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StarCraft #16
StarCraft: Evolution: A StarCraft Novel
An action-packed novel that ushers in a new age of adventure in the critically acclaimed StarCraft series from Blizzard Entertainment
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thrawn pens the latest chapter in the stunning StarCraft saga, building on the game’s rich legacy to create an unforgettable new story.
After nearly a decade of brutal warfare, three mighty factions—the enigmatic protoss, the savage zerg, and the terrans, humanity’s descendants in the sector—have entered a cease-fire, but the peace is tenuous at best. When the sudden restoration of an incinerated planet is brought to light, tensions erupt. Neutrality swings back to hostility, and old enemies are accused of developing biological weapons to reignite the bitter conflict.
An expedition of terran and protoss soldiers and researchers is deployed to investigate the mysterious zerg planet and its inhabitants’ intentions. But the lush alien landscape is host to other denizens, creatures shrouded in shadow, and should they be unleashed, they will change the fate of the entire galaxy.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thrawn pens the latest chapter in the stunning StarCraft saga, building on the game’s rich legacy to create an unforgettable new story.
After nearly a decade of brutal warfare, three mighty factions—the enigmatic protoss, the savage zerg, and the terrans, humanity’s descendants in the sector—have entered a cease-fire, but the peace is tenuous at best. When the sudden restoration of an incinerated planet is brought to light, tensions erupt. Neutrality swings back to hostility, and old enemies are accused of developing biological weapons to reignite the bitter conflict.
An expedition of terran and protoss soldiers and researchers is deployed to investigate the mysterious zerg planet and its inhabitants’ intentions. But the lush alien landscape is host to other denizens, creatures shrouded in shadow, and should they be unleashed, they will change the fate of the entire galaxy.
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First published November 15, 2016
72 people are currently reading
830 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Zahn
481 books8,515 followersTimothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
November 11, 2016
I have been reading Timothy Zahn books since he started putting out Star Wars novels. There is not one book that he has ever written that has ever disappointed me. STARCRAFT: Evolution is no exception. I do, however, have a confession. I am not a gamer. I've heard of Starcraft, but . . . When I was reading this book, I'll admit, I was Google-Imaging the monsters. Not that Zahn didn't describe everything wonderfully, but because I knew there would be a ton of images out on the net. And there was. And it was extra-helpful.
The War between the Terran, Protoss, and the Zerg is over. It is a time for rebuilding. Trust among the races is limited. After the death of his father, Valerian Mengsk has stepped up as the new emperor of the Terran Dominion. Unlike his father, he refuses to brain-pan marines, and now allows ghosts who want out of the program to leave. Peace, aside from restructuring, is his primary focus. When they receive a vague request for assistance from the Zerg, Valerian is determined to at least try bridging an alliance.
Against counsel, Valerian assembles a small team for the journey across the stars. Marine Sergeant, Foster "Whist" Cray, Lieutenant Ranger, Dennis Halkman, Ghost, Tanya Caulfield, researcher, Protoss Ulavu, and xeno-biologist Dr. Erin Wayland.
The Zerg, a race of exoskeleton beasts like mammoth monsters, are led by Zagara, Queen of the Swarm. She and her evolutionist, Abathur have also been busy since the war. Now living on the plush planet, Gystt, once thought destroyed, they are doing their best to rebuild, cultivating new plant life, and new life in general.
Although Zagara claims the Gift of Choice was given to her by the Queen of Blades, and that her ruling is no longer violence based, but to create an empire of peace, neither the Terran nor the Protoss believe her. They want to, they are just struggling to accept the sudden one-eighty in behavior.
With limited information, Valerian and his team decidedly rely on goodwill and faith when they agree on helping the queen. What they uncover is a trap. Mutalisks, (almost like the grunt soldiers of the queen), and a new race, psyolisks, have some kind of sinister plan in store for the Terran, and Protoss enlisted to offer the queen aid.
On the planet, the ambushes are relentless. It looks like the queen may have employed sneaky tactics to trick the other raises to respond to her pleas for assistance. As Valerian’s team works to uncover the mystery around the pods of infantile creatures, and the odd attack patterns.
With limited long range communications, the fight on Gystt’s surface looks as if it will be one to the death. Unless, that is, they can uncover the truth behind the new breed of monsters attacking them!
Timothy Zahn’s novel (almost) makes me want to go out and buy the Starcraft video games. It does, however, make me wish for more books in the series. The characters are three-dimensional, and clear. I can see them as if real people while reading. The banter, the wit, the frustration, the anger, and the friendship was all evident in crisp, concise dialogue, and relevant narrative.
STARCRAFT: Evolution was a fast ride, an intense journey, and epic tale of war! Loved it.
Phillip Tomasso
Author of The Severed Empire Series, and
The Vaccination Trilogy
The War between the Terran, Protoss, and the Zerg is over. It is a time for rebuilding. Trust among the races is limited. After the death of his father, Valerian Mengsk has stepped up as the new emperor of the Terran Dominion. Unlike his father, he refuses to brain-pan marines, and now allows ghosts who want out of the program to leave. Peace, aside from restructuring, is his primary focus. When they receive a vague request for assistance from the Zerg, Valerian is determined to at least try bridging an alliance.
Against counsel, Valerian assembles a small team for the journey across the stars. Marine Sergeant, Foster "Whist" Cray, Lieutenant Ranger, Dennis Halkman, Ghost, Tanya Caulfield, researcher, Protoss Ulavu, and xeno-biologist Dr. Erin Wayland.
The Zerg, a race of exoskeleton beasts like mammoth monsters, are led by Zagara, Queen of the Swarm. She and her evolutionist, Abathur have also been busy since the war. Now living on the plush planet, Gystt, once thought destroyed, they are doing their best to rebuild, cultivating new plant life, and new life in general.
Although Zagara claims the Gift of Choice was given to her by the Queen of Blades, and that her ruling is no longer violence based, but to create an empire of peace, neither the Terran nor the Protoss believe her. They want to, they are just struggling to accept the sudden one-eighty in behavior.
