Overwatch 2: Sojourn

by Temi Oh

Don’t miss this exclusive origin story of Sojourn—the fierce, cybernetic soldier, commander of Overwatch in days past and a steward of its future—based on the smash-hit video-game from Blizzard Entertainment.

In the early days of the Omnic Crisis, there were few heroes to be found amid the devastation, or even on the warfront that pushed humanity to the brink. But in Toronto, a brilliant young captain named Vivian Chase refuses to cede her city to the hungry monsters pouring out of the Detroit Omnium. Vivian has yet to meet a lost cause she couldn’t save, even one as dire as this.

To expel the omnics from her home and staunch the flow of enemy forces into Canada, Vivian will need resources, and these days only one organization has what it takes to stop the invasion: Overwatch. But when the Overwatch Strike Team arrives, it isn’t quite what she had in mind—an American supersoldier at odds with his commander, a disgruntled Swedish engineer, and a brilliant scientist whose dreams of a robotic revolution were in part what caused the Crisis. In a race against time, Vivian will have to use what she’s been given to form an elite fighting force and a winning strategy that can take the fight to the omnium . . . even if it costs them all their lives.


Sojourn’s story puts the sheer devastation of the Omnic Crisis—one of the most momentous events in Overwatch history—into stark relief. Her tale is one of grit, heroism, and the fight to build a better tomorrow, even if it’s one she and her troops might not live to see. A must-read for any Overwatch fan.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2022

About the author

Temi Oh was born in 1993 in London, to Nigerian parents. She studied at Bishop Thomas Grant and then Emanuel School, Battersea. In 2015 she graduated from King’s College London with a BSci in Neuroscience. Her degree provided great opportunities to write and learn about topics ranging from ‘Philosophy of the Mind’ to ‘Space Physiology’.

After her final year she decided to pack up and pursue her dreams. She married her high-school boyfriend, and moved to Edinburgh to study for an MA in Creative Writing and finish her book.

Reviews

[Landice (Manic Femme) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book turned me into the #1 lesbian sojourn truther. vivian and mina had such a great dynamic, i genuinely kept waiting for it to turn romantic and was a bit shocked when it didn’t

[Jester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the last two books in the series, this age range target audience is young-adult focused, given the war and action it contains.

I learned more about the character Sojourn. I didn't know much about her since the launch of Overwatch 2. The author did a good job of giving her a backstory. I didn't know she had a twin or a niece. I also learned more about the Omnic Crisis. It portrayed a more vivid image than what fans already knew.

Some familiar characters make appearances—Torbjörn and Jack (not a spoiler, as they are on the cover of the book)—even a character from one of the short stories posted on Blizzard's website, one that played a huge part in the cause of the crisis.

Readers also learn how Sojourn was treated differently because of her cybernetic augmentation, both as a child and still as an adult, even during her military life. She also has an inner conflict about her cybernetics too. Making a female POC experience prejudice because of cybernetics was an interesting choice.

For those saying Sojourn is not an interesting character, clearly don't know enough about her. Read the book. Sojourn is one of the most interesting female characters since the release of Overwatch 2, with a backstory directly involving the Omnic Crisis and early days of Overwatch missions, and also one that is not male goon bait—which is the direction Blizzard Entertainment has been taking the game in the past few years.

But on Mondatta's assassination, I cannot stand the writing style!

For the majority of the story, it felt like I was reading an hours-long mission report rather than reading a story! The description of what was happening was sharp and to the point—blunt. Calling Vivian by her last name—Chase—didn't help either!

The writing style gave me a headache. The kind that comes with eye pain too!

Note: Using new rating system starting 2025.

[Muffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice getting to know Sojourn a little more :) I had fun reading the book. My only real issue was that the book told the story through multiple events that cut off abruptly at the end of every section/chapter. I wanted to see more of Sojourn and the other characters in quiet moments, not just read about her through different battles.

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many words I wanted to put down but it's hard on choosing what to say. Of course, Overwatch 2 is like a second season but different than the first game of Overwatch (2016) plus it's FPS (first-person shooter) in a video game.

