What do you think?
Rate this book
Silent Hill #2
Silent Hill 2: The Novel
"He received a letter from his beloved wife. A woman who had died three years ago. “I’ll be waiting for you in our ‘special place’” Could Mary really be waiting in Silent Hill? In this town that holds far too many memories. There are many suspicious people there; including Maria, a mysterious woman who resembles his late wife. A red demon restlessly looms in the shadows. Can James discover the truth in Silent Hill? What message is his wife trying to send from beyond the grave?"
206 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2006
39 people are currently reading
1251 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
January 1, 2021
"In my restless dreams, I see that town..."
REREAD: I still cry everytime :')
to make it brief about my opinion about this book: UGH!
WRITING: 3.75/5
PLOT: 5/5
PACING: 3.5/5
CHARACTERS: 5/5
ENDING: 5/5
no matter how much I read this I'll always be hit with the endless surge of nostalgia and emotions.
the foggy town of silent hill and the wary humans it attracts to face their sins will always hunt me, and like our characters, it will hunt me to it too(again).
is this book for everyone ? no.
is this book perfect? absolutely not.
does it give the video game justice? to a certain extent.
but regardless due to my subjective biased opinion about the story I grew with during my childhood will always and forever appeal to me.
who should read this? hardcore silent hill fans and horror fans. but for the people unfamiliar with silent hill they won't appreciate this enough.
this is a story that I still think about all the time and theorize all the possible explanations. I am obsessed with the characters( despite the fact there are few of them) and the mystery.
I hope someday more people would appreciate this story.
REREAD: I still cry everytime :')
to make it brief about my opinion about this book: UGH!
WRITING: 3.75/5
PLOT: 5/5
PACING: 3.5/5
CHARACTERS: 5/5
ENDING: 5/5
no matter how much I read this I'll always be hit with the endless surge of nostalgia and emotions.
the foggy town of silent hill and the wary humans it attracts to face their sins will always hunt me, and like our characters, it will hunt me to it too(again).
is this book for everyone ? no.
is this book perfect? absolutely not.
does it give the video game justice? to a certain extent.
but regardless due to my subjective biased opinion about the story I grew with during my childhood will always and forever appeal to me.
who should read this? hardcore silent hill fans and horror fans. but for the people unfamiliar with silent hill they won't appreciate this enough.
this is a story that I still think about all the time and theorize all the possible explanations. I am obsessed with the characters( despite the fact there are few of them) and the mystery.
I hope someday more people would appreciate this story.
April 30, 2021
Be it a video game, movie or a book, Silent Hill always works for me. Which is pretty unique.
March 31, 2021
Pensé que leería el juego en papel, pero no. En este libro se indaga mucho más en la psique de los personajes, de todos ellos, del porqué están ahí. Se comprende mejor como funciona el pueblo, y el porqué los personajes se quedan en Silent Hill a pesar de los monstruos que ven...y a pesar de aquellos que no ven, pero si sienten. También se vé como ellos comprenden a este pueblo. Y es increíble como el final me sigue sacando lagrimas, como esas últimas palabras son hermosamente tristes.
April 10, 2015
The Silent Hill franchise is often hailed as an epoch-making landmark in Horror gaming history, and for good reason. In a time where the Resident Evil series marked the golden age of Survival Horror, and uninspired, paint-by-number copycats of said games ran amok, Silent Hill was certainly the most unique new arrival if there ever was a word for it, taking the genre to unparalleled heights. The franchise really helped demonstrate to the sceptics of the time that video-games could indeed be considered a form of art, and for me personally, it proved a life-changing (if not slightly traumatic) experience.
Silent Hill favours emotional vulnerabilities and unsettling imagery as the driving force behind its horror mechanisms instead of jump-scares and tense situations à la Resident Evil. It is the very epitome of psychological horror, and goes to great, disturbing lengths in embodying it. Knowing how Silent Hill mainly relies on subtle yet ubiquitous symbolism, perturbing renditions of mundane life and some of the most distressing soundtracks you'll ever encounter in the medium (Dark Ambient at its finest!), it came as no real surprise when this official novelization of Silent Hill 2—a strong contender for best SH instalment, best horror game, or "best video game evaaaar!!" depending on who you ask—failed to convey the sheer stressing scope of that nightmarish yet eerily alluring adventure.
With no ambient sounds or sinister visuals to assist him, Sadamu Yamashita was left with his arrant mastery of words alone to properly project Silent Hill's distinct aura on his readers' minds... only he's really not that gifted. The events are rushed, the rendition of the game's undercurrents is weak, the characters are offered no proper establishment, and the sexual overtones the series is known for are outrageously toned down for some reason. I'm not sure if it stems from the fan-translation but the narration is lamentably crude and the prose can only be described as shoddy. Also, in desperately trying to expound some of the gaming world's most improbable logic (as in why would anyone jump down a bottomless pit in a monster-infested town or even linger there in the first place), Yamashita-san comes up with ridiculous explanations more laughable than said unsound logic. Finally and most irritating of all, he constantly keeps spoon-feeding you the main character's musings, obnoxious uncertainties, and every single drawn conclusion. The only good segments were those taken straight out of the game, namely dialogues, memos, newspaper scraps, and of course, the famed letters essential to the plot. If the book has one saving grace of its own, it's the little bits of additional insight on Angela Orosco's story that were absent or made more obscure in the game.