With limited information, Valerian and his team decidedly rely on goodwill and faith when they agree on helping the queen. What they uncover is a trap. Mutalisks, (almost like the grunt soldiers of the queen), and a new race, psyolisks, have some kind of sinister plan in store for the Terran, and Protoss enlisted to offer the queen aid.
On the planet, the ambushes are relentless. It looks like the queen may have employed sneaky tactics to trick the other raises to respond to her pleas for assistance. As Valerian’s team works to uncover the mystery around the pods of infantile creatures, and the odd attack patterns.
With limited long range communications, the fight on Gystt’s surface looks as if it will be one to the death. Unless, that is, they can uncover the truth behind the new breed of monsters attacking them!
Timothy Zahn’s novel (almost) makes me want to go out and buy the Starcraft video games. It does, however, make me wish for more books in the series. The characters are three-dimensional, and clear. I can see them as if real people while reading. The banter, the wit, the frustration, the anger, and the friendship was all evident in crisp, concise dialogue, and relevant narrative.
STARCRAFT: Evolution was a fast ride, an intense journey, and epic tale of war! Loved it.
Phillip Tomasso
Author of The Severed Empire Series, and
The Vaccination Trilogy
February 21, 2019
The whole thing reads like a decent fanfic authored by your resident Dungeon Master/Michael Bay fan: the most this book made sense was at the fightscenes. The descriptions are sometimes awkward and overdone; characters seem to have this uncanny ability to read the situation perfectly and even make sense of what each other are thinking; by the time the third act twist comes into play, it is not as much shown as speculated by one of the main characters, with various leaps of logic, which only work because "that's the only thing left that makes sense".
I dont even know where to begin without spoiling the whole thing, but it really did feel like the author had his internal logic, and needed to narrate it through his character's dialogues so the readers can keep up. Awful.
The characters are two-dimensional for the most part. A couple are interesting, but only as they advance the plot in it's course. Don't get me wrong: characters do have motivations. But their inner monologues will paint them as caricatures. Everyone conforms to the archetypes they are assigned to.
And this guy's flair for foreshadowing and the dramatic. It's like he loves the Hollywood action-drama aesthetic and dynamic so much it reaches Bollywood levels at points, but without any of the dancing! Characters will often go "i just hope this doesn't go wrong" for it to happen the sentence later. Often! Hell, sometimes they will worry about something, fake it out, and bring it back two paragraphs later.
I've played DnD. In no other context have I ever seen anyone worry about marching order. You could argue, "its fine given the military context", but that falls apart the minute you see the main characters form your standardr DnD party.
Its like and adventure of Starcraft C-tier characters, with the main support characters of the game's campaign as the support cast, and one surprise cameo of another A-tier character as the villain.
The main villain would only have needed to say "And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasnt for you meddling kids." And the scooby doo level parody that this book is would have been complete.
The plot itself... Is interesting. The main politician's PoV in the book is good. The fight scenes are engaging. I love hearing about Zerg, Protoss and Terran. The Zerg descriptions were good.
There were cool moments.
Overall I was raging at the book too much to enjoy it. Don't even get me started on my nitpicks as a starcraft fan, because I know that it's not a substantial complaint, but holy crap.
No description of what color protoss are. A protoss shuttle uses a virtualization matrix that stores people in crystals, as far as i know, unlike a terran dropship.
Saving a gadget for an engagement without telling anyone, For no reason, just causes a disatisfying Deus Ex Machina moment, not a cool last minte turn-around. This is my biggest gripe plot wise. The book is so far its arse in its own narrative that it almost sounds like someone telling a story to himself and finishing off his own sentences.
Which reminds me of your resident DM. So, Yeah. Decent Starcraft fanfic written by your resident DM, and Michael Bay fan, Timothy Zahn.
I would have a hard time recommending this book to anyone, but Starcraft fans. Even then, I'd suggest reading something like Nova's origin story.
My 15 year old self had a better impression of that book than my 26 year old self does of this one. Plus that other book is about Nova. If you want unstable Ghost main character, go for that: the girl with the teenage mentality is an actual teenager, instead of a full grown woman feeling hurt over politics and friendship mixing in the middle of a mission. (Its not that it isn't to be expected, it's the way it's written, like most things in this book).I
This book fails at the saying " Show, don't tell."
I dont even know where to begin without spoiling the whole thing, but it really did feel like the author had his internal logic, and needed to narrate it through his character's dialogues so the readers can keep up. Awful.
The characters are two-dimensional for the most part. A couple are interesting, but only as they advance the plot in it's course. Don't get me wrong: characters do have motivations. But their inner monologues will paint them as caricatures. Everyone conforms to the archetypes they are assigned to.
And this guy's flair for foreshadowing and the dramatic. It's like he loves the Hollywood action-drama aesthetic and dynamic so much it reaches Bollywood levels at points, but without any of the dancing! Characters will often go "i just hope this doesn't go wrong" for it to happen the sentence later. Often! Hell, sometimes they will worry about something, fake it out, and bring it back two paragraphs later.
I've played DnD. In no other context have I ever seen anyone worry about marching order. You could argue, "its fine given the military context", but that falls apart the minute you see the main characters form your standardr DnD party.
Its like and adventure of Starcraft C-tier characters, with the main support characters of the game's campaign as the support cast, and one surprise cameo of another A-tier character as the villain.
The main villain would only have needed to say "And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasnt for you meddling kids." And the scooby doo level parody that this book is would have been complete.
The plot itself... Is interesting. The main politician's PoV in the book is good. The fight scenes are engaging. I love hearing about Zerg, Protoss and Terran. The Zerg descriptions were good.
There were cool moments.
Overall I was raging at the book too much to enjoy it. Don't even get me started on my nitpicks as a starcraft fan, because I know that it's not a substantial complaint, but holy crap.
No description of what color protoss are. A protoss shuttle uses a virtualization matrix that stores people in crystals, as far as i know, unlike a terran dropship.
