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God of War #1
God of War
A brutal warrior, Kratos is a slave to the gods of Olympus. Plagued by the nightmares of his past and yearning for freedom, the Ghost of Sparta would do anything to be free of his debt to the gods. He is on the verge of losing all hope when the gods give him one last task to end his servitude.
He must destroy Ares, the god of war.
But what chance does a mere mortal have against a god? Armed with the deadly chained Blades of Chaos, guided by the goddess Athena, and driven by his own insatiable thirst for vengeance, Kratos seeks the only relic powerful enough to slay Ares—a quest that will take him deep into the mysterious temple borne by the Titan Cronos!
From the black depths of Hades to the war-torn city of Athens to the lost desert beyond, God of War sheds a brutal new light on the bestselling video game and on the legend of Kratos.
He must destroy Ares, the god of war.
But what chance does a mere mortal have against a god? Armed with the deadly chained Blades of Chaos, guided by the goddess Athena, and driven by his own insatiable thirst for vengeance, Kratos seeks the only relic powerful enough to slay Ares—a quest that will take him deep into the mysterious temple borne by the Titan Cronos!
From the black depths of Hades to the war-torn city of Athens to the lost desert beyond, God of War sheds a brutal new light on the bestselling video game and on the legend of Kratos.
Audiobook
First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
Matthew Woodring Stover
51 books1,002 followersMatthew Woodring Stover is an American fantasy and science fiction author. He is perhaps best known for his Star Wars novels -- Traitor, Shatterpoint, Revenge of the Sith and Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor. He has also published several pieces of original work, such as Heroes Die, which Stover described as 'a piece of violent entertainment that is a meditation on violent entertainment'. Stover's work often emphasises moral ambiguity, psychological verisimilitude and bursts of intense violence.
Stover is deeply interested in various forms of martial arts, having trained in the Degerberg Blend, a concept that utilises the thought behind Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do as its foundation.
Stover is deeply interested in various forms of martial arts, having trained in the Degerberg Blend, a concept that utilises the thought behind Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do as its foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
January 6, 2016
Quite entertained!!!
A NEW KIND OF GREEK CHAMPION
Maybe I am one of the few or maybe the only one who read this novel without having played the video game whose is based this novelization.
My good "ol' days" of video gaming ended in Playstation 1, but I like to keep around of video games' world, hearing from some of my friends that they are still in the exciting world of video gaming.
I chose to read it since a good friend is a huge fan of this video game and of the character of Kratos, so when I found out about the novelizations, I thought that it was a good idea to read them.
I liked a lot, since it's a fresh take on the Greek mythology and certainly the lead character of Kratos is very different from the usual lead characters that I have read before.
He is not a hero, he is an anti-hero, and by so, he will act in many time along the story in a way that you may not expected.
However, I liked a lot the character since I think that it's not so hard to plot a story around a character that he/she is of good nature and noble motivations, however when he/she is arrogant, despective for other people and with a very dark feeling of vengeance in his/her soul.
I think that it becomes a kinda tricky that the reader can feel appealed to follow that kind of character, but that's part of what makes different this kind of "Greek" champion.
I liked the kind of character that Kratos is, since he is a truly tragic hero whose action can be questionable, but you have to take in account his whole life to be able to judge him.
If you like Greek mythology stories, with some twists, not matter if you played or not the video games, this book is a good option.
A NEW KIND OF GREEK CHAMPION
Maybe I am one of the few or maybe the only one who read this novel without having played the video game whose is based this novelization.
My good "ol' days" of video gaming ended in Playstation 1, but I like to keep around of video games' world, hearing from some of my friends that they are still in the exciting world of video gaming.
I chose to read it since a good friend is a huge fan of this video game and of the character of Kratos, so when I found out about the novelizations, I thought that it was a good idea to read them.
I liked a lot, since it's a fresh take on the Greek mythology and certainly the lead character of Kratos is very different from the usual lead characters that I have read before.
He is not a hero, he is an anti-hero, and by so, he will act in many time along the story in a way that you may not expected.
However, I liked a lot the character since I think that it's not so hard to plot a story around a character that he/she is of good nature and noble motivations, however when he/she is arrogant, despective for other people and with a very dark feeling of vengeance in his/her soul.
I think that it becomes a kinda tricky that the reader can feel appealed to follow that kind of character, but that's part of what makes different this kind of "Greek" champion.
I liked the kind of character that Kratos is, since he is a truly tragic hero whose action can be questionable, but you have to take in account his whole life to be able to judge him.
If you like Greek mythology stories, with some twists, not matter if you played or not the video games, this book is a good option.
November 12, 2019
I'm a huge fan of Matthew Woodring Stover and that basically sums up why I took on this book.
I mean, I played GoW one and two back in the day and I have very fond memories, but it's not particularly DEEP, you know? Oversexed, overviolent goodies. If you love slaughter, you'll love those games. It doesn't hurt that the Greek Pantheon is being its usual nasty self.
So what about this book? Is it something different than the games?
Nope. It's pretty much all the fights and pathos from the game but done in novelization form. That means I can enjoy the nutty craziness in another format and have it all laid out for me in a single sitting.
Do you LOVE bloodshed? Do you love tons of monsters getting eviscerated and s**t stained talons rending flesh? Hello! Do you love climbing the backs of titans and taking on Ares in a one-to-one combat? Hello! Do you love going completely Over-The-Top in violence and rage and regret and bloodlust?