Even the first Silent Hill movie, and despite my many issues with it, succeeded in perfectly encapsulating the games' particular atmosphere (and in all fairness, it's still in my opinion the best video game adaptation I ever chanced to see on the big screen—and those are plenty) whereas this novelization proved to be a pretty tame affair. It reads more as a hastily embroidered walkthrough and less like the nonpareil experience it ought to be. If like me you're the nostalgic fan in need of every Silent Hill media you could get your hands on, then by all means proceed with this reading, but if you're new to the franchise and want this book to introduce you to this most peculiar world, I certainly won't recommend it as it does the the source material a substantial disservice. In case gaming isn't your cup of tea and you're still interested in experiencing Silent Hill to some extent, the aforementioned eponymous movie (of 2006, not the 2012 crappy sequel) from French director Christope Gans will do just that.
Usually, book with all the previously mentioned flaws would garner no more than a [1star] rating, but after all—as a certain Ernest Baldwin would say—this is Silent Hill.
January 3, 2025
“Silent Hill 2” is one of my all-time favorite video games, so I was pretty stoked when I found out that there was an English translation of the Japanese game novelization floating around. Unfortunately, this reads like someone took two decades of YouTube fan theories, made them James’ internal monologue and then laid that over the 2001 Prima strategy guide. Also, while the translation is good... there are times when I wish the translator had just lifted text directly from the video game. Instead, they translated it from the Japanese, causing slight differences that were pretty jarring, especially in well known dialogue like Mary’s letter. (I know this isn’t their fault. The Japanese version and the English version differ on who Mary blames for never returning to their “special place”. This is just my personal preference.) Overall, this was a fun read, but mostly due to nostalgia.
"In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised me you'd take me
there again someday.
But you never did.
Well, I'm alone there now...
In our 'special place'...
Waiting for you...”
"In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised me you'd take me
there again someday.
But you never did.
Well, I'm alone there now...
In our 'special place'...
Waiting for you...”
January 6, 2025
I enjoyed this novel but had a hard time visualizing it. The story is strong, but the writing seems amateurish. I've never played the video game, so had no idea what any of the characters or scenery look like and was relying on the author's skills to show me.
May 28, 2013
This novel is one of the most interesting novels that i have read so far, aside from the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' by George R.R. Martin. The story of Silent Hill 2 revolves around James Sunderland in the search of his wife Mary, actually Mary died 3 years back due to chronic disease, but James went to look for her because he received a letter written to him from Mary.
It is said,
In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised me you’d take me
there again someday.
But because of me, you were never able to.
Well, I’m alone there now…
In our “special place”
Waiting for you…
And that 'special place' is the whole town, Silent Hill that made James confused where to find his wife.
My Review:
Translation: I've read this novel in English thanks to Emily 'Lady Ducky' Fitch. Her grammar is so concise that i felt like the real author wrote it. She translated it so well, she even use simple grammar that make it easier for the readers to understand. I'll wait for her next Silent Hill translation.
Story: The story is like any other story in the Silent Hill game or movie, i've watched the movie and played only the Silent Hill 1, and all of them contains the sad nature and psychological aspect of each character. I loved it. That each monsters represents for example, the monster the James encountered in the novel and in the game has somehow a psychological symbol to him, unconsciously, like the mannequin that describe as lust, the armless monster that symbolizes confinement, and whats more the red demon, that what James would call it, that symbolizes remorse.
What i also liked about this story is that, it unravels the story of James and his past, what he did to his wife through what was happening to the Silent Hill and what he encountered in the Silent Hill.
Note: I remember the movie Silent Hill, that i think i read that the movie was based on both Silent Hill 1 and Silent Hill 2 game, and the clearly explained why there is pyramid head or the read demon, the armless monster, because the main character, the mother i forget her name was so attached to her daughter, Sherry just like James as he is so attached to his wife Mary. But of course, in the movie, the mom didn't do anything to Sherry unlike James that did wrong to her.
But in all of that, after reading the novel, i was so touched to the ending because Mary, his wife, want only one thing, and that is, James not to forget about her.
It is said,
In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised me you’d take me
there again someday.
But because of me, you were never able to.
Well, I’m alone there now…
In our “special place”
Waiting for you…
And that 'special place' is the whole town, Silent Hill that made James confused where to find his wife.
My Review:
Translation: I've read this novel in English thanks to Emily 'Lady Ducky' Fitch. Her grammar is so concise that i felt like the real author wrote it. She translated it so well, she even use simple grammar that make it easier for the readers to understand. I'll wait for her next Silent Hill translation.
Story: The story is like any other story in the Silent Hill game or movie, i've watched the movie and played only the Silent Hill 1, and all of them contains the sad nature and psychological aspect of each character. I loved it. That each monsters represents for example, the monster the James encountered in the novel and in the game has somehow a psychological symbol to him, unconsciously, like the mannequin that describe as lust, the armless monster that symbolizes confinement, and whats more the red demon, that what James would call it, that symbolizes remorse.
What i also liked about this story is that, it unravels the story of James and his past, what he did to his wife through what was happening to the Silent Hill and what he encountered in the Silent Hill.
Note: I remember the movie Silent Hill, that i think i read that the movie was based on both Silent Hill 1 and Silent Hill 2 game, and the clearly explained why there is pyramid head or the read demon, the armless monster, because the main character, the mother i forget her name was so attached to her daughter, Sherry just like James as he is so attached to his wife Mary. But of course, in the movie, the mom didn't do anything to Sherry unlike James that did wrong to her.
But in all of that, after reading the novel, i was so touched to the ending because Mary, his wife, want only one thing, and that is, James not to forget about her.
November 22, 2014
Judul: Silent Hill 2: The Novel
Penulis: Sadamu Yamashita
Penerbit: Konami Digital Entertainment
Halaman: 303 halaman
Terbitan: 2006
"Silent Hill 2: The Novel" adalah novelisasi dari video game Silent Hill 2 yang dirilis pada September 2001. SH 2 bercerita tentang James Sunderland, seorang pria yang menerima surat dari Mary, istrinya yang telah meninggal 3 tahun lalu. Berpegang pada harapan bahwa istrinya masih hidup, James pergi ke Silent Hill, sebuah kota kecil yang pernah dia kunjungi bersama istrinya dulu.
