Aspho Fields

Gears of War #1

by Karen Traviss

For the first time, fans of the blockbuster Gears of War video games get an in-depth look at Delta Squad's toughest fighters - soldier's soldier Marcus Fenix and steadfast Dominic Santiago - as well as a detailed account of the pivotal battle of the Pendulum Wars.

As kids, the three of them were inseparable; as soldiers they were torn apart. Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago fought alongside Dom's elder brother Carlos at Aspho Fields in the epic battle that changed the course of the Pendulum Wars. There's a new war to fight now, a war for mankind's very survival. But while the human stronghold on Sera braces itself for another onslaught from the Locust Horde, ghosts come back to haunt Marcus and Dom, as the return of an old comrade threatens to dredge up an agonizing secret Marcus has sworn to keep.

As the beleaguered Gears of the Coalition of Ordered Governments take a last stand to save mankind from extinction, the harrowing decisions made at Aspho Fields have to be relived and made again. Marcus and Dom can take anything the Locust Horde throws at them - but will their friendship survive the truth about Carlos Santiago?

Genres: Science Fiction, Video Games, Fiction, Fantasy, War, Audiobook, Action

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

#1 New York Times best-selling novelist, scriptwriter and comics author Karen Traviss has received critical acclaim for her award-nominated Wess'har series, and her work on Halo, Gears of War, Batman, G.I. Joe, and other major franchises has earned her a broad range of fans. She's best known for military science fiction, but GOING GREY and BLACK RUN, the first books in her new techno-thriller series RINGER, are set in the real world of today. A former defence correspondent and TV and newspaper journalist, she lives in Wiltshire, England. She's currently working on SACRIFICIAL RED, the third book in the Ringer series, and HERE WE STAND, book three in the NOMAD series.

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to this by two things: firstly, the author is Karen Traviss, and secondly, I’ve read some very good things about it. It is based on a video game, but don’t let that put you off.

Aspho Fields didn’t disappoint; I have no idea what the Gears of War game is like, but the story that Traviss tells here is pretty darn good. This is a prequel to the events in the game (apparently).

In the light from the APC’s instrument panel, [his] face looked like violence personified.

The story so far: seems like humans (at some point) colonised a planet that had some nasties hidden beneath the surface. On what is referred to as Emergence Day said nasties attacked humanity and started the Locust War (which, by definition, means they basically destroyed everything in their path). And that’s the gist of it: it’s like Starship Troopers without spaceships. Except it also isn’t, because the Locusts aren’t insectile: they’re humanoid and reptilian. The name “Locust” reflects behaviour and the amount of damage caused…

There was only ugly and uglier to choose from when it came to Locust.

The human soldiers here are called Gears and they have chainsaws as part of their arsenal. Yes, chainsaws… attached to their Lancers (big guns). Is this relevant? No, I’m only mentioning it to evoke comparisons with Warhammer 40K, for those who are in the know.

Travis does a truly remarkable job in depicting the characters, and the Gear mindset; she certainly has the voice for this kind of thing. It ranks right up there with Redliners as one of the better ground based Military Science Fiction novels I’ve read.

“With respect, who do you need to justify it to?”
“The population. They’re running on empty, like you.”
“Without an effective army, they’ll be running on dead.”

This could easily be categorized as Post Apocalyptic fiction, with a dash of (contemporary) war films like Blackhawk Down and We Were Soldiers thrown in for good measure.

Aspho Fields is actually an exceptionally good book, and I was surprised at the gravitas it brings to the table. Expect some high emotion. Highly recommended!

This wasn’t normal soldiering. This was personal vengeance.

It seems fair to say that, even though this kind of thing isn’t for everyone, the days of belittling tie-in fiction are long over. There are some well respected authors involved these days, such as Travis, and also the likes of Greg Bear (Halo: Cryptum) and Alastair Reynolds (Doctor Who: Harvest of Time).

“Let’s ruin their day,” he growled, and opened fire.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy me some Gears of War action figures.

[Sadie E · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

4.75: Who looked at a game about beefy men yelling and using chainsaw assault rifles to turn subterranean nightmare fuel into salsa, all while having the emotional range of a brick wall, and decided it needed emotional damage???



This is everything a Gears of War book should be. And then some. It's got the sci-fi military, the over the top combat, the unintentionally hilarious dialogue, and the questionable life expectancy of anyone you dare get attached to. But take away the explosions and raging testosterone, and it's a story about family. The one we have and the one we choose. It's also about grief, friendship, loyalty, and the things and people that make us who we are. Ultimately, it's a story about the lengths we'll go to for the people we love.

The multiple timelines and POVs are an excellent addition, though sometimes they wobble a little and move on before I feel like we've really explored everything. But getting to see Marcus, Dom, and Carlos growing up together, then seeing how those relationships shape the soldiers they become gives the present day story so much more weight. Those glimpses of the past fill in gaps in the lore but they also change how you understand certain characters. We know these characters from the games, but seeing where they came from and what they went through makes you look at them differently.

And the childhood flashbacks 🥹

I love seeing the foundations of their friendship, with all the affection and shared experiences that make Marcus a Santiago in all but blood. And the contrast between the two households hits hard.

We've got the sprawling, empty Fenix estate where no one has time for each other contrasted against the humble Santiago home, full of people who care about each other even when they're getting on their last nerve, who laugh and show affection without treating it like an embarrassing character flaw.

“I saw the look on Marcus’s face, and knew right then that the guy needed a brother a whole lot more than he needed a library.” Carlos, you absolute (literal) angel.

I would very much like the Santiagos to adopt me.

The Santiagos give Marcus a sense of belonging his own family can't or won't. They show him what family can look like when it's built on affection rather than expectation, and what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself. Over the years you can see how they rub off on Marcus. He's never going to become the sort to snuggle up under a blanket with a nice cup of tea and start journalling, but you can see how those experiences built on love and respect shaped him and his understanding of loyalty.

I'm so glad we get so much Carlos. In the games he's a bit of a McGuffin. Obviously he's important to Dom and Marcus and his death brings them even closer together, but we never learn the person he was. Whereas here, we really understand why Carlos matters beyond what his death meant to the people left behind. We get to know the person whose loss has such a profound impact years later.

This book's fan service in the best possible way. The character work's excellent and the characters actually sound like themselves.

Marcus is still the no nonsense, emotionally constipated bastard we all know and love. He's the same man of few words who'd rather be shot in the face than express 😱feelings😱 but this time, instead of watching him grunt through a cut scene, we get inside his head and see what drives him.