Saving a gadget for an engagement without telling anyone, For no reason, just causes a disatisfying Deus Ex Machina moment, not a cool last minte turn-around. This is my biggest gripe plot wise. The book is so far its arse in its own narrative that it almost sounds like someone telling a story to himself and finishing off his own sentences.
Which reminds me of your resident DM. So, Yeah. Decent Starcraft fanfic written by your resident DM, and Michael Bay fan, Timothy Zahn.
I would have a hard time recommending this book to anyone, but Starcraft fans. Even then, I'd suggest reading something like Nova's origin story.
My 15 year old self had a better impression of that book than my 26 year old self does of this one. Plus that other book is about Nova. If you want unstable Ghost main character, go for that: the girl with the teenage mentality is an actual teenager, instead of a full grown woman feeling hurt over politics and friendship mixing in the middle of a mission. (Its not that it isn't to be expected, it's the way it's written, like most things in this book).I
This book fails at the saying " Show, don't tell."
February 6, 2017
Timothy Zahn is a wizard. This is the only explanation. First Thrawn, now this? He has a true talent for taking established settings and adding new material that both fits the flavor and enriches the original format in unique and exciting ways.
Any time you get "expanded universe" material, especially in book format, you're going to encounter a bit of pandering - obviously, because it needs to appeal to both fans and non-fans - and when writing a story based on a strategy video game, this often comes in the form of name-dropping, situations where fans can go "Oooh! Oooh! I built that unit once!" It's unavoidable, but in literally the first chapter we're given our cake and allowed to eat it too. A lesser author might have basically handed us two characters - a Marine and a Reaper - and let that sit. Instead, Starcraft: Evolution treats us to two human beings, with history and personality, and gives us a glimpse of their military history and tradition, how their positions in the war affected them, and sets the stage for how we can trust them to act when the story gets going.
The story ironically gets a bit weaker when we hit the canon characters, but only because there isn't as much room to grow. Interactions are subtle, believable, and perhaps most importantly, in character. We also see a few aspects of the canon cast that make sense without ever having been shown to us before. Did you know that Hierarch Artanis is a little insecure about how far his race has fallen? We never saw it in the games, but it makes sense, doesn't it? And it's never outright stated, but it colors his interactions, and he hints at it in a moment of weakness.
The story has few twists, but the plot feels like more of a vehicle to showcase the characters, and in that, Starcraft: Evolution excels. It's accessible enough for non-fans while giving long-term enthusiasts plenty to chew on, and it feels like something special on its own without needing the franchise to prop it up. It's an easy recommendation to Starcraft fans, and people looking for some light, character-driven sci-fi can reasonably expect to be entertained without being left in the dark.
Any time you get "expanded universe" material, especially in book format, you're going to encounter a bit of pandering - obviously, because it needs to appeal to both fans and non-fans - and when writing a story based on a strategy video game, this often comes in the form of name-dropping, situations where fans can go "Oooh! Oooh! I built that unit once!" It's unavoidable, but in literally the first chapter we're given our cake and allowed to eat it too. A lesser author might have basically handed us two characters - a Marine and a Reaper - and let that sit. Instead, Starcraft: Evolution treats us to two human beings, with history and personality, and gives us a glimpse of their military history and tradition, how their positions in the war affected them, and sets the stage for how we can trust them to act when the story gets going.
The story ironically gets a bit weaker when we hit the canon characters, but only because there isn't as much room to grow. Interactions are subtle, believable, and perhaps most importantly, in character. We also see a few aspects of the canon cast that make sense without ever having been shown to us before. Did you know that Hierarch Artanis is a little insecure about how far his race has fallen? We never saw it in the games, but it makes sense, doesn't it? And it's never outright stated, but it colors his interactions, and he hints at it in a moment of weakness.
The story has few twists, but the plot feels like more of a vehicle to showcase the characters, and in that, Starcraft: Evolution excels. It's accessible enough for non-fans while giving long-term enthusiasts plenty to chew on, and it feels like something special on its own without needing the franchise to prop it up. It's an easy recommendation to Starcraft fans, and people looking for some light, character-driven sci-fi can reasonably expect to be entertained without being left in the dark.
November 19, 2016
I'm a long-time fan of Timothy Zahn and Starcraft both, so I read this with high expectations, and I wasn't disappointed.
I worried that the book would either a) assume too much knowledge of game lore I'm not up-to-date on, or b) be dragged down by having to recap/explain a lot for the sake of those unfamiliar with the lore. I'm happy to say it goes to neither extreme. The timeline in the back of the book was sufficient to refresh my memory on the major events of the first two games and to fill in what I've missed by not playing Starcraft 2. Mention of various events / characters, and descriptions of technology/creatures from the games, never felt like too much or too little. So I think I can recommend this book both to those familiar with the franchise, and to those who've never played a single Starcraft mission.
I can't speak much on the characterization of various familiar characters from the franchise (like Valerian and Artanis) in comparison to how they're portrayed in the games, since I haven't played Starcraft campaigns in years. That aside, I enjoyed the characters, and enjoyed how Zahn made the story feel distinctly like Starcraft while giving the setting more depth and... completeness than I remember from the (combat-heavy, story-light) games.
Chapter One opens with a Terran marine's perspective that felt 100% accurate to marines as they're portrayed in the games. I... may have laughed out loud at Whist's description of his dreams. Come to think of it, the book had a lot of good moments, but that may well have been my favorite!
I worried that the book would either a) assume too much knowledge of game lore I'm not up-to-date on, or b) be dragged down by having to recap/explain a lot for the sake of those unfamiliar with the lore. I'm happy to say it goes to neither extreme. The timeline in the back of the book was sufficient to refresh my memory on the major events of the first two games and to fill in what I've missed by not playing Starcraft 2. Mention of various events / characters, and descriptions of technology/creatures from the games, never felt like too much or too little. So I think I can recommend this book both to those familiar with the franchise, and to those who've never played a single Starcraft mission.