Tapi kota kecil itu tidak lagi sama. Saat James sampai di sana, tempat itu telah menjadi sebuah kota mati yang diselimuti kabut. Dalam pencariannya, dia bertemu dengan seorang anak kecil yang juga kenal akan Mary, seorang wanita yang sangat mirip dengan Mary, seorang pemuda yang tidak stabil, dan seorang wanita muda yang mirip dengan istrinya, tapi memiliki gaya berpakaian dan bicara yang bertolak belakang dengan Mary.
Serta monster. Monster-monster yang siap menghabisi James kapan saja.
Review
First of all, and I think I should write this in English, I read the fans-translation version of this book. Thanks to Emily "Lady Ducky" Fitch for the beautiful translation. It was so good, it felt like professional work. I'm forever grateful for your effort. If one day the book is translated into English or Indonesian, I will buy the copy.
Suka banget sama ceritanya. Tampaknya penulisnya cukup setia mengikuti alur di gamenya, walau kelihatannya ada beberapa tambahan yang dimasukkan supaya ceritanya bisa lebih nyambung dengan baik.
Di bagian awal, jujur "game"-nya terasa banget. Seperti waktu James menemukan senjata, atau waktu dia memutuskan untuk menggeser jam besar dan menemukan lubang.
Untungnya hal itu perlahan-lahan hilang. Di 2 bab terakhir khususnya, nuansa "game" itu sudah tidak terlalu terasa.
Adegan pertarungannya James tidak terlalu banyak di sini. Ya, bagaimanapun juga, novel tidak punya ruang seperti di game untuk bertarung dengan sekian banyak monster sih. Lagipula bagian terkuat dari SH 2 ini memang bukan soal pertarungannya, tapi atmosfer serta plotnya.
In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
Penulis: Sadamu Yamashita
Penerbit: Konami Digital Entertainment
Halaman: 303 halaman
Terbitan: 2006
"Silent Hill 2: The Novel" adalah novelisasi dari video game Silent Hill 2 yang dirilis pada September 2001. SH 2 bercerita tentang James Sunderland, seorang pria yang menerima surat dari Mary, istrinya yang telah meninggal 3 tahun lalu. Berpegang pada harapan bahwa istrinya masih hidup, James pergi ke Silent Hill, sebuah kota kecil yang pernah dia kunjungi bersama istrinya dulu.
Tapi kota kecil itu tidak lagi sama. Saat James sampai di sana, tempat itu telah menjadi sebuah kota mati yang diselimuti kabut. Dalam pencariannya, dia bertemu dengan seorang anak kecil yang juga kenal akan Mary, seorang wanita yang sangat mirip dengan Mary, seorang pemuda yang tidak stabil, dan seorang wanita muda yang mirip dengan istrinya, tapi memiliki gaya berpakaian dan bicara yang bertolak belakang dengan Mary.
Serta monster. Monster-monster yang siap menghabisi James kapan saja.
Review
First of all, and I think I should write this in English, I read the fans-translation version of this book. Thanks to Emily "Lady Ducky" Fitch for the beautiful translation. It was so good, it felt like professional work. I'm forever grateful for your effort. If one day the book is translated into English or Indonesian, I will buy the copy.
Suka banget sama ceritanya. Tampaknya penulisnya cukup setia mengikuti alur di gamenya, walau kelihatannya ada beberapa tambahan yang dimasukkan supaya ceritanya bisa lebih nyambung dengan baik.
Di bagian awal, jujur "game"-nya terasa banget. Seperti waktu James menemukan senjata, atau waktu dia memutuskan untuk menggeser jam besar dan menemukan lubang.
Untungnya hal itu perlahan-lahan hilang. Di 2 bab terakhir khususnya, nuansa "game" itu sudah tidak terlalu terasa.
Adegan pertarungannya James tidak terlalu banyak di sini. Ya, bagaimanapun juga, novel tidak punya ruang seperti di game untuk bertarung dengan sekian banyak monster sih. Lagipula bagian terkuat dari SH 2 ini memang bukan soal pertarungannya, tapi atmosfer serta plotnya.
In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
May 7, 2025
„James… You made me happy“
January 27, 2021
What could happen if one of the most beautiful plot in videogames history, with lots of remarkable characters and storyline that you could easily think it's taken from one of David Lynch's movie, has the chance to be adapted as novel?
Sadly, nothing.
At least in this case.
I'm not gonna lie, when I discovered that Silent Hill, one of my favorites videogame of all time had been adapted as novel the hype was really high, so as my expectations for this novel that sadly, it didn't accomplish the mission to bring all the psychological pathos that makes Silent Hill one of the biggest horror videogames ever.
And it's sad, it's sad because if the videogame itself has already plenty of things to tell, lots of psychological features about the characters, well... you should expect the same as a novel, and maybe even more as you have the chance to describe them more carefully.
Unfortunately, it lacks of emotion and the consistency of the videogame, the story (which I really think could be an amazing story to adapt, if adapted properly ) it's a sort of short resume of the original storyline with no adds at all.
What a pity, because with characters like James, Maria and especially Angela (remember all the pathos during the staircase scene in the vg? Well, forget it.).
If you're an hardcore without any expectations about it, go for it, it's still something... cute.
If you don't, please have a seat and pray with me that one day Stephen King will buy the plot and he'll bring this amazing story to its true dignity as it should be.