As always, Dom's the emotional core of the group. There's a warmth to him that contrasts perfectly with Marcus’ gravelly stoicism. Except when it comes to Baird (his kindness only extends so far): “Dom sometimes needed a reminder of why Baird was worth the daily food ration of three nice, normal people.” His loyalty feels genuine rather than some generic soldier/brotherhood bullshit. Give this man a day off and literally anything he wants! He's earned it.

If Dom's the core of the group, Cole Train's the heart. He's a big hearted powerhouse with the showmanship and charisma to match, who could make a funeral sound like a grand time. Unlike his game counterpart, he's more than a catchphrase with biceps. He actively brings enthusiasm to a world that gives very little reason to be enthusiastic about anything.

And then there's my absolute favourite sarcastic, utterly done with your shit Baird. The sheer disdain for everyone's tomfoolery's gloriously familiar. This guy could find something to whine about in a room filled with infinitely spawning money. He's abrasive and argumentative and the sort of person you'd want by your side when shit goes south but you'd conveniently lose his invitation to the team building exercise.

All the characters have space to exist outside the firefights. We get to see their relationships and quirks in a way that a game built around constantly imminent death doesn't have time for. They're the same people, just with more room to breathe.

I love those rare moments when we can just spend time with the group talking and pushing each other's buttons. (Okay, so everyone else is talking and Baird's doing the button pushing 🤷🏼‍♀️ I love him)

It's those silly little moments that matter and really add a lot of heart. They make the characters feel like people who want to spend time together, rather than a collection of action figures who only interact when something needs exploded. There's a sense of history and familiarity in their interactions that makes their relationships feel lived in.

You get to see why and how this dysfunctional, totally not okay group of heavily armed disasters work so well together.

There's also a lot more nuance to characters than the games initially let on.

Take Hoffman. He's an antagonist in the games, and he's hardly a ray of sunshine here, but we see enough from his perspective to understand what drives him. We get a sense of how much he worries about his men and how he misses being one of the Gears and having that sense of camaraderie and family. But someone's got to keep these dumbasses in line lest they all walk into a landmine one after another.

The same guy you spent the games thinking ‘what a dick’ you spend the book going ‘I mean he's got a point?’

There was no point telling Marcus that she’d always liked Hoffman and that he was a proper soldier, not a useless chair-warming tosser like some she’d known. And there was no point telling Hoffman that Marcus didn’t have it in him to abandon his men, and that there would have been an unselfish reason for anything he did, however stupid the decision.

It's things like this that the book excels in. It explores how people can see entirely different things in the same person, and how understanding someone doesn't necessarily mean being able to make everyone else understand them too. Everyone in this book's difficult, infuriating, complicated, and contradictory, but those traits exist alongside loyalty and a willingness to put themselves in harm's way for others. No one's simplified into good or bad; everyone's doing what they think is right.

The book really understands its characters, from the main four to throwaway background characters. It understands what makes them feel alive, even when they're living with the constant threat of losing everything.

There was a magic in the army. Dom saw how it lit up his father’s face every time. He told great stories about the things his squad got up to, and even when he recalled friends who got killed, and his eyes brimmed, it still sounded like he wouldn’t have missed a second of it. It was a world of its own. It all sounded so vivid, like the only place you could be truly alive, even if you didn’t know if you’d get killed the next day.

Those same bonds that make life in The Coalition so meaningful are what makes its losses so devastating.

And the tension???

It feels like playing GoW, just I'm screaming a little less. As always, humanity's on the brink of extinction and everything's seconds away from falling apart. Sera feels like a place that's been through hell thrice and has just covered hell has a basement.

There's a real sense of desperation. These people are exhausted. Resources are dwindling. There's not much room left to manoeuvre. No one has the time or energy to worry about the little things when there are hellbeasts waiting to turn them into pate.

The book answers a lot of questions I didn't even know I had, particularly about life after E-Day. There are grim discussions about the shifting military demographics and the choices available to women when reproduction’s treated as a matter of policy: “...the choice for women now is breed or do war work. She can’t have kids. So she does what she’s best at.”

Men and women are being pushed toward roles determined by what the population needs. Everyone's just another resource to be managed.

It was all men now, near enough. The Pendulum War days of women in uniform were largely over ... That was a priority job now; not just replacing engine parts and weapon components, but replacing humans.

Then there's the food situation which is fascinating.

What happens to agriculture when the landscape's destroyed? How do you feed a population when finite resources are being funnelled into fighting what increasingly looks to be an unwinnable war? What about the ordinary things we take for granted, like electricity and clean water?

All the answers are bleak, but they make Sera feel like a (barely) functioning world rather than a backdrop for combat. An apocalypse isn't just explosions and monsters. It's the mundane stuff, too; it's supply chains, infrastructure, and rationing.

All the little details are a reminder that the stakes are far greater than the soldiers we follow. Every battle has consequences and every lost resource makes the future a little more precarious. The book reminds us that there's a civilisation worth saving, even when the odds of saving it look increasingly impossible.

Occasionally the action can feel a little mechanical. Some sequences read more like the steps of a military engagement than something immediate and visceral. But I'd rather have strong character work than a perfect action scene. Give me emotional depth over cardboard cut outs who shoot things and deliver catchphrase.

But I'm deducting a quarter star for the lack of Carmine representation. WHERE ARE MY CARMINES?? 😭

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty odd that I read this as I have not played Gears of War and have never read anything else by Karen Traviss. And while this didn't make me want to run out and buy a Play-box/X-Station 5000 game console and team speak with a bunch a people I don't know, it very much made me want to read more by Karen Traviss. She writes very well, with a great balance between story and detail, and I was turning pages quickly the whole way. This is a very entertaining military science fiction story that can be read by those of us who have no idea what GoW is.

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure there has ever been a good novelization of a video game. If such things exist, this isn't one of them.

Total rip off of Starship Troopers, with humans fighting giant superintelligent bugs and losing. This is a sort of prequel to the game itself, telling the tales of various space marines.

Didn't grab me at all.

[♛Tash]

My favorite video game in the history of ever and I never knew it has books about it. Marcus Fenix grunts in disappointment. Dominic Santiago falls to his knees screaming Maria. Cole Train shouts Woo Baby! Damon Baird says "and you call yourself a gearhead".

