Death Stranding: The Official Novelization – Volume 1

デス・ストランディング [Death Stranding] #1

by Hitori Nojima, Carley Radford (Translator)

The first volume of the official novelization of Death Stranding, the new franchise from legendary game-creator Hideo Kojima. Mysterious explosions have rocked the planet, setting off a series of supernatural phenomena known as the Death Stranding. Spectral creatures that devour the living have pushed humanity to the brink of extinction, causing countries to fall and survivors to scatter and live in pockets of isolation. Sam Porter Bridges, the legendary porter with the ability to return from the world of the dead, has been entrusted with a critical mission by the President of the United Cities of America. He must journey across this ravaged landscape crawling with otherworldly threats to reconnect cities and people and rebuild America one step at a time.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Video Games, Audiobook, Horror, Post Apocalyptic, Fantasy

341 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2021

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death Stranding - Death Stranding: The Official Novelization
– Volume 1
(Death Stranding #1)
by Hitori Nojima
I have read so many post apocalyptic books that I came to believe there are only a handful of basic ideas and each novel is just a spin-off of one of those. But this is totally different! How refreshing! It took a bit to get my mind wrapped around it but it was good! So much to absorb, great characters, strange and crazy ideas my starving mind sucked up!
The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger so I didn't enjoy that.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Während ich letztes Jahr um diese Zeit "Death Stranding" spielte, dachte ich, dass es einen recht passablen Roman abgebe, den ich gerne lesen würde.
Um so erstaunter war ich, dass er wirklich geschrieben worden war.
Natürlich musste ich die Geschichte lesen und ich muss sagen, dass sie als Roman mehr Sinn ergibt denn als x Filmsequenzen im Spiel.
Vielleicht war Hideo Kojimas Ehrgeiz ja, einen gamebaren Spielfilm herzustellen? Richtig gelungen ist ihm das aber nicht. Da macht das Buch seine Sache deutlich besser, wo das Spiel schlicht nur konfus und schräg rüber kommt.
Von den unnötigen Kriegsszenen rede ich gar nicht erst. Die konnte ich im Gegensatz zum Buch im Spiel nicht überblättern. Kojimas ist einfach kriegsg***, was ich schon immer ätzend fand (sein ganz individueller Männlichkeitswahn).

Falls also jemand Lust hat auf eine lonely-woolf-story in einer (post😜)apokalyptischen Welt, dann kann ich "Death Stranding: The Official Novelisation" von Hitori Nojima nur empfehlen.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic adaptation of a fantastic story. We get to explore Sam’s emotions and understand his motivations a bit better. The added context makes the entire thing feel richer to me.

Also nice to get to know some of the wider characters of the universe and understand the changes caused by the death stranding a bit better as a result.

This book itself though is part of a wider story though and does not offer a self contained ‘start middle end’ as a result. As such, buy both books xx

[Tory Thai · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw a review on here saying that they cant imagine someone understanding or even enjoying this unless they played the game.

Well, i can confirm, i neither understood or enjoyed this and I did not play the game.

Honestly thought this would be a cool at to enjoy this story given how the gameplay just did not appeal to me at all.

This book unfortunately suffers from just not enough world building to explain or show any of these concepts this book gets into. The writing just was not descriptive enough for me to try and figure it out on my own. It was just feeling like I was supposed to know what was going on but unfortunately I just didn't understand the context.

I wish more lead up, world building or some slower providing these ideas at a more consumable pace for a reader.

I had to DNF

[Mohamed Jaber · Rating 5 out of 5]

⚠️BIASED REVIEW⚠️

This novel comes from the story of a video game called Death Stranding , released in 2019 and developed by Hideo Kojima. I played that game for 103 hours from August till March, achieved and unlocked everything there is to achieve. This novelization was such a nice insight into the lore, with so many discrete events and backstories that weren't all that clear in the game.

I shall give you a brief synopsis of the plot while trying my best to avoid any and all spoilers, for I can't imagine ruining such a wonderful plot for any individual.

The Death Stranding is a mysterious phenomenon that affected the entire world. When antimatter from the world of the dead, comes into contact with the living, it causes a voidout, which is large violent explosion, powerful enough to leave behind a crater large enough to destroy an entire city. After the Death Stranding, connections and technology all over America dissipated bit by bit. The demand for so called "Porters" quickly rose. Porters are deliverymen, who deliver cargo and needed supplies for those who need it in this harsh post-apocalyptic world. The plot follows Sam Bridges in this post-apocalyptic America. Sam Bridges is a porter with quite a history, and has a certain condition that is a curse and a blessing for his line of work. An organization called Bridges, is trying to reconnect America, and the story goes on from there.