April 20, 2022
This is a great novelization of the video game Silent Hill 2. It takes the entire story from the game while leaving behind the time-padding in many parts of the gameplay. For instance, what takes hours to get through in Woodside Apartments, with the checking of every room and doing all the puzzles (many of them being nonsensical), is shortened down to a few lines having James checking a few doors, but mostly consisting of a chapter worth of story; that has James wondering what’s going on in town, the existence of the monsters, and finally seeing the other people that are stuck in Silent Hill as well.
The novel lays the pieces throughout the story that hints at what’s really going on and why James is stuck in Silent Hill, much better than the game does, as the reader has insights that the player cannot. Having played the game prior to reading the book, I enjoyed seeing all the plot elements building upon themselves. Not only that but it’s in this novel that all the backstory and explanation exists. You want to know more about the other people that are stuck in town with James? It’s in this novel. You found the second half of the game (after entering the historical museum and going down the holes) confusing? Well wonder no more, it finally makes sense here!
I was surprised with the ending the novelization decided to go with, especially considering where James’s mindset was once he realized the truth about Mary and why he was drawn to Silent Hill and seeing the monsters in town. But other than the ending choice, Silent Hill 2’s novelization was excellent and really gave more meaning to the game; I would absolutely recommend it, especially for those that have played the game!
The novel lays the pieces throughout the story that hints at what’s really going on and why James is stuck in Silent Hill, much better than the game does, as the reader has insights that the player cannot. Having played the game prior to reading the book, I enjoyed seeing all the plot elements building upon themselves. Not only that but it’s in this novel that all the backstory and explanation exists. You want to know more about the other people that are stuck in town with James? It’s in this novel. You found the second half of the game (after entering the historical museum and going down the holes) confusing? Well wonder no more, it finally makes sense here!
I was surprised with the ending the novelization decided to go with, especially considering where James’s mindset was once he realized the truth about Mary and why he was drawn to Silent Hill and seeing the monsters in town. But other than the ending choice, Silent Hill 2’s novelization was excellent and really gave more meaning to the game; I would absolutely recommend it, especially for those that have played the game!
October 17, 2024
love the game so much. the book is a decent take
February 8, 2023
In my restless dreams,
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised me you’d take me
there again someday.
But because of me, you were never able to.
Well, I’m alone there now…
In our “special place”
Waiting for you…
Two days ago I finished (for the first time) Silent Hill 2 and I was completely blown away by the game. During the end credits I was in awe of this storytelling masterpiece and thinking to myself, "this is why I play videogames". The story is so good that I immediately wanted to dive in again and analyze it, and this is where I found out there's a novelization of the game, unofficially translated by Emily “Lady Ducky” Fitch.
Although I think it's completely supplementary material, the novel is really good (an obvious thing since it's carried by the SH2 plot) and the translation pretty good. It shed light to some events and it helped me understand Silent Hill better, although (again) it's not a necessary reading. It has a few differences here and there from the game (nothing major) with the main exception being the ending. You see, the game has multiple endings, depending on your choices throughout the main story while the canon ending is ambiguous. The novel obviously must choose one, and that ending is the "In Water." I myself got the "Leave" ending.
Now here's the thing, Konami (the publisher of the game) is the EA of Japan and one of the stupidest companies ever. Silent Hill 2 is abandonware that means that there's no way to officially purchase the game. So if you are interested in playing it on PC (the game is so old it'll probably run even on your toaster) this is what I did:
Download the game from myabandonware.com
https://www.myabandonware.com/game/si...
And then, when you've extracted the files on a new folder, download the Enhanced Edition from here:
https://enhanced.townofsilenthill.com...
And install it on the extracted folder of SH2.
When finished run sh2pc.exe to play.
(For better understanding of the installation procedure follow the instructions on both websites, it's super easy.)
Now if you don't care about the game and you want to just read the novel you can read it online from here
https://mysilenthill.wordpress.com/si...
or download a PDF version from here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SZNS...
I see that town.
Silent Hill.
You promised me you’d take me
there again someday.
But because of me, you were never able to.
Well, I’m alone there now…
In our “special place”
Waiting for you…
Two days ago I finished (for the first time) Silent Hill 2 and I was completely blown away by the game. During the end credits I was in awe of this storytelling masterpiece and thinking to myself, "this is why I play videogames". The story is so good that I immediately wanted to dive in again and analyze it, and this is where I found out there's a novelization of the game, unofficially translated by Emily “Lady Ducky” Fitch.
Although I think it's completely supplementary material, the novel is really good (an obvious thing since it's carried by the SH2 plot) and the translation pretty good. It shed light to some events and it helped me understand Silent Hill better, although (again) it's not a necessary reading. It has a few differences here and there from the game (nothing major) with the main exception being the ending. You see, the game has multiple endings, depending on your choices throughout the main story while the canon ending is ambiguous. The novel obviously must choose one, and that ending is the "In Water." I myself got the "Leave" ending.
Now here's the thing, Konami (the publisher of the game) is the EA of Japan and one of the stupidest companies ever. Silent Hill 2 is abandonware that means that there's no way to officially purchase the game. So if you are interested in playing it on PC (the game is so old it'll probably run even on your toaster) this is what I did:
Download the game from myabandonware.com
https://www.myabandonware.com/game/si...
And then, when you've extracted the files on a new folder, download the Enhanced Edition from here:
https://enhanced.townofsilenthill.com...
And install it on the extracted folder of SH2.
When finished run sh2pc.exe to play.
(For better understanding of the installation procedure follow the instructions on both websites, it's super easy.)
Now if you don't care about the game and you want to just read the novel you can read it online from here
https://mysilenthill.wordpress.com/si...
or download a PDF version from here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SZNS...
March 17, 2022
This book is exactly what you would expect from a videogame novelization except for the ending.