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review from Badelynge
Karen Traviss does a great job of bringing some Gears of War goodness to those of us who like to relax our trigger fingers once in a while. Traviss admits herself that she's worked on a lot of stuff in her day, tie-ins and the like and that not all of the varied franchises and projects have been particularly worthy. But Gears is different. She thinks it's special. I'm inclined to agree. Working on something you really love rather than it just being the latest meal ticket has really brought out the best in the writer, both in these books and her hands on work with the latest Gears game.
This one tells the untold Story of the battle for Aspho Fields. A battle we've heard about in the game that takes place several years before Emergence Day when the humans of Sera are still locked in a world war over Imulsion that has lasted the best part of a century. At this time they are unaware that another race called the Locust are biding their time beneath their feet, waiting for a good time to pop out and call 'Time' on human Seran history. The Cogs have discovered that the other power block are developing a weapon of mass destruction called The Hammer of Dawn at a research base at Aspho Point. Now at this stage Gears fans will most likely be grumbling that a Gears book without Locust is not something they signed up for. Traviss cleverly frames the pre-Emergence Day sequences with a story set between games 1 and 2, just after the deployment of the Light Mass Bomb. The Cogs are consolidating as best they can and are cautiously hopeful that the worst of the Locust threat has been dealt with. A face from the past in the form of a veteran female Gear called Bernie brings the past back to the surface. Dom Santiago wants to know the full story of the death of his brother Carlos at Aspho Fields. Marcus and Bernie were the only witnesses and neither are keen to talk about it. During an escort mission all the main characters get a chance to reflect and more of the story of the friendship of the brothers and Marcus gets revealed along with a lot of other stuff involving the feud between Hoffman and Fenix. These books can't tell the big story - that is for the games to tell, instead they tell the other stories that the games don't have time or the opportunity to tell. It's very well written with a great feel for the characters. All the dialogue just feels right, so much so that you can't help hearing the voice acted tones from the game; Fenix's tortured gravel, Cole's booming bonhomie, Baird's verbal sniping, Dom's quiet dignity, Hoffman's caricatured parade ground bark. And Traviss's new female characters fit in fine. The military attitudes are very believable. It's infantry soldiering with thoughtful introspection in a world that has become so desperate that the values of humanity are having to be sacrificed. Sure it still knows it's an actioner filled with chunky guys, chunky guns and chunky aliens... getting chunked, but it doesn't mean it has to be empty between the ears.
Even though fans of the game will get the most from this book I'm convinced that folks who enjoy gritty military sci-fi will still enjoy themselves. That was violent, reckless... and necessary! Well done.

[Adah Udechukwu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aspho Fields wasn't as good a i wanted it to be. It started well and then it just lost its edge.

[Tiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

TL; DR Review:



3.5 stars, but I'm feeling generous so the better part of 3.5 stars. Much better than I was expecting. Feelings everywhere. Just let me get myself together. I shouldn't be feeling like this about a GoW book. LOL.

More reviews @ The BiblioSanctum

Long Review:

What I love about Gears of War is that it’s teeming with tension. As much as I love Mass Effect, nothing ever feels really urgent in those game despite there being an intergalactic war against an almost unstoppable force going on. Gears of Wars fills that part of me that loves the almost nonstop action froth with pressure. So much is thrown at you in this game and it never feels like you really get a breather. I recently replayed these games co-op with my cousin and gaming partner. We made a mad dash through all three games, and I can remember there being moments when we had to take a break as the intensity intensified. You’re always moving, always fighting, against this opponent that seems countless in number while humanity dwindles to fewer and fewer people each day. This game is dirty, gritty, painful. There’s nothing romanticized at all about this military epic.

Unfortunately, that means the in-game lore is really just a quick series of cut scenes and random ambient conversation that give you a vague sense of things. There’s not much to work off of in terms of character and story, even though it’s easy to get attached to the characters and their struggles, and some personal things you do know about the characters beg for more exploration. This book allows players to explore Fenix’s world both before Emergence Day and after, filling in blanks about the story prior to the beginning of the first game while bridging the gap between Gears of Wars and Gears of War 2.


This book mainly follows Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. It chronicles their beginnings as childhood friends and eventually as soldiers through one of their most important battles–Aspho Fields. This book also follows them in their modern day journeys through a ravished Sera where every day is a battle against the Locust horde. Marcus is fresh out of prison after serving four years due largely because of the continuing threat of the Locust. He immediately gets back into the action.

Marcus grew up in an affluent household, the only child of two scientifically brilliant, but distant parents. Dominic had a tight knit family consisting of his parents and his older brother, Carlos. Carlos was the first person to meet Marcus being they were the same age and in the same class. Marcus started hanging out with the Santiago brothers, becoming an honorary member of their family, cementing a lifelong bond that no one could break.

You can glean from the games that Marcus is not an emotional person. This book solidifies that by showing his privileged, but joyless (well, joyless when he wasn’t with the Santiagos), childhood and where he learned this behavior. The Santiago family brought out more emotion in him, but he was still reserved, even as a child. He locks down even more of his emotions after the death of Carlos.

The Santiago brothers on the other hand grew up in a warm household, and it shows in their personalities. This books explores a household that’s full of love, emotion, dedication, and earnestness, among other things, and these things are shared with Marcus. Marcus doesn’t become some open, expressive guy due to the Santiagos, but you can tell that he learned things about family and camaraderie that touch him on a deeper level even if he doesn’t show it through his emotions.

You can get a pretty good sense of the kind of people these characters are in the game, but this book shows exactly why they’re the way they are. This exploration of their lives and character made me wish that I could’ve given this a higher rating than I did, but there were a few issues that I had with it. As a gamer who loves gaming lore, I really enjoyed the meat this story added, but as a reviewer, I have to think about other things aside from how much I love Dominic.

For people who are reading this book and haven’t played the games, this will be sorely lacking in some respects in regards to detail. The book assumes that readers already know what things, such as a “Boomer” or a “Grub,” look like and gives very little to go on as far as description. I only really saw a problem with her describing the Locust Horde. Well, I take that back. She was a vague with people as well. You might get some identifying details like knowing Baird is blonde or Marcus has blue eyes or Taliso has tribal tattoos on his scalp, but mostly, if you’re not familiar with the games, you’re left to your own imagination or Googling these people.

The author seems to assume that all her readers are people who–at the very least–know of the games, which is a fair assumption and I’m sure a large portion of her readers are familiar with the series. Still, a little description would’ve been nice, just to see how she’d describe some of these things with words, even if I can already picture them in my head. Also, there are some people who like to read about video games, even if they don’t actually play them, and some people just happen to pick these books up randomly without being aware they’re based on games. However, in other respects, her attention to detail is masterful, especially when describing firefights.

