use. The biggest problems are around the 'heist' aspect of the book and the character of Trent. For example, once it is finally revealed who Trent is at the end of this book, the entire plot falls apart. It is established he is a leader within Umbrella and Reston's boss and intends on destroying the company. Yet, he does not have access to all of Umbrella's secrets even though he has access to Umbrella's secrets. So, why are they stealing this black book? What is worst is he sends in the team with no blueprints, weapons, security layout of any kind to a lab that he has access to. Moreover, the characters acknowledge this, and all hell breaks loose the second they get there.
Another example of a plot-hole is that the characters need to find Reston who has all the information they seek. But they have no idea what he looks like, even though Trent has met him. If Trent is so hellbent on destroying Umbrella why does he send in a team so ill-prepared, he should at least give them a photograph!!! It is this type of bull-shit writing that makes the whole experience so frustrating that it is impossible to find any joy in this book.
Mind-blogging that Perry has these plot holes, acknowledges them but never attempts to explain or have an editor clean up this mess. Because of these glaring problems, characters are so fundamentally stupid that it is challenging to give a crap about any of them. Time and time again, they are saved or turn the tide because the plot magically commands it to be so. Once the book finally ends, everything is left on an ambiguous note that does not correctly wrap up the experience.
For fans looking for the tension and pacing that Stepahine is known for, they will not find it here. Instead of undead horrors, we have dinosaurs. It Resident Evil meets Jurassic Park. The monsters are hardly threatening, and the danger is lacking as everyone is protected by plot-armor.
To say that this book is worth reading would be a disservice. Perry delivers a book so badly written that the horror comes from its construction.
After finishing this book and reflecting on my thoughts, I am hard-pressed to say anything positive about this Resident Evil adaptation. This book is marred with a poorly designed plot with even the worst plot holes. Characters seem to lack intelligence and common sense as well, and a narrative yarn that borders on boredom.
Story:
The story takes place one month after Leon and Claire escaped the horrors of Raccoon City. They are now teaming up with the remaining STARS Exeter Squad (David and John) and fan-favorite, Rebecca Chambers. The team heads to Europe to aid fellow STARS members Barry, Chris, and Jill in stopping Umbrella. Their plans are quickly interrupted by the mysterious Trent (a created character by Perry). He informs them of another secret facility in Utah that houses a 'black book' that holds all of Umbrella's secret. From there, it is a lackluster adventure as our heroes go up against monstrous horrors and lab manager Reston.
While the plot is not wholly original, its execution is severely flawed by the numerous plotholes in this book and the Deus ex Machina's use. The biggest problems are around the 'heist' aspect of the book and the character of Trent. For example, once it is finally revealed who Trent is at the end of this book, the entire plot falls apart. It is established he is a leader within Umbrella and Reston's boss and intends on destroying the company. Yet, he does not have access to all of Umbrella's secrets even though he has access to Umbrella's secrets. So, why are they stealing this black book? What is worst is he sends in the team with no blueprints, weapons, security layout of any kind to a lab that he has access to. Moreover, the characters acknowledge this, and all hell breaks loose the second they get there.
Another example of a plot-hole is that the characters need to find Reston who has all the information they seek. But they have no idea what he looks like, even though Trent has met him. If Trent is so hellbent on destroying Umbrella why does he send in a team so ill-prepared, he should at least give them a photograph!!! It is this type of bull-shit writing that makes the whole experience so frustrating that it is impossible to find any joy in this book.
Mind-blogging that Perry has these plot holes, acknowledges them but never attempts to explain or have an editor clean up this mess. Because of these glaring problems, characters are so fundamentally stupid that it is challenging to give a crap about any of them. Time and time again, they are saved or turn the tide because the plot magically commands it to be so. Once the book finally ends, everything is left on an ambiguous note that does not correctly wrap up the experience.
For fans looking for the tension and pacing that Stepahine is known for, they will not find it here. Instead of undead horrors, we have dinosaurs. It Resident Evil meets Jurassic Park. The monsters are hardly threatening, and the danger is lacking as everyone is protected by plot-armor.
To say that this book is worth reading would be a disservice. Perry delivers a book so badly written that the horror comes from its construction.
March 1, 2022
This was a good standalone story in that occurs in the RE-Perryverse, after Raccoon City falls, and Umbrella successfully and discreetly shifts blame of the atrocity. I liked seeing the characters of David and John again, and it was nice to see Claire, Leon, and Rebecca work together.
Trent is really working those angles. The more I read of him, the more I am bummed that he didn't make it into the canonical games or movies (although the latter may be a good thing, given the overall quality of said-movies).
Interesting "big-bad" monster at the end; "Fossil". Rustin was a good villain. Thoroughly loathsome as a bureaucratic pencil-pushing boss. The creatures were interesting as well.