What makes this story so great is the amount of uncanny and unthinkable characters and world-building there is. I really can't describe much without spoilers but one of the most notable aspects of this world are bridge babies. Babies that are removed from the mother's womb and are put in life pods that simulate the mother's womb, stopping their development. These babies are the bridge between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and are able to sense the presence of the world of the dead. It's hard to explain it to someone who has not played the game, and it's even harder trying not to spoil anything.

Onto the actual book now. The book itself follows the chapters of the video game, and in each chapter, the main quest of the game is described in this book. I didn't expect so much hidden character history that is described vividly here, that is otherwise discrete in the game or nonexistent overall. What's so special is that you get to know Sam's thinking and internal monologue in this book that you really can't experience in a video game. The dialogue is the same dialogue used in the game during cutscenes, there is more detail here though. The book does such a good job of making you understand what Sam feels exploring this world, his five senses, his missing toe nail that hurts, how carrying so much cargo feels, his critical thinking, avoiding danger, his mentality, all of which you can only infer while playing the game. I really underestimated how physically and mentally demanding Sam's job is until I've read this first novel.

I am aware that this review can be summed up in "Lol, I can't say much but the book is great, lol, play the game scrub." It is true though, the book is great and the game is even greater. I honestly don't recommend reading the novel if you haven't played the game, you'd imagine everything better and more vividly if you play the game then read this. The pacing of this book is also a bit unique and it's all over the place, because the game's story is hard to translate while sticking true to the sequence of events, and how everything is revealed in game. After all, it is an open world game where you can do whatever mission you want, and spend 20 hours between each main mission progressing your porter grade like I did.

I recommend this book to those who have played Death Stranding, or those who don't want to bother playing the 40 hour story, but still want to experience the plot. This book is part one, so there are two books to read.

There were so many good quotes in this book, I couldn't just choose one.

"Living is no different from being dead if you're all alone."

"Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they."

"It's almost time to go, Sam."

[Kaitlyn Porter · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I am putting my review of both books into one, since it’s pretty much one book split into two.

To start off, Death Stranding is one of my favorite video games I have ever played. It’s a weird world, but has a great original story that I really enjoyed.

That being said, I agree you need to experience this story in a video game setting to fully amerce yourself in it. Someone who knows nothing about the story might be really confused and may not enjoy the story or writing of the book. (While it is well translated, not everything comes across as it should.)

I did really enjoy getting some backstory/thoughts from characters (and even Sam) that you normally wouldn’t get from the video game. While you can visualize what characters are feeling in the game, to be able to read their thoughts expands the understanding of what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.

For someone who has interest in the story but doesn’t want to play the 40+ hours to finish it, read the book. But if you can, I highly suggest playing the game. (Although the gameplay isn’t everyone’s forte)

[Jon Padgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novelisation of a computer game straddles the dying world of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and the obsession with Egyptian death mythology from William Burroughs The Western Lands. This is a strangely prescient tale of isolated, locked down people only connecting to others through the delivery men who call. Society is becoming extinct, with the spirits of the dead, attached by umbilical cords to the afterlife, preying upon those left. A world where suicide is weaponised (Corpses go nuclear if not incinerated) and your best friend is a machine built from a foetus removed from a dead mother. Whilst I enjoyed it, I found the book grim, depressing and lonely. There is a second volume, but I need something happier before reading it. Something jolly, perhaps like 1984.

[William Hillson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be biased because I'm in love with the game but this book was amazing. Sure, there are a few mistakes in the writing such as a few words missing that shouldn't have been, but it's translated so all is forgiven. Without giving spoilers: this book lends insight into the characters and their thoughts/motivations that the game simply cannot do. Anyone who liked the game and the storyline, I highly suggest reading this.

[Knižný (Valéria Scholtzová) · Rating 4 out of 5]

+played the game, loved the story
+Wanted to come back, but didn't want to play the whole thing again

[maik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death Stranding es tanto un juego como una novela frescos por las ideas que introduce en comparación con otros juegos y lecturas del género. El libro es muy fiel al juego aunque también generoso con detalles “nuevos” (que en el juego normalmente aparecen en el códice o los mensajes que nadie se lee pero que a su vez arrojan un poco de luz a la trama).

Destacar también que las distancias son más creíbles que en el juego ya que en el juego puedes recorrer el mapa entero en menos de una hora y en el libro a Sam le toma semanas hacerlo. Es una historia que mejora a medida que avanza, ya que cada vez hay más acción.