I think the blurb for this book asking if Marcus and Dom’s friendship will survive the truth behind Carlos’ death was a bit overdramatic, as well. I was expecting something earth shattering to surround the circumstances of Carlos’ death. However, that situation is very anticlimactic in terms of what I was expecting versus what the book eventually revealed. When it was all said and done, I felt deflated, thinking, “Really? This is the friendship breaking secret?” I mean, true, you never know how people will react to certain news, but fiction needs to make sense where reality doesn’t. And I just couldn’t see these “revelations” being the make or break of their friendship.

In fact, I don’t think that was limited to just Carlos’ role at Aspho Fields. It seemed like Traviss tried too hard to make things that feel insignificant in the grand scheme seem important. I feel like much of the tension that she tried to create between Dom and Marcus regarding Aspho Fields and even Marcus’ imprisonment was a bit grasping. These men have too much history together and too much brotherly love for one another for me to believe that the simple problems presented in this book could actually tear them apart. These things didn’t challenge their solid friendship, and any reader could probably understand from the history of their friendship presented here that these fears are really a nonissue.

The narration was just okay. I don’t think that David Colacci was the best choice for this book. His voice had a way of making things sound shallow, especially when he tried to voice characters like Cole. I absolutely could not stand the way he voiced Cole or the South Islanders. I had the hardest time not laughing during Cole’s dialogue while listening to this. I liked how he voiced the Pesanga, though. He did women okay, too. In fact, that’s when the narration felt most natural–while he was speaking as a woman. It just felt like he should be narrating something very different, not a military science fiction novel set in such a depressing world.

I think my mistake was “listening” to this instead of just reading it, so I don’t know if I can really fault the narrator. I already have a collection of voices in my head for each character because I’m familiar with the media it stems from, and of course, the narrator can’t sound exactly like the characters do in the game. I guess I should cut the narrator a little slack with that in mind. However, I may just read the subsequent books instead of listening to them. I think that would allow for a better overall reading experience for me.

I really loved that this book explored Marcus and Dom’s lives and the events that shaped them into the soldiers and people they are. Don’t take that to mean that this story is in any means slow. Much of this book is as intense as the games, following the characters through tense situations and battles. The tone and pacing of this book fits very well with its game counterpart without sacrificing the story. You learn about the characters, but you also get a good taste of the action they’ve had to live through for most of their lives. Even in those moments that seem like nothing but nonstop action, you learn so much about these characters.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcus Fenix...Dominc Santiago....if these names are unfamiliar to you, then you probably have not played Gears of War on the Xbox 360. If that be the case, this book will introduce you to some memorable characters as well as a world plagued by war against humans as well as the creatures they call the Horde.
I was introduced to this game from Epic by my gamer hubby and have fell in love with the characters as well as the story. Liken alot to Halo, Gears brings out a story line that is rich without taking away and this book just adds to the drama. Marcus is a loner who has been ignored by his very rich parents and is befriended by the brothers Santiago, Dom and Carlos. Knowing that his faher will be disappointed, Marcus enlists in the COGs, Coalition of Ordered Governments, recognized by the COG tags on their necks.
This book takes place during the war against the Horde, but flashed back to the Pendulum Wars in which the battle for Aspho Fields takes place. Marcus has kept a secret from Dom that effects what happen to his brother and as things get heated in battle, the truth begins to emerge. Can their friendship survive?
I am always apprehensive with books like this. Though the game is awesome, I have learned that the movies and books lack the luster. This is not the case here. This books stays true to the story as well as the thrill of playing the game. I could hear the sounds of Lancer fire and the sound of the King Ravens overhead. So in short, if you are a fan of the game or just getting started, this book is a great read even for those who have never heard of Gears.

[Jemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a huge fan of the ‘Gears of War’ games and an avid reader, it seemed only natural I would stumble across this gem, a book which incorporates two of my favourite hobbies - reading and gaming. ‘Aspho Fields’ is that rare oddity of a story which absorbs you from the start, and never releases its emotional grip on you, even after you have turned the last page. It encompasses such a strong variety of themes, there is something for everyone; to coin it purely as an action would do it no justice.

The book is set in the same universe as the games, a world called Sera which has been at war with a hostile species (the Locust) for 14 years, who one day emerged from the ground and initiated combat with the humans. We follow the main familiar faces from the franchise, Marcus and Dom, as well as a whole host of other characters as they battle for their very right to survive against a race which seeks domination. The story switches from the present day in a Locust infested world, to 26 years earlier when a young Marcus Fenix meets his best friend Carlos Santiago and his brother, Dom. The author advances the plot at the same brisk pace as the game, revealing the tragedy and mystery surrounding the elusive events at Aspho Fields, and the shattering effect it has on the characters.

This book totally captures the essence of the game, so much so in fact that it has inspired me to replay the games (for the hundredth time). All aspects covered in ‘Aspho Fields’ are utterly believable, from the depth of friendship between Marcus and Carlos, to the credible military atmosphere Traviss had replicated throughout. The world is so immersive, the writing elegant despite the gritty circumstances it describes – who knew that the game would translate so well into literature? Speaking of which; despite my extensive familiarity with the games, I don’t think of it as a prerequisite to have played them to appreciate this amazing novel.

Traviss has really gotten into the characters heads; the dialogue and decisions are extremely convincing – it filled in so much of the backstory that the game tauntingly hinted at and gave us more insight into the characters. It felt comparable to hearing the thoughts of a reserved friend, and experiencing a stronger bond as a result – playing the games from now on will be an entirely new experience.

Just like the game, the book launches you straight into the action – blood, guts and all. The honest writing makes ‘Aspho Fields’ all the more captivating, as we form fierce attachments to those fighting this gruesome war. And alongside the carnage of combat, we have the undeniable undercurrent of camaraderie between the soldiers. Woven into the plot is a huge amount of tragedy, and Traviss writes it so flawlessly that you would have to be made of stone to get through it without your heart breaking a little. The constant juxtaposition of violence and affection makes gripping reading, leading us on a rollercoaster of emotions which seems never ending.

I recommend this book to those, who like me, are huge fans of the games; but also to anyone who enjoys an action-packed sci-fi thriller. It’s difficult to put a label on it – all I know is that it was an amazing read and I will definitely be re-reading in the near future.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Haha well this proves just how desperate I can get for listening materials at work. No surprises here. It was basically like watching the video game with extended cut scenes. The characters have the psychology of a ten year old playing army hahahaha.