Trent is really working those angles. The more I read of him, the more I am bummed that he didn't make it into the canonical games or movies (although the latter may be a good thing, given the overall quality of said-movies).
Interesting "big-bad" monster at the end; "Fossil". Rustin was a good villain. Thoroughly loathsome as a bureaucratic pencil-pushing boss. The creatures were interesting as well.
October 6, 2018
Underworld is the second original story in the Resident Evil series after Caliban Cove, featuring nothing from the games. And, let me tell you, it really sucked.
Here's the thing. When I read a book that's meant to be based in a video game series, I'd like some resemblance to the games. Underworld doesn't feature that. Instead, it does it's own thing that really has nothing to do with Resident Evil, and it's exceptionally boring in the process.
The previous RE books gave spotlight to the game characters, but Underworld doesn't do that. Instead, it gives focus to three of Perry's original characters - John, David and Reston - and none of them are interesting and appealing. Reading about them is like going into a fanfic of your favorite series, but it suddenly has OCs that weren't mentioned in the description playing at the spotlight stealing squad. The three actual RE characters - Claire, Rebecca and Leon - take a backseat to John and David particularly, even thinking about how cool they are at times. They aren't cool. They're a disappointment. I'm not against having original characters in franchise novels - I read them all the time. But, it's such a disappointment to have the game characters be present but essentially be sidekicks to such unappealing characters.
Don't even get me started on Trent, Perry's original character who is apparently super important and mysterious and controlling how everything goes. It's like she was trying to make a maybe good guy Wesker, and it's just... ick.
The plot's boring. As much as there's a lot of action, none of it's interesting to read about. At times, I had to skim through it just to make it through a scene. Really, it just feels more of the same of Caliban Cove, which was the worst part of the series. It's not the worst part of the series anymore, though, as Underworld takes the title from it.
Lastly, it has nothing to really do with Resident Evil. Just because you shoehorn some characters from the games in and tell me the villains are Umbrella, it doesn't mean that this is a Resident Evil book. It's just bad fanfiction.
Skip Underworld. Move on to the next book that actually has something to do with the game.
Here's the thing. When I read a book that's meant to be based in a video game series, I'd like some resemblance to the games. Underworld doesn't feature that. Instead, it does it's own thing that really has nothing to do with Resident Evil, and it's exceptionally boring in the process.
The previous RE books gave spotlight to the game characters, but Underworld doesn't do that. Instead, it gives focus to three of Perry's original characters - John, David and Reston - and none of them are interesting and appealing. Reading about them is like going into a fanfic of your favorite series, but it suddenly has OCs that weren't mentioned in the description playing at the spotlight stealing squad. The three actual RE characters - Claire, Rebecca and Leon - take a backseat to John and David particularly, even thinking about how cool they are at times. They aren't cool. They're a disappointment. I'm not against having original characters in franchise novels - I read them all the time. But, it's such a disappointment to have the game characters be present but essentially be sidekicks to such unappealing characters.
Don't even get me started on Trent, Perry's original character who is apparently super important and mysterious and controlling how everything goes. It's like she was trying to make a maybe good guy Wesker, and it's just... ick.
The plot's boring. As much as there's a lot of action, none of it's interesting to read about. At times, I had to skim through it just to make it through a scene. Really, it just feels more of the same of Caliban Cove, which was the worst part of the series. It's not the worst part of the series anymore, though, as Underworld takes the title from it.
Lastly, it has nothing to really do with Resident Evil. Just because you shoehorn some characters from the games in and tell me the villains are Umbrella, it doesn't mean that this is a Resident Evil book. It's just bad fanfiction.
Skip Underworld. Move on to the next book that actually has something to do with the game.
September 30, 2009
S. D. Perry, Resident Evil: Underworld (Pocket, 1999)
Perry's fourth installment in the Resident Evil series is another original, rather than being a novelization of one of the video games in the series; I find myself liking the novelizations a bit more, now that I've read two of each. Maybe it's because I recognize the limitations imposed on a novelization by the underlying game, while the originals should have more room to spread out. Perry's originals refuse to do this in any way, marching in lockstep with the same basic ideas in the game; if the folks who make the Resident Evil games ever decided to do so, it would be very easy for them to code both Caliban Cove and Underworld into playable (and probably highly enjoyable) games.
In this one, the surviving team members from the first three novels have all finally found one another, and are getting ready to meet up with the comrades of theirs who have already fled to Europe (most notably Chris Redfield). When they're on the plane, however, the enigmatic Trent appears and offers them a choice: keep on going to Europe, or turn around and head for Utah, where they have the chance to take down another lab as well as get hold of a codebook that will make their lives much easier when they get to Europe. Guess what they choose.