The ending is done really well and I believe it's worth the effort.
If you like the Silent Hill games and lore, then give this book a go.
The ending is done really well and I believe it's worth the effort.
If you like the Silent Hill games and lore, then give this book a go.
January 4, 2025
Definitely makes you feel like you’re in the game scrambling to find some sanity
November 14, 2022
"In my restless dreams, I see that town. Silent Hill. You promised me you'd take me there again someday. But because of me, you were never able to. Well, I'm alone there now…In our “special place.”
Waiting for you."
Poor, but then a video game book, translated from Japanese, was never going to be great. The game and the story is amazing, but these books rarely work out....
Waiting for you."
Poor, but then a video game book, translated from Japanese, was never going to be great. The game and the story is amazing, but these books rarely work out....
July 19, 2022
Silent Hill 2 (2001 - PS2) is considered by many to be a classic and one of the best entries in the franchise. It is a great story set in a spooky atmosphere and with a great soundtrack. More so, it is more or less a standalone entry in the series, separate from the events of 1 & 3 and not part of their bridging narrative. The story centers around James Sunderland, a grieving man who has recently received a letter from his wife requesting he come to Silent Hill to find her, the issue being that she has been dead for three years, only to discover that nearly everything in the town is just bizarre. It is a simple yet interesting set up, and as such, I had high expectations for what a novelization might deliver.
Except it falls flat and falls hard, erring closer to just describing a playthrough of the game rather than giving the details that help set the scene, generate tension, and convey any real horror. Dialogue is equivalent to what you would have gotten with a script written for a Playstation game, edited down for brevity and limitations, which don't exist on a written page. There is just a ton of room left unused for exposition and dialogue that would've catapulted this book to higher levels, and it's unfortunate. Monsters appear but it is never actually frightening or set up very well.
If you've played the game before, there is really nothing of value to be gleamed out of this title. If you haven't...you might be better off going to YouTube and watching someone else do a playthrough, or just finding a way to play it through yourself. Can't recommend this, and won't be pursuing the other two titles either.
Except it falls flat and falls hard, erring closer to just describing a playthrough of the game rather than giving the details that help set the scene, generate tension, and convey any real horror. Dialogue is equivalent to what you would have gotten with a script written for a Playstation game, edited down for brevity and limitations, which don't exist on a written page. There is just a ton of room left unused for exposition and dialogue that would've catapulted this book to higher levels, and it's unfortunate. Monsters appear but it is never actually frightening or set up very well.
If you've played the game before, there is really nothing of value to be gleamed out of this title. If you haven't...you might be better off going to YouTube and watching someone else do a playthrough, or just finding a way to play it through yourself. Can't recommend this, and won't be pursuing the other two titles either.
October 18, 2017
This story is amazing. Why? Because it’s screws with the mind, questioning whether or not things are real or not. It’s the story of James Sunderland losing his wife from a horrible disease that could not be helped. After James loss three years ago, James received a letter from Mary three years later after her death. Mary wanting to meet James in there “special place”. James determined to find Mary, James goes out to Silent Hill to find Mary. James ventures forward, and realizes the town is not what it used to be. Stores boarded up, and seeing strange things from afar, but then realizing... Things aren’t what they seem, because of monsters! Is James really losing it? Or is this real? That’s up for you to find out in this crazy ride of a story.
August 26, 2025
Excelente novelización de un excelente juego. A diferencia de las novelizaciones de Resident Evil, Silent Hill 2 no se siente como una guía del juego sino como una historia que ahonda más en los detalles de los personajes y en situaciones que realmente no comprendíamos o simplemente se dejaron a la imaginación.
La historia de un hombre que baja al mismísmo infierno por amor y en busca de redención y perdón es única, triste y maravillosa. El final que escogieron para esta versión es el más acertado y personalmente uno de mis favoritos.
"No puedo pedirte que me recuerdes, pero no puedo soportar que me olvides."
La historia de un hombre que baja al mismísmo infierno por amor y en busca de redención y perdón es única, triste y maravillosa. El final que escogieron para esta versión es el más acertado y personalmente uno de mis favoritos.
"No puedo pedirte que me recuerdes, pero no puedo soportar que me olvides."
March 15, 2014
The novelization of the best game I have ever played?! How could I possibly not read that? And what took me so long to do so???
Well, it was a quick, nostalgic read that I surprisingly enjoyed quite much, minus the poor Character Development (if any) that these kind of books usually offer as a main purpose, an added value to the original piece, be it a movie or a video game. Eventually, I ended up going through the game one more time, reading instead of playing. More or less.
Read this if you are a masochist son of a bitch. Oh, but you have to play the game first.
Well, it was a quick, nostalgic read that I surprisingly enjoyed quite much, minus the poor Character Development (if any) that these kind of books usually offer as a main purpose, an added value to the original piece, be it a movie or a video game. Eventually, I ended up going through the game one more time, reading instead of playing. More or less.
Read this if you are a masochist son of a bitch. Oh, but you have to play the game first.
March 20, 2016
Bien, esto es una guía del juego Silent Hill 2 en forma del libro >.< creo que al autor debió de tomarse algunas libertades respecto a la trama y darle un poco de "sabor", en ocasiones resultó muy mecánico la manera en que se va desenvolviendo la historia, las batallas con los "monstros" (así aparece en el libro) son bastante simples; por otro lado la descripción de personajes y lugares es muy pobre, pero se cuenta a lo largo de la historia con ciertas imágenes, que son muy malas, parecen screenshots del juego.
December 21, 2015
Being a fan of the video games, it was good fun to read about the place I've spent so much time playing in.
June 27, 2020
"Actually, I guess I am dead, heart's as good as dead anyway."