HELLO! This book is for you. You don't even really need to know the games. Just enjoy a fun romp through the hellscape of Greek literature twisted into Pure Action Goodness. :)
I mean, I played GoW one and two back in the day and I have very fond memories, but it's not particularly DEEP, you know? Oversexed, overviolent goodies. If you love slaughter, you'll love those games. It doesn't hurt that the Greek Pantheon is being its usual nasty self.
So what about this book? Is it something different than the games?
Nope. It's pretty much all the fights and pathos from the game but done in novelization form. That means I can enjoy the nutty craziness in another format and have it all laid out for me in a single sitting.
Do you LOVE bloodshed? Do you love tons of monsters getting eviscerated and s**t stained talons rending flesh? Hello! Do you love climbing the backs of titans and taking on Ares in a one-to-one combat? Hello! Do you love going completely Over-The-Top in violence and rage and regret and bloodlust?
HELLO! This book is for you. You don't even really need to know the games. Just enjoy a fun romp through the hellscape of Greek literature twisted into Pure Action Goodness. :)
August 1, 2019
امتیازم به کتاب خدای جنگ ۲.۸ است.
از روی علاقهی بسیاری که از نوجوانی به بازیهای خدای جنگ داشتم و با آگاهی به اینکه رمان این مجموعه هم از روی بازیش ساخته شده شروع به خواندن کتاب کردم و انتظاراتم بسیار بیشتر بود.
کتاب خدای جنگ کتابی با داستانی خشن از کریتوس جنگجوی اسپارت است که به دنبال انتقام خودش از اریس خدای جنگ است.
مشکل بزرگ کتاب ساختش از روی بازی است. بیشتر صحنههای کتاب در حدی که میشود گفت نود درصد کتاب شامل مبارزات کریتوس با انواع اقسام هیولاها و موجودات مختلف است. در ابتدا این مبارزهها جذاب و خواندنی هستند اما با گذشت زمان تکراری و فوقالعاده کسلکننده میشوند. دیالوگهای بین خدایان مانند اتنا و زئوس و جاهطلبیهای اریس بسیار جذاب است اما باز هم نمیتواند نوع روایت جنگی کتاب را از حالت یکنواختی بیرون بیاورد.
کریتوس قهرمان داستان فردی بسیار خشن و قدرتمند است که به معنای واقعی لغت هیچچیز برایش چالش به حساب نمیآید. خواننده بدون نگرانی و استرس کریتوس و کشتار او را دنبال میکند و اگاه از اینکه کریتوس همواره پیروز است.
اگر کتاب را با الهام از داستان میساختند نتیجه به مراتب قویتر میشد اما از کتابی که تلاش میکند گیمپلی را در قالب صحنه به خواننده ارائه دهد انتظار بیشتری نیز نمیشد داشت. کتاب در صورتی به شما توصیه میشود که عاشق این آیپی باشید در غیر این صورت رمانهای قویتری با محوریت خدایان یونان باستان وجود دارد که میتوانید از آنها لذت ببرید.
از روی علاقهی بسیاری که از نوجوانی به بازیهای خدای جنگ داشتم و با آگاهی به اینکه رمان این مجموعه هم از روی بازیش ساخته شده شروع به خواندن کتاب کردم و انتظاراتم بسیار بیشتر بود.
کتاب خدای جنگ کتابی با داستانی خشن از کریتوس جنگجوی اسپارت است که به دنبال انتقام خودش از اریس خدای جنگ است.
مشکل بزرگ کتاب ساختش از روی بازی است. بیشتر صحنههای کتاب در حدی که میشود گفت نود درصد کتاب شامل مبارزات کریتوس با انواع اقسام هیولاها و موجودات مختلف است. در ابتدا این مبارزهها جذاب و خواندنی هستند اما با گذشت زمان تکراری و فوقالعاده کسلکننده میشوند. دیالوگهای بین خدایان مانند اتنا و زئوس و جاهطلبیهای اریس بسیار جذاب است اما باز هم نمیتواند نوع روایت جنگی کتاب را از حالت یکنواختی بیرون بیاورد.
کریتوس قهرمان داستان فردی بسیار خشن و قدرتمند است که به معنای واقعی لغت هیچچیز برایش چالش به حساب نمیآید. خواننده بدون نگرانی و استرس کریتوس و کشتار او را دنبال میکند و اگاه از اینکه کریتوس همواره پیروز است.
اگر کتاب را با الهام از داستان میساختند نتیجه به مراتب قویتر میشد اما از کتابی که تلاش میکند گیمپلی را در قالب صحنه به خواننده ارائه دهد انتظار بیشتری نیز نمیشد داشت. کتاب در صورتی به شما توصیه میشود که عاشق این آیپی باشید در غیر این صورت رمانهای قویتری با محوریت خدایان یونان باستان وجود دارد که میتوانید از آنها لذت ببرید.
November 22, 2013
As a huge video game player and fan of the God of War series I was really looking forward to the latest adaption of the game by Matthew Stover. However, after a few chapters in I realized that I was not going to get what I was hoping for.
All of the players are accounted for. We have Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, and Athena as well as a few other gods. We also have the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos, our hero. with all of the Dramatis Personae accounted for this should be one rocking adaptation of God of War. However, it falls flat. All of the personalities are as they are represented in mythology (for the most part) and in the game. but they never go beyond what we have seen in the video games. A book is always far better than the movie, or in this case the game and this is the first time that it has not been true.
The setting is Ancient Greece during the height of the Greek gods rein. Ares is no longer content with the status quo on Mt. Olympus and has started to stir things up and cause trouble for his sister Athena and his father Zeus. This altercation draws in the other gods as each side attempts to garner support for the others downfall. A degree by Zeus that no god may slay another god brings Kratos front and center as he will be Athena's secret weapon and ultimately Ares' downfall.
