Planescape: Torment

Planescape Novels

by Ray Vallese, Valerie Vallese

An eternal war

The endless Blood War rages, a never-ending battle between the fiends of the planes. Amid this horrific conflict, a single hero with no memory of his past seeks to discover his true identity.

Of course, this being the planes, his companions on his quest are ... unusual. But if you can't trust a floating skull, an eccentric investor, and a succubus, who can you trust?

Practically no one.

Based on the best-selling computer game from Interplay.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, Video Games, Philosophy, Gaming

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Ivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I completed it in less than a day but that is because I relayed PLanescape: Torment more than few times and I can skim through most book.

If would need to pinpoint one piece of fiction that affected my tastes the most that would be Planescape:Torment. This Black isles classic is still one of the best game I played but more importantly it introduced me to grimdark and antiheroes. It's the biggest reason I gotten into books because at the time I couldn't find similar type of story in videogames so I seeked out other mediums. It's unnecessary to say I had huge expectation for this adaptation but in the end I didn't like it at all.

Problem is that in conversion to book game lost it's soul. Main feature in PS:T are choices and consequences.Want to be good guy and undo damage you caused? Sure.Want to be evil bastard and sell people loyal to you into slavery? Why not? You think extremes are dangerous and want to in some shades between them? No problem. Be what you want and see how it reflects on game world. Without that PS:T is just a story.

One big piece of game's soul where tons of NPC's who are irelevant to story or any side quest but they offer interesting dialogues as reward for exploring every nook and cranny.They had to be cut out of a book removing one of games more interesting features.

And now we come to one of biggest sin's of this book.We find out protagonist's name.Blasphemy!!! How can I ever call him Nameless one now? Ok that is simple, I will pretend I never read that.

If you are interested in this story play the game and avoid this book.If you played this game replay it and avoid this book.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is far better than the ratings suggest, and for anyone first hearing about it now, you may be unaware as to why. This is a novelization of one of the most well-loved and sprawling computer RPGs of the 90s. It is absolutely massive, taking around 100 hours for story completion. Understand all that. Good. Now go look at the page count. 256. It's no wonder that the the book has bad ratings, as its core fanbase must have loathed it for the 90+ hours of the game that did not make it into the book.

However, coming at it with fresh eyes as a fan of the DnD campaign setting, Planescape, but having not played the crpg, I found it to be a very good read. The prose is much better than is to be expected for DnD novels, and just fairly good in general. The characters are good, if a bit cliche, and the plot, while clearly rushed in some parts is still very satisfying. I especially enjoyed the atmosphere of the novel. Separating the novel from its source material, I give it a solid 4 stars, and it's one of the few books I'd be willing to reread.

[Andrew Bylicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book follows the plot of the Planescape: Torment computer game by Black Isle Studios. However, it introduces key changes to characters and plot points which make it diverge into new and interesting directions. The relationship between the game and the book is similar to the relationship between Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Blade Runner (the movie). Theoretically, the same story and characters, but a different, refreshing take. If at all possible, the highly vivid language of the book makes the world of Planescape even more disturbing. Well done!

[Lorewarden]

This was a satisfying read. It's the novelization of the 1999 computer game of the same name, and while I've never played the game so can't comment on how closely it represents the original story, I can say that it's an enjoyable read. Novelizations of games can be hard, and can quickly turn into prose extrapolations of quest objectives, but the authors do a good job writing a cohesive dark and twisty Planescape novel that stands on its own merits.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a soulless adaptation that loses the charm and writing of the game.

[Jon Ridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the three thousand pages behemoth of adaptation, not this one. This one is just some dialogues and minimum narration from the game. The one I read is a full on novelization with added intervals and it really is... just good. Too many "gamey" parts. It's supposed to be a novel, not a written game. Still a nice alternative if you can't be bothered with the game (which I played and it is amazing).

[Fyrrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you played Torment and loved it, please don't touch this book.
The writing is bad, the characters are different (what happened to their personalities?), the only thing that wasn't that bad was the ending and the reason why Thane (yes, the Nameless One had a NAME) became immortal.
Oh and I forgot to mention it, but the book is shallow, very, very shallow. No comparision to the game.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The computer game was much better. I had played through it multiple times and had already ingrained certain aspects of the character in my mind, so to read an interpretation from somebody else was a little difficult.

[Voressima]

Book of the game. One has to read *something* on a plane, right? Wasn't half bad, either :)

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but the ending is kind of unfulfilling.