August 12, 2021
Of course I gave this 5 stars. It’s Silent Hill 2. I can’t not. That game owns my heart and soul.
May 1, 2020
Silent Hill 2 is one of the greatest video games ever made and it stands as, in my opinion, the greatest thing the horror genre has given the world. In that regard, the novelization had a lot to live up to.
Our protagonist, James Sunderland, is drawn there when he receives a letter from his wife, Mary, asking him to meet her there, in Silent Hill, in their special place. Only, Mary has been dead for 3 years, after years of struggling with a terminal disease. A broken man arrives at the mist-filled town, facing off against grotesque monsters. It's clear that he's willing to risk his life, even for the slightest chance to reunite with his lover.
The town of Silent Hill serves as an outlet for the tormented; it becomes an extension of them. All the horrors of their psyche leak out of their heads, taking physical form and warping the landscape. Those that end up there are often forced to face their traumas in horrifying ways. It's the joy of the audience to slowly unravel the mystery of how the town presented reflects the tortured souls that are lured there.
Unfortunately, the book did a bit of a poor job in giving the audience vital hints to help them unravel the symbolism of the creatures James encounters, and instead directly tells the audience what they represented at some later date. Silent Hill 2 is responsible for some of the franchise's most iconic creatures. In the video game, the nurses are grotesque and unsettling to look at. Often, they are presented as faceless, with layers of ragged, blood-stained bandages cover their heads. Other times you get a glimpse at the horrifying flesh beneath, the skin carved away and shaped in unnatural ways. They stand and move at unnatural angles, as though existence is nothing but pain for them. But they're also dressed provocatively. Their breasts are pressed together. Their uniform just barely covers their butts. As we get to learn more about James, it becomes clear that these creatures are a manifestation of his pent-up sexual frustration during his wife's years of illness, and the consequent guilt of feeling such emotions have left him carrying. The nurses are sexualized because James wants to have sex. And they try to hurt him because, overall, James wants to be punished for his sins.
It never felt like the book gave us enough to get to that conclusion on our own. The game, sometimes, had a habit of spoon feeding information to the player, but I feel like it's done to a bigger extent in the book. There isn't really a reward for paying attention, because the book is simultaneously a novel and the cliffnotes version of that novel.
It did try some interesting things. In the game, James can be a bit unflinching about the happenings in the town. In the book, we get to experience his inner monologue a bit more and it often reinforces his obsession to find Mary. He proposes that the monsters could be the result of some chemical leak or military experiment. Yet despite the dangers and the promise of more, he ventures forward. He doesn't have anything to lose.
There were times where I did get emotional while reading it, though I don't know how successful it would be in getting those same reactions out of someone that wasn't aware of the original game it's based on. Maybe its emotional payoffs were informed by the game. I find that a bit likely. Regardless, it successfully resonated with me on occasion and at times it can be outright beautiful. Mary's final letter to James breaks my heart every time.
If you've played the original game, I guess I'd recommend it as something that can reward your experience by informing you of some details here and there and adding a bit more depth to James in his moment-to-moment decisions. Like, for example, jumping down a unfathomably deep hole for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
Our protagonist, James Sunderland, is drawn there when he receives a letter from his wife, Mary, asking him to meet her there, in Silent Hill, in their special place. Only, Mary has been dead for 3 years, after years of struggling with a terminal disease. A broken man arrives at the mist-filled town, facing off against grotesque monsters. It's clear that he's willing to risk his life, even for the slightest chance to reunite with his lover.
The town of Silent Hill serves as an outlet for the tormented; it becomes an extension of them. All the horrors of their psyche leak out of their heads, taking physical form and warping the landscape. Those that end up there are often forced to face their traumas in horrifying ways. It's the joy of the audience to slowly unravel the mystery of how the town presented reflects the tortured souls that are lured there.
Unfortunately, the book did a bit of a poor job in giving the audience vital hints to help them unravel the symbolism of the creatures James encounters, and instead directly tells the audience what they represented at some later date. Silent Hill 2 is responsible for some of the franchise's most iconic creatures. In the video game, the nurses are grotesque and unsettling to look at. Often, they are presented as faceless, with layers of ragged, blood-stained bandages cover their heads. Other times you get a glimpse at the horrifying flesh beneath, the skin carved away and shaped in unnatural ways. They stand and move at unnatural angles, as though existence is nothing but pain for them. But they're also dressed provocatively. Their breasts are pressed together. Their uniform just barely covers their butts. As we get to learn more about James, it becomes clear that these creatures are a manifestation of his pent-up sexual frustration during his wife's years of illness, and the consequent guilt of feeling such emotions have left him carrying. The nurses are sexualized because James wants to have sex. And they try to hurt him because, overall, James wants to be punished for his sins.
It never felt like the book gave us enough to get to that conclusion on our own. The game, sometimes, had a habit of spoon feeding information to the player, but I feel like it's done to a bigger extent in the book. There isn't really a reward for paying attention, because the book is simultaneously a novel and the cliffnotes version of that novel.
It did try some interesting things. In the game, James can be a bit unflinching about the happenings in the town. In the book, we get to experience his inner monologue a bit more and it often reinforces his obsession to find Mary. He proposes that the monsters could be the result of some chemical leak or military experiment. Yet despite the dangers and the promise of more, he ventures forward. He doesn't have anything to lose.
There were times where I did get emotional while reading it, though I don't know how successful it would be in getting those same reactions out of someone that wasn't aware of the original game it's based on. Maybe its emotional payoffs were informed by the game. I find that a bit likely. Regardless, it successfully resonated with me on occasion and at times it can be outright beautiful. Mary's final letter to James breaks my heart every time.