The story is, as far as I can recall from playing the original game just that, the original God of War. There are no deleted scenes or additional elements to improve the plot. If you have played the game and made it to the end, then you have read God of War. The journey that Vardeman takes you on is boring as we have been there, seen it, and bought the t-shirt. The entire book reads as if someone started playing the game and then just wrote down the dialogue and rehashed what was happening on the screen. The reason I have to say that Vardeman has taken us on the journey is because it reads nothing like all of the Stover novels I have read in the past. Stover always has great characters, narration, and action sequences. This book did not. The opening sequence does draw the reader in which leads me to believe that it may have been written by Stover. But once you get past the opening scene you are bogged down until the last page. By the time I reached the end, it was painful.
While not a die-hard fan of the God of War franchise, I am a huge fan. Even with that background behind me the novelization of God of War was unbearable. I was reading what I had already played years ago. With Kratos well-known to gamers they had a lot of ways to take the character and the authors never bothered to do it. Instead we find ourselves reading something we have already seen and experienced. I am not even sure if someone who was not familiar with the series would enjoy this book as the action sequences are sub-par. Kratos is one of the most violent and action worthy video game protagonists and in this book he could not keep my interest. This book is a disgrace to the franchise. Unless you are dying to read a book based on the God of War series I recommend staying far away from this one. This has to be the worst book I have read this year and may even be one for the record books.
All of the players are accounted for. We have Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, and Athena as well as a few other gods. We also have the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos, our hero. with all of the Dramatis Personae accounted for this should be one rocking adaptation of God of War. However, it falls flat. All of the personalities are as they are represented in mythology (for the most part) and in the game. but they never go beyond what we have seen in the video games. A book is always far better than the movie, or in this case the game and this is the first time that it has not been true.
The setting is Ancient Greece during the height of the Greek gods rein. Ares is no longer content with the status quo on Mt. Olympus and has started to stir things up and cause trouble for his sister Athena and his father Zeus. This altercation draws in the other gods as each side attempts to garner support for the others downfall. A degree by Zeus that no god may slay another god brings Kratos front and center as he will be Athena's secret weapon and ultimately Ares' downfall.
The story is, as far as I can recall from playing the original game just that, the original God of War. There are no deleted scenes or additional elements to improve the plot. If you have played the game and made it to the end, then you have read God of War. The journey that Vardeman takes you on is boring as we have been there, seen it, and bought the t-shirt. The entire book reads as if someone started playing the game and then just wrote down the dialogue and rehashed what was happening on the screen. The reason I have to say that Vardeman has taken us on the journey is because it reads nothing like all of the Stover novels I have read in the past. Stover always has great characters, narration, and action sequences. This book did not. The opening sequence does draw the reader in which leads me to believe that it may have been written by Stover. But once you get past the opening scene you are bogged down until the last page. By the time I reached the end, it was painful.
While not a die-hard fan of the God of War franchise, I am a huge fan. Even with that background behind me the novelization of God of War was unbearable. I was reading what I had already played years ago. With Kratos well-known to gamers they had a lot of ways to take the character and the authors never bothered to do it. Instead we find ourselves reading something we have already seen and experienced. I am not even sure if someone who was not familiar with the series would enjoy this book as the action sequences are sub-par. Kratos is one of the most violent and action worthy video game protagonists and in this book he could not keep my interest. This book is a disgrace to the franchise. Unless you are dying to read a book based on the God of War series I recommend staying far away from this one. This has to be the worst book I have read this year and may even be one for the record books.
March 27, 2015
Maybe I need to start a shelf called "based on video games". I've read a few books that were based or inspired by video games. This one left me rather, meah.
I suppose it's not that it's a bad book or even that's it's not particularly well written. It's just as I said...meah.
In short with any "spoilers" (spoilers would be hard to come by anyway if you're familiar with the game) the book is an ultimately circular experience which follows the experience of the game. I'v4e side stepped the game as it didn't really seem one I wanted to play. My son and a few of his friends are still big into games and got this "back when" it came out.
So, blah experience for me, maybe some of you will like it better. Try it yourself if you loved the game or think a literary version of said game would be interesting. As for me??? Yeah, you got it.
I suppose it's not that it's a bad book or even that's it's not particularly well written. It's just as I said...meah.
In short with any "spoilers" (spoilers would be hard to come by anyway if you're familiar with the game) the book is an ultimately circular experience which follows the experience of the game. I'v4e side stepped the game as it didn't really seem one I wanted to play. My son and a few of his friends are still big into games and got this "back when" it came out.
So, blah experience for me, maybe some of you will like it better. Try it yourself if you loved the game or think a literary version of said game would be interesting. As for me??? Yeah, you got it.
August 23, 2012
I knew that movie to book adaptations were bad, but games are hardly any better. The author was even so kind so as to include practically every single battle scene and enemy encounter that could have been found in the original game itself. Thank you for making exciting battles insanely boring.
I really wanted to like the book because I'm a fan of novels relating to Ancient Greek-mythology and an author's unique spin of a somewhat old concept into his new world. All the major Gods; Poseidon, Zeus, Athena...etc, they're all found within the pages of this novel. Combine that with epic battles, legendary weapons and the undead, and this book should have been AWESOME. Somehow, the author made complete badasses and amazing mythology seem as boring and dreary as having to sit through a droning history class in the afternoon...with a full stomach.