I can't speak much on the characterization of various familiar characters from the franchise (like Valerian and Artanis) in comparison to how they're portrayed in the games, since I haven't played Starcraft campaigns in years. That aside, I enjoyed the characters, and enjoyed how Zahn made the story feel distinctly like Starcraft while giving the setting more depth and... completeness than I remember from the (combat-heavy, story-light) games.
Chapter One opens with a Terran marine's perspective that felt 100% accurate to marines as they're portrayed in the games. I... may have laughed out loud at Whist's description of his dreams. Come to think of it, the book had a lot of good moments, but that may well have been my favorite!
June 18, 2017
For a video game tie-in, this was quite good, Zahn really captures the atmosphere and actually makes great use of individual unit types, technologies, and characters from the games. The plot itself is rather contained, taking place mostly on a single planet, but it ties into something that was teased at the end of Legacy of the Void and spins it in an interesting way.
February 22, 2017
Helps to have played Legacy of the Void (significant number of references to units from that expansion), or the games in general. Good solid characters, even if the plot is a little thin. Fans of the series are sure to be pleased.
February 27, 2022
Surprisingly good for a book written in a video game universe. I often find them of lower quality. Not amazing, but I enjoyed it.
July 10, 2017
Ke starcraftu jako jedné z mála počítačových her, kterým jsem se kdy usilovně věnoval, mám vysloveně kladný vztah.
S "evolucí" to je o něco horší. Ano, SC kulisy jsou super a příběh se i přes klasický model "skupina loserů zachrání svět" dá skousnout, Ale na Zahna je tohle prostě málo. Vyvolané emoce 1/10, sroubovitost příběhu 7/10, mrtvoly správňáků 1/10, překvapení 2/10, cool hlášky 3/10. A to je nejen na Zahna, ale zejména na Starcraft zatraceně málo!
Raynor out.
S "evolucí" to je o něco horší. Ano, SC kulisy jsou super a příběh se i přes klasický model "skupina loserů zachrání svět" dá skousnout, Ale na Zahna je tohle prostě málo. Vyvolané emoce 1/10, sroubovitost příběhu 7/10, mrtvoly správňáků 1/10, překvapení 2/10, cool hlášky 3/10. A to je nejen na Zahna, ale zejména na Starcraft zatraceně málo!
Raynor out.
June 27, 2022
Starcraft: Evolution was a colorful novel concerning the later part of the Starcraft timeline. Decently written but not truly interesting, I give this 4 stars based mostly on my love & nostalgia for Starcraft. It's not that this was a bad book, it just didn't have as much amazingness to it as it could have.
January 1, 2025
3.5 Stars. Did it feel like starcraf? Kind of.
Was the mystery compelling? it was intriguing.
Did i like the ending... it was bold, not the best resolution, but not bad either.
Was the mystery compelling? it was intriguing.
Did i like the ending... it was bold, not the best resolution, but not bad either.
November 6, 2025
the story was fine but the prose was so bad and zahn's interpretation of a female internal monologue is cringe city. stayed for the lore, scoffed at the cheese
July 4, 2021
Izgalmas akciodus kaland, nagyon ugyesen tamaszkodva az alapokra. Sikerul meg a strategiai jatek feelingjet is atadni. Persze ponyva, de a jo fajtabol, nem akarod letenni.
Nekem kulon tetszetos volt, hogy tovabbvitte a sztorit es mar a Starcraft 2 utan jatszodott.
Nekem kulon tetszetos volt, hogy tovabbvitte a sztorit es mar a Starcraft 2 utan jatszodott.
January 5, 2017
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. And I am WAY overdue.
This book was thoroughly enjoyable. Not a fantastic piece of literature, mind you. But a pretty fast paced page turner. The characters were all unique, with their own voices and personalities and with clear motivations and actions that were true to their character. The overall plot, when compared to the type of story that StarCraft is as a whole, is a little shallow. That being said, the mystery that surrounds the central characters makes that completely OK.
The only negative comment that I can make about the story is that it leans pretty heavily on the knowledge that you have played all the games and know the back story. The author does his best to give brief refreshers, but it's not quite enough. I barely remember the first game, and I never played past that. However, I do have the itch to go back and play them. So I guess that is well played Blizzard. You got me.
While not quite as memorable as some of his dips into the Star Wars pool, I love Timothy Zahn's writing and highly recommend this book.
This book was thoroughly enjoyable. Not a fantastic piece of literature, mind you. But a pretty fast paced page turner. The characters were all unique, with their own voices and personalities and with clear motivations and actions that were true to their character. The overall plot, when compared to the type of story that StarCraft is as a whole, is a little shallow. That being said, the mystery that surrounds the central characters makes that completely OK.
The only negative comment that I can make about the story is that it leans pretty heavily on the knowledge that you have played all the games and know the back story. The author does his best to give brief refreshers, but it's not quite enough. I barely remember the first game, and I never played past that. However, I do have the itch to go back and play them. So I guess that is well played Blizzard. You got me.
While not quite as memorable as some of his dips into the Star Wars pool, I love Timothy Zahn's writing and highly recommend this book.
March 14, 2018
The war amongst different races has devastated them, and preventing new conflicts is the only way to survive. These are the unspoken words that no zerg, protoss, or human will tell each other, but they will walk a tight line to avoid battling again.
The plot is based on the diplomacy between the leaders of the three races. Their worlds have been destroyed or burnt down, and their way of life completly modified because of the war, but now they celebrate a decade of peace. There are no alliances though, and enemies can be made again if the wrong steps are made.
"Evolution" is not a book only for starcraft players. Timothy Zahn ensured that, giving the reader the oportunity to explore a new world rebuilt for and by the zergs - the deadly bug-like race wich only purpose used to be infest, spread and destroy.
The author have a background on space books for different franchises, like Star Wars, so you will find an experienced story-teller creating this universe where humans are trying to live alongside the high-tech ancient protoss race.