The only character who really gets developed here is Trent, and most of what wee get about him is toward the end of the book, so this feels interchangeable with the other books; drop characters into setting and throw monsters and bad guys at them. This feeling is augmented by the fact that there are no new good guys for us to get to know, so Perry dispenses with character development altogether on our good guys; opportunities we might have had to get to know some of these characters better (or to explore the rapidly-developing relationship between Leon and Claire) are ignored. Has the same action-packed pace as the previous novels, but that's about all it has going for it. If you've come this far in the series, you're probably not going to stop now, but I'm almost not looking forward to book five. ***
Perry's fourth installment in the Resident Evil series is another original, rather than being a novelization of one of the video games in the series; I find myself liking the novelizations a bit more, now that I've read two of each. Maybe it's because I recognize the limitations imposed on a novelization by the underlying game, while the originals should have more room to spread out. Perry's originals refuse to do this in any way, marching in lockstep with the same basic ideas in the game; if the folks who make the Resident Evil games ever decided to do so, it would be very easy for them to code both Caliban Cove and Underworld into playable (and probably highly enjoyable) games.
In this one, the surviving team members from the first three novels have all finally found one another, and are getting ready to meet up with the comrades of theirs who have already fled to Europe (most notably Chris Redfield). When they're on the plane, however, the enigmatic Trent appears and offers them a choice: keep on going to Europe, or turn around and head for Utah, where they have the chance to take down another lab as well as get hold of a codebook that will make their lives much easier when they get to Europe. Guess what they choose.
The only character who really gets developed here is Trent, and most of what wee get about him is toward the end of the book, so this feels interchangeable with the other books; drop characters into setting and throw monsters and bad guys at them. This feeling is augmented by the fact that there are no new good guys for us to get to know, so Perry dispenses with character development altogether on our good guys; opportunities we might have had to get to know some of these characters better (or to explore the rapidly-developing relationship between Leon and Claire) are ignored. Has the same action-packed pace as the previous novels, but that's about all it has going for it. If you've come this far in the series, you're probably not going to stop now, but I'm almost not looking forward to book five. ***
April 4, 2021
The story kicks off shortly after Leon and Claire’s escape from Raccoon City and includes the surviving characters from Caliban Cove as well as the author’s original character, Trent, a mysterious individual that is aiding the characters when it seems to serve his interests, whatever that might be.
As this is an original story rather than being based on a game, there is less focus on direct confrontations and combat and more on stealth, espionage, subterfuge, and infiltration with the intent of gathering intelligence – Underworld truly is an apt title, and in more ways than one.
There are indeed BOW’s and combat and in that respect, the book did not disappoint, though a good number of pages must be read before the first BOW makes its appearance. Underworld’s strength is not being tied by a corresponding game, as certain events and dialogue does not translate that well from game to novel, in particular 90’s cheesy zombie games. The pacing is by far the best of Perry’s Resident Evil books (that I have read) and there are no moments where the author is forced to justify cringy exchange of dialogue or nonsense actions.
There is but one thing that prevents me from giving this book five stars. Of the five protagonists, not everyone can have their equal amount of spotlight, but care should still be taken to avoid that a character feels superfluous. While all five characters were, at some point, relevant for the story, more could have been done to keep Claire, in particular, relevant to and directly involved in the plot as there was a large segment where she was just sort of ‘there’.
As this is an original story rather than being based on a game, there is less focus on direct confrontations and combat and more on stealth, espionage, subterfuge, and infiltration with the intent of gathering intelligence – Underworld truly is an apt title, and in more ways than one.
There are indeed BOW’s and combat and in that respect, the book did not disappoint, though a good number of pages must be read before the first BOW makes its appearance. Underworld’s strength is not being tied by a corresponding game, as certain events and dialogue does not translate that well from game to novel, in particular 90’s cheesy zombie games. The pacing is by far the best of Perry’s Resident Evil books (that I have read) and there are no moments where the author is forced to justify cringy exchange of dialogue or nonsense actions.
There is but one thing that prevents me from giving this book five stars. Of the five protagonists, not everyone can have their equal amount of spotlight, but care should still be taken to avoid that a character feels superfluous. While all five characters were, at some point, relevant for the story, more could have been done to keep Claire, in particular, relevant to and directly involved in the plot as there was a large segment where she was just sort of ‘there’.
January 26, 2021
It was good to dive back in to the seedy corporate world of resident evil especially with the oncoming next game installment of the Village !
So as per usual i have read this series out of order, this is book 4 in the series but i have already read the previous three and books five and six. This one kicks off right after book 3. We are back with some of S.T.A.R.S rebels with new Intel on the mysterious entity of what umbrella.
The contact only known as Trent who assisted information being leaked in raccoon city to Jill Valentine is back and acting as informant again to these rebels. Tipping them off on a new facility known as the plant ran by one of white umbrellas head honcho's Reston. The mission get in to the facility, find Reston and get his little black book full of everything they need to help take down umbrella!