If you really want to know how this book reads like, picture an annoying younger brother or cousin who gives you the play by play of his favorite game, one that you're remotely interested in but have never actually played. Imagine him doing that for 300 pages worth of words, detailing every encounter, every battle, every swing of his enchanted blades and then you'll know the sheer level of determination and grit it took me to get through this book, because I just had to know how it ended. After all this is one of the more popular games around. It's definitely cool to play, but not worth reading about. I was just hoping it was a slow start and got better toward the middle but I was wrong.
Avoid this book like the plague and just play the game instead. It's the same thing but without the boredom factor.
Scores:
Cover: 3
Characters: 2
Story: 2
Overall: 2/10 (1 Star)
I really wanted to like the book because I'm a fan of novels relating to Ancient Greek-mythology and an author's unique spin of a somewhat old concept into his new world. All the major Gods; Poseidon, Zeus, Athena...etc, they're all found within the pages of this novel. Combine that with epic battles, legendary weapons and the undead, and this book should have been AWESOME. Somehow, the author made complete badasses and amazing mythology seem as boring and dreary as having to sit through a droning history class in the afternoon...with a full stomach.
If you really want to know how this book reads like, picture an annoying younger brother or cousin who gives you the play by play of his favorite game, one that you're remotely interested in but have never actually played. Imagine him doing that for 300 pages worth of words, detailing every encounter, every battle, every swing of his enchanted blades and then you'll know the sheer level of determination and grit it took me to get through this book, because I just had to know how it ended. After all this is one of the more popular games around. It's definitely cool to play, but not worth reading about. I was just hoping it was a slow start and got better toward the middle but I was wrong.
Avoid this book like the plague and just play the game instead. It's the same thing but without the boredom factor.
Scores:
Cover: 3
Characters: 2
Story: 2
Overall: 2/10 (1 Star)
October 7, 2016
O livro é claramente voltado para quem jogou God of War e quer relembrar os bons tempos do PS2. Mesmo já sabendo o que esperar, a história é repetitiva -- Kratos, o Fantasma de Esparta, mata tudo o que aparece pelo seu caminho enquanto os deuses se preocupam com as próprias intrigas e procuram um modo de manipular o espartano. O enredo aos poucos revela o passado de Kratos e as verdadeiras intenções do panteão. Pra quem já experimentou o game, nenhuma surpresa.
Não gostei muito dos diálogos nem das inúmeras lutas que arrastam demais a leitura, apesar de já esperar por isso.
Quanto à edição brasileira, dou uma estrela. O livro, segundo a ficha técnica, teve tradução, preparação de texto, revisão e revisão da tradução. Mesmo assim, erros idiotas assolam as páginas -- frases mal construídas, erros de concordância e até passagens que não fazem nenhum sentido. Apesar dessa ficha técnica, parece que ninguém se deu ao trabalho de ler o manuscrito, porque qualquer leitura rasa pegaria essas falhas.
Além disso, a má fé desse subtítulo foi uma sacanagem do cacete, induzindo o leitor a achar que a história surgiu do livro, sendo que o romance foi baseado no jogo.
Não gostei muito dos diálogos nem das inúmeras lutas que arrastam demais a leitura, apesar de já esperar por isso.
Quanto à edição brasileira, dou uma estrela. O livro, segundo a ficha técnica, teve tradução, preparação de texto, revisão e revisão da tradução. Mesmo assim, erros idiotas assolam as páginas -- frases mal construídas, erros de concordância e até passagens que não fazem nenhum sentido. Apesar dessa ficha técnica, parece que ninguém se deu ao trabalho de ler o manuscrito, porque qualquer leitura rasa pegaria essas falhas.
Além disso, a má fé desse subtítulo foi uma sacanagem do cacete, induzindo o leitor a achar que a história surgiu do livro, sendo que o romance foi baseado no jogo.
December 31, 2022
What a great book to end 2022! I started playing GoW lately and this novel captures the mood perfectly :)
January 22, 2015
I'm a huge GoW fan, and that's why I picked this book up. The game was insanely fun, and since I'm a huge greek mythology nerd, I was expecting to absolutely love this book.
I couldn't be more wrong.
Reading it was a pain. I can't leave a book unfinished so I had to power through pages of endless, repetitive, over descriptive scenes of Kratos either killing, beheading, impaling or whatever more he could do to all the enemies. The ammount of carnage is way too much for a single book; in a videogame it has a purpose but in a book, two or three hardcore fight scenes are enough.
One thing I enjoyed were the little parts with the olympian gods, which were a nice addition to the whole story but as soon as they were finished I was back to reading words and words about how Kratos killed a cyclops or a minotaur or something.
And to add to all the repetitive narrative, the writing itself was also very repetitive, with the author using the same expressions throughout the book over and over again, but I'll give it the benefit of doubt because I read the portuguese translation, and that might be the motive.
Overall, this wasn't a pleasant experience.
Also I love the Medusa and her scene was too ridiculous for words.
I couldn't be more wrong.
Reading it was a pain. I can't leave a book unfinished so I had to power through pages of endless, repetitive, over descriptive scenes of Kratos either killing, beheading, impaling or whatever more he could do to all the enemies. The ammount of carnage is way too much for a single book; in a videogame it has a purpose but in a book, two or three hardcore fight scenes are enough.
One thing I enjoyed were the little parts with the olympian gods, which were a nice addition to the whole story but as soon as they were finished I was back to reading words and words about how Kratos killed a cyclops or a minotaur or something.
And to add to all the repetitive narrative, the writing itself was also very repetitive, with the author using the same expressions throughout the book over and over again, but I'll give it the benefit of doubt because I read the portuguese translation, and that might be the motive.
Overall, this wasn't a pleasant experience.
Also I love the Medusa and her scene was too ridiculous for words.
November 2, 2020
فراتر از انتظارم ظاهر شد .
ویدیو گیم یک فرمت و رمان ها یک فرمت دارند و تبدیل هر یک از این دو به دیگری نتیجه ی مطلوبی نداره .و یکی از دلایل این نتیجه ی نامطلوب در رمان بازی ها پیاده سازی مو به موی محتوای بازی در قالب کتاب هست .
رمان خدای جنگ داستان مستقل از بازی را روایت نمیکند ولی با اینکه شاهد روایت همان داستان و همان مسیری هستیم که در بازی طی میشود اما درگیر بخش هایی از گیم پلی عنوان که به فرمت محتوای نوشتاری و کتاب نمیخورد نمیشویم و این خوب هست
اگر بر اساس رمان بازی هایی که خوندم بخوام بگم نه مستقل بودن عنوان دد اسپیس را دارد (که در مورد دد اسپیس این استقلال نتیجه ی خوبی نداشت و با عنوان خوبی روبرو نبودیم) و نه روایت مو به موی برخورد با تک تک ان پی سی ها همچون الن ویک و رزیدنت اویل (که باز هم هیچ کدوم این عنوان ها بخاطر روایت مو به موی بازی خوب نبودند) و نه اون روایت شاهکار داستان بازی با همان مسیر اما کاملا در فرمت رمان بدون وارد کردن تمام بخش های مربوط به گیم پلی در کتاب متالگیر (این مورد عالی پیاده سازی شده) و نه روایت جز به جز داستان و حتی ساید میشن ها در عنوانی مانند اساسین کرید(که کسل کننده هست) رو در این عنوان شاهد نیستیم. در گاد اف وار هم محتوای اضافه ی داستانی را داریم که شرایط روایتش در بازی مهیا نبوده و هم حس و حال خود بازی را با فضاسازی خشونت هو اوضاع روانی احساسی کریتوس .
روایت مبارزه ها ی بازی همانند عناوینی که در این مورد بالا مثال زدم زیاد نیست و به داستان و کتاب بودن نمیچربه اما هنوز وجود داره یا این حال در سایه ی حس خوب مکالمات بین المپیوس نشین ها و کارکتر ها و تفکرات کریتوس قرار میگیره و فرمت کتاب بودن رو خراب نمیکنه .
به صورت کلی خط سیر داستان اگر کاملا مستقل از بازی بود میتونستیم با یک عنوان متفاوت روبرو بشیم و این هیچ تضمینی بر بهتر شدن کتاب در اون صورت نیست و شاید اگر چنین بود با تکرار فاجعه ایی مانند دد اسپیس روبرو میشدم
به هر حال فراتر از انتظارم ظاهر شد . بهترین رمان بازی نبود که خوندم ولی باعنوان های بد و فاجعه هایی که خوندم فاصله داشت و در کل برام خوندنش لذت بخش بود
ویدیو گیم یک فرمت و رمان ها یک فرمت دارند و تبدیل هر یک از این دو به دیگری نتیجه ی مطلوبی نداره .و یکی از دلایل این نتیجه ی نامطلوب در رمان بازی ها پیاده سازی مو به موی محتوای بازی در قالب کتاب هست .
رمان خدای جنگ داستان مستقل از بازی را روایت نمیکند ولی با اینکه شاهد روایت همان داستان و همان مسیری هستیم که در بازی طی میشود اما درگیر بخش هایی از گیم پلی عنوان که به فرمت محتوای نوشتاری و کتاب نمیخورد نمیشویم و این خوب هست
اگر بر اساس رمان بازی هایی که خوندم بخوام بگم نه مستقل بودن عنوان دد اسپیس را دارد (که در مورد دد اسپیس این استقلال نتیجه ی خوبی نداشت و با عنوان خوبی روبرو نبودیم) و نه روایت مو به موی برخورد با تک تک ان پی سی ها همچون الن ویک و رزیدنت اویل (که باز هم هیچ کدوم این عنوان ها بخاطر روایت مو به موی بازی خوب نبودند) و نه اون روایت شاهکار داستان بازی با همان مسیر اما کاملا در فرمت رمان بدون وارد کردن تمام بخش های مربوط به گیم پلی در کتاب متالگیر (این مورد عالی پیاده سازی شده) و نه روایت جز به جز داستان و حتی ساید میشن ها در عنوانی مانند اساسین کرید(که کسل کننده هست) رو در این عنوان شاهد نیستیم. در گاد اف وار هم محتوای اضافه ی داستانی را داریم که شرایط روایتش در بازی مهیا نبوده و هم حس و حال خود بازی را با فضاسازی خشونت هو اوضاع روانی احساسی کریتوس .
روایت مبارزه ها ی بازی همانند عناوینی که در این مورد بالا مثال زدم زیاد نیست و به داستان و کتاب بودن نمیچربه اما هنوز وجود داره یا این حال در سایه ی حس خوب مکالمات بین المپیوس نشین ها و کارکتر ها و تفکرات کریتوس قرار میگیره و فرمت کتاب بودن رو خراب نمیکنه .
به صورت کلی خط سیر داستان اگر کاملا مستقل از بازی بود میتونستیم با یک عنوان متفاوت روبرو بشیم و این هیچ تضمینی بر بهتر شدن کتاب در اون صورت نیست و شاید اگر چنین بود با تکرار فاجعه ایی مانند دد اسپیس روبرو میشدم
به هر حال فراتر از انتظارم ظاهر شد . بهترین رمان بازی نبود که خوندم ولی باعنوان های بد و فاجعه هایی که خوندم فاصله داشت و در کل برام خوندنش لذت بخش بود
May 14, 2022
In a fit of whimsy, I hereby announce I will give everyone five stars, but the reviews may not reflect it.
I loved the game. It's my all-time favourite. This is basically the story of the game which, for those who don't know, is a pulse-pounding journey through Greek mythology. It's part hack n' slash and part solving irritatingly precise puzzles. These are all in the book but while they're written well, they're not as much fun (or frustrating) as playing the actual game, so I tended to wander when listening to these parts. What was more fun was the background story which was fleshed out from the cut screens. What we also missed in playing was the actual development of Kratos (akin to the evolution of the hero throughout the Odyssey and Illiad) over the course of the game which is also well on display here. Kratos goes from savage killer to thoughtful savage killer which is an interesting story arc if ever I saw one. This is probably one for fans of the game like me, but fans of Greek mythology might give it a shot too.
I loved the game. It's my all-time favourite. This is basically the story of the game which, for those who don't know, is a pulse-pounding journey through Greek mythology. It's part hack n' slash and part solving irritatingly precise puzzles. These are all in the book but while they're written well, they're not as much fun (or frustrating) as playing the actual game, so I tended to wander when listening to these parts. What was more fun was the background story which was fleshed out from the cut screens. What we also missed in playing was the actual development of Kratos (akin to the evolution of the hero throughout the Odyssey and Illiad) over the course of the game which is also well on display here. Kratos goes from savage killer to thoughtful savage killer which is an interesting story arc if ever I saw one. This is probably one for fans of the game like me, but fans of Greek mythology might give it a shot too.
August 23, 2021
Kratos es un hombre con sed de venganza y con muchos remordimientos, su mayor deseo es matar al dios Ares y que sus pecados sean perdonados.
Pero es difícil matar a un dios, sobretodo al poderoso Dios de la guerra que está dispuesto a destruir ciudades enteras y enfrentar a su hermana Atenea quien decide apoyar a Kratos y convertirlo en un rival peligroso que detenga a Ares.
Con la ayuda de los dioses Kratos tendrá que cumplir con ciertas tareas que le darán herramientas para su gran enfrentamiento.
Más reseñas en www.mentesliterales.com
Pero es difícil matar a un dios, sobretodo al poderoso Dios de la guerra que está dispuesto a destruir ciudades enteras y enfrentar a su hermana Atenea quien decide apoyar a Kratos y convertirlo en un rival peligroso que detenga a Ares.
Con la ayuda de los dioses Kratos tendrá que cumplir con ciertas tareas que le darán herramientas para su gran enfrentamiento.
Más reseñas en www.mentesliterales.com
July 8, 2024
started reading this book because my boyfriend loves the games and i wanted to know more about it and i was shocked as to how much i enjoyed it. the story is gripping and i found it incredibly difficult to put down, i loved the insight from the gods — the switch between kratos and athena in different chapters.
this would’ve been an easy five stars if it weren’t for the fact that i hate the name of his weapon, like WHY blades of chaos why not something cool and ominous
chaos is neither of those.
this would’ve been an easy five stars if it weren’t for the fact that i hate the name of his weapon, like WHY blades of chaos why not something cool and ominous
chaos is neither of those.
July 22, 2024
2.5 stars out of five.
Don’t judge me. I wanted to read a book by Matthew Stover and this was available for free on Audible!! Also Scott Lynch praised this among Stovers other books and I trusted Scott Lynch!! Really this is all his fault.
But it’s about as good as you’d expect a video game novelization to be. It’s easily 80% action and there’s a lot of fetch questing. The biggest plus is that Stovers actual writing is excellent and you can tell he has a lot of skill.
Don’t judge me. I wanted to read a book by Matthew Stover and this was available for free on Audible!! Also Scott Lynch praised this among Stovers other books and I trusted Scott Lynch!! Really this is all his fault.
But it’s about as good as you’d expect a video game novelization to be. It’s easily 80% action and there’s a lot of fetch questing. The biggest plus is that Stovers actual writing is excellent and you can tell he has a lot of skill.
Read
August 28, 2020This book is very different from the game,i played.But,it is a fine book
Read
July 29, 20223.5 με 4 αστεράκια γιατί είναι μια πολύ καλή μεταφορά από βιντεοπαιχνίδι σε βιβλίο..
February 5, 2024
Es como jugar al juego pero mil veces mejor.
September 19, 2025
2.5⭐️ this was way better as a video game
February 15, 2024
On its own, it would be okay. As a novelisation, it succeeds in its task of making me want to play the game again.
November 22, 2013
I am a big fan of Matthew Stover, so I had high hopes for this. Yes I know it's a video game tie-in novel, but the Infinity Blade novels prove that such books can be excellent in their own right. Unfortunately this is not. It is dire. It's just page after page of a video game protagonist slaughtering unnamed video game monsters. Sometimes there is some dialog with some other characters who are not involved in the slaughter - presumably these are the 'quest setter' characters in the game since they do not directly take part. But there is no characterisation here, so if you don't already know them from playing the game you won't give a damn about anything they say or do here. I gave up after about 50 pages.
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April 14, 2011I know, based on a video game. But come on, it's Matthew Stover!
Update: giving this one up. So far there has been 5% plot, 95% fighting. The character (I want to say characters, but it feels like the others are just foils) is not only poorly developed, I can't think of a single redeeming quality except for being strong. It literally feels like a video game, and I expect more story even in my video games. When I find myself skipping whole pages of fighting to try to find dialogue or other action, I know it's a losing battle.
I am marking it as "read," but I did not finish it. If someone did, please let me know if the story deepens later and maybe I'll pick it back up.
Update: giving this one up. So far there has been 5% plot, 95% fighting. The character (I want to say characters, but it feels like the others are just foils) is not only poorly developed, I can't think of a single redeeming quality except for being strong. It literally feels like a video game, and I expect more story even in my video games. When I find myself skipping whole pages of fighting to try to find dialogue or other action, I know it's a losing battle.
I am marking it as "read," but I did not finish it. If someone did, please let me know if the story deepens later and maybe I'll pick it back up.
Read
February 6, 2012Nice book kratos at the ending coming the new god of war was awesome going through challenges to break his nightmares was pure awesomeness. He had face battles no mere mortal could deafeat. Know he was the new god of war.
August 11, 2019
I could not finish it...
The book started really well, but, after a few chapters, the fights started to become repetitive and the "puzzles" too boring. I think it was not a good idea trying to mimic what is done when playing the game.
The book started really well, but, after a few chapters, the fights started to become repetitive and the "puzzles" too boring. I think it was not a good idea trying to mimic what is done when playing the game.
April 22, 2025
I've been getting back into gaming somewhat recently, and the God of War games are something I missed out on when they were first released. Two console generations later, I tried to play the game this book is based off, but found the controls and gameplay to be a bit dated. I never got to finish it and always thought I would go back to it. Now years later after that, the franchise was soft rebooted with two well acclaimed games, with talk of a tv show coming from Amazon Studios. I though why not try to get back into this. Turns out the first two games are not available to buy on the PS5 network. Since I wasn't going to pay for the online service PlayStation has just to play these games, I though I wasn't going to be able to get the full story. I wouldn't have guessed that Spotify would have my back and conveniently recommend the official novelizations of the very two games that are not available to play.
So here we are now, just finished the this audiobook. Which is surprisingly better than I though it would be. As since it reads as it it was narrating someone playing though the game. It was strange reading through moments I do remember from the game. It made me realize I was further along in the story then I realized at the time. The lead character Kato, does not get much dialog since most of his time in the book is describing what exactly he is doing with much detail. That's not to say there isn't any conversations happening, we get plenty of that with the supporting cast. I love stories that involve this type of mythology. So knowing the basic premise of the game franchise with that, made it easy for me to get into this. Though if I'm being honest, I don't see myself coming back to this or even recommending this to other. This book is super niche, and I can't see why anyone would read it that didn't love the games, or in my circumstance in wanting to get the whole context of the story but was unable to play the original games. I still plan on listing to the audiobook of this game's sequel to catch myself up with the later games.
So here we are now, just finished the this audiobook. Which is surprisingly better than I though it would be. As since it reads as it it was narrating someone playing though the game. It was strange reading through moments I do remember from the game. It made me realize I was further along in the story then I realized at the time. The lead character Kato, does not get much dialog since most of his time in the book is describing what exactly he is doing with much detail. That's not to say there isn't any conversations happening, we get plenty of that with the supporting cast. I love stories that involve this type of mythology. So knowing the basic premise of the game franchise with that, made it easy for me to get into this. Though if I'm being honest, I don't see myself coming back to this or even recommending this to other. This book is super niche, and I can't see why anyone would read it that didn't love the games, or in my circumstance in wanting to get the whole context of the story but was unable to play the original games. I still plan on listing to the audiobook of this game's sequel to catch myself up with the later games.
May 13, 2018
This was a tough one to review because I really enjoyed parts of this book.
God of War is a great video games series, and would probably make a decent film one. Does it work as a book? The short and is yes and no.
The bits that work are the parts taken from cutscenes in the game proper, or the invented scenes between the gods. The bits that don't really work is... well... everything else. An enemy encounter heavy game such as God of War doesn't need every fight to be present and described, but this book is padded out by such things throughout. One particular standout scene that illustrates how this doesn't work is a fight involving Kratos using his acquired powerups to destroy mobs of monsters in sequence. It just feels rather silly.
There isn't much time spent in Kratos's head either. Not that you want to know what's going on in there, but it makes things feel a bit hollow as you're sort of just reading a re-tread of the game (which you have likely already played).
It becomes evident that Matt Stover put a lot into this book though, and I don't envy anyone the task of adapting a video game into a functioning novel, so the three stars comes from his writing and the effort involved.
Worth a look if you're curious, but you're not missing much.
God of War is a great video games series, and would probably make a decent film one. Does it work as a book? The short and is yes and no.
The bits that work are the parts taken from cutscenes in the game proper, or the invented scenes between the gods. The bits that don't really work is... well... everything else. An enemy encounter heavy game such as God of War doesn't need every fight to be present and described, but this book is padded out by such things throughout. One particular standout scene that illustrates how this doesn't work is a fight involving Kratos using his acquired powerups to destroy mobs of monsters in sequence. It just feels rather silly.
There isn't much time spent in Kratos's head either. Not that you want to know what's going on in there, but it makes things feel a bit hollow as you're sort of just reading a re-tread of the game (which you have likely already played).
It becomes evident that Matt Stover put a lot into this book though, and I don't envy anyone the task of adapting a video game into a functioning novel, so the three stars comes from his writing and the effort involved.
Worth a look if you're curious, but you're not missing much.
May 4, 2022
Imersivo e cativante. Possui bons momentos de ação e cria uma atmosfera que prende o leitor, colocando-o em uma odisséia empolgante.
A escrita é extremamente fluida e o livro passa 100 páginas de uma maneira quase imperceptível. Outro destaque está na gramatura, que passa uma sensação gostosa, conjuntamente às folhas de tom amarelado.
Creio que uma das resalvas desse livro seja o excesso de ação, deixando muito do desenvolvimento da história para capítulos secundários, dentro de diálogos secundários, de personagens secundários. Além da repetição de informações ser bem inconveniente em certos momentos, deixando-me muitas vezes entediado.
Ademais, o autor utiliza de um recurso narrativo bem preguiçoso: a explicação por flashback. Isso devido à recusa do Kratos em relembrar seu passado, em supera-lo, sendo esta última a única justificava para o autor se apoderar diversas vezes de flashbacks desnecessários, que são picotados de propósito para a história correr de maneira mais arrastada. Isso atrapalha não somente o ritmo da história como incomoda o leitor.
A escrita é extremamente fluida e o livro passa 100 páginas de uma maneira quase imperceptível. Outro destaque está na gramatura, que passa uma sensação gostosa, conjuntamente às folhas de tom amarelado.
Creio que uma das resalvas desse livro seja o excesso de ação, deixando muito do desenvolvimento da história para capítulos secundários, dentro de diálogos secundários, de personagens secundários. Além da repetição de informações ser bem inconveniente em certos momentos, deixando-me muitas vezes entediado.
Ademais, o autor utiliza de um recurso narrativo bem preguiçoso: a explicação por flashback. Isso devido à recusa do Kratos em relembrar seu passado, em supera-lo, sendo esta última a única justificava para o autor se apoderar diversas vezes de flashbacks desnecessários, que são picotados de propósito para a história correr de maneira mais arrastada. Isso atrapalha não somente o ritmo da história como incomoda o leitor.
May 22, 2024
Kratos is the Ghost of Sparta, a warrior who only has one goal left. To kill Ares the god of war, who caused him to kill his family. With the help of other gods, Kratos undertakes a quest that pushes him across the Greek world to aid in his quest to stop Ares before he unleashes even more devastation.
The book focuses on retelling the plot of the first God of War game. It was a game I only played once, so my memory was a bit foggy, but the book did a good job of filling in those blanks. It hits all the major plot points while filling in what was going on with other characters as Kratos went about his quest. It is a very bloody and violent affair, just like the games.
This was an audiobook, and I felt they would have done better getting Kratos's voice actor or someone who sounded like him versus the reader they got. He didn't do a bad job, but when reading Kratos's lines after knowing what the original sounded like, they felt off. It was still a good listen and great to fill in the gaps for people who forgot or missed out on the first game.
The book focuses on retelling the plot of the first God of War game. It was a game I only played once, so my memory was a bit foggy, but the book did a good job of filling in those blanks. It hits all the major plot points while filling in what was going on with other characters as Kratos went about his quest. It is a very bloody and violent affair, just like the games.
This was an audiobook, and I felt they would have done better getting Kratos's voice actor or someone who sounded like him versus the reader they got. He didn't do a bad job, but when reading Kratos's lines after knowing what the original sounded like, they felt off. It was still a good listen and great to fill in the gaps for people who forgot or missed out on the first game.
July 5, 2023
As a fan of God of War, I must say this book was good retelling the events of the first game. However, it became repetitious when it spoke about Kratos fighting. They were detailed and I often found myself spacing out. I did like how they gave insight to the conversations Athena had behind the scene with the Zeus, Artemis, Aphrodite and Hermes.
It did have some funny moments that I chuckled as well. For example, in pg 139, it mentions how Kratos, after getting Zeus thunderbolt power and using it, was staring at his hand and “hurriedly turned the palm away. Should he accidentally trigger a thunderbolt while he stared at his own hand, his death might be both swift and humiliating.”
I recommend this book for those who want to revisit the first game with more in depth. But be warned, you will space out during the fighting scenes.
It did have some funny moments that I chuckled as well. For example, in pg 139, it mentions how Kratos, after getting Zeus thunderbolt power and using it, was staring at his hand and “hurriedly turned the palm away. Should he accidentally trigger a thunderbolt while he stared at his own hand, his death might be both swift and humiliating.”
I recommend this book for those who want to revisit the first game with more in depth. But be warned, you will space out during the fighting scenes.
February 7, 2024
Habiendo jugado los juegos varias veces, me esperaba algo mucho más simple y torpe que esto. Obviamente Kratos es igual de animal y un poco estúpido como en los juegos, pero aquí he podido leer toda una nueva serie de interacciones de los olímpicos que no se mencionan en los juegos. Las intrigas de Atenea con los demás dioses sobretodo. Como me gusta mucho la mitología griega lo he disfrutado mucho pero en temas de historia y desarrollo de personajes sigue sin ser nada del otro mundo. Será porque los juegos son muy disfrutsbles en temas jugables pero que me cuesta identificarme con la venganza absurda que tiene Kratos contra los dioses. Entiendo que odie a Ares pero una vez convertido en dios de la guerra hace todo lo posible para joder las cosas y matar a gente inocente continuamente. En resumen que Kratos es un personaje que es muy difícil de entender y querer.
July 22, 2024
The book reads just like a videogame. I started it expecting less but actually it delivered everything that I wanted. As someone who hasn't played the First God of War game I wanted something to introduce me to the series. And the book did a great job. Although it felt a bit prolonged at times with endless fight scenes I cannot complain as the game is exactly the same from what can be seen online. The action sequences were very explicit and the intrigue was really interesting but at times it fell short due to the repeating sequences, although if one thinks about this, it's exactly the same as a video game: you go through hoards of enemies, a cinematic starts, then a boss fight, then it all repeats. For those who have not played the first God of War games, this is a great book to read and get familiar with Kratos' story.
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