I think the best part was when the outcasts, the "grubs" or whatever they were called... conscientious protestors, essentially, preferring to try and survive on their own rather than live with the "glorious" military regime the Gears think is so great, anyways, a truck is pretty much destroyed and they're starving, so they come to scavenge. And the Gears are disturbed, because their dead buddies are the truck, but they don't have time to retrieve them and they don't want the grubs pawing around near them. So they blow up the truck. And then the main character talks about how the day they stop caring about their dead is the day civilization has descended into savagery. AS THEY DENY - DESTROY - BASIC RESOURCES FROM STARVING PEOPLE. Oh dear god.

Also, probably would have been easier to buy into the macho patriotic bullshit if it was humanity vs the locus, but this story is all about the pendulum wars and how two countries fought over fuel resources.. and the exact same concepts of heroism and brotherhood blah blah blah apply to a pointless fuel war as much as the apparently noble war for the fate of humanity. So nothing redeeming anywhere.

It wasn't boring, though. So that's something. Just ridiculous.

[Terrible Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Deep down into the guts of the Gears universe'

Does the publishing world have much chance with a novel when adapting content from a video game? On the surface you would not think so, as despite the insistence by games developers that they include great stories in their games, they rarely do (let’s not includeMass Effectuniverse here). However, this has not stopped book shops now having a section dedicated to novels based on games and this includes Karen Traviss Aspho Fields, a novel set between the first and second games in the series, but also reflecting back on the Gears Universe before the Locust broke the surface.

For all intents and purposes Aspho should be an empty and vacuous novel similar to the meathead writing of the Gears games, but that is not the case. Aspho is a sensitive portrayal of friendship during combat, the hurt of loss and the futility of war. All heavy concepts, but all elements that Traviss seamlessly weaves into a tale about Marcus and Dom swearing and chainsawing aliens. There is certainly juxtaposition between the violent action and the sensitive portrayal of the men. It has to be Traviss’ perspective being brought into the series that makes it work as she really seems to deepen the characters that have always felt shallow to me, despite Epic Games trying over the years.

It is the ability to explore the internal monologue of the men and women fighting which raises the book above the game’s narrative. Whilst the second and third Gears games tried to explore heavy subject matter, as a gamer it all felt a little heavy handed and embarrassing. In Aspho it is done with far more sensitivity, without skimping on the grisly details the fans like. The story of how Dom loses his brother is a powerful one and explains to some degree why Dom and Marcus are like they are in the games. Aspho also fleshes out the world of Gears and gives you a better understanding of the relationship between the army and those that decide to stay stranded outside.

The more interesting paradox between Aspho and the Gears games is the writers ability to bring out characteristics between some of the main protagonists’ within the lore – Dom and Carlos Santiago growing up with Marcus Fenix and their parents. Marcus as a skinny teenager, what’s that about? No bull-necks here. In the game, as I've said, there is no real room for anything other than some meat-head love. It’s like walking into a gym, there’s the meat-heads on the weights and cardio on the other side. Aspho is basically full on cardio with a little meat-headness thrown in. Yes that’s a word!

There are issues with the book. I think non-fans of the games will struggle with some of the concepts as you rely on knowing some vehicles, people and places from the games, but why read a book like this? Some of the battles also go on a little long and drag. However, as a game tie in novel it is by far the best I have read to date, an impressive read with more heart than you may expect.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realized recently that I often open my reviews with, "Well...". This usually indicates I'd like you (and me to for that matter) to pause and reflect a moment.

This is obviously a military science fiction read. It's based on a computer/video game (which I've never played by the way). It has it's flaws but on the whole I think it deserves a 4 star rating....maybe not the highest 4 star rating, but a 4 star rating.

First unless you've played the game I doubt that the fact this is based on a game system and a story from a game will jump out at you. It tells a pretty good action yarn about some well set up characters.

We are looking at a story told from two perspectives, one in the past the other in the present. There was no problem with the back and forth the transitions were crisp and the stories were complimentary. I found my interest waning at times which isn't good.

You really don't want to be yawning in a novel that revolves around violence, mayhem, blood, gore and WAR. Still it didn't happen often and the problem with that seemed to ease up as the book went on (so either the story got more coherent or I got more interested).

We primarily follow 3 young men in one "wing" of the story and their relationship plays a big part in what's going on as we also look at other "Gears" and at the world/universe that is functioning here.

I think I'll probably follow this up and i can recommend it if you're looking for action, military, sci/fi military or whatever. It's well done and the game tie-in doesn't cause a problem.

Enjoy.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

As kids, the three of them were inseparable; as soldiers, they were torn apart. Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago fought alongside Dom’s elder brother Carlos at Aspho Fields in the epic battle that changed the course of the Pendulum Wars. There’s a new war to fight now, a war for mankind’s very survival. But while the last human stronghold on Sera braces itself for another onslaught from the Locust Horde, ghosts come back to haunt Marcus and Dom. For Marcus–decorated war hero, convicted traitor–the return of an old comrade threatens to dredge up an agonizing secret he’s sworn to keep.

I am a huge gears of war fan, I have played all the games and read the comics, and overall grew up with Marcus and Dom and Delta squad, they are real close friends, that's how they feel to me. I know the future of all these characters, but the books have always been a dark area for me till now, and it's funny as even though i know the future of these characters, im still in the dark to what will happen next with these books! Apart from this one, as this first book leads into the beginning of gears of war 2. But onto the book, it's perfectly written both in militaristic storytelling, and emotional development. All the characters sound and feel as they do in the games, i can just hear Marcus rough voice, and Cole trains "Boom Baby" as if i was playing the game. And with that comes the emotion, I don't cry at books, but this is honestly the closest I've ever gotten to crying, that's thanks in part to the writing and my connection to the characters over the years. Theres a ton of loss in gear of war, and each loss hits home, and this book is no different, no spoilers, but it almost got me. There's also a lot of time jumps between the current war with the locust horde, and the Pendulum war, when it was human vs human. And i loved that, as i have always been fascinated in the war before E Day. So to end this review, your probably thinking, "i haven't played the games, do i have to before reading this book" and to that i would asnwer with "No" you don't, this can be enjoyed as a stand alone, the writing is both inviting for old and new fans of the series, but also as a fan of the game series, i would really recommend you give them ago.