If you've played the original game, I guess I'd recommend it as something that can reward your experience by informing you of some details here and there and adding a bit more depth to James in his moment-to-moment decisions. Like, for example, jumping down a unfathomably deep hole for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2025
A translation of a video game novelization: it reads about as simple as you expect. The language is not very complex and at times very directly tells you what the symbolism is. At times I enjoyed the lack of descriptions and inner pondering from James as he plodded from one place to the next but the narrative misses some important moments from the game like the dead man in the apartment room and much of the creepy extra stuff found in the hospital, historical society, hotel, and the local shops.
As I was listening to the audiobook -which, by the way, Restless Dreams’ narration on YouTube is very well produced and is worth a listen, if you can substitute this as a radio play instead of as a book- I was thinking about how difficult it must be to adapt a video game into a book. Video games are inherently repetitive but also can enable the player to come up with their own answers to what they are experiencing. This book does have some stellar moments, namely with Angela and Eddie’s backstories, but it lacks subtlety in the later sections. When James is wandering around, there is no danger of him fighting “monsters”. It’s all described in quick moments and then the story continues like the author felt it was necessary to include the gameplay moments. I was expecting the occasions like where James has to run around and solve puzzles and find objects to progress, while also discovering the lore of the town. It would have inflated the length of the book, but I think it could have expanded on those moments. Heck, I wouldn’t have minded if it strayed from the narrative a bit to have James do other things so long as the main cutscenes were still adapted.
When I think of Silent Hill, I think of the fog, the rundown buildings, the decades forgotten environments, and the inner terror. This book kind of failed to deliver half of those feelings except for sporadic moments unevenly.
Overall, it’s not really worth a read unless you love the game and want to spend a few hours enmeshing yourself in a spooky mood. The book is a generic novelization 3/5, but Restless Dreams’ audiobook of it is a great 4/5 so long as you treat it like a radio play.
Here is the link:
https://youtu.be/Woeg60uwv-E?si=nqhWD...
As I was listening to the audiobook -which, by the way, Restless Dreams’ narration on YouTube is very well produced and is worth a listen, if you can substitute this as a radio play instead of as a book- I was thinking about how difficult it must be to adapt a video game into a book. Video games are inherently repetitive but also can enable the player to come up with their own answers to what they are experiencing. This book does have some stellar moments, namely with Angela and Eddie’s backstories, but it lacks subtlety in the later sections. When James is wandering around, there is no danger of him fighting “monsters”. It’s all described in quick moments and then the story continues like the author felt it was necessary to include the gameplay moments. I was expecting the occasions like where James has to run around and solve puzzles and find objects to progress, while also discovering the lore of the town. It would have inflated the length of the book, but I think it could have expanded on those moments. Heck, I wouldn’t have minded if it strayed from the narrative a bit to have James do other things so long as the main cutscenes were still adapted.
When I think of Silent Hill, I think of the fog, the rundown buildings, the decades forgotten environments, and the inner terror. This book kind of failed to deliver half of those feelings except for sporadic moments unevenly.
Overall, it’s not really worth a read unless you love the game and want to spend a few hours enmeshing yourself in a spooky mood. The book is a generic novelization 3/5, but Restless Dreams’ audiobook of it is a great 4/5 so long as you treat it like a radio play.
Here is the link:
https://youtu.be/Woeg60uwv-E?si=nqhWD...
January 4, 2026
Oh, God damn son I wanna start this review with a funny quip like "I'm disappointed the author didn't use the UFO ending" or sumn. but no, this story just gets me too emotional. It's just one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever created.
Silent Hill 2 is a 10/10 regardless of what medium it's in. (Hopefully, the movie is good too. Nojus, read this book so you're less scared when we go to tha cinema to see it on my birthday.)
This novel does a fantastic job of translating the town of Silent Hill's oppressive atmosphere and the protagonist's internal torment onto the page. The story of Silent Hill 2 should be a mandatory experience for anyone studying or interested in psychology, philosophy, or literature. it's just that good.
I wish I could rate this novelisation a full 5/5 stars. However, it falls short in just a few areas, which is a real shame. My first issue is that a lot of the characters aren't described as well as they could be, and unfamiliar readers could find the narrative a little disorientating. I'm very familiar with all the characters and the plot from playing the game, but I can recognise that someone going into this book blind could get a little confused at times.
My second issue is that the author demonstrates a commitment to keeping the ambiguity of silent hill, yet at one point in the story, Yamashita delivers an exposition dump, which wasn't present in the game. like, the whole point of the story is that it's open to interpretation, so that part just kinda defeats the purposes of everything it was building up to.
But yeah, while nothing can ever beat playing through the original Silent Hill 2 game on the PlayStatiom 2, I highly recommend to everyone that they experience this life changing story.
The target audience for this would probably be people who are somewhat familiar with Silent Hill 2 but never fully played through it. If that describes you, then you'd probably have a 5/5 reading experience.
FFO: Crime and Punishment, Freud, Carl Jung, David Lynch and repressed psychological trauma.
Silent Hill 2 is a 10/10 regardless of what medium it's in. (Hopefully, the movie is good too. Nojus, read this book so you're less scared when we go to tha cinema to see it on my birthday.)
This novel does a fantastic job of translating the town of Silent Hill's oppressive atmosphere and the protagonist's internal torment onto the page. The story of Silent Hill 2 should be a mandatory experience for anyone studying or interested in psychology, philosophy, or literature. it's just that good.
I wish I could rate this novelisation a full 5/5 stars. However, it falls short in just a few areas, which is a real shame. My first issue is that a lot of the characters aren't described as well as they could be, and unfamiliar readers could find the narrative a little disorientating. I'm very familiar with all the characters and the plot from playing the game, but I can recognise that someone going into this book blind could get a little confused at times.