Now, they are both invited by a new zerg queen to negociate and find a durable truce. Problem is, humans and protoss will have to unite to find out what secrets the zerg queen might be hiding, if there is any, and what happened for her to completly change the furious and destroyer ways of the Swarm.
When reading this book, the non-players may want to google some zerg species for better image mentalization. The same will occur with spacecrafts, combat units, or protoss psionic weapons. But even if you don't, you will still have a great experience, as "Evolution" is more about the action and a lot of strategy, respecting the tradicional genre of the game.
The book have two cores, one with the governor characters and their interactions, and another with the soldiers and scientists who are on action. You can't help to cheer more for the terrains, even though all characters show their qualities and their focus on finding the best tactics to accomplish the missions. This book shows how brains can be useful on battles.
The respect in the militar hierarchy, where power is so vertical, is something you don't see very often on space war stories, or any war stories, and this is special about Starcraft; everybody is connected on common objectives, what makes they choose fast between trust each other or.. well, being riped by a hydralisk claw.
The plot is based on the diplomacy between the leaders of the three races. Their worlds have been destroyed or burnt down, and their way of life completly modified because of the war, but now they celebrate a decade of peace. There are no alliances though, and enemies can be made again if the wrong steps are made.
"Evolution" is not a book only for starcraft players. Timothy Zahn ensured that, giving the reader the oportunity to explore a new world rebuilt for and by the zergs - the deadly bug-like race wich only purpose used to be infest, spread and destroy.
The author have a background on space books for different franchises, like Star Wars, so you will find an experienced story-teller creating this universe where humans are trying to live alongside the high-tech ancient protoss race.
Now, they are both invited by a new zerg queen to negociate and find a durable truce. Problem is, humans and protoss will have to unite to find out what secrets the zerg queen might be hiding, if there is any, and what happened for her to completly change the furious and destroyer ways of the Swarm.
When reading this book, the non-players may want to google some zerg species for better image mentalization. The same will occur with spacecrafts, combat units, or protoss psionic weapons. But even if you don't, you will still have a great experience, as "Evolution" is more about the action and a lot of strategy, respecting the tradicional genre of the game.
The book have two cores, one with the governor characters and their interactions, and another with the soldiers and scientists who are on action. You can't help to cheer more for the terrains, even though all characters show their qualities and their focus on finding the best tactics to accomplish the missions. This book shows how brains can be useful on battles.
The respect in the militar hierarchy, where power is so vertical, is something you don't see very often on space war stories, or any war stories, and this is special about Starcraft; everybody is connected on common objectives, what makes they choose fast between trust each other or.. well, being riped by a hydralisk claw.
August 13, 2018
I love Timothy Zahn's writing but I feel like this was a book he was handed a little too many restrictions on and was too short to really let his talents display. Not every book can be the Thrawn Trilogy or even Cobra but this is just kind of paint-by-the-numbers. Nothing of real consequence happens in the novel and everything really amounts to a big misunderstanding plus a few bad faith actors. This isn't a spoiler since the truth is obvious from the beginning even though we never get the Zerg's perspective.
The premise is it's after the events of Starcraft II: Legavy of the Void. Humanity is at peace with the Zerg and Protoss. The Zerg, however, contact Emperor Valerian Mengsk and ask him to come visit one of the worlds destroyed during the war. The Protoss leader, Artanis, is invited too. Once there, they find it is verdant and green. The Zerg claim they have turned over a new life and wish to be growers rather than conquerors. Valerian sends a "retired" Ghost named Tanya and her protoss companion to investigate with some Marines before all hell breaks loose.
The book isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination but I wish it had been solely from Tanya's perspective as she's a much more interesting character than the somewhat stock interpretation of the faction leaders. I also feel like Zahn's book turns the Zerg into something a little too good to be true as they should never NOT be vicious predatory animals. It's sort of like asking a tiger to become a vegetarian or a T-Rex to switch to dino chow.
There's all sorts of things that could have been done as a follow-up to Starcraft II. A rogue swarm led by a surviving Cerebrate/Brood Mother, an invasion of Tal'darans, the United Earth Directorate invades again, or perhaps a rogue faction of Ghosts. Really, this just feels a bit too inconsequential despite the potential for war between the three Korhal superpowers.
Sadly, I must give this book the dreaded stamp of "okay but not great." I hope Timothy Zahn will give the setting another shot, though.
6.5/10
The premise is it's after the events of Starcraft II: Legavy of the Void. Humanity is at peace with the Zerg and Protoss. The Zerg, however, contact Emperor Valerian Mengsk and ask him to come visit one of the worlds destroyed during the war. The Protoss leader, Artanis, is invited too. Once there, they find it is verdant and green. The Zerg claim they have turned over a new life and wish to be growers rather than conquerors. Valerian sends a "retired" Ghost named Tanya and her protoss companion to investigate with some Marines before all hell breaks loose.
The book isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination but I wish it had been solely from Tanya's perspective as she's a much more interesting character than the somewhat stock interpretation of the faction leaders. I also feel like Zahn's book turns the Zerg into something a little too good to be true as they should never NOT be vicious predatory animals. It's sort of like asking a tiger to become a vegetarian or a T-Rex to switch to dino chow.
There's all sorts of things that could have been done as a follow-up to Starcraft II. A rogue swarm led by a surviving Cerebrate/Brood Mother, an invasion of Tal'darans, the United Earth Directorate invades again, or perhaps a rogue faction of Ghosts. Really, this just feels a bit too inconsequential despite the potential for war between the three Korhal superpowers.
Sadly, I must give this book the dreaded stamp of "okay but not great." I hope Timothy Zahn will give the setting another shot, though.
6.5/10
April 6, 2023
I’ve never played Starcraft so I didn’t know any of the lore before reading this. As a complete outsider, this was decent. Learning about the conflicts and the backstories was pretty interesting, and I liked learning more about the universe as the book went on (how much of this is canon and how much of this is fanon I’m not sure).
The writing is okay. It’s fine. It’s nothing amazing but then again this is a book based off of a video game so it was better than I thought it would be. Sometimes the dialogue throws me off because it didn’t fit the scene but most times it’s fine. The book is written very blatantly (for complete outsiders like me) so I won’t fault it for that. The action parts were written well. The book slumps a bit during the middle but it wasn’t anything that made me wanna drop it.
Side-note: Timothy Zahn really likes using the terms “frowned” and “lip twitched”. I swear sometimes “[character] frowned” shows up once every two pages. Once you notice that it’s hard to ignore. I know it’s a space military novel and therefore it’s a serious atmosphere but use a thesaurus or something dude.
The final third of the book was when it was at its best. When everything was coming together I actually felt somewhat moved by the story, which is more than I anticipated for a book like this. I also really got attached to the characters. I feel like this was when everyone got to shine. This book is long enough to where you actually get to know some of these characters, even if it wasn’t as ‘deep’ as I’d hoped.
Overall, I liked it quite a bit. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But this was a great introduction to the Starcraft universe, and this book made me realize that I kinda like space military books, and that I need to read more of them. Though I don’t think I’d recommend this book to people other than those who are really looking for something exactly like this. It worked for me but it’s not something I’d tell everybody about.
I might come back to this series though, I really want to see these characters again.
The writing is okay. It’s fine. It’s nothing amazing but then again this is a book based off of a video game so it was better than I thought it would be. Sometimes the dialogue throws me off because it didn’t fit the scene but most times it’s fine. The book is written very blatantly (for complete outsiders like me) so I won’t fault it for that. The action parts were written well. The book slumps a bit during the middle but it wasn’t anything that made me wanna drop it.
Side-note: Timothy Zahn really likes using the terms “frowned” and “lip twitched”. I swear sometimes “[character] frowned” shows up once every two pages. Once you notice that it’s hard to ignore. I know it’s a space military novel and therefore it’s a serious atmosphere but use a thesaurus or something dude.
The final third of the book was when it was at its best. When everything was coming together I actually felt somewhat moved by the story, which is more than I anticipated for a book like this. I also really got attached to the characters. I feel like this was when everyone got to shine. This book is long enough to where you actually get to know some of these characters, even if it wasn’t as ‘deep’ as I’d hoped.
Overall, I liked it quite a bit. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But this was a great introduction to the Starcraft universe, and this book made me realize that I kinda like space military books, and that I need to read more of them. Though I don’t think I’d recommend this book to people other than those who are really looking for something exactly like this. It worked for me but it’s not something I’d tell everybody about.
I might come back to this series though, I really want to see these characters again.
October 31, 2020
love author Timothy Zahn's various works, but I feel like this was a book he was handed a little too many restrictions on and was too short to really let his talents display. Not every book can be the Thrawn Trilogy, but this is just kind of paint-by-the-numbers. Nothing of real consequence happens in the novel and everything really amounts to a big misunderstanding plus a few bad faith actors. This isn't a spoiler since the truth is obvious from the beginning even though we never get the Zerg's perspective.
The books plot set years after the events of Starcraft II. Humanity is at peace with the Zerg and Protoss. The Zerg, however, contact Emperor Valerian Mengsk and ask him to come visit one of the worlds destroyed during the war. The Protoss leader, Artanis, is invited too. Once there, they find it is verdant and green world. The Zerg claim they have turned over a new life and wish to be growers rather than conquerors. Valerian sends a retired Ghost named Tanya and her protoss companion to investigate with some Marines before all hell breaks loose.
The book isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination but I wish it had been solely from Tanya's perspective as she's a much more interesting character than the somewhat stock interpretation of the various faction leaders. I also feel like Zahn's book turns the Zerg into something a little too good to be true as they should never NOT be vicious predatory animals.
There's all sorts of things that could have been done as a follow-up to Starcraft II. A rogue swarm led by a surviving Cerebrate/Brood Mother, an invasion of Tal'darans, the United Earth Directorate invades again, or perhaps a rogue faction of Ghosts. Really, this just feels a bit too inconsequential despite the potential for war between the three Korhal superpowers.
Sadly, I must give this book the dreaded stamp of "okay but not great." I hope Timothy Zahn will give the Starcraft another shot in the future though.
The books plot set years after the events of Starcraft II. Humanity is at peace with the Zerg and Protoss. The Zerg, however, contact Emperor Valerian Mengsk and ask him to come visit one of the worlds destroyed during the war. The Protoss leader, Artanis, is invited too. Once there, they find it is verdant and green world. The Zerg claim they have turned over a new life and wish to be growers rather than conquerors. Valerian sends a retired Ghost named Tanya and her protoss companion to investigate with some Marines before all hell breaks loose.
The book isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination but I wish it had been solely from Tanya's perspective as she's a much more interesting character than the somewhat stock interpretation of the various faction leaders. I also feel like Zahn's book turns the Zerg into something a little too good to be true as they should never NOT be vicious predatory animals.
There's all sorts of things that could have been done as a follow-up to Starcraft II. A rogue swarm led by a surviving Cerebrate/Brood Mother, an invasion of Tal'darans, the United Earth Directorate invades again, or perhaps a rogue faction of Ghosts. Really, this just feels a bit too inconsequential despite the potential for war between the three Korhal superpowers.
Sadly, I must give this book the dreaded stamp of "okay but not great." I hope Timothy Zahn will give the Starcraft another shot in the future though.
January 22, 2021
StarCraft is my favorite video game, but I haven't actually read any of the books until now. Unlike most of the video game tie-ins I've read lately, Evolution is actually a continuation of the game's story, rather than a prequel. It is decent entertainment for anyone who liked the single-player campaigns, and features several of the characters from the games like Artanis, Valerian Mengsk and Matt Horner. However, most of the main characters are unique to this title. The characterization is a little light, so you never really feel like you know the new characters too well aside from the ghost, Tanya. It's also light on action - most of this book feels like a mystery novel as the characters are trying to figure out the strange situation they find themselves in. As they try to piece together all the information they have about the new Zerg species, the actual plot seems to grind to a halt since most of the pages are all dialogue. In spite of this, it is easy to read and doesn't get boring, but you may find yourself slightly impatient because not too much is actually happening. There was one red herring/dead end that I was a little disappointed by because it didn't end up going anywhere. This was an unusual and unexpected story, but still enjoyable. I especially liked the descriptions of the new or upgraded Protoss weapons as well as the inclusion of units from the original StarCraft (this is mostly a tie-in to SC2). As a side note, it is unfortunate that the Zerg control hierarchy has become so muddled and confusing over time, but this is Blizzard's fault, not the author's. If they were to publish more sequels or continuations of the games, I would definitely be interested in reading those as well. I hope that this is not the last we see of StarCraft. Ideally, they will make more StarCraft games someday and maybe some of this stuff will make an appearance there.
May 2, 2018
I bought this scifi novel, Star Craft: Evolution, written by Timothy Zahn hoping to “evolve” my writing. Boy was I in for a ride. The plot is well developed leaving little room to question the logic surrounding the story. Zerg, Protoss, and Human factions, throughout the book, attempt to put aside their pasts to forge a new and better future. Inter-species politics is what allured me onto this book; how species of severely different genomes have the same goal: to survive. The continuity of these three species is threatened by several wars they have fought against each other. That’s why famine and starvation is a main obstacle they’d wish to tackle. However, there were attempts by certain rogue entities to try to stop these three factions from coming together. Thus, the story is not void of battles and encounters with minions that belong to those perpetrators. Star Craft: Evolution, therefore, manages to be an action-packed ride.
One difficulty I faced when reading the book is the lack of details surrounding certain terminologies. I ended up googeling several images to get a proper idea of what the writer is talking about. After all, this book is based on a game series that I know very little about.
Yet, Zahn’s style is enticing and blood pumping (although some of the passages can be down-right slow). The book encouraged me to purchase the game (which I did).
One difficulty I faced when reading the book is the lack of details surrounding certain terminologies. I ended up googeling several images to get a proper idea of what the writer is talking about. After all, this book is based on a game series that I know very little about.
Yet, Zahn’s style is enticing and blood pumping (although some of the passages can be down-right slow). The book encouraged me to purchase the game (which I did).
September 17, 2018
I have read the Thrawn trilogy from Timothy Zahn a long time ago and I loved it. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Starcraft story from him and as I do enjoy to play the game I have decided to give it a go. Nice character building, I was right away drawn to a few main figures but all in all a bit too black and white. The units and their capabilities have been well described and really gave me a good image of how it looks like on the battle field. This definitely enriched my gaming experience. The battles described were as well full of suspense and the tactics were clearly described. Either he has played the game himself or watched the youtube videos for some time because a lot of inside knowledge seems to be hidden here.
Nevertheless the story felt a bit shallow, the distrust between the different alien races a bit to straight forward and some decisions or personal feelings (example: the former ghost feeling betrayed) a bit forced. In the end it felt like playing the game, less story line more action. Not bad but I would say I rather find the the game again and play it a bit more now. And concerning Timothy Zahn, I rather stick to his Star Wars books and I am definitely looking forward to his new Thrawn book.
Nevertheless the story felt a bit shallow, the distrust between the different alien races a bit to straight forward and some decisions or personal feelings (example: the former ghost feeling betrayed) a bit forced. In the end it felt like playing the game, less story line more action. Not bad but I would say I rather find the the game again and play it a bit more now. And concerning Timothy Zahn, I rather stick to his Star Wars books and I am definitely looking forward to his new Thrawn book.
March 20, 2020
Zagara, Kerrigan's former 2nd in command and now the new Overqueen of the Zerg, requests Emperor Valerian Mengsk's presence on a planet called Gystt. Formerly purified by the Protoss, the planet is once again teeming with life! Neither Valerian nor Hierarch Artanis believe that the Zerg have turned over a new leaf and dedicated themselves to the creation of life instead of assimilation, so a small team is assembled to investigate.
This could easily have been a single-player campaign. It's written like lots of Blizzard fanfic, where the exact names for things are thrown around like they matter. It's so good! Some cute jokes, some fan service, but the whole scenario is treated with the seriousness of potentially restarting the war that Kerrigan sacrificed herself to end. The book is trademark Zahn where everyone is an expert in their own domain and the characters go back and forth over what they know and come up with plans that make perfect sense at the time.
It's so good that I wish it was part of a trilogy.
This could easily have been a single-player campaign. It's written like lots of Blizzard fanfic, where the exact names for things are thrown around like they matter. It's so good! Some cute jokes, some fan service, but the whole scenario is treated with the seriousness of potentially restarting the war that Kerrigan sacrificed herself to end. The book is trademark Zahn where everyone is an expert in their own domain and the characters go back and forth over what they know and come up with plans that make perfect sense at the time.
It's so good that I wish it was part of a trilogy.
October 13, 2019
Such a rich depiction of future events in my favorite game of all times can only be awarded the five starts it deserve.
With masterful pen, Timothy Zahn has written and delivered a story of relatable characters, as well as including revelations about our well known characters from the Dominion, Daelam and Swarm factions.
Yet, more than a zerg-shredding tale, military flabbergasting terran filled, or spiritual-rilled protoss reflection, what you see here is the culmination of a cycle.
The dream made true, the pain and suffering of all species in their struggles, summed up within the dialogues of each one of the protagonists of our story.
If you finished the Legacy of The Void Campaign, as a true Starcraft universe fan, this book will fill your heart with content and give you the closure of the species story.
Because even if Jim Raynor got to be happy, everyone else also deserved their chance. And this is everyone else's story.
With masterful pen, Timothy Zahn has written and delivered a story of relatable characters, as well as including revelations about our well known characters from the Dominion, Daelam and Swarm factions.
Yet, more than a zerg-shredding tale, military flabbergasting terran filled, or spiritual-rilled protoss reflection, what you see here is the culmination of a cycle.