5/5 Stars Goodreads ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

100/100 GingerPoints 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[FernieReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just want to preface this by saying there is a huge (i repeat HUGE) nostalgia factor riding on this review so take what I say with that in mind. Also spoilers below (?) but the biggest foreshadowing of all is the fact that Carlos is not in the games lol.

Listen, it’s probably been like over 10 years since I read this book and woo boy does it HIT on reread. Especially if you’ve read the other books in the Traviss series and if you have more critical thinking skills to reflect on the themes because you are now older! Yay! This book has everything - comraderie, tragic deaths (ouch), Baird and Bernie hating each other, CRAZY lore drops (I just need to know who decided Anya’s lore, like what), Dom thinking about Maria (double ouch) and Adam Fenix being a bad dad but it feels good because we get to see him again in the Slab.

I also love Carlos, my sweet boy who is very not included in the games. He’s rash, hot-headed, and ultimately tried his luck too many times. Does he haunt the narrative? Eh, maybe in the books. But his death, at the very least, sure did a ringer on his brothers.

“Carlos wondered just what it would take to ever make [Marcus] weep.” - ah, you buddy, you.

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. First time I've ever read anything by Karen Traviss, but I've heard of her because of her Star Wars Republic Commando novels. She does a very good job writing scenes of battle and war, as well as the camaraderie between solders. I also very much liked the dialogue between the characters in this book, and she has really filled them out by what they say and how they act. In fact, I liked the "character building" parts of this novel much more than I liked the action.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aspho Fields by Karen Traviss - First book in the Gears of War series

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring reflective sad tense.

Medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes

3.75 Stars

I know/knew NOTHING about the franchise. I've NEVER played the video game, so...I had nothing for/against this story. The book stood by itself.

I've read a number of this author's work within the Star Wars genre, and loved her Republic Commando series (cut-short by Disney, unfortunately). Still bitter about that, to this day.

She drops us into this world...where a war is being fought, which seems...endless. The young naive, thinking their job as a Gear will be easy, and now, battle after battle, they know the job, they have a swagger, but they also know the complexities of what they have to do to win the battles, and to come home.

Through this entry point of the story, we learn about Dom (who's the main character of the story) and everyone's story revolves around his. His "brothers" and the leadership, and other Gears...are there building out the world. 

I had to look things up online, so that I could learn the enemy (Locusts) and the others involved in battle.

It gave me Starship Trooper type vibes, but also Halo and Mass Effect vibes (each story is different, but the similarities are also there).

This is the start of a trilogy, and I will definitely continue on with this story. Glad I picked it up.

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

Gears of War: Aspho Fields by Karen Traviss

★★★★☆ 4/5

As someone who would consider myself a casual Gears of War fan, Aspho Fields was exactly the kind of book I needed to get more out of the series. I’ve primarily experienced Gears through the games, so I knew Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, the COG, the Locust War, and the general history of Sera, but there were always pieces of their past that the games only hinted at.

That’s where Aspho Fields really shines.

The biggest strength of this novel is that it makes the history behind the characters feel personal rather than just being background lore.

The games give us the impression that Marcus and Dom have an incredibly complicated history together, but Aspho Fields actually lets us spend time with the younger versions of these characters and understand how their friendship developed. Seeing Marcus before he became the hardened soldier we know from the games was especially interesting. He’s still Marcus, but he’s younger, less emotionally closed off, and hasn’t completely become the Marcus Fenix we recognize.

And then there’s Dom.

Dom is probably the character who benefits the most from this book. If you only know him from the games, Aspho Fields gives you a much better understanding of the man underneath the soldier. His relationship with Marcus is one of the most important friendships in the series, and the book does a good job showing why these two would remain brothers-in-arms for so many years.

The novel also gives much more attention to Dom’s relationship with Maria, which adds an entirely different emotional dimension to his character.

Knowing where Dom’s story eventually goes makes some of these sections particularly painful.

One thing I really appreciated was how the book handles the Pendulum Wars. Before reading this, I mostly viewed the Pendulum Wars as “the war that happened before the Locust showed up.” Aspho Fields made me realize how important that conflict actually was to the people of Sera.

The Aspho Fields battle itself is particularly effective because it doesn’t feel like a generic military action sequence. It has consequences that continue affecting the characters years later. The novel constantly moves between the past and the aftermath of the Locust War, showing how old wounds and decisions continue to shape Marcus, Dom, Anya, and the other characters.

Anya Stroud was another pleasant surprise for me.

The games establish Anya as an important member of Delta Squad and the COG, but Aspho Fields gives her much more room to exist as a character. Her relationship with Marcus and Dom feels more developed here, and her personal connection to the Pendulum Wars helps explain why she understands the cost of the conflicts they’ve been fighting.

I also liked seeing the COG from a different perspective.

The games naturally focus on the soldiers. You’re running around with a Lancer, shooting Locust, fighting Berserkers, and trying not to get yourself killed. Aspho Fields spends more time showing what war actually does to people and how political decisions made years earlier can eventually lead to the situation we see in the games.

It makes Sera feel bigger.

That said, I wouldn’t say the book is perfect.

The biggest challenge for me was the structure. The story jumps between different periods in time, and while I eventually got used to it, there were moments where I had to remind myself exactly when the current section was taking place. For someone who primarily knows the franchise through the games, it can take a little while to get oriented.

The book is also considerably more interested in character relationships and military history than nonstop action. If you’re expecting Gears of War to be nothing but Chainsaw Lancers, Locust, explosions, and giant monsters, this isn’t really that kind of story.

And honestly, that’s probably a good thing.

Aspho Fields doesn’t try to simply recreate the games in novel form. Instead, it fills in the history that the games don’t have time to explore.

There are still plenty of military engagements, combat scenes, and moments that feel unmistakably Gears, but the quieter scenes are ultimately what stuck with me the most.

The book also made me appreciate the games differently.

Going back to Gears of War after reading this, Marcus and Dom’s friendship has considerably more weight. Their conversations aren’t just two soldiers joking around in the middle of a war. There is decades of shared history behind them.

And knowing what Dom has already lost makes his later storyline hit even harder.

That’s probably my biggest takeaway from Aspho Fields: it made characters I already knew feel more human.

Marcus isn’t just “the badass protagonist.”

Dom isn’t just “Marcus’s best friend.”

Anya isn’t just “the person giving you mission objectives.”

They’re people who have lived through years of war, lost friends and family, made mistakes, and continued fighting because there wasn’t really another choice.

For a casual Gears of War fan, I think that’s where this novel succeeds the most.

You don’t necessarily need to be someone who has memorized every piece of Gears lore to appreciate it. If you’ve played the games and wondered what Marcus and Dom were like before the events of the first game, what the Pendulum Wars were really like, or why these characters have such complicated relationships with the COG and each other, Aspho Fields gives you a lot of those answers.

It’s essentially a story about the people who existed before we met them.

And surprisingly, that’s what makes the Gears universe feel much bigger.

Final Rating: 4/5 ⭐

As a casual Gears of War fan, I really enjoyed this. It isn’t just supplementary lore thrown onto a game franchise. It actually adds emotional context to characters and events that I already cared about.

If you’ve played the original trilogy and want to understand Marcus, Dom, Anya, and the Pendulum Wars better, I’d definitely recommend giving Aspho Fields a chance.

It made me appreciate Gears of War more than I expected it to.

[Nocturne Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gears of War Aspho Fields is the first installment of the famous book series turned video game adaptation by Karen Traviss. I decided to FINALLY give this series a try as I'm a reader, but my husband is a Gears of War content creator. He's loved the games since he was in middle school, so it's nice to finally have some background information so we can discuss his passion PROPERLY. I'm also going to admit, I did not have high expectations for this book. BUT I WAS WRONG. I WAS IMMEDIATELY HOOKED FROM THE PROLOGUE GOING FORWARD. It really surprised me that the POV was from Dom and not Marcus, so that was an intriguing and different angle than what I'm used to right off the Lancer. Talk about grim dark, apocalyptic Sci-fi. This book just has so many LAYERS to it. And yes, you can say your books are a military based series til you're blue in the face, but you gotta back it up and make the reader FEEL like they are in the barracks with the characters. This DID THAT. There is action, monsters, heartbreak, romance, etc. This series is much more complex than I originally thought…5 ⭐ 

[Evan Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this is a good military novel the real joy comes from my love of the series and characters. Given that it is a prequel, the inevitability can be crushing for some characters yet invigorating for others as we are able to get a deeper emotional tie to beloved characters like Marcus, Dom, and most importantly Hoffman.

[Gwynbliedd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the Game Series so I really enjoyed this book. Plenty of parts hit me in the feels and it's cool getting more insight on some of the side characters and the earlier years of Marcus and Dom.

[Edvin Louhula · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

[Valentin Derevlean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un 3.5 decent pentru un roman de citit seara târziu înainte de somn. Military SF cu plusurile și minusurile de rigoare:

https://vderevlean.wordpress.com/2025...

[Mario Vilche · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a gears of wars gamer, I had to pick up the book. The book goes way deeper into the beginning of Dom and Marcus as well as Dom's brother and what happened to him.

[Vesselin Metodiev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly compelling.

[Beth M · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a 3 star book for me the first time I read it. At the time it had been a fun new view into the dark and broken world of a video game franchise that I loved (and still do). However, I'm a more mature reader now, and as such need more from my novels than surface level character development and lewd jokes.

I don't know what liberties Traviss had when writing for the Gears of War universe, but evidently writing from the POV of the series hero Marcus Fenix was not one of them. Instead, we are stuck in the heads of the people around him, all of whom range from childhood friends, to superior officers, and almost all of whom have a room temperature IQ and only two brain cells, both of which are in regular competition for 2nd place.

Most of the story puts us in the head of one of the two Santiago boys; Carlos and Dom. Both were Marcus’ childhood friends and “brothers” even though we never hear about Carlos in the games. Both were idiots. Both were insufferable, and I'm frankly glad they're both dead now. They irritated the hell out of me for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest being that I've never seen people claim to love someone and yet make next to no effort to understand them. From the first to their final pages on the book you'll read about how each of them “doesn't get” Marcus.

What's not to get? He's depressed and possesses the emotional vocabulary of a fucking doorstop. Mystery solved. We can all go home.

If it hadn't been bad enough to deal with Dom and Carlos throughout this, throwing in Hoffman felt like a personal slight. Trying to make Hoffman the typical everyman's soldier and portray him as a general who cares about his men, but who also left Marcus to die simply because he didn't like him, is a huge undertaking that I frankly don't believe the character deserves.

I think Epic Games started to come around and make him more human in the third Gears game, but to do so here in a book that is supposed to focus on Marcus’ childhood just threw the entire tone off for me. About the only person whose perspective I enjoyed was Bernie Mataki, and even she was a bit too cut and dry, hard tac, toe the line, “one of the boys” for me at times.

I get it. It's a hard world and it creates hard people. But more often than not every last one of them felt like caricatures of soldiers and not real people. Which is funny because the book's opening dedication is used to shame the reader for not reading about “real” heroes.

It's a video game, ma'am. Please calm down. You wrote this book for borderline children, after all.

Ultimately the book's “catch” is a red herring. We are made to believe that Marcus was keeping a secret about Carlos’ death from Dom, and the truth of it could destroy their friendship. What was that secret? That Carlos hadn't died a hero. He'd died by being stupid. Marcus’ lie was basically making sure Carlos and the rest of the Santiagos remembered their brother and son with pride. So. Yay?

We wrap up with Dom hopelessly pining for his missing wife, Maria, where he vows to find her alive no matter what. It is here that I'm sure everyone who played to the end of Gears of War 2 collectively winced, already knowing what was coming. (Google it, but prepare to be shattered.)

Due to all of this, I'm shaving a full star off my original review.

I will say that there were some good lore drops here, but I have to wonder if the release of E-Day later this year will retcon those and make this entire book moot.

[Margaret Fisk · Rating 4 out of 5]

You might have noticed that I have reviewed a number of books by Karen Traviss. I am forever grateful for the publisher early reader program that introduced me to her second book. She has led me on a merry chase, taking me far from the sociological science fiction that drew me in the first place, but never so far as this book, which I believe is the first video game book I have ever read.

I have not played Gears of War, and really have no intention of doing so. However, my younger son brought this book to me with not just the statement that the book itself, and those that follow, is worth reading, but that he could see her impact on the game itself. She is a master storyteller whether taking on her own worlds and the complex cultures she built within them, or working within another universe not of her making.

Aspho Fields drops us onto a colony in the midst of outright failure. What had been successful and thriving was first torn apart by a war of human making, and then devastated by monsters from below. I’m guessing that’s the basis of the game, but in the book, Traviss makes it much less simple.

If you’re only interested in a straightforward narrative, you might find this book a little difficult. No character comes to the page with a blank slate, no good character at least, but Aspho Fields take this challenge on with an interlaced narrative that shows both who these characters have become, and why. While flashbacks can be annoying to say the least, this is more a multiple time-stream novel than one using flashbacks. You learn only so much as you need to know to continue forward, and if anything, the tension in the present grows as the past reveals itself.

One of the aspects I found fascinating was not even the story of the main characters, Dom and Marcus. It’s Hoffman who offers the most complex look at the war itself. He’s a career soldier, a man more comfortable on the field than behind a desk giving orders. Where you’d expect him to have a simple “us against them” outlook, instead he finds himself questioning the concept of enemy.

That is only a glimpse of this book. I hesitate to say more because with the interwoven narrative it can be hard to piece out what’s a spoiler and what is not. What I will say is this: don’t let the video game promotion on the front cover keep you from trying this book. And according to my son, if you’ve played the game, don’t expect the book to be as straightforward as the game. Traviss is a talented author, and she shows that talent in whatever venues she pursues. This novel is no different, and despite my overloaded bookshelves, I plan to read the rest of the series.

[Jacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off I don’t play computer games, especially war games, and I don’t read military SF... except for maybe Tanya Huff and Karen Traviss. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I love Traviss’ Star Wars Republic Commando books I would never have looked at this twice let alone picked it up... and if that had been the case I would have missed out because this book is good. It’s hard to compare because – as I say – I don’t have much Mil-SF in my reading repertoire to compare it with, but as a book about believable characters in extreme circumstances, coming to terms with the pain that life has thrown at them in the past and is still throwing at them in the present, this works really well. I’m not gushing; though it’s by no means slow to start the action it took me fifty or so pages to really get into this – possibly because I must be one of the few people on the planet who had no clue what Gears of War was about. (It took me a while to work out that a ‘gear’ was a soldier of the COG, Coalition of Ordered Governments, you’d thing a cog would be part of a gear, not the other way round, but...) But once I got into the pattern of this book and began to understand some of the world background it all fell into place. It’s a pair of stories, one set in the book’s present and the other in its past. The present story tells of humankind’s fight for survival against an alien menace which has emerged from beneath the surface of their planet to destroy most of the population and reduce cities to rubble. The backstory is of three boys growing to be men and soldiers during the last few years of an eighty year war between human factions (pre alien menace) culminating in the Battle of Aspho Fields and the death of one of the trio. It’s about secrets untold and words never said and the damage they can do which runs as deep as bullets. Traviss has a knack or putting a human face on war. You can tell in every line that she has deep respect for the men and women on the front line everywhere, in fact and in fiction, and she knows what she’s talking about. (It’s obvious she does from her bio.) The characters are, if not always likeable, compelling and – yes – I cared what happened to them, and what will happen to them, for though this book has a satisfying conclusion, Traviss has wisely not wrapped up all the loose threads. There are plenty more untold secrets out there, people left behind who still need to be retrieved, and a new threat developing for the ragtag bag of resource-depleted humans.

This book says it’s the prequel to the award winning video game. Hopefully there’s room for at least another prequel and possibly more. I’ll be watching out for them.

[Adam Bogert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hesitant to read the Gears of War books for several reasons, not the least of which being I found the story of the first two games rather lacking, filled with characters that were quirky at best and forgettable at worst. Yet Gears 3 managed to reverse all my opinions about the franchise, delivering a memorable story (which I've played half a dozen times) and leaving me wanting more. And so I took the plunge.

It's worth noting that Karen Traviss, author of the novelizations -- Aspho Fields in particular -- was also the writer of the third game; as such my faith in the potential of the book was higher than it might otherwise have been. Happily, that faith was not ill-placed. Traviss delivers.

In a universe often lambasted for meatheaded characters with no personality and an even dumber enemy, I was surprised, shocked even, to discover a story I actually cared about. In fact over the few days it took me to finish the book I found myself almost disappointed when a friend would ask me to play the game. Chainsawing grubs was all well and good, but I wanted to know what was going on with Carlos and Marcus. I relished the rivalry between Baird and Bernie.

Despite my best attempts not to care about this book, I did. I found myself occasionally laughing out loud, only to become slackjawed two pages later. At one point I quite literally teared up. Jane Austen this is not, but make no mistake: there is indeed an emotional punch behind Traviss' words. She gives such depth and nuance to those I'd previously read as glorified dumb jocks, ensuring that those who read Aspho Fields will have their perception of the Gears universe irrevocably altered. In my case, that change is mere appreciation; she has taken the huge potential of Sera's conflicts and hewn it into something worth experiencing even if the violence of the games isn't your cup of tea.

When it comes to franchise tie-ins I suppose an author has two goals. First, the one she shares with every writer, to tell a story worth telling, and telling it well. Second, less glamorously, she must write something that will sell well, that can appeal to a wide range and keep both those who wouldn't read but love games, and those who don't care much for games but love reading, interested in what she has to say. In these goals she performs fantastically. I recommend reading Aspho Fields even if you've never played a Gears game. It's a little bloody, a little crass, but it's a good war story through and through. As for myself, I'm already ordering the rest of Traviss' novels. This was that good.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

So pretty much the only reason I want to read these is because I love Gears of War, I do have both the Gears and Locust symbols tattooed on me, so that's all the proof you need. I won't sit here and describe the games to you, but I will say the even the game itself had a really great storyline and as it continued into a trilogy of games it became an absolutely epic story. It is so good and I would think it'd make a great movie but at the same time it could end up being something really corny with aliens fighting humans, but the great story from the games provides enough reason for reading this book. I think a person haven't never played the games would get quite an entirely different experience when reading Aspho Fields because they don't have the knowledge of the games to pick up on things, know the multitude of characters, and even what these locations look like. I would be interested to hear the opinion of someone who hasn't played them, but it seems that it's fairly well reviewed book and has obviously becomes a series of five currently. I love the character depth they add to Marcus Fenix and how he always was and will be the ultimate bad ass, Dom as well. Dom was the deepest character in the games as Marcus' best friend and a man who has truly suffered all of the worst in the new future. You really get an understanding for how all of that came about as this game takes place over a decade before E-Day which is when the Locust invaded and where the simultaneous present storyline happens alongside it. I could see how it would be confusing at some points as it did do so to me on occasion when reading but overall I enjoyed the book because it added to the plot of the games. I am sure that if there are five books already it must be somewhat good, so I will definitely continue reading. If you like military or action type books, with a small bit of science fiction maybe because the Locust aren't in this book all that much but a few times it seemed.

Originally posted at sixthreezy at the movies & more!