Predator: Escape from Tarkov

by Alexander Kontorovich

When darkness falls on the streets of Tarkov... When ordinary people who just yesterday were friendly neighbors start to kill each other over a can of food… When everyday life turns into lawless mayhem in the space of an hour… That’s when an ordinary cubicle slave can suddenly transform into a fierce implacable predator, casting aside his keyboard in favor of a heavyweight shotgun. There’s no way back to his former life. There’s only one option left – to become the biggest beast in this concrete jungle. Welcome to Tarkov...

This book was inspired by the video game Escape from Tarkov, and takes a closer look at one of the characters – a Scav. It’s not hard to understand the metamorphosis of hardened criminals, but how does an ordinary person, until yesterday an office worker, become a Scav? Will he be able to throw away everything and turn into a savage predator? He will, and surprisingly quickly. Fingers accustomed to clicking a mouse can just as comfortably pull a trigger. Even searching the still-warm body of an enemy poses no real problems. The pangs of conscience won’t last long. But can a predator like that retain any of their humanity? Will they still be capable of any good deeds?

Let’s go to Tarkov and find out.

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2018

Reviews

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the translation is shaky and some bits don’t translate well, the story is great with a decently relatable character and near addicting to read.

[Tim Ngo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the game and the universe of this game. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for this book.

The pacing is an issue and I can tell that the book isn't well translated. Lots of the sentences read monotonous and are often weirdly worded.

If you're reading this to learn more about the world of Escape from Tarkov (like me), you're in for a disappointment. This book barely scratches the surface of the game's universe. Other than the few factions mentioned and some scant descriptions of what happened before the game itself, the book is barely related to the game itself.

However, what I really have a problem with is the story and character development. I won’t spoil much, but the character of this book shows little development over the course of the story. Although the synopsis advertises the story as a "metamorphosis of a hardened criminal", the main character/narrator showed little hesitation to kill or worse, and shows no qualms towards deaths, right from the start. The narrator's constant reminder that he was just an IT guy weeks ago doesn’t help.

Play the game. Don't waste your time reading this.

[Pip · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of typos and literal translations from Russian that don't work too well in English. Could have been better with a decent editor. There's a lot of action and some interesting ideas that become less and less believable as it goes on. In essence, a whitecollar worker becomes a bandit king through absolute luck and big lies. I'm assuming the house of cards comes crashing down at some point in the book trilogy, but I'm not sure that I'll continue with the series to see it.

I was expecting a much more serious book, considering the brutal reality of Scav life in the Tarkov universe. Perhaps because it's a video game, the Developers didn't want the writer to go that route? It definitely reads like video game fiction in some aspects. From Tarkov lore perspective, there's really nothing new gained. The factions are mentioned, some locations, and traders, but overall it's very surface level stuff.

I'd like to read Kontorovich's other work, his ideas and style are fun to read and I chalk up a lot of the problems with Predator with it having to be set in the Tarkov universe.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll keep this simple for those that are just coming by. This book is supported by Battle State Games (BSG) the developers and creators of the game called “Escape From Tarkov.” The people whom have interacted with this game should give it a read if you are interested in the lore and understanding how quickly this world became dystopic.

Having read this book, I now come to understand how Scavs came to be. How everyone and anyone could be dragged into this situation just by living in or near the skirts of the city of Tarkov.

In the game, we are apathetic towards the faction of Scavs, and sometimes we just view them as “dusty” AI characters that only serve to pester us. Despite being aware of their upbringing in this kind of world (does not mean I will be less inclined to shoot them when I play against them). However, it fascinates me how this modern game came out to be.

[Gino Ricchio · Rating 2 out of 5]

After playing the game extensively, I really had some high hopes for the Predator book and unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations.

I felt the story should have been at at least double the size. Also, I feel the character developed too quickly. One minute, he was a developer without a killer instinct, the next he is actively hunting mob bosses. Additionally, I feel the amount of luck that the character is given is way too high. Or given his development, I don't think he could have survived several of the situations.
All in, I am happy I read the book, just wish there was more development and nods to the locations in the game. I was looking for more lore of Tarkov and just got a mediocre story

[Juan Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a rough start for the series, especially the gang related arcs in the first part, though the series overall gets much better. while it has its' shortcomings in the first half as mentioned above alongside the usual russian-to-english translation shortcomings, it's overall a very good read. i personally liked the main character's growth and changes the warzone of tarkov does to him. I believe that we could benefit from the author and BSG writing new books in the series, especially now that the full tarkov storyline and a very good chunk of the lore have been revealed in-game.

[L4wngnome · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Escape From Tarkov game. I probably have about 1,000 hours of play time. This book is ok. It doesn't reveal much about the Tarkov story. It's a fun look at how a normal guy becomes a Scav. There are a couple of fun scenes, but overall the pacing is off. A review by a editor with a lot of action books under their belt would have helped with the pacing. Also, after a little build up, the ending is kind of blah.

[Siren Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by my husband who happens to stream Escape from Tarkov, RH Galloway

"It's like watching a societal downfall where a system administrator becomes the most dangerous person in the region. Pretty wild story." 4/5 stars

Side Note: He hasn't stopped talking about this book since he snagged my kindle and he is not a huge reader. Would highly recommend this myself to those that love Tarkov.

[oskar lambertsson bjork · Rating 2 out of 5]

Totally fine! Might be the translation from Russian but something about the pacing was off.

It did give some good context to the game though.

[Jason Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! I just wish I could find books 2 and 3 LITERALLY ANYWHERE