The dream made true, the pain and suffering of all species in their struggles, summed up within the dialogues of each one of the protagonists of our story.
If you finished the Legacy of The Void Campaign, as a true Starcraft universe fan, this book will fill your heart with content and give you the closure of the species story.
Because even if Jim Raynor got to be happy, everyone else also deserved their chance. And this is everyone else's story.
October 22, 2024
I'm stuck between five and four stars. I really like the story, but I don't think the story is good enough to give the book five stars. I have read another StarCraft book in the past along with seeing MATN play through a bit of both of the games. The story about the swarm was good and the mystery around the new type of bug as really interesting. I do miss a little bit because I know very little about the wars which took place before this book. I had to some put things together from a mixture of guessing and past knowledge.
The story follows a peaceful mission to the Zerg world with promise that they and the swarm has changed. The story follows an integration of the Zerg prime leader and strange new Zerg which has been showing up across the world and attacking the survey team.
By far the best bit of the book was the timeline at the end of the story. A really good timeline with some parts sticking out from my pervious encounters with StarCraft.
The story follows a peaceful mission to the Zerg world with promise that they and the swarm has changed. The story follows an integration of the Zerg prime leader and strange new Zerg which has been showing up across the world and attacking the survey team.
By far the best bit of the book was the timeline at the end of the story. A really good timeline with some parts sticking out from my pervious encounters with StarCraft.
April 14, 2020
I enjoyed this novel quite a bit! I found the story compelling, and I really liked Timothy Zahn's vision of the world of Starcraft. Where this book really shines, in my opinion, are the fight scenes. Each battle had me on the edge of my seat. Zahn makes great use of incorporating various Starcraft units into the fights, along with their unique capabilities.
While I was really into the story, I did have a couple problems with it. For example, the protagonists of this book spend a lot of time speculating about stuff they don't know, but they always seem to miraculously draw the correct conclusion. However, this is just a nitpick and didn't take much away from my enjoyment of the narrative.
If you are a fan of Starcraft or just want to read about cool aliens fighting one another, I highly recommend giving this book a read.
While I was really into the story, I did have a couple problems with it. For example, the protagonists of this book spend a lot of time speculating about stuff they don't know, but they always seem to miraculously draw the correct conclusion. However, this is just a nitpick and didn't take much away from my enjoyment of the narrative.
If you are a fan of Starcraft or just want to read about cool aliens fighting one another, I highly recommend giving this book a read.
February 6, 2018
This book contains spoilers for the end of StarCraft II, serving as an epilogue to the story of the games. I’d advise not reading it until you’ve finished the campaigns. If you’ve never played the games, I don’t understand why you would read this.
The story involves all three races, but is told entirely from the perspective of various Terran characters. The main characters are original to the book, a small team trying to figure out what’s going on on this one planet, though the leaders of all three races also heavily feature.
It’s a StarCraft book written by a legendary Star Wars novelist. I imagine that’s all most people would need to know.
The story involves all three races, but is told entirely from the perspective of various Terran characters. The main characters are original to the book, a small team trying to figure out what’s going on on this one planet, though the leaders of all three races also heavily feature.
It’s a StarCraft book written by a legendary Star Wars novelist. I imagine that’s all most people would need to know.
April 2, 2019
Bottom Line, a fun read for fans of the StarCrafts, but not without it's flaws. Picked this up at the library on my first trip this year. I was excited to read something by Timothy Zahn--I've never been particularly interested in video-game related franchises, but Zahn is consistent in his ability to take the reader on an adventure.
StarCraft's story has traditionally been Space Opera, so I thought that bringing the story down to the level of a few individuals was refreshing. I found myself wanting to see more stories with them by the end. Quite frankly, the Space Opera elements were the least interesting parts about it.
StarCraft's story has traditionally been Space Opera, so I thought that bringing the story down to the level of a few individuals was refreshing. I found myself wanting to see more stories with them by the end. Quite frankly, the Space Opera elements were the least interesting parts about it.
May 17, 2017
Though I'd not read any of the StarCraft books before (nor played the game), in many ways this felt much like reading one of my Star Trek novels, only in a different universe. A comfortable, quick read, neither groundbreaking nor pedestrian. People more familiar with the universe may get a bit more out of the references to the in-universe history, but I never felt confused or like I was missing anything critical by not having more details. As an in-universe, connected-but-standalone novel, this is entirely readable.
April 18, 2022
I think that the author does not play the game or atleast understood the importance of strategy and tactical use of different units. For example, ghosts can snipe or cloak, nezarim can cloak and blink, reapers have strong mobility and anti personel firepower. The plot is so straightforward and predictable. The character's names are so confusing, Dizz, Whist, Gysst? Cmon! exept Ulavu's. Not one resources is mentioned, gas, mineral, not even creep for zerg sustenance. I dont recomend this scifi fans
August 19, 2022
Entertaining, but I found it tiresome after a while. The mystery didn’t seem worthy of the amount of postulating every character does to try and solve it. I’ve played portions of the StarCraft games and am familiar with the general factions and units, but I wouldn’t say I’m knowledgeable on the subject. Maybe if I was a bigger franchise fan I’d be more into this. Narration by Christopher Ryan Grant is good, though he reused voices on a few major characters, making it difficult to distinguish between them. [LIBRARY AUDIOBOOK]
ミステリーはちょっと小さいすぎる。それから本は長すぎる感じがある。でもシリーズあまり知りません、多分知ったらこれより好きです
ミステリーはちょっと小さいすぎる。それから本は長すぎる感じがある。でもシリーズあまり知りません、多分知ったらこれより好きです
May 18, 2024
This was an interesting story. It follows the world of starcraft after the story of Starcraft II. The basic idea is that there are some zerg that are trying to change after Kerrigan gave them some stuff, but then there are others that are trying to start the war again. The humans and protoss are at a tense alliance and this is a story of how they overcome a possible war. It is told from a few different perspectives including a ghost who has the ability to light creatures on fire from within. It was not a terrible story but wasn't super compelling overall, but I did enjoy it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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