Algo negativo a destacar sería que, a parte de algunas faltas de traducción y ortografía, al principio el libro se hace bastante repetitivo ya que pocas veces cuenta lo que pasa en el camino de un punto hacía el otro (mientras en el juego podían pasar muchas cosas), por lo que se repiten muchas escenas como, por ejemplo, la sala privada de los centros de distribución (aunque en el juego también es de las cosas que ves más).

En general, DS1 es una lectura perfecta para refrescar la memoria antes de empezar el segundo juego.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has two modes.

One is sorta like when a 5 year old explains their favorite video game to you. It's disjointed and confused and only half remembers the important bits, and gets everything out of order. Only, all the enthusiasm and excitement that a child would bring has been excised, so that even the best parts are kinda dull and seemingly uninterested in even being there. This is 80% of the book.

The rest is like an 8th grader's poetry. It's flowery and filled with vague metaphors that half make sense. Then end with a "That's just how it is" as if that's any sort of explanation of anything. I guess that's just how it is.

I was given this book as a sort of dare. I was told "read it until you get too angry you have to quit" only I never got angry. I never felt anything, really, except bored and tired. This novel is incomprehensible, and reading reviews from folks who played and enjoyed the game make it feel even worse. I think it's mostly vignettes of the cut scenes from the game, with very little else sprinkled between them. There's almost no physical descriptions of characters. If you read this you better be ready to Google every character because otherwise you won't have any idea what anyone looks like. Just formless blobs in an unoccupied white space, where one soliloquys at the other until they punctuate it with "but that's just how it goes."

And the worst of it all is that the book just abruptly ends mid chapter without any sort of conclusion or satisfaction.

The nicest thing I could say about it is that there is a lot of interesting world building. I like how all the active characters have a sorta X-men power, and the scientists are like turning the afterlife into the internet so they can 3d print food and drugs and stuff. The living and the dead being like matter and antimatter. It's all very intriguing and the only reason to read any of this, but it's so bogged down in uninspired prose and flat lifeless characters that it's hardly worth it.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read some reviews that said this wasn’t great, but I really enjoyed it, and I’ve already purchased the second book. I’d seen things about the video game, and I was really interested in learning the story, but I didn’t want to play the game. The book was exactly what I was looking for, and I really enjoyed it. The world building here is incredible. It’s clear that a lot of thought went into this, and I’m invested in finding out what’s going to happen.

[John Psarrakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. As a fan of the game i was surprised that the book managed to maintain the feel of it, while giving more explanations about stuff that you had to find out while reading a bunch of in game emails. But if you haven't played the game you re gonna find trouble understanding a lot of the stuff happening in this book as well as the overall universe it's set in.

[Jenny Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the game, so with this in my mind it was helpful to visualise the characters even more which probably increased my rating for this. The soundtrack on the game is amazing too .

[visro · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm a huge fan of the game so this review might come off a little biased, but i have not finished it yet so i think i can also seak a little on how it feels to read this as someone who has not played (certain parts) of the game!
i think this book could very well be read on it's own without having played the game, the world building is great, the explanations are sometimes a little out there but as the story goes on, you piece things together even without having fully grasped the "why?"s.
i really liked that this book has more backstory on all of the characters you briefly meet in the game! i was a little scared that i might get bored everytime the pov switches from sam to someone else, but i never was! it's super cool to have those characters get a little more fleshed out and not just meet and then forget about them (like i often do in the game and granted, i do not read most of the special little emails and interviews you unlock in the game)!
just like in the game, sam and bbs bond is the big selling point of course and everytime sam smiled at bb or bb cried with him i felt a little tuck at my heart because wow, i do love those two a lot!
one little negative thing i noticed was that sams dreams were super confusing and most of the times i didn't really know where one dream ended and reality started again but well it actually just adds to the mystery, so it could be seen a positive point as well!
i'm very excited to read the next book and continue playing!

[Susie Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

If you are like me and needed a refresher course before playing Death Stranding 2, but didn't have the time to replay the first game, than this book is a treasure trove of details and story elements that are fun to revisit.

It's refreshing to be inside of Sam Porter Bridges' head and to read what he is thinking and feeling where as in the game, you are interpreting these thoughts and emotions by his body language and facial expressions. Norman Reedus' performance is brilliant in this matter, but it's kind of nice to have "subtitles" to his character's behavior.

This story is DENSE with Kojima's universe. If you like weird sci-fi, this is an experience for you.

I really loved all the small character moments of this book. You come to know everyone on a more intimate level than the game provides, which is what I always look for in novelizations. The backstory about Viktor and Igor and the significance of the Luden's astronaut felt so special and human, I don't remember that detail being in the game (maybe it was in the director's cut?)

My only criticism I have that is totally not a big deal is in audio book on Audible, the narrator's voice acting was a little flat, BUT he has a lovely soothing voice.

[Raphæl Leroux · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahimè, a malincuore ci risiamo...

Premetto di aver amato, adorato (altrimenti non avrebbe avuto senso l'acquisto) il gioco "Death Stranding" per l'innovazione, seppur criticata in massa, di un sistema di gameplay che dà alla sceneggiatura totale importanza, lasciando la "consegna dei pacchi" come intermezzo tra un capitolo e l'altro, ossia le storie dei vari personaggi che occupano la scena.
Il punto di forza del gioco sono la trama, le emozioni che i dialoghi e l'interpretazione dei singoli trasmettono e l'atmosfera di un totale annichilamento imminente che ti porta, almeno nel mio caso, a versare qualche lacrima.

Disquisito sul videogioco, ora passo al primo volume della trasposizione romanzata dello stesso: fondamentalmente deludente.
Diffido sempre dai romanzi che si rifanno ai film con una sceneggiatura propria perché non aggiungono quasi mai niente all'opera in sé, ed anche in questo caso mi sento di dire la stessa cosa.

Il volume è diviso anch'esso in capitoli, la storyline è esattamente quella di gioco, senza aggiungere nulla alla storia se non dei frammentari (e pallidi) pensieri del protagonista e piccoli crossover di personaggi terziari.
Non vi è coinvolgimento emotivo, tutto troppo velocizzato e spento. Persino l'ambientazione paesaggistica è stata accantonata, senza soffermarsi su dettagli che (da scrittore) avrei inserito senza risparmiare in aggettivi.

Per chi conosce il gioco, il capitolo "Mama" è stato spogliato della sua forza disturbante e triste, lasciando poche pagine di fredde constatazioni.

Insomma, diciamo che un po' me lo aspettavo ma speravo che aggiungessero quel qualcosa in più che mi avrebbe fatto rattristare leggendolo.

Visto la complessità psico-filosofica del finale del gioco e le considerazioni fatte su quanto letto, non mi faccio illusioni, con la speranza di essere piacevolmente sorpreso.

Peccato.

[Cj Salcedo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating piece of science fiction, but incomplete thanks to the fact that it's a two-parter. I never finished the first gam,e but I am thoroughly enjoying my playthrough of the second one, and reading this alongside that is giving me a lot of context for this world Hideo Kojima has created.

I like the way it describes and contextualizes gameplay elements, like walking to and from delivery locations, into its narrative. It's a little too on the nose at times, and the prose can feel a bit clumsy, but a solid start for one of my new sci-fi obsessions.

[Stephen Richter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adaptation of the game, but it does go into a bit more detail about what the character is thinking. The world created by Kojima is eerily prophetic, a scary gloomy world but there is hope and resilience even despite the long odds.

[Christopher Wiseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only does the novelization give you more context for Death Stranding, you get more story about characters who don’t have as much screen time in the game.
A great revisit before Death Stranding 2 releases.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It was some time after that when Bridges dispatched the second expedition. It was made up of a single man: Sam Bridges."

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audio. Read by Balki!

[Terri Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

idk if feeling was lost in translation but it felt empty...and they butchered my girl, Mama.

[Brady Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5. Very exposition heavy as I expected the first volume to be. Hopefully the second part is a better read since the game really picks up after all the world building is out of the way.

[Micah Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is particularly hard to evaluate. The game is a masterpiece of art, entertainment, and story-telling. In the moments this book gives supplemental narrative to the game (fleshing out minor character’s backgrounds) it flourishes. At the times it more heavily intersects the game’s story, it reads more like a summary of the action, not particularly engaging or easy to read. I have a feeling if you haven’t played the game, the book will not be a good stand-alone read. But might be worth it if you are a fan of the game and want more.

[Jack Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. Contrary to some of the other reviews I don't think you need to have played the game. This book can hold its own as a scifi novel. It's intricate and well written, by no means a light read. Onto part 2.

[LivThebooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely doesn't work if you haven't played the game. But as a companion book it gives great insight into the characters inner thoughts and some information about other characters.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly good adaptation of one of my favourite games. It's engrossing, well written and is consistently faithful to the source material.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to recommend this. Especially without playing the game. No idea if this is interesting. The characters aren't really characters. They just kind of exist. As a book it seems bad. But I love the game. And the ideas are fun.