So yeah in short thats the book, loved it personally i took a break from this series for quite some time and this was the last one i owned i had yet to read. I enjoyed delving back in to the world of resident evil, filled with biological nightmares and corpo monsters. Throughout its quite high intensity action with the introduction of some pretty nasty but interesting creations . All in all a brill thrill ride a nice break and change of scene from the past few books I've read !
So as per usual i have read this series out of order, this is book 4 in the series but i have already read the previous three and books five and six. This one kicks off right after book 3. We are back with some of S.T.A.R.S rebels with new Intel on the mysterious entity of what umbrella.
The contact only known as Trent who assisted information being leaked in raccoon city to Jill Valentine is back and acting as informant again to these rebels. Tipping them off on a new facility known as the plant ran by one of white umbrellas head honcho's Reston. The mission get in to the facility, find Reston and get his little black book full of everything they need to help take down umbrella!
So yeah in short thats the book, loved it personally i took a break from this series for quite some time and this was the last one i owned i had yet to read. I enjoyed delving back in to the world of resident evil, filled with biological nightmares and corpo monsters. Throughout its quite high intensity action with the introduction of some pretty nasty but interesting creations . All in all a brill thrill ride a nice break and change of scene from the past few books I've read !
May 5, 2023
Un nouveau Tome de Resident evil que j'ai beaucoup apprécié !
L'action est toujours bien présente et la tension aussi, ici nous suivons:
Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Rebbeca Shambers (personnage des jeux video) mais aussi de David & John personnage des roman précédent qui sont très attachant !
Ces donc une magnifique équipe que le lecteur ce voit suivre dans ce tome.
On en apprend un peu plus sur le personnage de Trent, un type qui apparaît en "Allusion" ou vite fait dans les tome précédent, qu'elle fut ma joie de le voir un peu plus et dans savoir un peu plus sur ce mystérieux personnage !
En sommes le roman était aussi bon que les autres jusqu'au derniers chapitre ou j'ai trouver la fin un peu bâclé...attention je ne parle pas de l'épilogue mais bien du derniers chapitre.
Le grand "méchant" de ce roman lui est un peu décevant, heureusement que les monstres créer par Umbrella était là sinon sa n'aurais pas durée plusieurs chapitre...
Les créature elles était diversifié et glauque, mise à part les chasseurs aucune des autres n'apparaissent dans les jeux video elle son unique au roman.
L'action est toujours bien présente et la tension aussi, ici nous suivons:
Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Rebbeca Shambers (personnage des jeux video) mais aussi de David & John personnage des roman précédent qui sont très attachant !
Ces donc une magnifique équipe que le lecteur ce voit suivre dans ce tome.
On en apprend un peu plus sur le personnage de Trent, un type qui apparaît en "Allusion" ou vite fait dans les tome précédent, qu'elle fut ma joie de le voir un peu plus et dans savoir un peu plus sur ce mystérieux personnage !
En sommes le roman était aussi bon que les autres jusqu'au derniers chapitre ou j'ai trouver la fin un peu bâclé...attention je ne parle pas de l'épilogue mais bien du derniers chapitre.
Le grand "méchant" de ce roman lui est un peu décevant, heureusement que les monstres créer par Umbrella était là sinon sa n'aurais pas durée plusieurs chapitre...
Les créature elles était diversifié et glauque, mise à part les chasseurs aucune des autres n'apparaissent dans les jeux video elle son unique au roman.
May 19, 2015
Resident Evil Underworld is the most tense of the series that I've read thus far. The opening chapter starts off with a car chase and our wayward heroes don't catch a break from there.
Picking up after the last book, Claire and Leon have joined the Caliban Cove group. Jill, Chris, and Barry are only talked about and don't make any appearances. The new band of ragtag STARS members with the addition of the previous Raccoon survivors make their way to an Umbrella facility, The Planet. New monsters, an inhumane villain, and the mysterious Mr. Trent beset the group and make this newest mission a perilous expedition in trying to take down Umbrella.
Underworld is definitely a more exciting read, and the epilogue leaves one wondering what will happen next. I hope the rest of the series can keep up with the fast pace unleashed in this book.
Picking up after the last book, Claire and Leon have joined the Caliban Cove group. Jill, Chris, and Barry are only talked about and don't make any appearances. The new band of ragtag STARS members with the addition of the previous Raccoon survivors make their way to an Umbrella facility, The Planet. New monsters, an inhumane villain, and the mysterious Mr. Trent beset the group and make this newest mission a perilous expedition in trying to take down Umbrella.
Underworld is definitely a more exciting read, and the epilogue leaves one wondering what will happen next. I hope the rest of the series can keep up with the fast pace unleashed in this book.
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