If you're a gamer and an avid reader, you must read this book if you're not familiar of the franchise or if you're a fan.

Let's start with Vivian Chase (aka Sojourn), it was like I've gotten to know her in depth, about her life history, family, and her occupation.

I don't know how the author, Temi, nailed the protagonist and the rest of the characters well like Jack Morrison (before he became a Soldier 76), Torbjourn, and Doctor Liao (which I'm glad Blizzard and Temi have fleshed out some details about these side characters).

I feel like I was on a journey with Chase/Sojourn, I felt for her, and I even feel bad for her at some point but overall, she's really good!

It's a good thing I got this book because I really am interested of knowing more about Overwatch lore.

I don't want to spoil anything further but I have thought of giving this book a 5-star but I chose 4-star since few things to point out.

Each chapters are broken down like scenes to scenes as I have noticed times and days are different.

I wish it was longer since I am more curious about the side characters and flesh out more of the details and deepen the plot.

Overrall, it's really good and you must read this in order to familiarize the world, settings, and the characters if you want to invest heavily than diving right into the game and playing for fun without knowing the backgrounds... or... if you're into scifi-military that sets in almost futuristic modern era.

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overwatch 2: Sojourn By Temi Oh, is a video game tie-in novel based on the “Overwatch video game franchise.”

Set during the early days of the Omnic Crisis, Overwatch: Sojourn details the hero's life from childhood up to joining Overwatch, with her life as a Canadian special forces soldier taking up most of the novel. Coming in at just 220 pages, Overwatch: Sojourn is a breeze to read, and author Temi Oh does a great job of fleshing out the novel's main protagonist, giving her appearance in Overwatch 2 much more depth.

it was nice to get a little more backstory to sojourn and a couple other series main characters, but left me wishing there were more. Really only 1 big reveal the rest was more like confirmation of things we’ve mostly guessed by now. Granted, these were guessed with the release of OW2.

So it’s still pretty new information. Definitely reads more adult than the Hero of Numbani, but tbf that book literally follows a child.

Overall, I did enjoy the writing though, and it was a very easy read so I would recommend to any fans wanting to know more about Sojourn’s origins.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve been playing Overwatch for a stupidly long time and having a story about Sojourn, a character I find challenging but fun to try play, was a nice appeal and after considering it for a while I decided to pick it up.

I regret buying this and want a refund from Blizzard. For me the worst thing a book can do is have you feel incredibly bored and makes reading it feel like a chore. So this being actually quite short, took me a while to get through purely because I was forcing myself.

It doesn’t even read like a bad fan fiction, it actually feels like Blizzard shoved a few character prompts into chatGPT along with “Sojourn and friends go to fight some robots” and didn’t bother to proofread it, as nothing happens in this book! It’s a real shame because the Overwatch comics do a really great job at having a fun story and showcasing its characters, then the animated shorts obviously don’t need any explanation, so I just get the feeling that having a written novel set in this universe just simply isn’t an effective medium.

I’d love to be proven wrong but it’s put me off from ever checking out another Overwatch novel if any are to appear.

[Joshua Jonah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long time of Overwatch 2 and their AFK books, I had put this one off for a while. What we get is an origin story for the most interesting character for Overwatch, and what she went through to get here. It places it feels flat but over all it kept my attention and her interacting with characters from the game made the universe come together a little more. I am hoping they do an origin story for many more characters, and become more consistent with releasing them. We for sure need more lore for the new characters and how they’re connected to others, because they still feel very disjointed.

[Saykrid Smith]

I love these books. I'm deadass waiting for them to make a full length feature film already. They would actually make a good bit of money. They already have most of the footage they need. add more acording to the lore and BAM! Success!

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and an interesting exploration of some of the themes of humanity and determination.

[TomintheSnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful descriptions especially in the factory and comparing it to a Cathedral? Amazing. Reads like a wartime book which I suppose this part of the story was!

[Madeline Rossell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was probably my favourite of the overwatch novels, but I might have liked it a little more if it were written for adults given the content.

[Laurie]

Could we get a widowmaker backstory and a genji/hanzo/kiriko story 😍 please. They’re your most interesting back stories. Thank you.