My second issue is that the author demonstrates a commitment to keeping the ambiguity of silent hill, yet at one point in the story, Yamashita delivers an exposition dump, which wasn't present in the game. like, the whole point of the story is that it's open to interpretation, so that part just kinda defeats the purposes of everything it was building up to.
But yeah, while nothing can ever beat playing through the original Silent Hill 2 game on the PlayStatiom 2, I highly recommend to everyone that they experience this life changing story.
The target audience for this would probably be people who are somewhat familiar with Silent Hill 2 but never fully played through it. If that describes you, then you'd probably have a 5/5 reading experience.
FFO: Crime and Punishment, Freud, Carl Jung, David Lynch and repressed psychological trauma.
June 6, 2024
Where do i even begin with this? Whether it be a game, a novel, or a comic book, silent hill 2 just blows everything out of the water, nothing in the psychological horror genre can even compare. The atmosphere of the town of silent hill is unrivaled by anything in any media I’ve consumed and it was translated perfectly into novel form. The characters are written beautifully and i can yap on for hours about the depth and nuance of each. James and Angela are personal favorites of mine but even less complex characters like Eddie are incredibly compelling given the context of their stories.
James journey through silent hill will always be iconic and an inspiration to countless newcomers in the genre. The isolation of James accentuates the atmosphere greatly and brings something truly terrifying to the scares.
The raw depth and analytical value of silent hill 2 is so astronomically impressive given the time it feels almost accidental how just about EVERYTHING lines up perfectly. The symbolism in pyramid heads character alone can fill an entire academic studies worth of work.
If you are a fan of the genre or just curious to jump into the silent hill franchise, this is THE place to start. If you can’t play the game, read the book. If you’re too lazy to read so many words, read the comics. If that’s too much then wait for the new movie and watch that but for the love of god, experience this story.
James journey through silent hill will always be iconic and an inspiration to countless newcomers in the genre. The isolation of James accentuates the atmosphere greatly and brings something truly terrifying to the scares.
The raw depth and analytical value of silent hill 2 is so astronomically impressive given the time it feels almost accidental how just about EVERYTHING lines up perfectly. The symbolism in pyramid heads character alone can fill an entire academic studies worth of work.
If you are a fan of the genre or just curious to jump into the silent hill franchise, this is THE place to start. If you can’t play the game, read the book. If you’re too lazy to read so many words, read the comics. If that’s too much then wait for the new movie and watch that but for the love of god, experience this story.
Read
December 1, 2024I must say that I absolutely adore the lore of Silent Hill 2. I think it truly is one of the best games ever created and great part of the reasoning behind this opinion is its intriguing story.
However, I feel like the book cannot translate that story as well as the game. It is an easy read - which if you know silent hill 2's story isn't expected - and it fails to create the amazing atmosphere the game provides. You're supposed to feel terrified while unraveling the details to this tragic tale and you can't really feel that by reading the novelization.
It had some great quotes, but I feel like the climax read like a categoric display of events that falls flat in the great scheme of things. I particularly did not like that it leaves no room for interpretation, specifically telling you what each monster represents and every single thought behind James' head. It ends up ruining the beautiful discussions surrounding the world building and motivations behind the characters by telling you exactly what things are meant to be/represent. To be honest, it sometimes felt like I was reading a wikifandom page.
Moral of the story: sometimes a book is definitely not the best way to portray a story, especially when it unintentionally rips apart what makes it so great.
However, I feel like the book cannot translate that story as well as the game. It is an easy read - which if you know silent hill 2's story isn't expected - and it fails to create the amazing atmosphere the game provides. You're supposed to feel terrified while unraveling the details to this tragic tale and you can't really feel that by reading the novelization.
It had some great quotes, but I feel like the climax read like a categoric display of events that falls flat in the great scheme of things. I particularly did not like that it leaves no room for interpretation, specifically telling you what each monster represents and every single thought behind James' head. It ends up ruining the beautiful discussions surrounding the world building and motivations behind the characters by telling you exactly what things are meant to be/represent. To be honest, it sometimes felt like I was reading a wikifandom page.
Moral of the story: sometimes a book is definitely not the best way to portray a story, especially when it unintentionally rips apart what makes it so great.
December 22, 2024
I don't know if it's also the Japanese original or just the English fan translation I read, but I wouldn't be surprised if I found better SH2 fan fiction on Wattpad.
After stripping away everything interactive and audiovisual, the text has to convince more than anything. It is an extremely abridged version of the narrative that replaces all the nuances with the subtlety of a brick. It feels more like a novelized Wiki summary than anything.
I genuinely can't tell who this is for. Definitely not for people who are not familiar with the game because this is the worst possible first impression they can get. But I also wouldn't recommend it to fans because it adds nothing of value, and I find it insane that some people take this novel as a canon source.
The only reason I give 2 stars instead of 1 is the entertainment factor because a great portion of the novel is absolutely comical, especially if you know SH2 already.
The other novels have also finally been translated by fans this year but I can't say I feel enthusiastic about them after reading this.
After stripping away everything interactive and audiovisual, the text has to convince more than anything. It is an extremely abridged version of the narrative that replaces all the nuances with the subtlety of a brick. It feels more like a novelized Wiki summary than anything.
I genuinely can't tell who this is for. Definitely not for people who are not familiar with the game because this is the worst possible first impression they can get. But I also wouldn't recommend it to fans because it adds nothing of value, and I find it insane that some people take this novel as a canon source.
The only reason I give 2 stars instead of 1 is the entertainment factor because a great portion of the novel is absolutely comical, especially if you know SH2 already.
The other novels have also finally been translated by fans this year but I can't say I feel enthusiastic about them after reading this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews